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 Are you happy, Gault? she blurted out.  Truly happy?
 Happy? He paused as if struggling to find an answer. From outside came the sound of voices,
shouting. Gault stiffened, straining towards the sounds. The door to her sitting room crashed open, and he
smiled at her. Achingly beautiful.  I am now.
Charming stood in her doorway. He looked deranged, his hair loose about his face and his eyes
swollen and red with weeping. The expression in those eyes made her cold down to her very toes. In his
hands he held a silver dagger and his eyes were fixed on Gault, who simply stood there, smiling at him.
Snow White surged to her feet, her book falling to the floor.
 What is the meaning of this?
Charming ignored her.  I ve come to return something to you. He threw the dagger at Gault, but it
was not aimed to kill. It hit the marble fireplace and clattered to the ground. He crossed the room in half a
dozen rapid strides, drawing the sword he wore belted at his hip free of its sheath. Snow White grabbed at
his arm as he passed, and he shook her off. She fell against a parquetry table which collapsed under her, to
sprawl upon the floor.
 Meris, she screamed, knowing as she did so that it would be too late.
Gault said not a word. He spread his arms wide across the mantelpiece and went to his death, smiling.
Charming s sword slashed down, cleaving through his shoulder and chest until it became lodged
against his hip. Gault remained standing for a moment before falling, firstly to his knees and then
collapsing on his side to lie sprawled and bloody upon the tiled floor.
Charming died an instant later. He reached behind him to fumble at the axe between his shoulder
blades, then fell face first beside Gault s body.
 Snow! Meris, naked and white-faced, knelt beside her.  My princess? Are you hurt?
She shook her head, pushing him away to crawl towards Gault. Meris took hold of her shoulders,
pressing her face against his chest. She was crying, great tearing sobs that shook her entire body.
 Snow? Kaliko s voice. She turned blindly in Meris s grip, holding her hands out towards him. He
took her in his arms and held her, murmuring soft words. Stroking her hair.
Ander stood frozen in the doorway. Like someone in a trance, he moved across the room and sank to
his knees beside Gault. He made a terrible sound, a sound Snow White would hear forever in her dreams,
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Snow
and gathered Gault s broken body against his chest, rocking Gault in his arms as he continued to make that
dreadful low keening.
Kaliko lifted Snow White in his arms. Small as he was, he was strong. As he carried her from the
room, she looked back over her shoulder. Kaffion and Shyla were trying to pull Ander away from Gault s
body. Meris still knelt on the floor, his face a mask of shock and grief. Hiram stood beside him, one hand
on his shoulder. Tears tracked down his cheeks.
She buried her face against Kaliko s shoulder and wept.
Spring was turning into summer when Snow White wed Kaliko. It had taken weeks for the shocked
amazement of the court at the events of Dwalen Eve to settle from a raging boil to a low simmer. The
salacious details had been discussed with relish in the court and city for days, slowly trickling out into the
countryside and beyond to add spice to countless dinner tables and tavern bars. Sex and murder, perfect
ingredients for a gossip s supper. The queen s lover murdered. The queen dead by her own hands. The
apparent insanity of the foreign prince and his attempt on the life of their own Snow White. The brave
dwarf who had saved her life and in doing so lost his own.
And just as the gossip began to quieten down, the announcement that Snow White was to wed one of
her dwarves.
If the men of the court looked askance at that news, there were ladies enough who had enjoyed a
night s pleasure with one of Snow White s attendants to nod knowingly at each other. And in truth, they
made a delightful couple, she so pale and fair and her companion so dark and comely. There was many a
woman who longed to run her fingers through his mop of dark hair.
That they loved each other could not be doubted. It was evident in every touch or glance. Every
shared smile.
Her wedding day dawned bright and fair. It would have been perfect if not for one thing. All of her
companions were to attend her and Kaliko. Except Gault, whose absence was still a dull ache in her heart,
and Ander.
He had come to her a few weeks ago. He had lost flesh. She thought he would carry his grief in his
bones forever.
 I have to leave, Snow, he said.  I want to go home. There is nothing here now except memories of
blood and pain. I want to return to the mountains. To where we played as boys. Gault was happy there. I
want to remember him that way.
When he left, he carried a small silver casket with him. Gault s heart rested within. Ander would take
him home and bury him beneath the soil of his homeland.
 Will I ever see you again? Snow White asked him, tears trembling at the edge of her lashes.
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Deborah M. Brown
He wiped one away with his thumb.  Perhaps. One day. But if that day never comes, my Snow, you
will still be happy?
She nodded tremulously.  Happy ever after, she whispered.  Just as in the fairy tales.
 Happy ever after. I like the sound of that. Ander smiled.  Promise me, then, that you and Kaliko
will live happily ever after, Snow.
 I promise.
And so they did.
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About the Author
Deborah Brown is an Australian author who shares her house in country Victoria with a miniature
dachshund called Mr. Frodo, a blue heeler called Ruby and four chooks. She is a scientist by profession but
writing is her passion. Her dreams include having one of her novels published and having her football team
win the AFL premiership before she is too old to enjoy it!
An angry fairy queen trapped his body. A woman s love could imprison his heart.
Awaken
© 2010 Anya Richards
An Enchanted Story
Prince Ryllio once lived so charmed a life, even he began to believe nothing bad could touch him.
Then a moment s indiscretion brought Queen Mab s wrath raining down, encasing him in stone.
Hundreds of years later, he is losing hope that anyone will find him, much less counter the spell. Until
a beautiful young woman wanders into his hidden glade to privately discover the pleasures of her own
body. Her sensual innocence reignites his acute longing for freedom.
Lured into the old forest by an irresistible impulse, Myrina finds intimate communion with Ryllio s
imprisoned spirit. His whispered guidance weaves an erotic spell, rousing her to undreamed heights of
ecstasy. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]