Page 32 of Rose's Untamed Bear

My father's face brightened at the name Serilda. It seemed that after all these years, after all that happened, he still held a soft spot for her.

I watched Rose’s hands as she sipped from her cup, watched the way she smiled when she looked at me, how her entire body seemed to lean towards mine. At that moment, I knew without a doubt that I never wanted to be without her again, not for a single moment, and knew what I had to do.

I set my cup aside and took her hand. “Rose,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Will you walk with me?”

She looked surprised, but nodded, and together we left the warmth of the royal solar and stepped into the cold gardens. The palace was lit from within, every window aglow, but the grounds were cold and silent, rimmed with moonlight and the memory of winter. We walked in silence, past the icebound fountains and the rows of dead roses. I could feel her hand tremble in mine, but she did not let go.

When we reached the edge of the garden, I stopped her. The world was so quiet, I could hear our breathing; the stars above us glittered like fragments of the vanished curse.

“There is something I must ask you,” I said, turning to her. “Something I have wished for since the day you first found me.”

She tilted her head, a lock of red hair falling across her cheek. “What is it?”

I dropped to one knee, not out of obligation, but because my legs gave way beneath the force of it. “Rose,” I said, the words catching on my tongue, “will you marry me?”

For a moment, she was frozen, as if the curse had found her after all. But then her eyes widened, and her lips parted in shock. “You—you want to marry me?”

I smiled, unable to help myself. “I want nothing more. You are my courage, my fire, my salvation. When the world saw a beast, you saw me. When I was lost, you gave me back my name. I am yours, wholly and without end.”

A sound escaped her, a laugh and a sob mingled together. She pressed her free hand to her lips, tears streaming down her face. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Derrick. A thousand times, yes.”

And then she leapt into my arms, nearly knocking me backward into the frozen grass. I held her close, my heart slamming against my ribs, and for the first time in all my cursed years, I felt truly, utterly whole.

We stayed there, tangled in each other, until the cold seeped through our clothes and reminded us of the world beyond ourselves.

Later, Snow would tell me the whole story, her eyes wide as saucers, and her voice bubbly with excitement.

How she and Mother had been sitting by the hearth, mending a torn sleeve, when the sound of wheels and hooves startled them both. They had gone to the door expecting a peddler—or perhaps some villager come to trade. Instead, there it was: a golden-painted carriage gleaming in the sunlight, its trim catching fire like dawn.

Mother had been speechless. Snow confessed she hadn’t been much better, but when the liveried guard bowed and announced that King Roderick and Prince Derrick wished for their company at court, she nearly fainted with joy.

“Mother went quiet,” Snow whispered to me, “but I… I could hardly breathe. I thought,This is it. The fairy tales are real. They’re here for us.”

And now here she was, by my side, practically glowing in silks she had never dreamed of touching, much less wearing. She spun in place, the skirt of her gown flaring, her pale cheeks flushed with delight. “Rose, just look at these dresses! I feel like I’ve been plucked right out of a storybook. And there’s a ball tonight, a real ball!”

Her laughter rang like bells. Then her eyes widened even more as she clutched my arm. “And you—you said you’re marrying Prince Derrick? Oh my God, Rose! Who would have thought that shaggy old bear was a prince?”

I laughed with her, even as tears stung my eyes and my heart swelled. “I did,” I whispered. “I thought he was more than a beast from the very beginning.”

Snow hugged me, fierce and tight, and for a moment, the years of fear, hunger, and struggle melted away. We were just sisters again, standing on the threshold of something wondrous, the weight of curses finally lifted.

A few hours later, the ballroom blazed with light. Chandeliers glittered with a hundred candles, their flames caught and multiplied in mirrored walls until it felt as if we stood in the heart of the sun. Music swelled from the corner, violins and lutes weaved a tapestry of sound that set the courtiers spinning in their silks.

I had never seen anything like it. Never imagined I would stand in a place like this, gowned in satin, my hair braided with pearls, Derrick’s hand warm around mine.

At the far end of the hall, King Roderick stood tall, the very image of strength returned. And beside him—my breath caught—was Mother. Dressed in pale blue, her hair pinned with jeweled combs, her cheeks glowing with so much color I had never seen before. The King held her hand as if it were the most precious jewel in the room, his eyes fixed on her with a love so fierce it made my chest ache.

When the music faded, he lifted his free hand, and the hall stilled.

“Tonight,” his voice boomed, filling every corner, “we celebrate our freedom. We celebrate life returned to us after twenty long years of stone. We celebrate thisDay of Waking. And tonight, I declare before you all that joy has returned to my house in full.”

He turned, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and then down to Derrick and me.

“My son, Prince Derrick, has chosen a bride. Rose Red, daughter of Serilda, who saw past a beast and found the man within. She is courage, she is light, and she is the woman who will be our future queen. I give you their betrothal!”

Gasps rose, followed by applause, cheers that shook the hall. My cheeks burned, my hand trembled in Derrick’s grip as he drew me closer, and pride shone in his golden eyes.

And through it all, the King did not release my mother’s hand. His thumb traced the back of her knuckles, his gaze drank her in as though twenty years had not passed, as though stone had not separated them. Love, raw and unhidden, poured from him in every glance. His curse had ended, but so had hers; the long years of loneliness had been shattered at last.