Fire Rises

Lessons in Fairytales

It had been three and a half days since I arrived in Far, Far Away and I had learned a few valuable things during my time beyond the Dark Place. 

First, there was the ever growing list of things I could and could not touch. Fruit in a bowl, no problem. Can touch. Fruit on a tree, absolutely not. (Also, I learned what a tree was.) Leaves and grass seemed to be fine, but flowers were out completely. Humans, horses, dogs, cats were totally fine, but birds not so much. Those didn’t turn to ash though. Those just seemed to lose their minds. Weird. Also weird, was the amount of birds that were constantly around the castle. Clara had explained that the queen was friends with them or something so they held a strong presence here.

Aside from my apparent curse, I also learned that the prince had quickly become infatuated with me. He liked me a lot. A lot a lot. Too much. He spent most of his time leading me around. If he wasn’t leading me somewhere, he was following me somewhere. If he wasn't kissing me, he was singing to me. Everyone else seemed to find it charming and romantic. Perhaps I should have, too, but it was just… so much.

I learned that I don’t have some weird eye watering disease that spreads like wildfire, but I did have the ability to inspire the emotions that provoked those little tears in others. 

I was becoming increasingly aware that no one was fully good, but apparently you can have enough bad in you to be considered unredeemable. That level of bad was grounds to be sent to the Dark Place.

I could confidently say that Archer was not all good, though I was beginning to suspect he wasn’t as bad as I had thought at the quaint pub, either. I kept playing with the ratio in my head and, now, at the end of my third day here, I was sure he was somewhere around 75% good and 25% not good. 

That had me thinking about my own ratio. I think that in the Dark Place I had to submit to some of my more not good urges to survive. Down there I was likely 60% okay (I still wasn’t comfortable labeling any piece of myself as good) and 40% evil. Pure evil. 40%, 100% pure evil. 

Clara was somewhere around 90% good, but, she wasn’t showy about it.

Queen Cedra I deemed to be 100% good, though I wasn’t sure that I was qualified to give such high marks. However, I could assume if she accidentally squashed a gnat she would have been in tears for days and likely never would forgive herself. I admired how good she was, but also it made me want to puke.

The king, I decided, was about 70%/30%, but I’m sure much of his less than desirable actions had just been ill-advised or at very worst a knee jerk reaction to keep his very good queen safe.

The princess was harder to get a gauge on. She was quiet unless she was attempting to pry my deepest, darkest secrets from me, so I hadn’t had much opportunity to figure her out yet.

I took my seat at dinner and let the conversation flow amongst the family and stayed fairly quite unless asked something directly. I wanted one last chance to make sure of my decision before I made my announcement. When some decadent molten chocolate dessert was placed in front of me, I knew my time was up and it was time to start talking. 

“So, everyone. I want to thank you all again for sharing your home with me.” Archer squeezed my hand and gave me a dashing smile that made me lose center for just a moment. “I also wanted to let you know that I am ready to vouch for this place and you all, whenever you are ready to start integrating the children.” The queen was smiling approvingly. Her daughter got up from her seat to hug me. The king clapped his hands together and said “Splendid!”

Archer leaned over and gave me a quick kiss before saying, “So, Eve, I am wondering if you have any recommendations for the first round of children to be brought up.”

“Well, actually I have a few thoughts. First, I think we should start asking around to people in your kingdom-”

“Our kingdom,” He corrected.

“Uh, sure, ‘our kingdom,’ who might be interested in adoption. I think the babies need to be taken from the Dark Place as soon as possible. If we get them out early enough they might not have any recollection of…” I trailed off and moved away from the topic before I could finish. “Second, I know you have a boarding school prepared for the children old enough to attend. I think it would be best to bring children from a similar age range here on the first go round. I have about four children that immediately come to mind and they’re all between eight and ten years of age. I’d like to ask Ari, the sea witch's daughter, for recommendations, too. She runs in a very different circle than I did and she probably knows many people that I never got the chance to… meet.” I didn’t like talking about the dynamics of the Dark Place. “I’d also like to bring Ari here. Or at least out of the Dark Place. She was never an evil person and I think she would really do well in the beyond.” I held my breath for the reactions on that one.

“Well if you say she is okay then we will find a place for her here immediately.” Archer was giving me his signature quirked smile.

“Son, are you sure?” It was the queen who spoke and it threw me off. She was usually so quick, almost to a fault, to assume the best of everyone. Yet, now she was immediately questioning Ari’s character before she even had met her. The sea witch may have been primarily detrimental to the Aquatic Kingdom, but she had left this realm notorious for the havoc she had wreaked. 

