Here are the first two UNEDITED (this is the very rough version, and changes and typo corrections have already occurred but are not shown here) chapters of "Cursed and Fated." This gives you an idea of what will happen in this book. It's a Sleeping Beauty Retelling. Releasing February 20, 2025!!
FYNN
My neck isn’t at the edge of a
sword, but it might as well be. I’ve been ordered to appear before the king and
queen. It wasn’t a summons or a request, but a direct order. Plus, I’m escorted
to the throne room between two guards as if I’m a flight risk.
“Is this necessary?” I ask as the stern guards each hold one
of my arms. It’s tempting to go limp and witness if they’ll drag me, which I’m
sure they will. They work for the king, not for me.
The guards don’t answer my question. The massive double
wooden doors to the throne room are opened by another pair of guards. Our
footsteps echo on the marble floor with each step to the throne chairs. The
guards bow their heads when we reach the dais where the king and queen sit.
“Is this really necessary?” I shake my arms, but the guards
don’t release me, not until they get a nod from the king.
“You’re excused,” the king says to the guards. “Leave us.”
The guards tip their chins in reverence to the king, release
my arms, and leave the throne room. There’s an echo as the two large doors shut
and I’m left in an empty room with the king and queen.
From his throne chair the king looks down on me. His face is
placid and stoic, but emotion ripples just beneath the surface. The long hairs
of the king’s curly mustache quiver with his tension and the trim beard hides a
clenched jaw. The queen sits next to him, her hazel eyes on me with a worried
look on her round face.
“No petitioners today?” I ask and look around the room. The
throne room is typically a busy place of business in this kingdom. The king
oversees everything in Ryutoa, and all problems are brought before him. But it
seems today, I’m the problem.
“Do you know why you’re here?” the king asks, his hard eyes
on me.
“For inciting rebellion?” I question with a tilt of my head
and a lift of my eyebrows.
“Your rebellious streak is part of the reason you’ve been
ordered here,” the king says in a stern voice.
I often wonder how far I can push him, and today I might
reach the limit.
“You didn’t have to order me here.” I hold out my hands to
my side in a supplicating move. “We could have talked about this over a meal,
or you could have asked me to come to your private quarters. We could have
taken a nice horseback ride through the countryside and talked.”
“Talking is not action,” the king says harshly.
I need to weigh my words carefully, because it seems I’m
reaching his limit.
“I understand you expect action,” I say.
“You need to understand the importance of this,” the king
says, his voice as stern as his stormy blue eyes. He grips the armrests of his
throne chair.
“Kenneth,” the queen says and reaches over to her king. She
places a tiny hand on his large one in a soothing gesture. It’s not often I
witness her trying to calm the king as she usually remains a silent token by
his side.
For the moment he looks at his queen, I think the king’s
features soften, but it’s only a change of light on his face. Once his eyes are
back on me, it’s easy to see the hard mask of disappointment.
“Time is nearly up,” the king says. “You need to face what
is coming your way and take action.”
“And what exactly is coming my way?” I ask loudly. “It’s
only a threat.”
“A threat which not only endangers you, but endangers this
entire kingdom,” the king says. “A threat I do not take lightly, and one you
should not either.”
I lift my hands up and let them fall back against the sides
of my thighs with a whacking sound. “What would you have me do?”
“You must get married,” the king says.
“I am still looking for a bride,” I reply.
“You have had ample time,” the king says. “The kingdom is
full of eligible women. There are even neighboring kingdoms full of women and
even princesses.”
“I have not found one to my liking.” I rub the dark blonde
stubble on the tip of my chin between my fingers.
My statement is not going to go over well.
“I no longer care if you find one to your liking!” The
king’s voice rises, though he’s not quite yelling yet. “You never should have
ended it with Camille and now time is up.”
“I still have some time,” I say calmly and clench my jaw.
Thoughts of Camille still hurt and my trust in most women is shaken.
“You have no idea what you’re up against,” the king says.
“Neither do you,” I argue. “Because you didn’t face it head
on.”
“I am here because I did face it head on,” the king says.
“But what has facing it led to?” I ask, knowing I’m not
inciting a rebellion, but rage from a king. “It seems as if you’re still
plagued by bad fortune.”
“I faced it and now it’s your turn! I will not have you
destroy this kingdom.” The king suddenly stands. His eyes blaze with anger.
