Page 89 of Apples Dipped in Gold

I pulled my claws from the glass and sailed down the side of the mountain.

As I neared the bottom, I shoved them into the mountain to slow my descent. The sound tore at my insides, but again, I did not care. Once my feet touched the ground, I nearly fell as I raced to my beloved, falling to my knees beside her.

She was pale, her face void of color and her lips blue.

“Samara!” I breathed, shaking her before pressing my ear to her chest, but there was no heartbeat, no signs of life.

“No,” I said as a keen wail tore from my throat. I gathered her into my arms, tucking her head beneath my chin, rocking her back and forth. “No, please! This cannot be. Please come back. Please don’t leave me.”

“Oh, Prince,” said Friedrich as he approached.

I pulled away and stared at Samara’s beautiful face through my tears.

“I love her, Friedrich,” I said. “I love her, and I never told her.”

“Tell her now, Prince,” he said. “Tell her and kiss her.”

I took a shaky breath and rested my forehead rest against hers. “I was wrong to never say it, wrong to never believe it. I love you, Samara. I love you more than anything in this terrible world.”

I kissed her, though she was cold, and then I held her to me and willed her to be warm.

It was only a moment after that I felt her fingers in my hair and heard her speak my name. I pulled away to find her eyes open, her cheeks and lips as rosy as they were before.

“Lore,” she whispered and placed her palm flat against my cheek. She looked at me in wonder, as if I were the miracle.

“Samara,” I said, holding her face in my hands, marveling at the life in her beautiful blue eyes. “You are not a curse at all but a gift. You are my dream come true and my greatest wish. I love you. I have loved you since the moment I saw you seven years ago.”

“I know,” she said and smiled so sweetly, I could not help kissing her.

She pulled away and gasped, looking over my shoulder where I knew Friedrich stood.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I am Fox,” he said, bowing. “Or Friedrich if you’d like.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but I stopped her. “Pretend he doesn’t exist,” I said and kissed her again, longer this time. I was slow to stop, letting my lips linger against hers.

“Marry me, Samara of Gnat,” I said when I pulled away.

She smiled and answered, “No.”

“What? Why not? We love each other, do we not?”

“I will marry you eventually,” she said. “But only after you have lived with me in my quiet cottage by the moor for at least a year.”

“Beloved,” I said, nuzzling her nose with mine. “Your heart is my home. I will go wherever you lead.”

And they lived happily ever after.