Hazel & Gretel (The Clockwork Fairytales Book 2) Page 12

  “They lied.” Gretel clenched her teeth. Leilei shouldn’t have believed them, if anyone in the village should have known better, it was her.

  “And when I tried to reason with the other villagers, they stood with the huntsman… and then, the meat ran out.” Leilei glanced toward the door to the vestry and shook her head. “It’s been a time of upheaval. But one I think this town has needed for a long time.”

  “We’re not staying,” Gretel said, taking her hands and squeezing them gently. “Hazel remembers who she is, and she has a family who loves her, who is missing her.”

  “Where is home?” She asked, glancing over Gretel’s shoulder at Hazel.

  “Cyprea.”

  Leilei’s eyes traced over her hair. “I see. And how did a member of the royal family end up in our village with no memory?”

  “It’s a long story that involves a fairy. I’m not sure of all the details.”

  “I see.”

  Gretel took a step back and clasped Hazel’s hand. “Before we leave, we have a small request.”

  “As long as it doesn’t go against the strictures of the church, I’d be happy to.”

  Gretel glanced at Hazel, happy to see a smile on her lips. “We’ve decided to get married and I’d really like you to do the honors.”

  Leilei blinked and then laughed, a smile spreading across her face. “Of course. I would be offended if you’d chosen anyone else.”

  “Are you able to do it now?” Gretel asked, “I’d like to be on our way before my mother can find a way to try to keep me here.”

  “Of course. Come with me to the front.”

  Leilei led the way and they all three sat, cross legged and facing each other.

  The ceremony was brief and private, and as they began the meditation, Gretel caught Hazel’s eye and peace flooded over her.

  When Leilei began, Gretel had to focus on the vicar to keep from falling back into that peace forever.

  “Will you, in your union undertake the practices of our faith? Do you vow to protect life, take only what is offered? Will you cultivate love, kindness and honesty?”

  “We will.”

  Leilie paused and glanced at Hazel, “Do you know the vows?”

  “I do.”

  She nodded, and turned to Gretel, “Will you bring peace to this marriage?”

  “I will strive to grow with you in happiness each day and use whatever arises within our combined lives to enhance our spiritual awakening and open our hearts. I will listen without judgement and be present in every moment.”

  “Will you bring peace to this marriage?” Leilei asked Hazel.

  “I will hold you highest in my heart and reveal myself to you fully and trust you with my complete vulnerability and honesty. I will listen without judgement and be present in every moment.”

  “Do you both enter into this union freely and without coercion?”

  “We do.”

  “Join hands and turn to face each other.”

  “By divine right and human choice, you have become one today. No one may break what the gods have witnessed.”

  Silence settled over them, and after a moment, Leilei let out a long breath. “Congratulations, you are now wife and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

  Hazel laughed, but moved effortlessly to her knees before Gretel could move. Gretel felt a thrill race through her as Hazel cupped her face in her hands and kissed her.

  Sweet and shocking, she teased, brushing their lips against each other before pulling her head back fully and drinking her in with a demand that spoke of possession.

  “Remember you’re in a church, Mrs. Velois.”

  Hazel pulled away and looked back at the vicar. “Which of us are you talking to?”

  “And how did you know her name.” Gretel was still dizzy from the kiss, but she hadn’t missed the vicar’s words.

  “Hair the color of copper, a woman from Cyprea who would incur a fairy’s wrath… it wasn’t hard to guess.” Leilei stood. “Now you can leave this place a different woman who plans to lead a different life.”

  Gretel stopped her before she could walk too far. “Before we go, we’d like to make a small donation.”

  Hazel’s brows rose when she said small, but she followed behind them as she led Leilei outside.

  The irzahara-turned carriage waited for them, and Gretel was surprised it hadn’t drawn a crowd. When she stepped around the back, she was surprised-though she probably shouldn’t have been, to see that the large trunk on the back had split in two. Fairy magic was incredibly useful.

  “Hazel and I will carry it inside. I’d suggest you find a place to put it.”

  Eyes narrowed at the trunk, Leilei nodded and disappeared back inside.

  “A small donation?”

  “I didn’t want her to argue with me.”

  They hefted down the larger of the two trunks and trundled inside with it. It was lighter than she’d expected.

  They set it at Leilei’s feet and the woman reached for it.

  Leilei hesitated, her hand hovering over the latch. “This is too much.”

  “It’s not. Besides, it was held by an evil woman for too long. It needs to do good in this world.”

  “Someday you’ll have to come back and tell me what really happened when you were gone.”

  “Or perhaps you’ll come visit us in Cyprea.” Hazel suggested.

  Leilei lifted the trunk lid, and coins slid out from the over-full trunk. She stared down at it, her eyes wide. “I have no idea what we’re going to do with all of this, but thank you.”

  She hugged Leilei goodbye, promised they would see each other again, and followed Hazel—her wife—out into the brightness of the day. Her happiness was too great to be spoiled by anything that life could throw her way.

  Not even her mother’s shrill voice.

  Hazel let out a frustrated sigh and stepped in front of her.

