Sample: A Stolen Kiss (Book #1 in A Stolen Royals series)

Chapter 6: A Broken Curse

The momentary balloon of hope rising in Maria's chest deflated. Find the sorceress who cursed her?

"You're joking."

"I'm afraid not." Daniel didn't seem keen on the idea himself. "With magic this powerful, you have to have it undone from the source. You'd need to find her and either get her to tell you how the binding is meant to work, or have her remove the spell."

"She's not just going to remove the curse," Sarah said, folding her arms across her chest.

"She might. It would depend on why she cast it in the first place. Do you know?"

"I don't," Maria confessed. "No one's ever known why she targeted me. Do you think she'd tell me? How would I even begin to find her?"

"She was last known to be heading west. We could go with you and help. De—Daniel knows everything there is to know about magic and potions. He could help us find her by reading the magical footprints." Sarah beamed, but Maria saw Daniel shoot his sister a glare.

"It's settled, then." Humphrey clapped his hands together, his mouth twisting into a determined smile. "We'll leave first thing in the morning. I'll tell my parents you accepted, and we'll slip away before anyone can stop us. Daniel, you work in the stables? Have the horses ready by sunrise. Sarah, have the princess's bag packed and gather food from the kitchens. I'll get the necessary defensive equipment. My love," Humphrey bowed with gallant grace before her, "We'll find a way to end this curse."

"Yes, well...midnight is approaching, and we want to get as much sleep as possible." Maria ushered the men toward the door. "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight!"

With the door closed, Maria rested her forehead against the polished wood. Behind her, Sarah rummaged through the armoire in search of traveling clothes. The sound of searching ceased.

"Maria?"

Maria twisted around, still resting against the door, and slid down it. Sarah abandoned her packing and knelt before her.

"We're going to figure this out. My brother has the knowledge, and Humphrey has the courage. Please don't be upset."

"I know. I think I'm just tired. Would it be possible to pack in the morning before we go?"

"Of course. Let me help you into your nightclothes, and then you can be off to sleep."

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Once Sarah shut the door behind her, Maria let out an exasperated cry and fell face first onto her bed.

No. No. No. No. NO! How could this be happening?

All her life she'd been patient and kept up appearances, only to have her hopes dashed against the jagged rocks of despair. What had she ever done to deserve this? Nothing!

Okay, maybe not nothing. . .

Maria rolled over onto her back, blowing a mess of stray strands of hair away from her face. Midnight ticked ever closer, and with each passing second her stomach twisted. Would she turn into a swan again, as she had earlier? Had she gotten herself into this ugly mess with her lies? She'd forgotten how horrible and strange it felt to be a winged creature.

After all, she hadn't transformed in nearly nine years.

Midnight came and passed, and still Maria lay in human form. Exhaling the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, she shoved up from her bed and moved to the doors of her balcony. Though the night had cooled, she still felt warm as she surveyed what little she could see of her kingdom in the night's darkness.

Not a swan.

Why, then, had she transformed earlier?

The last time she could remember sprouting feathers, she'd been nine years old. That horrible year, each sunset meant she'd turn into a hideous little cygnet. Hating it as much as she did, she'd begged her parents to never let anyone be with her when she changed. Then, one night the sun set and nothing happened.

Elated, Maria ran the length of the castle to the queen's chambers. Her mother's door stood ajar, and as Maria nudged it open, she overheard her mother and father speaking.

"We should be thankful," her mother said. "This curse has been a gift from the heavens. We have offers pouring in from all the neighboring kingdoms. Once we announced Maria's eligibility, princes were throwing their crowns into the ring."

She heard her father speak next. "Who knew a curse could save our kingdom. Once we choose a prince and they're both of age, he can break the curse and we'll have a future king prepared to rule. It's the first sigh of relief I've been able to breathe since discovering the only child we'd be able to have was a girl."

"Such a shame," her mother agreed. "I guess we can see it as a blessing, then. If Gilda was going to curse us to have no more children, at least she made the child we had of use to us."

"You know, you might be on to something there, dear. Though I wish she would have told us why she was so angry. Might have saved all of that banishment business we went through. It is rather aggravating to not have a royal sorceress anymore."

"Mm, quite. No way of getting her back, though. She didn't leave a forwarding address."

"The lynch mob might have prevented it," the king agreed. "Ah, well. No matter. When Maria turns eighteen, this will all be sorted out, and no one will have to worry about her being born a girl."

Crushed, Maria had returned to her room, locked the door, and wept into her pillow. Her parents hadn't wanted her, and she'd been cursed because they weren't happy with a girl. She wasn't good enough to rule the kingdom on her own. The curse would save her and her people.

A terrifying thought flitted through her young mind. If the potential princes knew her curse was broken, they wouldn't want to come and break it. No prince meant no king...and no king meant her parents might chuck her out as a useless failure for getting rid of the curse by herself.

From then on, Maria kept up the pretense. Each night she shut herself away in her room and locked the door, pretending the curse still worked its magic over her. It wasn't until Humphrey arrived things fell apart.

Now everything was a giant mess, and she'd turned into a swan again. Restless, Maria pulled on her robe and swung her leg over the balcony edge, her toes finding purchase in the thick vines climbing the castle wall.

Tonight, she wanted to be free of her tower.

Looks like things aren't always as they seem. Why do YOU think Maria is turning into a swan again? Also, how about a bit of girl power and let your daughter run the country? As always, hit that little star in the corner if you enjoyed this chapter!