Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince who screwed with the wrong Faery princess. And because he was too much of a butt hurt to let an old grudge go, he came to me. He should have known better.
See, I like numbers. And celestial events. Also magic, fairy tales, wicked, wicked bad guys, tragic heroes and the kind of heroines I would want for a best friend. But the prince didn’t know all this when he took up residence inside my cranium. Nope, all he knew was that he wanted a memoire. And a portrait. And PR.
Me? I like the number three. So I gave him three chances to redeem himself, and when he didn’t, three females to drive him insane, three nights a month to reflect on what he’d done, three hundred years to grow up and take responsibility for his actions, and one final chance to save his soul. Aren’t I a generous Faery Godmother?
When it came time to let him loose upon the world, I chose May 5th, 2012. 5+5+2+0+1+2 = 15, a number perfectly divisible by three. That it just so happened to be a full moon-and the biggest, brightest one of the year, to boot- was just a coincidence. No, really, it was. But I take it as a sign that the universe had aligned itself in favor of my poor, cursed prince. I have to say, after all I put him through he sort of deserves a royal send-off.
So here I sit today, exhausted after a late night getting him ready for his debut, and early morning when I couldn’t sleep, trying to think of something profound to say about my darling (note the sarcasm) Bastien. I keep thinking something along the lines of, “Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory lasts forever,” but that just wouldn’t be his style. So I suppose I should just let him speak:
The first rays of sunlight turn the world gray, then warm yellow, then all the colors of the rainbow. I watch the warmth of its rays touch my human skin, breathe in deep of the morning air and feel life, glorious, invigorating life, seep into my very soul. It is day, and it is my time. Night belongs to fairy tales. Well, perhaps that would be me as well. I hear whispers of awe, sense dozens, hundreds of hungry eyes on me. They want me, one and all. The knowledge makes me chuckle. I meet each gaze in turn and smile. “Come and get me.”
Bastien, prequel to The Beast is now available at Smashwords and All Romance eBooks. Look for it on Amazon later today.