Queen Cedra continued, obviously sensing my shock, “Maya was such a good friend to me and I’ve heard such horrors about… Well. I guess that is what this is all about.” The queen had already talked herself out of her apprehension. 

“I… can’t say much for anyone else that is close to my age. I’m still somewhat in shock that anyone even recommended me.” I looked down at my plate and pushed my dessert around with my fork. Once again the prince, Archer, squeezed my hand and used his other hand to tip my chin towards him.

“Eve, you deserve to be here. I need you here. I really hope that you see that.” He kissed my cheek and his mother sighed as she rested her face dreamily on her hand. His father looked full of, what Clara had described as, pride. His sister looked like she was going to bounce out of her seat. I wanted to feel all of those things, but when the prince looked back at me I couldn’t feel anything but uneasy. 

You are looking for the bad. Stop looking for the bad! I had had this conversation with myself so many times, but I just couldn’t bring myself to really believe there was no catch to Archer’s enchantment with me. I knew I needed to get out of my head. I was getting in my own way.

The service staff came to clear our plates and I stood to leave when Archer caught my hand. “Walk with me, my love.” I should have melted at the gesture, but my reaction instead was to stiffen. 

Hmm, strange. Why did I keep self-sabotaging like this? Was it because it had been days since I’d intentionally harmed something else? A debt that must be repaid, perhaps? A self-sacrifice in the name of evil? Why? Why me?

“I’d love to,” I attempted to seductively bat my eyelashes but I was pretty sure I looked like a seizing frog. Archer’s face confirmed my suspicions, but he smiled at me anyway. 

Charming, nice-ass, bastard. I quietly thought to myself at his unwavering outward charm.

He led me out to the garden, where I carefully maintained my distance from the flowers. We stopped in front of a fountain where he twirled me around, before pulling me in tight to his chest and capturing my mouth with his. 

He broke the kiss and breathed, “Thank you. For everything. Thank you for being you. Thank you for accepting me.Thank you for being here. I have loved every single minute with you. Even when you were tearing me apart at the pub, I was enchanted by the passion and the rawness of your words.” He jutted his chin out and widened his smile. “Thank you for making my dream, a wish that my heart had made so long ago, come true!” 

Oh, please don’t start singing again, but like an answer to my silent prayer, he didn’t. Instead he wrapped his hand gently around the back of my neck and pulled me closer. “I love you, Eve.” He dipped his head down and once again pressed his lips against mine.

He had said so many wonderful things. His lips were like bubblegum driving against my own. One part, a very large part, of me wanted to chew on that bubblegum and discover if the rest of him felt as intoxicating. But another part of me wanted to gag at the cliche finish he had to his little monologue. And then there was another part of me, one I was actively trying to ignore, that said I shouldn’t trust this man or his beautiful face or his horrendously cliche words. 

At some point in my mental wandering, my body had taken over and I suddenly came back to reality to find that I was, in fact, biting his bubblegum lip. It was better each time he kissed me. He moaned and tightened his hold on my neck while his other arm tightened around my waist. He pulled his face from mine and began lightly nibbling along my jaw-line without loosening either grip he had on me.

I let all of my worries fall by the wayside, quickly rationalizing each one out. Part one of me was getting my way. I wanted this man. Part two, so sure yeah fine, he was a little annoying with how stereotypical he could be, but he was just a product of his raising. If anyone could understand that, it was me.  And the third part of me, the part that doubted his intentions, well f**k that part, I thought to myself. If he is using me for something, then I might as well use him. 

The hand that had been on my waist had now found my thigh and was slowly traveling upwards as his mouth had suctioned onto my collarbone. He continued to whisper sweet nothings to me and I did my best not to question or roll my eyes at them. My hands traveled across his impossibly well sculpted chest soaking up the feeling that so many had wanted, but only I was getting. He was thumbing the hem of my skirt when he suddenly pulled away.

Son of b***h…

“We shouldn’t,” he dramatically turned his head away from me, “Not until,” he turned back and dropped to one knee. He reached for his pocket.

Whattttt the fuckkkk, was this considered normal in this realm? Propose to someone after only three days of knowing them? Confess your love? Also this person happens to be the daughter of one the most, if not the most, evil mortals in history and you’re a prince?

