Fairytales Slashed Read online

  Table of Contents

  Fairytales Slashed

  Book Details

  After Ever After

  Bearskin

  No Witch's Brew

  Lovers at the Lake

  The Mercenary's Wedding

  The Thief's Daughter

  Dance Away

  In the Land of the Damned

  About the Authors

  Fairytales Slashed

  Volume 7

  Nicole Field, Andrea Speed, Helena Maeve, Asta Idonea, Keelan Ellis, Tess Amram, K.M.Penemue, Camilla Quinn

  After Ever After by Nicole Field—After her fairytale wedding to Prince Phillip, Lotte comes to realize the ending she always imagined isn't what she expected. Then she meets Meg, a chambermaid in the palace, and begins to wonder if she'd been imagining the wrong happy ending all along.

  Bearskin by Andrea Speed—A soldier returned from war, instead of a warm welcome Arron finds himself homeless, alone, and dying of illness alone in a cave. When a strange man makes a bet, Arron takes it: for three years he must live as an outcast, telling no one the truth. If he succeeds, he'll get a life of warmth and comfort. If he fails, he loses his soul.

  No Witch's Brew by Helena Maeve—After the trenches of the Somme and a brief affair with a man well below his rank, Alistair traded the soldier's uniform for an earl's suit. Now widowed, all that stands between him and prosperity is his late wife's meddlesome boy, who has gone missing. If finding him means rekindling ties with Colm D'Arsy, avowed half-goblin and one-time flame, so be it.

  Lovers at the Lake by Asta Idonea—When Prince Vladimir stumbles upon a lake and goes for a swim, he encounters Dušan. The two fall in love, but Vladimir's father wishes to marry him to a foreign princess, and when Dušan seeks help from a wood dryad, he discovers a happy ending always comes with a heavy price.

  The Mercenary's Wedding by Keelan Ellis—Princess Adeline is a princess in misery, turned by magic into something she was never meant to be—magic that also affects the rest of her family by way of a terrible malady. Determined to make her a princess once and for all, a royal decree is issued: whosoever can tame the wild princess shall marry her and become king.

  The Thief's Daughter by Tess Amram—When a thief steals from B's garden, taking a handful of roses and vanishing into the night, she doesn't think much of it. Petty vandalism is par for the course when your entire town hates you. What she doesn't expect is for the thief's daughter to show up on her doorstep, ready to pay a debt B never asked for...

  Dance Away by K.M. Penemue—Queen Saffron arrives in the kingdom of Vosetis for Princess Kimberline's birthday, but there's no celebration in the air. Kimberline has fallen into a deep sleep and nothing can wake her. Even stranger, her elder sister and Saffron's beloved, the Crown Princess Aderes, disappears every night and returns with ruined shoes...

  In the Land of the Damned by Camillia Quinn—Once upon a time Aldo proved his worth by going into hell and bringing back three golden hairs from the Devil, only to find himself in a marriage both he and his queen despise. Desperate to regain his freedom, Aldo goes in search of his missing father-in-law—and right back to the Devil he's never forgotten.

  Fairytales Slashed

  Volume 7

  By Nicole Field, Andrea Speed, Helena Maeve, Asta Idonea, Keelan Ellis, Tess Amram, K.M. Penemue, and Camillia Quinn

  Published by Less Than Three Press LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.

  After Ever After Edited by Leta Hutchins

  Bearskin Edited by V.E. Duncan

  No Witch's Brew Edited by Amanda Jean

  Lovers at the Lake Edited by Leta Hutchins

  The Mercenary's Wedding Edited by Michelle McDonough

  The Thief's Daughter Edited by Amanda Jean

  Dance Away Edited by Amanda Jean

  In the Land of the Damned Edited by V.E. Duncan

  Cover designed by J. Ang

  This book is a work of fiction and all names, characters, places, and incidents are fictional or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.

