Pathways (The Kingdom Chronicles, #1)
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Read between December 27 - December 29, 2021
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“I imagined you’d met a dark and handsome stranger in the woods and fallen madly in love.” I snorted. “Please no.” “Don’t you dare protest how I choose to write my stories,” she said. “When you play the heroine in Rosie’s tales, even you long for true love rather than continuing to stubbornly entertain your delusions that you want a future devoid of romance.” “They’re not delusions; I don’t want to fall in love.”
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Life could use more magic. It’s found in abundance in storybooks.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, today’s scene in The Tale of Rosalina has been rather dull, considering I’ve spent so much of it waiting and we have yet to do anything to fill this chapter with adventure.” She gave me a sharp, accusing glare.
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Whether Father had left on purpose or something had happened to him, love wasn’t worth the pain it inflicted, especially not when the fickle emotion was too fleeting to ever last.
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“Perhaps it does, perhaps it doesn’t. That’s the funny thing about paths; you can’t see where they lead unless you walk them.”
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“You can’t dismiss an initial attraction; it’s what draws two individuals together in order for them to explore one another’s hearts and discern whether they’re a perfect match or not.”
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For a moment we sat in silence as she gazed unseeing at the walls of books enclosing us like a cocoon, as if appealing to her beloved stories for inspiration. Then she straightened, expression determined.
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She trailed off with a knowing smirk, as if she’d already read the end of my tale and discovered it played out exactly as she envisioned it would;
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Forest leads me to whichever destination it has in mind, each more magical than the last. I feel it’s always waiting to show me something new. It’s taken me to lakes, meadows, orchards, groves of changing trees…” Aiden gave me a cheeky grin. “…me?”
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The leaves merely swayed in response, feigning innocence despite my laying their betrayal at their roots.
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We worked in cozy silence for several minutes before I paused in sewing up a hole in my apron to watch Mother. A soft contentment filled her gentle features as she focused on the mending in her lap. I marveled at her quiet strength that had sustained us these last ten years since our lives had transformed so drastically.
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I closed my eyes and touched the locket around my neck, transported to one such moment when our little family sat tucked inside our snug cottage around the fire as a storm raged outside. Mother and Father had snuggled together as they worked, while I’d lain on my stomach in front of the hearth, sketching. I looked up in time to witness Mother and Father exchange adoring smiles before Mother returned to her mending and Father to his whittling…until
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His thirst for adventure, his restless spirit…all had eclipsed his love.
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abandonment had done this to me, surely losing someone more dear in the future would destroy me completely. I couldn’t survive being broken twice. Thus I had to protect what was left of my heart at all costs.
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the first step in overcoming the fears that had kept me captive for so long.
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“The Forest is fascinating, isn’t it? It can bridge any distance—no matter how vast—effortlessly by simply changing its paths. It can make any journey as short or as long as it wants and can lead one anywhere. It adds a bit of mystery to one’s destination, doesn’t it?”
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tossed my apple core at him but he easily dodged it. “How can you be friendly one moment and odious the next?” “Impeccable skill.” I rolled my eyes. “And I have to serve as the victim you practice on?” “Thank you for being so willing.”
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“You’re right; you’re not a child anymore, and I need to stop being afraid for you. An impossible task, no doubt, considering it’s a mother’s job to worry, especially about the only loved one she has left. But I need to allow you to live your own life.”
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The path eventually opened up to a rosy-violet-tinted lake, appearing as if its water had been dipped in sunset. Weeping cherry trees surrounded the lake like a halo, their pink blossoms falling like gentle snow onto the surface of the water, causing artistic ripples to dance across the surface of the lake.
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could feel it in the swaying branches, each surrounding tree containing one of his memories, preserved forever within its limbs.
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“Are you glaring at the silverware, Gemma?” Princess Elodie whispered. I rapidly raised my gaze in time to see Prince Liam pick up his knife and examine it with a frown. “Can you blame her? It does seem rather offensive.”
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I thought it easier to be alone than to face the heartbreak of losing someone so close to me again.”