I smiled at his enthusiasm. “I saw the tower yesterday too, but I left before you got there, I think.”
After thanking him, I turned to the photographers and reporters. Their cameras continued to flash even though the pictures would come back with the flash reflected on the windows. I was going to give them what they wanted. What they’d been following me for days to get. I was going to give them an interview. I wasn’t going to be honest with them, but I was going to speak to them, nonetheless. Their presence had been nothing but a nuisance, but with the Vizier out there, it was now a comfort. If I was surrounded by people, no matter how annoying, he wouldn’t be able to get me.
Let the reporters follow me. Let them walk the main street alongside me and take pictures of me stepping onto the Urbis Express. There was no way I was getting out of Urbis without my picture being on the front page of the Urbis newspapers anyway.
“Gentlemen,” I said, stepping out of the front entrance of the hotel, making sure to smile at the cameras. “I’m sure you’d all like to know what I’ve been up to here in Urbis.”
The men, for they were all men, pulled out their pencils and notepads and began to scribble while those with cameras carried on, snapping away.
“I’m here on vacation. I wanted to see the real Urbis, away from the confines of a royal tour. You found me out on my very first day.”
“What have you been doing in Urbis?” one of them asked.
“I visited the shops, and just yesterday, I took a train to see the Urbis Library. It is a place I’ve long wanted to visit alone. I’m sure you know my love of books.”
I only hoped none of them had seen me. I didn’t think so, and I supposed it didn’t matter.
“What about the day before when you visited Outer Urbis?”
I knew they’d ask me and I’d already come up with an answer.
“Outer Urbis was never on the schedule for any of the royal tours, and I wanted to see it for myself. I had a lovely evening looking at the shops there.”
“You threw a fireball at us,” the guy continued. “How did you do that?”
I laughed, hoping it sounded sincere. “A fireball? Let’s not get silly, gentlemen. There was a strange flash of lightning, I grant you, but let’s not make it into something it wasn’t.”
“We saw you conjure it. It came out of your hands. Are you magic?”
I held my hand up to my face. “Of course not. If I was magic, the press of Badalah would have already reported it. If it was a fireball, surely you’d have gotten burned. Are any of you burned, gentlemen?” I looked around them, already knowing their answer. I could have burned them if I’d have chosen to, but I’d thrown them some warning magic with only a hint of heat. The fireball had looked a lot more dangerous than it actually was.
“No, but...”
“Lightning!” I reiterated. “I wish I could do magic. As it is, I can’t.”
The cold I’d been so fearful off began to creep up on me, wrapping tendrils of ice around my heart.
“If you want to follow me, you’ll see I’m heading to the Urbis Express station to make my way home,” I said, trying to step through them.
The guy who’d been asking the questions stopped talking, and I thought I might be allowed to leave, but then another one began.
“What’s your take on what is happening in Badalah at the moment?”
I gritted my teeth and tried to keep the smile on my face. I did not want to have an in-depth discussion on the state of my kingdom. My eyes darted to each side, but the Vizier had yet to make his appearance known. These men couldn’t feel him, but I could. He was close. “I don’t quite know what you mean.”
“Your father has vanished.”
Damn. He knew about that? It meant that outside of Badalah, the people remembered him. It was little comfort. If the press were printing their stories, the mess we were in would spread like wildfire.
“My father is merely doing what I am doing. Taking a break. This is no conspiracy. We are just taking a little time for ourselves. I chose to come here, my father chose to vacation in Badalah.” Ok, it wasn’t exactly a lie. He was in Badalah somewhere. “My mother is perfectly capable of running the kingdom in our absence. Now, if you don’t mind, I have an airship to catch.”
I started to walk through them forcefully, but something stopped me. The cold intensified. I looked over my shoulder. About fifty feet down the alley, the Vizier stepped out from a side street, his purple and gold cloak flapping in the wind. Asher flew down to my shoulder.
“What about the unrest in Badalah?” the reporter asked, obviously unaware of the interloper. “There’s word that your mother is falling apart.”