  First Edition March 2017

  After Ever After Copyright © 2017 by Nicole Field, Bearskin Edited by Copyright © 2017 by Andrea Speed, No Witch's Brew Edited by Helena Maeve, Lovers at the Lake Copyright © 2017 by Asta Idonea, The Mercenary's, Wedding Copyright © 2017 by Keelan Ellis, The Thief's Daughter Copyright © 2017 by Tess Amram, Dance Away Copyright © Copyright © 2017 by K.M. Penemue, In the Land of the Damned Copyright © 2017 by Camilla Quinn

  Printed in the United States of America

  Digital ISBN 9781620049655

  Print ISBN 9781620049662

  After Ever After

  Nicole Field

  The first night in the palace wasn't all bad. Nothing about her first night in the palace was what she'd been brought up to expect. Servants serving dinner. Servants helping her to undress. Servants nearby just in case she and the charming prince should need anything on their first night together as newly-weds.

  Lotte was beyond relieved when the bedroom contained just herself and Phillip.

  Her relief must have shown on her face because, the next thing she knew, Phillip closed the gap between them and took her hands in his. "I promise you, it gets easier with time," he said.

  "How much time?" Lotte asked, hearing the plaintive tone in her own voice.

  With a small chuckle, Phillip leaned in close, his lips touching hers, causing tingles to her toes. And thus, their wedding night began.

  *~*~*

  There was a quiet knock at her bedroom door.

  Lotte didn't waken to it immediately. When the knocking came again, Lotte rolled over beneath crisp white covers. Her arm reached out, expecting to find Prince Phillip lying in the bed beside her. She woke up more as her hand came up empty of anything but a cold bed sheet.

  "Huh?" Lotte said, blinking out her confusion.

  The door opened a crack. "Miss?" came a small voice from the other side of the door.

  Rather than dwelling on it, her upset at finding herself alone apparent to all, Lotte tried to pull herself together in time for the servant to come around the door.

  "Yes, come in," Lotte said, exhibiting a hand movement that she'd seen the prince's mother demonstrate during dinner the night before. There'd been talk of etiquette lessons over dessert, but Lotte supposed she might as well get a head start.

  This was another servant Lotte had never seen before. She wondered how on earth she was going to remember all of them. Surely there would be some few who looked after just her? Wasn't that the way this sort of thing was supposed to go?

  Quizzically, Lotte looked to the servant, wondering what she was meant to do now.

  The servant girl gave a low dip of a curtsey and kept her eyes on the floor as she said, "I'm supposed to dress you now, Miss."

  Of course. Lotte should have guessed that being helped to undress the night before meant that she would be helped back into her clothes this morning. No doubt the servant was staring at the floor to save Lotte the embarrassment of not knowing where her place was in all of this. Still, she couldn't help just one quick question escaping her lips, no matter how it discomfited her.

  "Where is Prince Phillip this morning?"

  "With His Majesty the king, Miss," the servant spoke, gaze still downward cast.

  "Please," Lotte said, giving in to the instinct to wipe her hand over her eyes from where she sat alone in the middle of her bed. "What is your name?" She could hardly keep calling her 'the servant' in her head.

  "My name's Meg, Miss," the girl answered obediently.

>   With a quick nod, Lotte rose from the bed and allowed Meg to dress her, even as she inwardly sighing at the absurdity of it. "If you're going to see me in my undergarments," she said to Meg, "I feel like you should call me by my first name. It's Lotte, if you don't already know it."

  "As it pleases Miss… Lotte," Meg amended herself.

  "Thank you," Lotte said with a small sigh.

  *~*~*

  At breakfast with the queen, Lotte was informed that the council between the king and Phillip would take most of the day. She was encouraged to take the carriage out into town and do some shopping.

  "The glass slippers you wore to the ball were quaint," said the queen. Lotte already knew that the older woman had a way of saying one thing when what she really meant was another. Everyone had had the opportunity to see one of the magical slippers that had been part of the romance between Prince Phillip and the unknown masked lady. "But you simply must have some shoes appropriate to your new station. Take the chambermaid with you," the queen said, flicking her hand in the direction of the servants' quarters in that already familiar gesture.