  Gretel watched in horror as her mother led a man dressed in too much leather toward them. “Arrest her! She kidnapped my daughter and she stole from Krell.”

  “I did neither of those things. As for your daughter, she’s my wife and you’ve been treating her like a child for too long.”

  Her mother’s face turned bright red and she sputtered for a moment before saying, “You had no right to go behind my back and steal her like that.”

  “She’s not your property.” Turning to the man beside her who may or may not have been one of Krell’s goons, she said, “If you want to charge me with something, get some real evidence, and come find me in Cyprea. My name is Hazel Velois and you should be able to find the palace easy enough.”

  Gretel barely registered the words before Hazel helped her up into the carriage and they were moving. “I’m sorry about her. I don’t know why she’s so awful.”

  “Like you said, she has demons of her own. When she faces them, it may change who she is.”

  Scooting closer, Gretel leaned against her.

  “I never thought this day would actually come. You’re my wife.” As soon as she said it, she bit her lip. “I’ve dreamed about this too many times… and now it’s real.

  “If you’re questioning reality, I can keep your head in the clouds a while longer.”

  Before Gretel could question what she meant, her lips were consumed. Hazel dragged her from the seat and explored her mouth going further with the same sort of kiss she’d initiated inside the church. It made Gretel weak and tingled through her every nerve.

  She could spend every minute of her life kissing this woman.

  Hazel’s finger’s slipped the fabric of her sleeves over her shoulders, and she pulled the dress down as far as Gretel’s corset would allow. Her breasts spilled out and Hazel’s mouth moved downward. Her lips and tongue caressed one tight bud while her hand cupped the other, thumb brushing over her sensitive nipple.

  “Hazel,” Gretel said, her voice so breathy it was almost inaudible.”

  “I know.” Hazel sank to the floor,
her fingers tracing up Gretel’s legs and slowly raising her skirt, bunching the fabric higher and higher, until her fingertips drew circles on the sensitive skin of her thighs.

  “I think this is a perfect way to expand our happiness.” She ran her finger along the wet seam between Gretel’s thighs and after making a noise that was almost a whimper, Hazel pressed inward, and Gretel forgot the rest of the world.

  EPILOGUE

  It took a month and a half, traveling by ship, train and carriage, but Hazel finally saw the spires of her family's home. They peeked out from above the clockwork forest around them and she took Gretel's hand in a nervous grasp. It had been too long.

  She sat back and closed her eyes as the wheels trundled over the familiar crunch of gravel, and Gretel rested her head on her shoulder. "I'll be happy if I never see another carriage again," she said with a yawn.

  Even with the myriad of ways they'd found to distract themselves on the drive, it had grown tedious to be entrapped by their journey.

  The carriage jostled to a stop, and she swallowed the lump in her throat as their hired footman opened the door.

  Sunlight streamed in and she considered--just for a moment-- how easy it would be to turn around, to run away and spend the rest of their lives in a cabin on the other side of the kingdom. Gretel might kill her for suggesting any more time cooped up.

  Stepping down, she moved to the side and let Gretel down after her. Regardless of formality, Hazel still wore the pants and boots she'd grown accustomed to during the six years she'd been gone. Gretel still refused to wear pants when, traveling and her dress flowed around her legs, gossamer blue silk swishing in the gentle wind.

  Before Hazel could say anything, a boy rushed out of the castle and skidded to a stop, blinking at them. He was dressed in a tiny suit that looked as though it was embroidered with silver.

  "Is that your brother?" Gretel asked from beside her with a gentle laugh.

  "He's a bit young to be that."

  "Miss Hazel. You're just in time! A day later and you would have missed it!" The boy hurried down the stairs, as though their conversation had galvanized him. "Lord Cat Chaser at your service. They're going to flip when they see you!"

  He paused, looking expectantly at Gretel and then said. "If you got married while you were gone, I don't think he's going to forgive you. He waited as long as your mother would let him. Come on!"

  Running back up the stairs, the boy who'd called himself Lord Cat Chaser disappeared inside and she shared a curious glance with Gretel before instructing the footmen to take their things inside. Arthur wouldn’t care that they’d been married. He’d never been sentimental over that sort of thing.

  Taking hold of Gretel's hand once more, Hazel led the way up the steps and into the home she'd grown up in. The entrance hall was filled to bursting with silver roses, a metal she'd never seen inside their castle before, and the balusters and walls were decorated with the trimmings of a wedding. The little boy's exclamations made more sense now.

  "It looks like we'll be attending a wedding."

  Gretel smiled and looked around them, hand still entwined with hers. It was an anchor, keeping her in place, keeping her from spontaneously combusting and letting the wind carry her ashes away. It was remarkable how out of place she felt in her own home.

  When someone finally stirred, it was a pair of servants who loaded their trunks onto a mechanical cart that walked with clockwork legs. Together they started up the stairs as a woman descended to them

  She had unearthly silver eyes and a smile that sparkled in the mid-day's light.

  "Arthur is out, and I know he'll be vexed that you arrived when he wasn't here." She held out her hand. "I'm Isabelle, and I suppose I'll be your sister tomorrow."

  "I was informed."

  "Yes, Lord Cat Chaser has never shied away from sharing information.”

