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Artemis Meagher stood on the balcony of their fifteenth home in the last twenty-eight years. She glanced down to the garden sanctuary her husband, Belenos, duplicated after each move. A smile curved her lips at how Belenos remembered the length of the willow branches over the lake. Even the white benches twinkled at the edge of the water. Every time he recreates the garden for their girls, he brings something from their first meeting in her enchanted garden. Her mind formed a memory from when their daughters were young after their nightly prayers.
“Brigid, take Demeter and Cassandra by the hand,” she said as her children came together. Belenos picked up Aradia as she giggled and rested her head on her father’s shoulder. He came up beside her and laced their fingers together. “Ladies, go right in and brush your teeth.”
“Yes, Mama,” they answered in unison.
“Then it’s storytime?” Aradia brought her head up, looking expectantly at her mother.
She caressed her youngest’s cheek. “Yes, little one.”
Once all of their little ones were snug in their beds, she sat on the one with her older daughters Brigid and Demeter. Belenos sat across from her on the other bed with their youngest daughters, Cassandra and Aradia.
Aradia snuggled next to her father as he ran his fingers down Cassandra’s arm next to them.
“Mama, can you tell us the story of the Princess and the Prince?” Brigid asked, curling up on her side with her bird stuffed animal.
“The Princess and her Consort,” Demeter corrected. “Right, Mama?”
“Yes, it is, but I think Prince is also correct.”
Brigid gave her sister a smug smile.
“Mama, can you start the story,” Cassandra murmured, holding her teddy bear tight to her chest.
“Alright.” She smiled down at her daughters. “Once upon a time, there was a princess.”
“A beautiful princess with long red hair,” her husband added.
She sighed. “A beautiful princess walked in an enchanted garden after her nightly prayers when she noticed a gentleman sitting on a bench overlooking the small pond.”
“Was he a handsome gentleman?” Brigid asked.
“Oh, yes.”
His onyx hair shimmered in the moonlight as he stared out over the water. The princess wondered why he sat all alone and went over to ask him. But, the moment she got close, he turned to her. His eyes were like two sapphires, and they took her breath away until the princess saw the distress in them. “How did you get in?” she asked.
“I was walking, and my steps led me here.”
She glanced down at his worn shoes, and the shirt he had on seemed too big for him. So she questioned, “Were you walking in the forest?”
“Yes. I went to my uncle’s cabin and didn’t sense his magic. I worried he could be in some trouble. So I started searching for him.”
“Who is your uncle?”
“Sir Benigno, but I called him Big Ben.”
Her heart sank as she lowered to sit next to him on the bench. “Sir Ben was my parents’ groundkeeper and friend.”
A small smile graced his lips. “I can recognize some of his touches.” He turned to her. “Was? What?”
“I’m sorry, Sir Ben passed away last week.”
His eyes twinkled with tears. “I am too late. I came to tell him his sister, my mother, died.”
She reached for his hand to offer him comfort. The moment their skin touched, sparks tingled up her arm.
“And his too,” her husband added.
Heat went to her cheeks as she continued.
“You must be Sir Ben’s nephew he talked so much about?”
“He talked about me?” The hopefulness in his voice made her want to stay.
“Yes, he said you are unique and have a way with herbs and would be a great man one day.”
His head fell and went side to side. “I’m not half the man he was. He made the grounds change with his magic of the earth. I only know how to mix the things he grew.”
“Sir Ben believed in you too, so you must be an extraordinary person.”
“Not extraordinary enough to save my mother, and as it turns out, my uncle.” A tear slipped past his long lashes.
“I am sorry for your loss.” She let him lace their fingers as something shifted inside her.
“Like two puzzle pieces fitting together,” Belenos added with a sly curve of his lips.
“Yes, plus the princess had never been touched by anyone.”
Brigid raised her head. “Why did no one touch the princess?”
Artemis brushed back her daughter’s hair. “The princess had the power to read people’s minds when they touched her. Except for the man whose hand the princess held.”
“Is that how the princess knew they belonged together?” Demeter yawned.
“Yes, in a way, not being able to read him gave the princess a freedom she never experienced before, and the prince intrigued her.”
Demeter asked, “When did the guards come?”
“Before the prince had a chance to kiss the princess.”
“The guards always had impeccable timing,” her husband sighed under his breath.
She continued with a shake of her head at Belenos.
The palace guards pulled them apart, yelling the prince was trying to kidnap the princess. Voices crashed into the princess’s mind all at once, and she stumbled. The prince fought the guards hold on him and shouted to unhand the princess because he noticed how their touch affected her. They listened to the prince’s command and let go of the princess. Once the princess’s mind cleared of all the voices, and she could stand, the princess commanded the guards to release Sir Benigno’s nephew. One of the guards spoke. “Sorry, Princess, we need to bring him on the order of the queen.”
