Tales of Ever After, page 1
Tales of Ever After
a Fellowship of Fantasy anthology
All copyright remains with original authors, who are the sole copyright owners of the works and retain all rights.
Anthology © 2018 H. L. Burke
All rights reserved.
Cover and Interior Design by Dragonpen Press
Cover Photo copyright Jacky Brown on Deposit Photos
This anthology is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales is coincidental.
Dear Readers,
Welcome to Tales of Ever After, the fourth anthology from the Fellowship of Fantasy. For this excursion, we present our take on the classic fairy tale. From Once Upon a Time through Happily Ever After and beyond, our authors tackle cursed princesses, mysterious old women offering gifts, and even some dragons (of both the foul and friendly varieties).
Have you ever wondered what happened after Cinderella’s ball? Or why exactly all those princesses are so darn sleepy? Or if kissing frogs is really a good idea? Never fear! We have the answers to these questions and more. Enjoy sixteen original stories from awesome authors across multiple genres from Steampunk to Science Fantasy to Epic Adventure to Snarky Satire.
There are many perilous journeys ahead of you, but no graphic content. All the stories here fall below a PG-13 rating.
The Fellowship of Fantasy is an online group of writers dedicated to presenting the best in clean fantasy stories of any stripe. Some tackle epic quests to save the world, while others prefer more urban settings. Whether you enjoy contemporary tales, romantic retellings, or something else entirely, you’re sure to find stories that speak to you.
Happy Reading, and may these stories draw you into a grand adventure!
Sincerely,
The Fellowship of Fantasy Authors
www.fellowshipoffantasy.com
Contents
Cinders
Kendra E. Ardnek
When the fairy Jalia receives a plea for her aid, it seems a routine Cinderella rescue—until she only finds the family’s pet cats.
At the Corner of Elm & Main
H. L. Burke
A sweet-natured lamppost dreams of seeing the world. When magic grants his wish, how will he use it?
Tears of the Sea
Savannah Jezowski
When LeRae indulges her fascination with the forbidden sand walkers, she discovers more than danger in the shallow waters.
Steelhand
Ashley Capes
When a man with a mechanical hand hears a woman’s ethereal voice calling for help, he must brave the steel forest to rescue her from a foul Alchemist.
King or Beggar
D. G. Driver
When a king’s spoiled, conceited daughter refuses and insults every nobleman asking for her hand in marriage, he stops giving her a choice.
The Girl Who Talked to Birds
Kristen S. Walker
A young girl’s already isolated existence is worsened by the emergence of strange abilities.
The Princess and the Stone-Picker
Sarah Ashwood
“Those whose eyes are nearest to the ground are those who see its treasures.” A humble stone-picker’s mysterious remark sends a spoiled princess pursuing answers.
Wake the Moon
Annie Louise Twitchell
Demons laugh, light fades, and Jesse must battle his own darkness to wake the sleeping girl.
The Greatest Adventure
J.M. Hackman
A beautiful slave girl, hidden Fire Diamonds, and a wily dragon give Firebrand Aideen Siriol his greatest adventure yet.
Third Princess
Emily Martha Sorensen
The youngest of three always succeeds after the older two fail. But what if the older two aren’t willing to fail?
A Week after Midnight
Alex McGilvery
The prince is so shy he needed a ball to find a wife. What will he do when she moves in?
Being Seen
Gretchen E. K. Engel
Just because Ilmara is invisible doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist.
The Quest for a Wide-Awake Princess
Lia London
Prince Jack needs to find a suitable princess, but he’d settle for one who’s not snoring.
How to Hide a Prince
E.J. Kitchens
Princess Fiona is destined to save a prince, but would kissing a talking frog free a prince or curse them both?
Believing Fairy Tales
Arthur Daigle
Some fairy tales are true. The dangerous ones are partly true.
The Loathly Princess of Edimor
L. Palmer
Princess Selene always gets her desire. When she asks to escape a marriage by transforming into a swan, the witch who helps her has other plans.
Cinders
Kendra E. Ardnek
Dear Madam, Most Illustrious of Fairy Godmothers,
I have heard that you are who I should contact for dire situations—and my situation is dire indeed.
My name is Elissia Faline, but none of my family calls me that. To them, I am Cinders—and on particularly horrible days, “Oh, You Sooty Thing!” And that isn’t even the beginning of how terrible those girls can be.
I’m neglected and abused. I must sleep in the fireplace instead of the soft beds. I eat scraps, and not even the tasty ones. There’s only one bright light in my life—the Prince. That is what the girls call him, at any rate. The tutor calls him “David,” but only the tutor, as that is his special privilege. The Prince visits the tutor on frequent occasions, though he’s always careful to make sure that it is when the girls are away—for which I don’t blame him. Those girls can be obnoxious.
The Prince is the only one who treats me with any form of respect. I wish I lived with him and not the girls. He’s such a lonely soul. I’m sure he could use a devoted friend at his side.