“You’re doing that fine on your own,” I mumble quietly,
afraid to have the king hear me, for that statement will arouse anger like none
before.
“Kenneth.” Queen Anyssa grabs at her husband’s sleeve, as if
she can pull him back and calm him. “You’re treating him like an unruly
commoner.”
“He is unruly!” The king glares at me. “He won’t listen to
reason and needs to be put in his place.”
“He’s our son,” my mother, the queen says. “Treat him as a
son and not a subject.”
“I am treating him like a prince of Ryutoa,” my father, King
Kenneth, says. “Being prince of Ryutoa comes with a responsibility.”
“It’s not a responsibility,” I say harshly. “Call it what it
is.”
“What is that?” my father asks.
“A curse,” I reply.
I’m long past the age of needing a governess, but my parents
think I need the additional protection and guidance. They keep me surrounded
with guards and my governess is never far from my side. But, I love Aida. She’s
been with me since birth and I would hate to see her leave.
“I like to believe you have the choice,” Aida replies and
adjusts the headscarf covering her ears and head. A bit of silver hair peeks
out over her forehead.
I’ve never seen Aida let down her hair, and it’s as if she
hasn’t aged a day in all the time I’ve known her. She has slight lines at the
corners of her golden brown eyes, but one quick glance at her and you can’t
tell if she’s young or old. With her golden and glowing skin, it’s as if she’s
timeless.
“If there were a spindle of a spinning wheel in front of you
right now, would you choose to touch it knowing you’d sleep for a hundred years?”
Aida picks up a comb from my vanity and starts to gently comb through the
golden curls which run to the middle of my back.
“I’m cursed,” I say. “I’ll be drawn to touch it.”
“Which is why every spinning wheel in the land was destroyed
and they have been banned from the kingdom. The curse can’t be fulfilled if
there isn’t a way to fulfill it,” Aida says. Her slender form stands tall
behind me.
“I know, I know.” My shoulders drop. Because of me, many people
were left without the means to provide for their families. They were left
without the spinning wheels which produced the beautiful yarn Somniara was
known for. “And it’s why I haven’t been
able to leave Somniara”
Before the end of her second decade, the princess shall
touch a spindle of a spinning wheel and die.
After my birth, a bitter fairy gifted me with a curse to die
before I turn twenty, until another fairy gifted me with a change to the curse.
If the princess touches a spindle, she shall not die, but
will only be frozen in time for a hundred years sleep, after which a kiss from
a king’s son will awaken her.
Instead of dying, I will only sleep for a hundred years.
Only.
Only a hundred years.
A hundred years to an immortal fairy is nothing, but a
hundred years to a human is lifetimes.
I’m not sure if death is preferred over sleeping a hundred
years and waking to a world changed with no one you know alive. Plus, I’m to be
awoken by a king’s son, meaning only a prince can awaken me from my enchanted
sleep. There’s no guarantee princes will still be around in a hundred years.
“I’m cursed,” I repeat and look through my mirror to Aida
who stands behind me combing my hair. I was only an infant when the fairy
cursed me, but it changed something in me. It’s as if it altered my blood or
something deep within me and I can’t deny it. “I’m fated to touch a spindle before
my twentieth birthday.”
Now that I’m eighteen and drawing ever closer to twenty, the
curse weighs on me. Each year I remain alive is a celebration, but the number
of years remaining are dwindling. The curse hangs over me was like a pot of
water waiting to boil. As long as the heat remains, the boil will come.
“Fate may still be kind to you.” Aida runs the comb through
my hair again. The familiar touch is comforting.
“I’m afraid a different kind of fate awaits me,” I say. “For
another prince has made his way here and is currently talking to my parents.”
“Are you excited to meet the visiting prince?” Aida asks.
Even if the conversation has veered away from my curse, it’s always in the
background.
“There can only be one reason my parents will have me meet
him.” I watch Aida in the mirror. She’s styling my hair for my meeting with the
visiting royalty.
“Don’t you wish to find someone you can spend your life
with?” Aida’s fingers are gentle as she plaits my hair and starts to braid it.
“If I only have less than two years to live before I fall
into an enchanted sleep,” I say, “I don’t want to spend them batting my eyes at
some prince who will be long gone before I wake. I’ll save the romance for
after the hundred years.”
“Princess Aeliana,” Aida scolds and tugs my hair.
“Ouch,” I say, even though it doesn’t hurt. I know she’s
being a little rough for a reason.