He removed a velvet box from his coat jacket. The box opened. A shockingly giant, shockingly sparkly, shockingly… just an all-around shocking ring appeared. In the center of the silver band sat an oval cut diamond with two smaller amber stones on either side. So I guess blood diamonds and child labor are not on the list of concerns in this kingdom, I couldn’t help but think as I eyed the glutinous piece of jewelery. The center stone alone had to be at least four karats. It was almost comically large and if I hadn’t been drawn to it like a moth to a flame, I may have even been offended by how massive this thing was.

“Eve, my beauty, my love. I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I am confident that I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you. I can’t imagine being anymore in love with you than I already am, but I look forward to discovering that that isn’t true. Please, marry me. Be my queen. Be my wife.”

Suspicions confirmed. He’s f*****g crazy. Ah, yes. This all makes sense. I sifted through my memories and tried to make the ‘certifiably insane’ argument fall into place. It didn’t quite fit, but this seemed like proof enough. Or maybe this is just how things are here? Had I really given off the impression that I would marry him so soon? 

I looked back at him to see him waiting with very, very hopeful eyes. So, in a panic, I did what any normal person would do if a breathtakingly gorgeous prince proposed to them. I nodded my head and took the box. Good job, very normal. He gently took the box back and removed the ring. He slid it on my finger. It fit like a glove. 

Of course it fits like a goddamn glove. He kissed me again and said a lot of things like “You’ve made me the happiest man in the world,” and “I am so blessed to have found you,” and “I can’t wait to start forever with you.”

I was fighting an internal battle between throwing up from how dramatic he was being or throwing up from how big this was. There was always the third option though: throw up because he wouldn’t stop spinning me in f*****g circles.

From my perspective, there was only one end to any of those options: I was going to vomit in front of the prince. Again. I squirmed out of his over eager paws with every intention of finding a safe place to process and hurl, STAT. But then he was singing. Again. 

It’s like he wants me to spew chunks! Is this some kind of kink? He got halfway through the first chorus of his impromptu ode de moi complete with accompanying tap number (how he always managed to tap dance on soil was beyond me), when suddenly the vomit could no longer be contained. I leaned over the nearest rose bush, clutching at anything for some leverage to stay upright. 

I stood up just to realize the musical number had stopped abruptly, no doubt as a result of my... condition. But when I looked at the prince he wasn’t even looking at me. He was staring at what was next to me. Not with concern or fear or even pity. He was stunned. Then his lips curled into a smile I was all too familiar with, but one that I had never seen on his face. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, but I had seen it. It was maniacal. I turned to see exactly what he was looking at. The rose bush was in ashes.

Oops.

I shuffled away from my ash covered puke and wiped my mouth. Archer took a few steps towards me, concern finally having taken over his face.

“Eve, are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize my singing was that bad!” 

I had to laugh a little at that. His singing voice was lovely, it was really just the lyrics... and tapping… and the fact that he was singing at all, that had pushed me over the edge. “No, no, you have a wonderful voice. This has just been so much so fast and I think my body didn’t know what to do with it all.” I looked back at the mess I had created. “Erm, sorry about your roses.”

He looked back at the mess, too, and shook his head, “You don’t have anything to apologize for. So… how long has that been going on?”

I tried to feign confusion, hoping he wouldn’t notice that the bush had disintegrated completely, “What do you mean? The vomiting? Only just right now…”

“No, I mean things turning to ash when you touch them.” 

“Oh. Yeah. That.” The momentary smile he had when he first realized what had happened suddenly came to the forefront of my memory. A half truth, once again, seemed like the best route. “Well, I did accidentally do that to one rose the first day you brought me to the garden. But, I’ve been avoiding touching any other flowers since then… I’m not sure why it is happening. It isn’t something I have control over. It just happens. I’m sorry, I should have told you...”

He waved his hand in the air as if wiping away my apology before it could reach him. “Eve, you do not need to apologize. I see why you wouldn’t be exactly jumping at the chance to share this news. Let’s just keep it between you and I for now, okay?” I smiled up at him. “Now, we were in the middle of celebrating!” He made a move to lift me again, but I backed away quickly before he had the chance.

“Maybe no more spinning tonight,” I looked at him apologetically. “Can we finish celebrating tomorrow? This has all been so… exciting. I think I need to go lie down and give my stomach a chance to settle.”

“Of course, my queen. Whatever you wish. I’ll walk you back inside.” I reached for his outstretched arm, but paused to look back at the evidence of my little… accident behind me. As if reading my mind Archer answered my silent thoughts, “Don’t worry. I’ll come back and take care of this. No one will know.” He flashed his charming smile my way and led me inside.