  It was ridiculous, Lotte thought as the carriage pulled away from the palace, that Meg travelled next to the footman when there was so much room inside the carriage and no one for Lotte to talk to. Once their shopping started in earnest, Meg walked a step and a half behind Lotte at all times, indicating in her soft voice when they came to any of the shops approved of by the queen. Inside said shops, Meg lowered herself down to bent knee in order to fit each and every shoe over Lotte's feet, as though none of the shopkeepers were worthy of touching the newest royal feet with their own lowly hands.

  Lotte had no way of knowing the manners that were 'appropriate to her new station' to speak to servants in front of others—palace staff, townspeople, shopkeepers—and found herself utterly struck dumb by her ignorance.

  "How is one supposed to speak to the servants?" she asked Phillip that night after dinner, when they were at least alone again in Lotte's bedroom.

  "Hmm?" Phillip was distracted from the conversation he'd been having with his father over dinner: an extension of the council that had taken over their day.

  "The servants," Lotte prompted. "How do I speak to them?"

  "Oh, they'll cover that in etiquette training," Phillip assured her, getting into the bed beside her. "Has Mother told you when that will be scheduled?"

  Lotte shook her head. "Today she just told me to shop for shoes,"

  "Well, that's important," Phillip said diplomatically.

  She shifted closer to him until their bodies touched. "Why didn't you wake me up when you woke this morning?" she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.

  His hand touched her hair lightly. "It was early. I didn't want to disturb you."

  "You wouldn't have disturbed me," Lotte said in a low, sultry voice.

  "Well then," Phillip said with a kiss. "Maybe tomorrow."

  Lotte smiled as she turned into his kiss, arching towards him as his hands grew more insistent.

  *~*~*

  The next morning as the knocking on the door woke her, Lotte roused to find herself alone in the bed. Again.

  With a barely repressed sigh, Lotte turned to the door. "Come in, Meg."

  As the door opened, Lotte was grateful to find it was, in fact, Meg who came into her room again. The servant was as well presented as the day before: her dark hair in a low bun at the nape of her neck, her uniform and white pinafore freshly pressed, black shoes recently shined. Not a hair was out of place or a foot out of step as she curtsied her greeting to Lotte.

  At the breakfast table, she was told once again by the queen that the council would take up the full day of both the king and prince. Lotte took a deep breath in as she accepted this information. Instead of railing against it, she tried to think of what other practical occupation she could fulfil today. Cleaning anything was out of the question. She could just imagine the queen's face upon seeing the princess picking up a rag and doing anything with it.

  Perhaps something in the kitchen? She knew there were servants for that, of course, but perhaps it would be different if the queen understood Lotte's love of cooking: the joy of putting different flavours together in one dish that would delight the palate as well as the eye. Her options had been limited while growing up. Lotte's eyes widened at just the thought of what she might achieve with the resources available to her here.

  Before the thought had time to fully form, the queen interrupted her reverie.

  "You did well shopping for footwear yesterday. You would benefit from expanding your wardrobe further today." The queen sounded bored as she spoke. Lotte couldn't blame her. "Your chambermaid will know the appropriate places to see to your needs."

  Shopping. Again. Lotte remembered a time—in the not so distant past—when it had been common for her to go shopping only twice every time the seasons changed. She attempted to suggest that perhaps there were more productive ways—such as meal planning—on which she could spend her day.

  The queen gave a look of surprise as Lotte spoke back to her then she gave a high, false, tittering laugh, obviously meant to have her trail off before she was done.

  "What a delightful idea," the queen said with a smile that did not reach her eyes. "But how about we just keep with the shopping for today."

  It was not a request. Lotte understood that she would need time to gradually win the queen around to her ideas. It would possibly even help if she could enlist her new husband's help. In any case, Lotte knew this was not an argument she could win this morning, and let the matter drop for now.

