Fairy Tale Wedding (Book One: The Road to Ever After)

Chapter Nine

"Is that it," she skeptically asked. "You didn't even see the shape of a dragon in the sky?"

"Maybe not, but you have to admit, Adeline, everything else works out. Lady Jacqueline is watching us and it's perfectly simple to figure out why."

She gazed at him horror-stricken. This was the worst possibility imaginable. If her attempt to bring about a marriage alliance with the prince of Ever After threw her land into trouble, rather than security, she would probably cry straight away. Could she do nothing right for Once-upon-a Time? Were all her efforts futile? This was so unfair!

"Adeline, you have to start strengthening the outer defenses. The border must be protected," Gillroy urged.

The princess popped out of her frightened-to-the-point-of-meltdown trance.

"We don't know there are dragons in the kingdom, not for certain. It's something to investigate certainly, but I can't make any massive move until I have good, hard evidence. I have to think of my citizens' best interest. I'll send out a party tomorrow morning. You tell them where you were today and they'll look into it. Okay?"

Princess Adeline gave him a quick grin and then hastily scurried towards the steps. She wanted to get away so fast that she still held Dark Journey's brush. Before she could climb the first step, Gill called after her,

"Why are you doing this?"

She halted, dropping her foot back to the stable floor. With her face gazing straight ahead, she tried to sound resolved and detached.

"I cannot throw my people into panic over a possibility."

"That's not what I meant," he said.

Adeline felt the chill of the stable and trembled. It was time to face the deeper truth. Only dear Gill could bring it out of her secret heart and only dear Gill was worthy of hearing it.

As she turned towards him, she saw the urgent sadness in his eyes. If ever there was a true friend who wept with those that wept, he was standing before her. Those sympathetic eyes drew her back to the spot beside him.

"Oh Gill," she sighed. "It's not just the matter of finding a prince to finally make me a queen. The truth is..."

Adeline wavered, unable to finish off her statement. There was sorrow swelling in her throat. It took a few deep breaths to shove it back down. Gill covered her steadying hand on Dark Journey with his own rough and calloused fingers.

"The truth is – I'm lonely, Gill," she confessed. "I know I have wonderful friends and supporters in you and Eudora and Prewitt, but it's not quite the same thing, is it? I'm not only a princess; I'm a woman and I want what most every woman wants. I want to love someone and be loved in return. Is that so preposterous?!"

"No," Gill comforted in a whisper. "Not at all, Adeline. But, I wish you wouldn't let your critics pressure you into rushing things. If you were thrust into a loveless marriage," his grip on her hand pressed tighter, "I'd die."

Adeline stared into his glistening eyes. He looked like he would burst from worrying over her. What would she ever do without him?

"Gill," she said, rushing into a tight hug, "sometimes I feel like this stable is my home more than those grand rooms upstairs."

"I'm glad," he said. He held her in his arms and it was nearly bliss. Nearly.

"I miss the old days, don't you," she confided.

"Yes," he responded. "All the time."

"We had such fun back then when no one meddled in our friendship. No rules, no barriers, just kids being kids. We could say anything, play anything, fantasize any future. Why did those days have to go away?"