Yours,
Elissia Faline
P.S. Please hurry. I don’t know if I’ll last the week.
The fairy Jalia prided herself on her ability to spot potential Cinderellas—she’d godmothered over twenty of them across her three hundred years. Rarely had she seen one as clear-cut as the letter that her sister Manina had tossed onto her desk the morning before.
Her heart went out to poor Elissia. “Oh, You Sooty Thing!” indeed! Of course, she’d rushed to the Crown kingdom, from whence the letter was postmarked, and had begun preparations with the king and queen at once. A ball. Invitations sent to every eligible young lady in the land. Two days was short notice, but Elissia was desperate.
Jalia only hoped that the girl wouldn’t expire under the pressure of preparing her step-sisters for the ball. It would be her last torment, however. After tonight, it would be happily ever after.
The Du’Bre estate where Elissia lived was a mile outside of town, old, and inhabited by the respected widow and her three children, a son of twelve and daughters fourteen and sixteen. Of the staff, she had identified the tutor, employed for the son’s education—but she had not found a “Cinders” among them. She hadn’t investigated too carefully yet, though.
Jalia settled herself into a comfortable tree and pulled the letter from her pocket to reread while she waited for Lady Du’Bre and the girls to leave for the ball. She was impressed with the girl’s diction and spelling. Elissia might be oppressed, but she’d seen to her education. Her penmanship was sloppy and too large, but it was legible.
Commotion rose from the yard as the mother and daughters emerged from the house, smothered in so many layers of tulle and beadwork that Jalia frankly wondered how they didn’t collapse under them. The brother trailed after them, complaining about how he was always left behind and never got to go anywhere exciting—which both sisters loudly argued. Servants quickly guided him back inside, however, and the ladies were bundled into the carriage to enjoy their night of dancing and fruitless flirting with the prince.
Jalia waited a few more minutes to descend from the tree, giving the household a chance to settle down, but she dared not wait too long. There was a distraught and weeping Elissia somewhere, and she was the entire reason for this ball.
Yet, as Jalia explored the house—invisible to the human eye—she found no weeping girl. Not in the garden, not in the kitchens, not in any of the chimneys—not even in the family cemetery, huddled against her mother’s grave, as Jalia had found no fewer than eight of her previous Cinderellas. This estate didn’t even have a family cemetery.
Had she come too late? Was she at the wrong address? She rechecked the envelope that Elissia’s letter had come in. No, this was the place. And her research had confirmed that the boy’s tutor had been previously employed by the king and queen to teach Prince David—so this was no doubt the household Jalia sought.
But there weren’t even any young girls among the staff.
Well, when in doubt, ask the family pets. The Du’Bre household was, fortunately, in possession of two elegant cats—a majestic elderly tom and a little splotchy gray thing that was scarcely more than a kitten. Of the animal kingdom, cats were by far the most intelligent. Also the most prideful. Their only rival was their cousin, the fox.
She went to the elderly tom first and found him sitting on Lady Du’Bre’s bed.
“Good evening, my good sir,” she addressed him, in Cat, which was a difficult language indeed and leagues away from the “meows” they reserved for humans and their own young. Cats never took you seriously if you meowed at them.
“Don’t trouble yourself,” the cat answered, with perfect human speech. He sat up and licked a paw. “I’ll have you know that I am no ordinary cat.”
Jalia drew back with a raised eyebrow. “That is clear. What is your name?”
Truly, she wasn’t completely surprised to find that he could speak. One in a hundred cats possessed the ability, though they always fancied themselves the only one and were always incredibly secretive about it.
“They call me the Duke,” he answered. “Now, good fairy—and I do hope that you are a good fairy, if you know what I mean—why are you here?”
“I am looking for Elissia,” she answered. “I have good reason to believe that she is the next Cinderella.”
The Duke stared at her a long moment. “Good reason, you say? And do you have good reason to believe that I know where she is?”
Jalia drew back, knitting her eyebrows. “According to the letter that summoned me, she’s in this very house. Come now—surely you know of Lady Du’Bre’s own stepdaughter.”
“No, I must admit that I didn’t know that she had one,” he answered, unimpressed. “The late Lord Du’Bre was her only husband—and she his only wife.”
Well, the letter never had explicitly stated that she was a stepdaughter. Still…
“They call her Cinders.”
His whiskers perked up at that. “Ah. Her.”
“Do you know where I can find her?” Jalia begged. “A Cinderella is supposed to arrive late to the ball, but not too late. I’ve already wasted so much time looking for her.”
“She has a number of haunts,” the Duke answered. “And she could be hiding in any one of them. However, I would try the girls’ bedroom. The silly kitten has been moaning all day about how they get to go see the prince, while she’s had to stay behind.”
“Thank you,” said Jalia, nodding. “I must confess that I didn’t think to check that room. I’ve never found a Cinderella there.”
“Good luck with her,” said the Duke, settling back down. “Just … keep an open mind, my good fairy. Things aren’t always as they appear.”
