Heir of Beauty
Kingdom of Fairytales book 22
Scarlett Kol J. A. Armitage
Contents
1. 27th May
2. 28th May
3. 29th may
4. 30th May
5. 31st May
6. 1st June
7. 2nd June
After the Happily Ever After…
Join us
A note from the author
The Kingdom of Fairytales Team
About J.A. Armitage
About Scarlett Kol
Copyright © 2019 by J. A. Armitage and Scarlett Kol
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Edited By Rose Lipscomb
Cover by Enchanted Quill Press
Created with Vellum
Kingdom of Fairytales
You all know the fairytales, the stories that always have the happy ending. But what happens after all those storybook characters get what they wanted? Is it really a happily ever after?
In this prequel, you will find out what happens next, be transported back to those lands you fell in love with and be prepared to meet some new characters along the way.
Kingdom of Fairytales is a new way of reading with one chapter a day and one book a week throughout the year beginning January 1st
Lighting-fast reads you won’t be able to put down
Read in real time as each chapter follows a day in the life of a character throughout the entire year, with each bite-sized episode representing a week in the life of our hero.
Each character’s story wrapped up at the end of every season with a brand new character and story featured in each season.
Fantasy has never been so epic!
1
27th May
Dusky moonlight filtered through the high library window painting lines across the shelves of books. When did night fall? I rubbed my hands over my face and blinked my tired eyes as the words in the open book across my lap began to blur. I slammed it shut then chucked it onto the pile of ones I'd already read and lay back on the floor. Another dead end. Another waste of time.
My father still hadn’t come home and no one seemed to have any idea where to look. No rumors had surfaced from the neighboring kingdoms. No news or gossip on where he’d gone in the morning paper. Just embellished recounts of the ‘market massacre’ accompanied by a blurry image of him splashed across the front page, his teeth bared and stained with blood. The guards took turns in an endless loop of search parties, each one returning empty-handed, my mother's heart breaking piece by tiny piece with every failed attempt.
The last few days played over in my mind. Every time I wasn’t concentrating on something else, the memories crept in. Like insects that buzzed around my head and nipped at my skin when I least expected it. Tiny pinpricks to keep me from forgetting. The stench of blood and sweat on my clothes. The sharp grit of rocks cutting into my back as I begged for my life. The hollow, cracking sound of the guard’s bones snapping so easily, like brittle twigs in the forest. Each image haunted my thoughts and poisoned my dreams until sleep wouldn’t come at all. Every time I closed my eyes I relived the horror again and again.
I grabbed another book from the never-ending pile and cracked it open. If only I'd taken the time to read most of these when I been assigned them by my tutors, instead of skipping out to find something more fun to do, I might not be stuck scouring over them now. Searching for answers to questions I hadn’t even figured out to ask yet.
I thought of Veda. Her charming crooked smile, and the way she bit down on her thumb when she concentrated hard on something. The way her amazing brain spun faster than I could ever expect to catch up to. She would be great at this research. She read fast and everything always seems to make more sense with her around. I'd asked her to look for me at the castle when her father finally let her go, but she still hadn’t arrived. Or maybe she'd heard about the chaos in the marketplace and stayed as far away from me as she could get. Whatever the reason, I wished I had a chance to explain. Maybe then I could focus instead of trying to think about what I’d done wrong.
The door creaked and a sliver of light from the hall grew larger as Mom entered the library. Her stare narrowed at the burning lantern on her desk then popped wide again as she spied me sitting amongst piles of books on the floor.
"Fallon, here you are. No one has seen you for hours, but I just assumed you'd gone out for a while. I never expected to find you in here."
She clicked the door closed behind her, then rested against the wooden frame. Her normally glowing face seemed dull, even in the flickering firelight. The toll of my father's condition slowly sucking the life out of her beautiful looks.
"I can leave if you wanted some time alone." I brushed the dust off my knees and grabbed a few more books from the pile, clutching them tightly in my arm, then stood next to the desk.
"Of course not, stay as long as you like. I just needed to get something quick anyway."
The stiffness in my back and shoulders ached now that I'd stood upright again. I stretched my arms over my head, a relieved squeal escaping my lips.
“Been a long time since I've seen you reading in here,” Mom said as she cast her glassy eyes to the ceiling. “I remember when you were small, you used to hide in the corner every evening and wait for me to come look for you. I’d sit in my chair, then you would climb up on my
