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THEO BRUSHED AGAINST the rough wetness of his cheeks, letting their stinging saltiness sink into him as he entered the stables.
Bachas stepped out to meet him. “I told you we would be leaving,” he said.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Theo said. “Please stop using your seeing crystal to see the future.”
“I will tell you a secret,” Bachas said. “I can see the future, but the future can still change. Everything I see is dependent on choices and circumstances.”
“So you knew Rose would tell me to leave?” Theo asked.
“It was either that or give up the battle she has been fighting with her own heart for many years,” Bachas replied. “And you know the Princess well enough to know she would never willingly give up a fight.”
Theo nodded. “Well, let’s head out then. Rhone is a good distance away from O’Lin by horse.”
“Your brother is coming,” Bachas said.
“Why?” Theo asked.
“I told him we were going to leave in the morning when he came to pester me with questions about pixie magic and their history.”
Despite his sorrow, Theo smiled. “That’s my brother for you,” he said.
“Annoying.”
“Sometimes.” Theo shrugged. “But for the right reasons.”
“If there are right reasons to be annoying.”
“I’ll remind you of that as we ride,” Theo said. “I’m sure you’ll have more of an argument for being annoying by the time you spend a whole day riding hard.”
Bachas smirked playfully at him. “We’ll see, Sir Knight,” he said.
“I’m not a real knight. Not yet.”
“Sure you are,” Bachas said. “You’ve always wanted to follow in Benedict’s footsteps, haven’t you? Well, now that your lady has rejected you, your training is complete.”
Theo’s heart ached, and he struggled not to let Bachas see his pain. “I guess I wanted his success, but never his pain,” he muttered.
“Theo?” Thad’s voice called out from the far end of the stables.
“Over here,” Theo replied, waving from his horse’s stall. “We’re about to head out, I guess.”
“I’m glad I caught you,” Thad said. “I’m so sorry we haven’t had much time to catch up.”
“We will have plenty of time,” Theo promised, “as soon as I get back from Annalora’s.”
“Theo?”
“What?”
“You told her, didn’t you?”
Theo cringed. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.
“But you did tell her?”
“For all the good it did,” Theo replied. He sighed. “She wanted me to leave, so I am leaving.”
“I will let her know why,” Thad promised.
“If she cares at all,” Theo grumbled.
“You know she does.”
“She might, but she doesn’t let herself do anything about it. Other than ignore it.”
Thad shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“It’s fine. But Bachas and I are heading out.” Theo turned to see the pixie climb up behind the horse’s saddle, already working on a way to secure himself so he could rest easy on the way to Rhone.
“The Grand Father and I will be back in Rhone within a few weeks,” Thad said to Theo. “Once we settle everything for Princess Isra, we will return.”
Theo nodded. “I’ll likely need some time to ride. Annalora’s last location was near Aragon.”
“Send me a message when you get the chance.”
“I will.” Theo clasped his brother’s arm in his firmly, before he climbed up onto his horse, carefully avoiding Bachas as he swung his leg over. “Please take care of Rose for me.”
“If she will let me,” Thad replied. “Other than that, I’ll do the best I can.”
With that, Theo urged his horse forward, and he set off for Rhone. The moonlight has passed into sunrise, and the misty morning fog was already clearing itself from his path. The music of the ballroom had gone quiet, and the dew on the flowers was already starting to evaporate.
Behind him, Bachas sighed contentedly, relaxing as he settled behind Theo’s saddle.
Theo tried not to think of all his friends as he left. He knew that he had to take care of his family, and he knew that Rose wanted the break between them. His heart was already in pain, and he needed to focus on the road as he headed toward Rhone.
As he passed through the last of the castle grounds, Theo reined in his horse, slowing down. He thought he could hear the music rising up from behind him again.
But once he could hear it, he knew what it was.
Who alone can be worthy of great love?
Our worlds are full of fools with dreams
Of tender kisses, melting looks, of
Magic underneath the moonbeams.
Queen Lucia sought to love a special one
Sir Benedict, his heart became the prize;
He who was worthy of her love alone
She saw as worthy in her own eyes.
He embraced her love and held her close
He fought for her hand and heart—
Only when he won did she choose
A life where they would never part.
Rose was singing to him.
“Goodbye, Rosary,” he whispered once more, before he pushed his horse back into a trot. Theo knew he would be haunted by every moment over the past years that he was close to Rose; he already felt his heart breaking all over again, and it was more painful to know he would let it break forever if it meant he could kiss her again, if he could have her respond to him once more.
Theo knew he was free from her presence, but there was nowhere he could go where he would be free of her.
Of course, he thought to himself, that wouldn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.
“Hold on, Bachas,” he called back, as he urged his horse into a full gallop. “It might get bumpy back there.”
Bachas groaned as they sped up, heading out on a new adventure.
C. S. Johnson is the author of several young adult sci-fi and fantasy novels, including The Starlight Chronicles series, the Once Upon a Princess saga, and the Divine Space Pirates trilogy. She currently lives in Atlanta with her family.
AUTHOR’S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dear Reader,
Over the many years I’ve had the privilege of traveling, I’ve noticed that the hardest part always seems to come in the middle of it—that part where you are not quite home, but the terrain begins to bend in that familiar way. It is frustrating, since you are so glad to be so close, but wearying, to know you are not quite there yet. I think this is what I most tried to capture in this book. Despite the progress, despite the encouragement, the human heart is always somewhat restless until it is secure in the knowledge that it has arrived to where it needs to be.
In the last book, I focused on the quest Rose faced, as she journeyed across the world. For this one, I wanted a more introspective journey, one that would force her to confront her own heart. Julius Caesar’s famous assertion, courtesy of Shakespeare, that the courageous die only once is admirable, but when it comes to living, I am certain that introspective people (people who tend to be writers, unsurprisingly) live several, possibly innumerable, lives. The physical journey is often just as important as the inner journey, but life becomes even more than we thought it was, as we reflect on the different parts of what makes us who we are. Rose’s journey here, to not only recognizing what is in her heart, but also making her choice to act on it, reveals the tension between idealism and realism, hope and hopelessness, and the fear of the choice and the choice itself.
It’s all of life’s little complications and all of the possible repercussions that make me excited to see what happens next.
As always, I am so grateful you took the time to read my work, and I hope you have enjoyed it. Please leave a review of it somewhere on the vast sea of the Internet, so I can see what you think—good or bad, I’m always interested to see what others think of my work. It’s hard to see your work objectively as an author.
It shouldn’t be a long wait until I finish the conclusion of this saga, Beauty’s Gift (Once Upon a Princess, Part IV). I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon!
Until We Meet Again,
C. S. Johnson
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