Sequel to 'All The Queen's Horses'. Read that book first.
Sorry guys, I won't be finishing this story so you may not even want to start reading. Unfortunately, the demand for my original works is too high and time consuming for me to wrte any more...
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Pic above: Faeryn
This book is the SEQUEL to 'All The Queen's Horses'. READ THAT BOOK FIRST.
***This book is set TEN years after ATQH.***
Chapter 1 – Ever After Never Came
Eve
'Ever After' never came. At least not for me. Somehow, my fairytale had gone horribly wrong. For just a lingering minute, I indulged memories too painful for everyday reflection: a full moon shining brilliantly, as if it agreed with the vows spoken and held sacred. Every surface bathed with a glistening sheen, even the guests. But that could have just been the unfiltered joy in my eyes. Destiny shifted as I exchanged my status of only one, and became an equal measure of two instead.
It was the moment I had become Mrs. Michael Glass.
That was ten years ago.
As it turned out, destiny is a cruel bitch that would not be manipulated, because I had been only one, for what seemed like an eternity now. I swallowed the familiar taste of bitterness on my tongue. My back bowed and my eyelids fluttered against the tears that threatened. I had cried thousands of tears, surely they would have run dry by now. But no. I felt an all too recognizable prickling dryness, which only a tear could soothe. I blinked in silent resignation, the salty wetness trailing over my cheeks. Gulping in a few ragged breaths, I forced the beautiful memory back where it belonged, into my tightly locked broken heart.
"Mama?" a quiet voice whispered behind me, breaking my tortured reverie—Faeryn. Somehow, her speech never lost its musical enunciation, even when overshadowed with concern. Every word she spoke was beautifully articulated, a lilting Welsh accent caressing each syllable. Her education had been without limit. As a result, she wove Welsh, English, French and Romanian effortlessly, as the inclination took her.
"Faeryn," I murmured, swiping the remaining tears quickly from my face, before I turned toward her; my features naturally relaxing into the expression of happiness I felt whenever she was near.
She stared silently with her brow furrowed. She worried about me. This wasn't the first time she caught me in a reflective moment. Mostly, I would just lose track of my current reality, my eyes glazing over while memories from so long ago played a broken record in my mind. But it was rare when she caught me in such a weak unfiltered moment as this.
Her unfathomable crystal blue eyes—so much like her father—searched my face for any kind of clue that would reveal the reason for my distress. Curiosity burned behind her eyes, but she had given up asking a long time ago, as my response had been always the same—it was nothing. I couldn't tell her the truth. It wasn't that I didn't want to. I literally could not say the words—thanks to Gwion's compulsion.
He would not allow anything to be spoken to her, which had the potential to cause her pain...or cause her to want to leave. On this point, he had been severely unmoving.
