Page 71

Epilogue

“ S o, when is your hair going to be pink again?” mused Grim, as he played with a strand of Serena’s hair.

She swatted his hand away, and continued to decorate the cake she was making for Nerida.“Why? Do you not like my hair this way?”

When he didn’t answer, she looked up to see his eyes smoldering with a familiar expression.

“You know exactly what I think about your hair, Selene. ”

She paused her icing, and looked at him, color high in her cheeks. “I-you said you didn’t remember much of your time there.”

The infuriating man grinned, leaning towards her. “I didn’t, then. But it’s been coming back to me in bits and pieces. Tell me, is there any way you could wear what you washed up on that beach in?”

Serena squeaked and pushed him away, knowing he was referring to the tiny scraps of fabric the curse had given her at the start of the tale. It was still a shock for her to discover this teasing playful side of Grim that was not weighed down by the spirits, or demons, or curses.

She quite liked it.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“I do miss the pink hair. I’ll probably go back to it as soon as I have time to make a new batch of berry dye.”

He nodded, a smile appearing on his face. “Good, I have to admit, I have a soft spot for the pink. It’s what you had when I first met you after all.”

He tugged a lock on her head and was lowering his head when she brushed away his hand again.

“Get out of the way, you beast,” she laughed, “I need to finish this cake before sunset.”

The Queen had let slip that she liked sweet things, and Serena thought it would be nice to bring along a cake in celebration when she arrived for the first day at the Faery Court.

The cake was coming along beautifully, decorated with icy flowers and butterflies made of sugar decorating the pale white icing. The sides were painted to look like the queen’s wings, cerulean with tints of emerald in some places.

Finishing her work a few minutes later, she surveyed it critically.

“Do you think she’ll like it? ”

Grim raised an eyebrow at her,

“Princess, you could bring her a rock and she would act like you’ve just gifted her another Silver Crystal.”

“That is not true,” she huffed in reply, but a smile tugged at her lips.

In a lot of ways Nerida reminded her of Aunt Maeve, but in other ways they were completely different.

Aunt Maeve had lived her life freely, never caring about what others thought, whereas every word Nerida uttered dripped with careful diplomacy.

She had also surmised that there had been something between them far deeper than mere friendship between the two.

She saw it in the way the queen’s eyes always softened with a bittersweet emotion every time she said her aunt’s name.

Serena wanted to ask her so many things about her aunt, about their relationship, but she sensed that the queen still grieved, and so had resolved to wait until Nerida was ready to talk to her about it.

“Alright then,’ she said, looking around, her heart tugging at the thought of leaving Primrose Cottage behind, “Time to go.”

Hearing the emotion in her voice, Grim put his arms around her. “We can come back here anytime. It’s not a long way from here.”

She nodded, trying her best to hold it together.

They walked to the Oak Tree in the woods, their belongings in tow. Serena whispered the words they had to say as tears flowed anew at saying farewell to this place. There was a flash of light, and then they were standing next to the Willow Tree in Faery.

“Well, here we are,” she said, looking around in apprehension.

Grim squeezed her hand. “It’ll feel like home soon enough.”

She was about to reply, when a chattering voice sounded. One of the sugar flowers on the cake was snatched off, and a cry of victory sounded before they saw a very familiar looking bushy tail disappear up the trunk of the willow tree .

“Nuts?” questioned Grim, incredulously, for it was the mischievous squirrel. He had apparently followed along and passed through the portal with them.

A beat, and then.

Serena erupted into gales of laughter, her jitters forgotten.

“Oh Grim,” she said, wiping away her tears of mirth, “I would say it feels like home already.”