“Excuse me,” I said, attempting to push through them. If the Vizier was coming, I didn’t want to be here.
A gust of wind hurtled down the narrow alley, blowing Asher from my shoulder and almost knocking me over with its severity. I grabbed hold of the hotel doorhandle as the reporters struggled to stay upright.
My options were limited. I could duck back into the hotel, try to push through the reporters, many of whom had fallen to the ground, or I could try another way.
“Asher!” I yelled as I ran deliberately toward the Vizier before ducking down a side alley. From memory, this whole place was a warren of alleys and passageways twisting and turning, maze-like to goodness only knew where. Ahead of me, Asher flew, pushing me to run faster. Another bolt of wind flew up the narrow passageway sending Asher spiraling through the air and me falling to the ground.
I turned over and pulled myself into a sitting position with the intention of getting up and running, but it was too late, the Vizier was already almost upon me.
“How did you do it, I wonder?” he said, scratching his goatee beard. “You were but a babe in arms.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I spat, trying to sound more defiant than scared.
“Defeated me. I was the most powerful sorcerer in all of Badalah.”
“My father defeated you.”
The vizier narrowed his black eyes at me, then threw his head back and began to laugh. “Aladdin? Ha. Aladdin was nothing but a street rat. It was only luck that he became Sultan. It should have been me.”
“My father became Sultan because my mother fell in love with him,” I said, finally getting to my feet. Asher hovered over my head, ready to guard me. He wouldn’t be able to, but I knew he’d try. “She fell in love with him because of all the good he did. Badalah has flourished since you left.”
“Not that I’ve seen. Poverty, thievery. It’s still there.”
“Maybe, but at least it’s not being done by those in charge.”
The Vizier’s eyes narrowed. “Aladdin might have done some things for Badalah, but he couldn’t defeat me.”
“Genie helped him.”
“Genie. I’d almost forgotten about him. One click of my fingers, and I’ll have him back in that atrocious lamp where he belongs. He is insignificant. I spent many, many years wondering how the Genie and a street rat defeated me, but it wasn’t them. You did it, or so I’ve been led to believe. I just don’t know how.”
“You are insane. I’ve never met you before.”
“Magic is a wondrous thing,” he said, stepping closer.
I took a step back, trying to eliminate his coldness with my own magic.
He pulled back his arm to lob another round of magic at me, but I was ready. I stood my ground, pulling all the heat I had left and hurtled it in his direction. The fireball lit up the alleyway, giving the grey buildings an orange glow. The Vizier’s face also lit up, but with shock. I didn’t stick around to see what he’d do next. Whistling to Asher, I turned on my heel and raced throug
h the alleys until I was back on the main road. From there, it was easy enough to find the Urbis Express station. I bought a ticket for the first airship leaving. It meant stopping in Zhore in Draconis first, but with the coldness looming again, I wasn’t prepared to hang around for the next Kisbu bound flight.
In the air, I scanned the ground to catch sight of him, but he was nowhere to be seen among the throngs of people. The effects of his magic didn’t leave me until we were over the outer wall of Urbis and Flying over Draconis. But it was clear. Whatever was happening with Badalah, the Vizier was part of it.
