Not My Fairytale

Chapter 19

**Huge thanks to @vizirs for the incredible new cover!**

An Unwanted Guest

"Look at this one, Giules!" I spun at the sound of my mother's excited tone, finding her holding a pale blue dress up to her body.

I grinned. "It's pretty, Mom." She examined her reflection in the mirror, the dress still held up to her chest. It was actually relatively plain, as dresses go, but that was typical of my mother's shopping style. She never had the money for fancy things before meeting my father, and still had the tendency to avoid the needlessly extravagant, even now, with more money at her disposal than her younger self could have ever imagined.

"I'm going to buy it," she announced, and a very bored Lance leapt at the chance for something to do, rushing forward to take the garment from her hands, to which she responded with a warm smile.

I only chuckled quietly, still smiling myself. A one-on-one outing with my mother had become all too rare of late, this being the first one since finding out about her pregnancy nearly a month and a half ago. I knew, of course, that the moment her lady's maid, Eden, caught sight of the dress when we returned, that she would call up the best seamstresses in the castle to add beading or embroidery of some kind to make it a gown more befitting a queen. But for now, I was just relishing this happy, peaceful moment together.

We perused the racks for a few minutes more, before paying for the dress and exiting back out onto the busy street.

Many stopped to point and wave at our little trio as we strolled down the cobblestone walkway. My mother never failed to smile and wave back.

We dipped into another little shop, this one filled with hand-crafted wooden objects of all shapes and sizes. My mother spotted a collection of cradles in the back, and Lance trudged after her, the bags in his hands swaying with each step. I hung back, glancing around the room, before meandering to the opposite end, and peering into the glass case there. Inside, was a lone dagger, the blade made from some kind of dark metal. The hilt was made of shining, polished, cherry colored wood. Intricate vines were etched into the wood, twining delicately down the length, leading to a pommel carved in the shape of the head of a wolf, teeth bared in a snarl. It was beautiful and cruel in an enticing sort of way that I found myself unable to look away from.

When I finally managed to tear my eyes from the weapon, I took a step back, realizing that I had drawn close to the glass in my inspection. I bumped into a hard chest. "Woah there, careful now, princess," came a familiar velvety voice, warm breath whispering against the shell of my ear, sending a shiver dancing down my spine. My own breath caught in my throat and I spun to find myself face to face with Angelo, amusement sparkling in his bright eyes.

Before I could make a show of putting distance between us, he stepped around me to peer inside the glass case, taking a moment to inspect the dagger that I had been so engrossed by. He chuckled, turning back around to look at me, "Why am I not surprised by that?"

I rolled my eyes, glancing over my shoulder to make sure we were out of my mother and Lance's lines of sight, and crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you doing here?"

He clucked his tongue in a reproachful manner as he wagged a finger. "Now, now," he cooed, "let's be polite. First, I believe, you are supposed to ask how I've been since you last saw me."

I narrowed my eyes, unamused, "What are you doing here?"

He evaded my question again, asking in the same teasing tone, "Did I miss a sign on the door that says this shop is for royals only? Or is it only closed to peasants on Sunday's? I'll admit adjusting to your culture has been a bit challenging for me, there's still much to learn."