“I’m a fairy and over three hundred years old,” Jalia answered. “I’m quite aware of that. But, again, thank you.”
She hastened back to the girls’ bedroom to give it a thorough examination—but all she found was the little gray kitten that she’d seen there earlier, curled in the fireplace and staring at the flames.
“You wouldn’t happen to know where I would find Elissia, now would you?” she asked, shaking her head at the little thing and forgetting to use Cat.
The kitten jumped to attention at once and bounded onto a bed. “Oh, oh, are you a fairy? Did you really come?” she mewed. She clearly couldn’t speak human and apparently didn’t speak Cat. Felines did patronize their young, though, so that was hardly out of the ordinary.
“Yes, I am,” Jalia answered. “Do you know where Elissia is?”
The little thing sat down and wrapped her tail around herself. “That would be me.”
Jalia pulled back. “You? You’re…” It wasn’t often that she was at a loss for words. “You wrote and sent that letter?”
The kitten did look like she’d just climbed out of a coal scuttle, though, so the name “Cinders” made perfect sense now.
“I did,” she answered, clearly quite proud of herself, as well she should be. “I watch all of Tutor’s lessons, and I taught myself how to write. It isn’t easy when you don’t have thumbs, but I managed.”
Jalia just blinked.
“So you’re here to rescue me?” Cinders continued. “Take me away from those dreadful girls so that I can live forever with the prince? You know that he’ll treat me properly, like Mother spoils the Duke. He’ll let me sleep on his bed, let me eat the tasty tidbits, and won’t chase me around with a hairbrush. He already knows the best place to rub me—just behind my ears. Oh, but he’s so nice.”
“You’re a cat,” Jalia squeaked out.
“Yes, of course I am,” Cinders answered. “What else did you expect?”
Jalia turned away to gather her thoughts. How fortunate it was that none of her sisters were there to observe this embarrassing situation!
“I was expecting a human girl,” she answered. “I prepared a rescue for a human girl. You’re a cat. That just messes up my plan completely.”
“But I never said…” Cinders cut herself off and licked her paw a couple times as she considered. “Oh, I guess I never said that, either. Oh dear.”
“Oh dear, indeed,” Jalia agreed. “I arranged a ball and have come to give you a dress and a carriage. You were supposed to go to the ball, fall in love with the prince, and live happily ever after.”
“I like the sound of happily ever after,” said Cinders.
“But you’re a cat.”
“What is a ball, exactly, by the way?” Cinders continued. “Is it anything like a ball of yarn? Because I like balls of yarn. But the girls don’t like balls of yarns, and they’re incredibly excited about this ball, so I don’t suppose that they’re anything alike. What is a ball?”
“It’s a party,” Jalia answered. “With dancing.”
“Oh.” Cinders looked down dejectedly for a moment then back up at Jalia pleadingly. “But are you still going to take me away from this place so I can live with the prince? You’re a powerful fairy who fixes things. Surely this is only a minor setback for you.”
“Minor setback, yes,” Jalia repeated. She turned to face the cat. “Elissia, you are going to the ball.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, you are.” Jalia scooped the kitten up and strode out of the bedroom. “I came here to send a Cinderella to the ball, and that’s precisely what I’m going to do. I can’t let a small setback like you being a cat get in my way.”
“And will it let me live with the prince?” asked Cinders.
“We shall see,” Jalia answered.
She took the cat to the garden and set her down next to a large pumpkin.
“You can’t go to the ball dressed like that,” she stated, staring down at the pitiful little thing. “Let’s see what my magic can do.”
Jalia had turned plenty of mice into horses, dogs into coachmen, and lizards into footmen. She had no doubt that this would be no problem at all. Cinders had personality enough. Most cats did.
She pulled the wand from her sleeve and muttered the magic words. She never was the showy type, unlike her mentor who had previously cared for girls with oppressive stepmothers. No showy displays of sparkles and song. The results could speak for themselves, and that was good enough for her.
Yet, shifting Cinders to a human girl proved harder than she expected. Sure, Jalia had never tried to change a cat before, but she’d not expected this much resistance. Was this something natural to all cats? Truly, it felt like some other magic resisted her.
Then, just as she was about to give it up, there was a magical snap, and Cinders the kitten bloomed into a lovely young woman of seventeen or eighteen, with honey curls and gray eyes. It wasn’t quite the form that Jalia had envisioned for her, but she was beautiful all the same. A small, delicate thing, in a simple gown of silk and tulle, with a gray fur fastened about her shoulders with a diamond brooch. The dress was a couple years out of fashion and so quiet that Jalia momentarily feared that it might cause her to be overlooked in the crowd of bright-colored dresses so big that they struggled to fit through doors.
Still, Prince Daniel didn’t seem to be a fellow who liked pomp and show, so maybe this was for the best.
“Now just for the carriage and you’ll be ready to go,” said Jalia, nodding in satisfaction.