Read more in Throne of the Phoenix
After the Happily Ever After…
There is more to these stories. You want to know what happens next right? Fast forward eighteen years…
Pick up book one now
PREQUEL
SLEEPING BEAUTY
1. Queen of Dragons
2. Heiress of Embers
3. Throne of Fury
4. Goddess of Flames
LITTLE MERMAID
5. Queen of Mermaids
6. Heiress of the Sea
7. Throne of Change
8. Goddess of Water
RED RIDING HOOD
9. King of Wolves
10. Heir of the Curse
11. Throne of Night
12. God of Shifters
RAPUNZEL
13. King of Devotion
14. Heir of Thorns
15. Throne of Enchantment
16. God of Loyalty
RUMPELSTILTSKIN
17. Queen of Unicorns
18. Heiress of Gold
19. Throne of Sacrifice
20. Goddess of Loss
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
21. King of Beasts
22. Heir of Beauty
23. Throne of Betrayal
24. God of Illusion
ALADDIN
25. Queen of the Sun
26. Heiress of Shadows
27. Throne of the Phoenix
28. Goddess of Fire
CINDERELLA
29. Queen of Song
30. Heiress of Melody
31. Throne of Symphony
32. Goddess of Harmony
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
33. Queen of Clockwork
34. Heiress of Delusion
35. Throne of Cards
36. Goddess of Hearts
WIZARD OF OZ
37. King of Traitors
38. Heir of Fugitives
39. Throne of Emeralds
40. God of Storms
SNOW WHITE
41. Queen of Reflections
42. Heiress of Mirrors
43. Throne of Wands
44. Goddess of Magic
PETER PAN
45. Queen of Skies
46. Heiress of Stars
47. Throne of Feathers
48. Goddess of Air
URBIS - Coming soon
49. Kingdom of Royalty
50. Kingdom of Power
51. Kingdom of Fairytales
52. Kingdom of Ever After
A NEW FAIRYTALE ANTHOLOGY
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Cherish this mesmerizing set of 20 classic tales retold by a collection of best-selling and award-winning authors. Each novel-length story features a different take on your favorite fairytale.
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Fairytales include:
Alice in Wonderland by J. A. Armitage and J.A. Culican
Cinderella by Kimbra Swain
Snow White and Rose Red by Eileen Mueller and A.J. Ponder
Beauty and the Beast by Beth Hale
Aladdin by Zara Quentin
Rumpelstiltskin by Craig Halloran
Sleeping Beauty by Stacey O'Neale
Wizard of Oz by Amanda Marin
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Lacy Sheridan
Red Riding Hood by May Dawson
Rapunzel by Anne Stryker
Sinbad the Sailor by Cassidy Taylor
Robin Hood by Jacque Stevens
Little Match Girl by Lee Ann Ward
Twelve Dancing Princesses by Kit Winters
Mulan by Charlotte Daniels and Charlie Daniels
The Nightingale by IreAnne Chambers and Rachel McManamay
The Girl without Hands by Daphne Moore
Nix of the Mill Pond by Astrid V.J
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A note from the author
The Kingdom of Fairytales authors hope you enjoyed this new way of reading. We don’t think that a series has ever been set with one chapter a day thought a whole year before and we hope we did it justice.
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The Kingdom of Fairytales Team
These books would not be written without a great many people. Here is our team:
Many thanks to those who have made this possible.
Thank you to Rhi Parkes without whom, this series would never have come about.
Thanks to all the authors.
J.A. Armitage, Audrey Rich, B. Kristen Mcmichael, Emma Savant, Jennifer Ellision, Scarlett Kol, R. Castro, Margo Ryerkerk, Zara Quentin, Laura Greenwood and Anne Stryker
Also thank you to our amazing Beta team
Nadine Peterse-Vrijhof, Diane Major, Kalli Bunch and Stephanie Pittser.
Thank you to our Patrons
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About J.A. Armitage
J.A lives in a total fantasy world (because reality is boring right?) When she's not writing all the crazy fun in her head, she can be found eating cake, designing pretty pictures and hanging upside down from the tallest climbing frame in the local playground while her children look on in embarrassment. She's travelled the world working as everything from a banana picker in Australia to a Pantomime clown, has climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and the bottom of the Grand Canyon and once gave birth to a surrogate baby for a friend of hers.
She spends way too much time gossiping on facebook and if you want to be part of her Reading Army, where you'll get lots of freebies, exclusive sneak peeks and super secret sales, join up here
https://www.subscribepage.com/v7o8k4
Somehow she finds time to write.
About R.Castro
A daughter, sister, wife, and most importantly, a mother.
R. Castro c
lings to her unwavering faith in God, as she treks through this journey called life.
Writing has encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone, as she continues enjoying the beautiful diversity our world has to offer.