Afterward

Much later that night, in the room I would eventually share with my king once we learned to share our words as much as our hearts, I curled up to sleep in a bed of soft fur scented with wild lavender. I wrapped my hand around the locket Harold had somehow known I would need and had delivered to me at the end of my strange woodland wedding. With it nestled in my palm, I felt the heaviness of Fate’s hand slip away. I sighed for the loss and for the release. Then sleep claimed me and I dreamed of a future of joy and light.

The End