Breaking Free (27 page)

I poke him in the chest.  “Three months until you see the rest of it.  But, yes, I’ve done well.”

He grabs my hand and kisses my wrist.  “I agree, though.  You’ve given me strength.  More than I ever imagined I could have.”

We’re quiet for a few moments and then he says, “Once upon a time, there was this
incredible, hot, out-of-this-world king, at least according to the queen.”

“
She must have really been in love with him.”

“Madly.”

“What was she like?”

“Gorgeous, of course.   And real.  She’d tell it like it was.  But the best thing about her was he
r heart.  It was made of gold.  She never meant harm to anyone or anything.  The king needed that because his heart had been tested.”

“It sounds like
he went through a rough time.”

“Things were
quite dark until he met her.  He grew up in the faraway lands where laws were lacking and nobility was determined by the size of the sword.”

“
I bet he had a big sword,” I say with a giggle.

“On a side note, the queen had a very dirty mind.”

“But the king liked it.”

“Very much so.”

I grab his hands and pull his arms around me.  “How did they meet?”

“
Living in the castle was never as glamorous as it seemed.  The queen, when she was just a princess, rebelled against her parents who didn’t have time for her.  She walked away from the life of luxury to live as a peasant in the magical forest.”

“What was magical about it?”

“It solved people’s problems.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It could be. But you had to bow down to the mystical bloated toad.  Do whatever she said whenever she said it.”

“I bet the bloated toad would rather be a
swift gazelle.”

“Well, the bloated toad took down the very buff future king all on her own
.  He wasn’t too happy with her over that so he can call her a bloated toad if he wants to.”

I laugh and then ask,
“What would happen to the queen if she didn’t bow down to the bloated toad?”

“She’d
be banished to the land of insatiable beasts.”

“
That sounds awful.  Was she?”

“Almost, but
the future king stepped in to save the day.   He saw the damsel in distress—“

“I doubt she was really in distress.”

“Oh, there was distress.  Missing shoes, bloody knees, tears.  Lots of tears—”

“
What did the king do?” I ask to stop him.

“
He convinced her to kiss the bloated toad’s ass until her problems were solved.”

“Wow, that’s quite a picture you’ve painted.”

He chuckles and then continues, “Everything was going well until the future king’s archenemy sabotaged them in the magical forest.”

“Uh oh.”

“Exactly.  He was a weak excuse for a man so he snuck up on them while they were sleeping and tried to behead them with his sword.”

“I bet he had a really small sword.”

“Without a doubt.  Luckily for them, a wise owl saw what was happening.  He used his magical powers to open up the earth beneath the nemesis and swallow him whole.  Before he disappeared, though, the nemesis cast a sleeping spell on the future king, rendering him completely helpless.”

“The queen must have been very scared.”

“She was also the key.  All it took was her kiss to break the spell.”

“It’s like they were meant to be together.”

“That’s what the future king thought until he realized the spell wasn’t completely broken.  He was no longer the strong man he once was.”

“I’m sure the queen loved him just as much, even if he was an ass and shoved her away.”

“He learned that eventually.  The queen kept her distance, but sent special items to let the king know how she felt.”

“What kind of items?”

“The things his heart and body needed to heal.  As you can tell, she was pretty much perfect for him in every way.”

“I bet it made her happy to he
ar that,” I say, tilting my head so I can see his face.

He smiles.

“What happened after they became king and queen?”

“Well, many, many, many, many, many
years later they had two beautiful heirs, Prince Jalen and Princess Jenna who would play in the field of wild daisies in front of the castle.  They were named after very important people the queen and king never wanted to forget.”

“
We won’t forget them,” I whisper, touching his leg.  “What happens next?”

Before JC can answer, the first firework explodes above the castle, showering the turrets with red and blue sp
arks.  Music starts playing and JC squeezes me tightly.

“
They live happily ever after, of course.”

THE END

About the Author

SM Koz was born in Michigan, but moved to North Caroli
na for college and never left.

She enjoys traveling, camping, hiking, photography, reading, spending time with foster kids who call her house home, and learning new things.  When she’s not creating online training for pharmaceutical companies (her day job) or writing, Koz can be found at the local community college taking courses on various topics ranging from digital art to HTML to desktop pub
lishing.  Next in line are auto mechanics and cake decorating.

Being trained as a veterinarian, it’s not surprising that Koz and her husband were recently told they have a mini-zoo with their two dogs, fish, cockatiels, and
foster cats.  In the past, they have also had parakeets and a snake.  Other than the fish, all the animals were acquired through rescue organizations, something Koz wholeheartedly supports.

Breaking Free
is Koz’s third original novel and fifth overall, but the only one she feels compelled to publish at this time.  Her hope is that individuals who struggle with cutting may be inspired by Kelsie’s story and find the strength they need to begin the healing process.