Rebel Rose

by Emma Theriault

For all those who dream of adventure in the great wide somewhere.

But promises born out of fear do not carry the same weight as those born out of love. A

to Lio, she was a girl worthy of a prince and a kingdom, and to herself, she was a girl who could tame her restless spirit and be happy with stillness. She wondered which of their illusions would shatter first.

“To hell with the king and his plans,” he whispered in her ear. “We’ve got plans of our own.”

She had half a mind to demand he present her with another library for her troubles.

Women had to be emotionless in order to be taken seriously by men like him, and Belle was nothing if not passionate about her beliefs.

“Only a monarch truly undeserving of their crown would fear a learned populace.”

You’re not the boy they knew; you’re a man they don’t recognize. Something marks you as separate, and they won’t ever understand it.”

was in that darkness for ten years before you gave me a reason to seek the light,”

Fear was as much a motivator as hate. Fear made monsters out of men.

“I’d caution you not to judge a whole group based on the actions of the violent minority.

“I recommend walking this earth burdened by the notion that most anyone can surprise you. It will make your life easier.”

“You have seen my darkest moments; don’t ever try to spare me yours.”

She was someone who didn’t belong anywhere.

It wasn’t love, that came later, but it was contentment.

If the worst happened, be it the noblemen revolting or the peasants rising up, or the return of the curse they had fought so hard to defeat, Aveyon would need her to be strong enough for a whole country. Belle didn’t know if she had that kind of strength in her.

“But I am him, Belle, don’t you understand?” His voice was frantic. “I lived as him for so long he will always be a part of me.”

“One disagreement isn’t going to make me want to leave you, Lio. I chose you and I’ll keep choosing you, even when it’s hard.”

“I’m not sure any of us will ever fully heal, love. We’ve all got our cracks and tears, but we learn to live with them. I’d wager it’s like that for anyone who has seen trauma.”

“We women are always twisting ourselves into knots for those we love without a care or consideration for how it might affect us.”

“You must always consider your own feelings as much as you consider his. More, even.”

“You’re right: Everything is different. Everything has changed. Borders, titles, allegiances… My point is that amid all this upheaval, you can stay the same. You can be the constant the kingdom needs you to be.” She looked out to the horizon. “The person you are now is the same person who saved our kingdom. Why should you ever want to change into someone else?”

The bad things that happen in our lives serve to shape us just as much as the good.”

suppose love is one of the rare things that trumps protocol.”

“It was a bit like falling in love in a place out of time. It didn’t matter that we didn’t make sense together; it didn’t matter who he was or who I was. We just…fell.”

“If we are willing to open our doors to the rich, then we must also be willing to open our doors to the poor.

She thought perhaps it was time for men like them to fear what a woman could do.

“It will be a magical thing, I think, to watch a kingdom come together to rebuild itself.”

“You are not to address me unless it is to apologize for being a duplicitous ass.”

Being family wasn’t reason enough to forgive someone after they betray your confidence.

“We don’t need to be protected from our people, we need to listen to them.

“I know, but perhaps that means you are better equipped than most to handle one.”

“The greatest tragedy was that Gaston died not knowing how much you cared for him, regardless of whether or not he returned those affections.”

She had not thought herself worthy of that authority, but what she had not understood was that in her absence, someone else would swoop in to take it.

Belle would have to be strong enough for her kingdom, and despite her fears, she felt for the first time that she was.

“You were always going to be the one to save Aveyon.”

“Because I know what it is like to live with hate in your heart, and how difficult it is to let go of it.”

“I’m just trying to be a bit more like my wife by seeing the good in someone instead of only the bad.”

“Your legacy is nothing but ash and ruin, and your greatest punishment will be never witnessing Aveyon grow into the kingdom it should be, the one you imagined it could be. Pity for you that such things cannot be felt from inside a prison cell.”

“There’s nothing like an assassination attempt to endear a king to his people, no matter how much of an ass he’s been.”

Belle was different now too, changed from the poor, provincial girl she had once been to a queen in her own right.

Her eyes found Lio’s amid the chaos. She had fallen in love with his soul long before she knew him in this body, but the eyes were the same.

They were born to rule, whereas she was born to nothing. The oaths they swore were to the French crown, but her oath was to her kingdom alone.