  On the third morning of her marriage with no change to her routine—waking up alone, dressed by Meg, breakfast with the queen, shopping, dinner, undressing before bed with the prince—Lotte dared to ask the queen a question.

  "Your Majesty, when will my etiquette lessons begin?"

  "Oh, we'll get to that soon enough," the queen assured her.

  But soon enough wasn't quite soon enough for Lotte on her third day into town. Seeing Meg start towards the front of the carriage as Lotte approached the door to step inside, she paused.

  "Meg, a moment?"

  Meg about-faced and was by Lotte's side in an instant. "Miss? I mean, Lotte?" she asked.

  "It would please me very much if you would travel with me in the carriage today," Lotte said, mindful of the footman who was already seated at the front of the carriage, holding onto the horses' reins.

  "Inside the carriage?" Meg clarified, looking doubtfully from it to Lotte.

  "That's what I said," Lotte agreed. She watched the other girl carefully, not quite sure how far she could push this princess authority she now had. "Will that be a problem?"

  "No, Miss. Lotte," Meg corrected herself.

  "Good." Lotte turned back towards the carriage, only looking behind her once to make sure Meg was following behind her. It was, perhaps, the first thing she'd found about her new life that was genuinely good: being heard. So much of her youth had been spent in silence, listening and wondering why it was she'd been given a tongue at all. Now she was surrounded by people who had no choice given how she was part of the royal family. If only she could get the queen to listen to her. That would be the real coup.

  Things went smoothly up until they left the second shop.

  "Meg, might I make a suggestion?" Lotte said, deciding to test the bounds of her authority just a little further. She made sure to keep her voice pitched to the same volume Meg spoke to her on the street. It didn't seem to attract the attention of any passers-by.

  "Of course," Meg said, stepping closer to make sure she could hear Lotte clearly.

  "It just seems to me, you know the locations of these shops much better than I," Lotte articulated. "Wouldn't it make far better sense if you were to walk beside me to point them out?"

  "Oh, Miss—Lotte—I couldn't!" Meg seemed more distressed at this suggestion than at riding inside the carriage with the princess.

  Lotte said noth
ing, simply maintaining eye contact until Meg looked away.

  "It wouldn't be right," Meg protested, more weakly.

  "Wouldn't that be something for me to decide?" Lotte asked gently. After all, she didn't want all this new sense of power she had going to her head.

  She watched as Meg considered this. Then she watched the other girl square her shoulders and nod once. "As it pleases you," she said eventually, in a much calmer tone.

  *~*~*

  It took the rest of the week until Meg became animated when showing Lotte her favourite shops. The sight of the servant girl's energy was a relief to Lotte. The gangly girl went from shyly pointing at a shop front, with her elbows barely leaving her sides, to showing Lotte the dimples in her cheeks as she gave into a fey smile. She was never less than perfectly presented, but she began to act as though the way she expressed her emotions was up to her, rather than the royal family.

  Lotte enjoyed seeing a new side of her. Meg's newfound enthusiasm allowed Lotte to feel more liberty in her new role. Seeing only an endless march of dreary clothes fittings until doomsday, Lotte had begun to despair that she would waste the rest of her days looking for the next must-have in this season's fashion. There had been no further opportunity to suggest to the queen that she could find herself a cause related to cooking and, when she'd brought it up with Phillip, he'd given a short, inadvertent laugh before apologising. It hadn't been the laugh that had hurt, however. It had been being so thoroughly misunderstood by the one she thought was meant to love her.

  There was a small patisserie that became a favourite venue for lunch on Lotte and Meg's outings. The seats directly by the window were too public a place for a princess to sit, but Lotte and Meg had a regular table by a row of indoor flowering plants that looked out onto the street. Sometimes the footman even stepped in for a short while before taking his pastries back out to where the horse and carriage waited.

  Slowly, Lotte came to get to know little bits about Meg's life and family. She came from a poor family, oversized family whose only hope was to send their excessive children off to work in order to feed the rest of the family.