“You talk as if the curse is a done deal,” Aida says. “Curses
can be broken.”
“It’s rare to break a curse and my parents have spent
eighteen years trying to figure out how to break it,” I say. “I’m willing to
accept my fate, even if they aren’t.”
“Perhaps it can be broken,” Aida says again with a smile.
She always has a hint of a smile on her small face. “By a prince.”
“Even if it can be broken,” I say as Aida’s fingers are
gentle on my head once again. “I don’t want romance to be forced.”
“I believe your parents are looking for your true love,”
Aida says.
“Because true love’s kiss is the only human thing which can
break a curse or counter witch’s poison.” I sigh, wishing it were true.
Everyone knows of the legend of true love’s kiss. But that’s
why it’s a legend, because true love’s kiss breaking a curse or spell has not
happened in recent history.
“Ah, yes,” Aida nods knowingly. “True love in humans is a
rare thing. More difficult than locating a hidden treasure. There are maps to
treasures, but not for true love.”
“If I were allowed to leave the castle, I would search The Greater World over for my true love.” I stare at myself in the mirror.
“Would you?” Aida’s eyes twinkle with delight.
She always seems amused with my grandiose ideas, as if I
live more in a dreamland than reality. But when your entire life is
sequestered in a castle with thousands of books, it’s hard not to dream.
I shrug my shoulders in a dainty move. “I like to think I
would search for my true love if I have one. I’d like to think I’d know my true
love the instant I set eyes on him.”
“Perhaps you will discover your true love.” Aida wrinkles
her dainty nose. “Your true love may even be a prince.”
“I’ve met way too many princes,” I say. “And none of them
have been my true love.”
“There is one more to meet,” Aida says. “He could be your
true love.”
“He has no interest in meeting me,” I say. “Just like all
the other ones.”
“They would not be coming if they weren’t interested in
meeting you,” Aida says. “They have heard of your beauty.”
“They have heard I’m cursed and want to see for themselves,”
I say. “Or do you not remember the young duke from Orannver?”
“He was a bad apple,” Aida agrees and starts to pin up a
braid.
“He wanted to know if I could die while in a cursed sleep,”
I say. “He basically threatened to kill me once the curse took over.”
“Which is why he was escorted out of the kingdom,” Aida
says. “And why your parents have become more protective in questioning the
princes which visit.”
“If true love can’t end the curse, then death can. My
parents won’t be able to protect me forever.” I often ponder questions related
to my curse and fate, but only lately have started to ask them. “When their
life is over, who will protect me while I’m in an enchanted sleep?”
“That’s why your parents want you married,” Aida replies.
“No man will want to marry me, watch me fall into an
enchanted sleep, and then have to take care of a wife who will sleep the rest
of his life,” I say.
“That might be some man’s dream come true.” Aida’s chuckle
sounds like the clucking of a hen.
I huff in response, but can’t help smiling back at Aida in
the mirror. “Then why do most eligible bachelors leave when they find out what
marrying me entails? It’s a rather unfortunate situation for them.”
“Marriage entails bringing another heir into play,” Aida
says. “That’s what your parents wish for.”
“A replacement they can’t provide,” I say. “I refuse to be a pawn in their plans.”
“They want family who will take care of you after they’re
gone,” Aida says. “And if your children have children then your grandchildren
can take care of you and on down the line.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I say. “There isn’t much time
left.”
“You could still have a family if you find the right man,”
Aida says. “The curse doesn’t stipulate who the king’s son is. What if the one
to awaken you is your great, great grandchild?”
“I will not bring a child into this world only for them to
be motherless. It’s enough trauma for me having to grow up with this curse, but
to have a child know his mother will never wake during their lifetime and they
have to watch over her, it’s a sad and cruel fate.”
“You are the last heir to the throne,” Aida says. “If you
don’t have an heir, the kingdom will fall or be overrun as others clamor for
the throne.”
I stare at myself in the mirror. I happily bear the weight
of the curse and the fate of the kingdom. It’s a burden I never asked for, but I
feel an immense responsibility to ensure the kingdom flourishes, whether it’s
with royalty or not.
“Perhaps the fate of Somniara lies in what happens to me, but
there is more at stake than only my life,” I say. “And if the throne is left
without an heir, then that’s Somniara’s destiny. Either way, the curse is
coming.”
“Time is running short for you,” Aida says. “There may be a curse
headed your way, but I feel your fate is in your hands.”