The princess ran to the one who spoke. “Please, Fadias, let him go.”
He shook his head at the princess. “Take him to the queen. I will escort the princess.” Fadias motioned everyone ahead of them then asked the princess, “Did he touch you?”
The princess stood in front of the guard to stop him. “I touched him to offer comfort since the poor man lost his mother and uncle in less than a week.”
The guard narrowed his eyes at the princess. “Did you read him? Can he be trusted?”
“No, I cannot read him. Sir Benigno trusted him,” the princess answered as Fadias began to walk again. They entered the throne room, a place the princess knew the queen did not like. The queen, with her long red hair and emerald gown, entered from the side door, followed by her tall, dark-haired consort. The prince fought against the guards, trying to see the princess. He went to his knees as the queen stepped in front of him. The queen frowned down at the guards, and they knelt quickly next to the prince. The princess smirked when Fadias joined them.
“My queen,” the prince started. “I apologize if I offended the princess. My name is Belenos Meagher, Sir Benigno’s nephew, and I am at your service, my queen.” The prince bowed his head respectfully.
Then Fadias made his way over to the queen and whispered in her ear.
“Was he telling the queen that the princess could touch the prince?” Demeter asked with a yawn.
“Yes, he was.”
“Tattletale,” Brigid added.
“My thoughts exactly,” her husband piped in.
Artemis inhaled with a shake of her head. “All the queen said was ‘interesting,’ then told the guards to release the prince, and they were dismissed.”
“Did the tattletale go too, Mama?” Cassandra yawned.
“Yes...”
Then the queen motioned for the prince and princess to follow her. The prince remained on his knees. The princess rushed to his side to help the prince up, but he shook his head and remained kneeling. Finally, the queen said, “You may rise, sir.”
The prince raised his head. “My queen, I am not a knight, just a common man.”
Then the queen did the most fantastic thing. She turned to her consort, who wore a beautiful sword at his side, and held out her hand. The consort gently handed it to the queen, and she said, “I can correct one of your issues.” The queen placed the sword on one of the prince’s shoulders than the other and said, “You may rise, Sir Belenos Meagher, and there is nothing common about you. Princess, please bring your mate with you.” The princess took the new knight by the hand, and they followed the queen and her consort into a room filled with soft couches and chairs. The queen sat in a very cushioned chair the color of the sun. Her consort stood to her right. The queen motioned them to sit on the loveseat across from her. She laced her fingers with her consort as he perched on the arm of her chair.
“The princess blushed so prettily as their sides touched,” her husband added.
“Why?” Brigid yawned.
Artemis’s cheeks heated as her husband chuckled. “Because the prince was warm, and his touch made her tingle.” She held Belenos’s gaze and whispered, “It still does.”
The queen studied them both then said, “I have had a vision of this man for years coming for you, Princess. He is your protector and mate.”
The princess looked at the queen. “Mate?”
The consort brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed the queen’s fingers. “Princess, this is the man the fates have found for you to be your lifelong partner,” the queen continued in a more serious tone. “I have also seen many dangers for the two of you. So if you do not want to face them together, then I suggest you separate because the longer you stay together, it will be harder to keep you both apart.”
The princess turned to the prince and, at that moment, knew she wanted to be together forever.
“The prince would give his life for the princess always.” Her husband smiled over at her.
“How romantic,” Cassandra sighed.
Her husband bent down and kissed their daughter on the forehead. “Yes, it is.”
“What were the dangers, Mama?” Demeter piped up. Their second child always wanted to know every aspect of a situation.
“Being the queen, there is always a danger of some bad people who want to take her throne. Since the princess had a gift of being able to read people’s thoughts, it made her especially valuable.” She paused, not wanting to alarm her children.
Thankfully her husband continued, “One of the dangers was since the princess could not read the prince, he could be used to lead the bad people to the princess and the queen.”
“Papa, what did they do?” the girls asked in unison.
“The prince got down on one knee and asked the princess to marry him. He pledged his life to her and said he would always protect the princess. So they were married that night in a private service with just the princess’s parents, the queen and her consort, and the tattletale.”
Artemis shook her head as their daughters giggled. “They traveled the world seeking adventure and helping the communities they stayed in.” She smiled down at her children. “Now it is time to sleep, my darlings.” She kissed each of her daughters on the forehead before her husband followed her. “Good night, our blessed daughters of the Goddesses.”
“Good night, Mama and Papa.” They all yawned, snuggling into their beds.