  "Is he actually a lord?" Gretel asked from beside her.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten myself. “This is my wife, Gretel.”

  “Your wife?” Isabelle’s brows rose and her smile widened. “It is lovely to meet you. I’m so happy I won’t be the only one in this palace who finds the ways of our in laws to be strange.”

  “And Lord Cat Chaser?”

  “Oh yes! In a way, he is a lord. Arthur and I adopted all the boys.”

  “All the boys?” Hazel couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “Is that why mother demanded you marry so soon?"

  Isabelle smiled and briefly touched her stomach. “No, as it happens, your father insists that there be no contest that this one is the legitimate heir.”

  Hazel could just imagine her father’s delight at the prospect of another heir. “Where did all the boys come from?”

  "That is a story I think you should hear from Arthur. And you should probably talk to your mother and father about where they’ve been. They know how to make soap now… and very well."

  Hazel tilted her head. “I see. The Fairy had me indentured to a huntsman. It seems we may be the only royal family in Lonterra who happen to have each gained a trade.”

  Isabelle smiled and watched as the staff moved the trunks up the stairs. "Your room has been untouched—save for a much needed dusting. If you'd like to retire and rest from the journey, I’ll make sure no one disturbs you before dinner."

  Hazel nodded and asked that Arthur be sent up when he returned.

  Then they left her new sister and ventured into the palace she’d grown up in and lost.

  Holding tight to Gretel’s hand she walked up the flights of stairs, dodging troupes of boys as they made their way through the halls scampering like hellions.

  They paused twice, once so she could show Gretel the view from the tiny balcony set off one hallway, and once to look down through the myriad of walkways and stairwells that the highest tower stairwells looked down on.

  When they climbed the final steps, Hazel locked them in her room. It felt odd to think of it that way. She'd lived in such cramped quarters for the last six years that the space around her felt... too vast.

  The only thing that didn’t feel odd at all was that Gretel was here with her.

  “This is bigger than my whole house was.” Gretel said spinning in a circle in the center of the room.

  “We can move into a smaller room, or away from the palace altogether if you want.”

  She turned, a smile disparate to her narrowed eyes “It’s lovely. It’s you.”

  Turning around in their room, Gretel sat on the bed and glanced out the window. Even from this height they could hear the boys playing outside. “Do you think we might adopt a child one day?”

  “Maybe,” Hazel said, sinking down beside her. “But we will not be adopting a horde of boys.”

  When Gretel laughed, she leaned in and said, “If you want it to be ours, I know a chemist who could help….”

  “We’ve got time to decide that.” Gretel wrapped her arms around her and pulled them both back onto the bed.

  If they could survive a witch's desire to eat them... they could survive anything.

  And they lived happily ever after….

  Thank you!

  I hope you enjoyed reading HAZEL & GRETEL! Thank you for taking the time.

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  BEAUTY AND THE CLOCKWORK BEAST is the first story in the Clockwork Fairytales series. It is followed by HAZEL AND GRETEL and IRON HEINRICH (MAY 2016). They are stand-alone retellings and do not need to be read in order.

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  TURN THE PAGE FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER OF

  BOOK 2 IN THE CLOCKWORK FAIRYTALES:

  IRON HEINRICH

 
; ONE

  Heinrich could remember the first time Prince Maximillian had grabbed him by the wrist and ran with him through the palace. He’d been fourteen, the prince fifteen, and they’d been scolded by any number of staff before Max pulled him into a dark alcove and kissed him for the first time.

  This time, Max’s grip was lighter, his pace less harried. Unlike their first journey through the palace halls—and so many others like it-- today would not end with as pleasant a result.

  Max towed him through the doors to the Queen’s audience chamber and they both stopped as King and Queen looked up at them. The Queen’s iron painted lips were turned down in a scowl as though she hadn’t requested their presence. The King looked away, nervous as a dog who’d piddled on the carpet.

  “I see you brought your pet,” Hagnesofia said, sitting in her chair, unnaturally rigid. “That’s fine.”

  Max stepped to the center of the room and stopped. Hesitantly, Heinrich stood to his right, a step behind. “What do you want, Hagne?”

  “You will not be king.”

  Heinrich tensed. Max had no particular designs on the throne, but telling him he couldn’t do something was the fastest way to make him push back—to prove that he could.

  “I don’t plan to abdicate for your spawn.”

  Heinrich hissed a warning behind him. Pride was expected from royalty, but challenging a fairy—one pregnant with a royal child and tied to the world by a bond that could only be broken by the King himself—was insanity.

  Glancing sideways over his shoulder, Max shook his head. Heinrich could have argued with him, but the result would be the same as if he stayed silent. Chewing on his tongue, he waited.

  The smile that parted the Queen’s lips sent an evil shiver through Heinrich. Whatever the Queen intended from this meeting, it appeared Max had given it to her.

  “Maximillian Defreaux, you defy your Queen’s orders. That is treason and will be met with a just punishment.”

  “Don’t be like this,” the King said in a hushed tone everyone heard. “I told you, he’ll marry a girl from another kingdom and go there. We agreed.”