Autumn Awakens Read online

  © 2019 Melissa Padgett (M. J. Padgett)

  Copyright registered with the US Copyright Office

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. This work may not be translated except by permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. The names, occupations, events, incidents, and businesses are products of the author’s imagination. Certain cities, states, countries, and institutions are mentioned, but the characters involved are wholly imaginary. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. Certain creative liberties have been taken with regard to procedure and function of some occupations, agencies, locations, and events to suit the purpose of this work of fiction. None are intended to represent actual agencies, agency procedures, persons, or events, and any factuality is purely coincidental.

  First Edition 2019

  Black Forest Tales Publications

  Printed in the United States of America

  Cover Design by: Melissa Padgett (M. J. Padgett)

  Shutterstock #499710811 Keng Merry Paper Art

  Shutterstock #1118727302 Keng Merry Paper Art

  Shutterstock #1216701040 Lily Sol

  Font designed by Set Sail Studios

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  Autumn Awakens

  M. J. Padgett

  The Immortal Grimm Brothers’

  Guide to Sociopathic Princesses

  Volume Four

  This one is for my readers.

  Thank you for following me on this journey.

  Table of Contents

  Song of The Lost

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Song of The Lost

  Beware the painted lips of Red

  Whose kiss will surely render dead

  For a heart as cold as death doth reign

  Deep in forests filled with pain

  Hear the cries of suffering souls

  From beast to man upon the knoll

  She bestowed a curse of miserable life

  Upon the hands that toil and strife

  Rise against the broken way

  Steadfast my love, do not give sway

  For evil lurks among the shadows

  Be not tempted my darling White rose

  You alone hold the key

  Our daughter dear, set us free

  Align with you, the seven sworn

  Who not in death, we still do mourn

  From the poison they shall rise

  Forever cursed, Canis lupus inside

  Break the moon once of blue

  The howl we seek is strong and true

  Beware the painted lips of Red

  Whose kiss will surely render dead

  Save the wolf who’ll have her head

  Our ever beloved Salien bred

  Prologue

  Once, long ago, there lived a king and queen who had no children but wished for them desperately. One day, while the queen was walking by the water, a fish popped its head through the surface and said, “I grant your wish. You shall have a daughter.” Soon after, the queen gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl in all the world.

  The king could not stop staring at his delightful daughter and decided to hold a feast in her honor. He wished to invite the child’s family and friends, neighbors and nobility, and the fairies who had been good and kind to his child.

  Now it is said there were twelve golden dishes for the fairies to eat from, but there were thirteen fairies in the land. So, it was decided that one fairy would not receive an invitation. On the day of the feast, twelve fairies arrived and bestowed many gifts on the baby girl—beauty, wisdom, virtue, riches, and all the best of everything in the world. When eleven fairies had blessed her, the thirteenth fairy arrived. She was angry with the king. He had disgraced her name by eliminating her from the festivities, and she sought revenge.

  The thirteenth fairy was so angry, she bestowed a curse upon the girl. On her fifteenth birthday, she would wound her hand on a spindle and die. Then the twelfth fairy stepped forward and said, though the curse must be fulfilled, she could soften the blow. Instead of death, the baby girl would sleep for one hundred years.

  In his mania, the king ordered all spindles in the kingdom to be destroyed. As the years passed, the princess inherited all the gifts bestowed upon her. She was beautiful and kind, wise and strong, intelligent, and thoughtful. On the day of her fifteenth birthday, the princess was left alone in the castle. She roamed around until she found an old tower. Inside the tower was a winding staircase that led to a door with a golden key in the keyhole. She turned the key and found an old woman spinning fine thread on a wheel.

  The girl was mesmerized by the spinning wheel. She touched it and fell to her death instantly. But she was not dead, only asleep. When the king and queen returned home, they also fell asleep. Everyone in the castle fell into a deep slumber. Everything was still, then a large hedge of thorns began to encase the castle until nothing could be seen.

  There was a rumor about the kingdoms that the fair Princess Rose slept soundly awaiting a prince, so many of the surrounding kingdoms sent their princes to find the cursed Rose. One hundred years passed, and no prince was able to save the beloved princess. One day, a young prince decided to try. He was pure of heart and quickly pushed through the thorny shrubs until he reached the castle.

  Inside, the prince found everyone asleep just as they had been one hundred years before. He pressed onward until he found Rose sleeping beautifully in her bed. He could not take his eyes off her and gave her a gentle kiss. Immediately, Rose awakened from her slumber. The entire castle began to rise, and soon, all was right again. Rose and the prince were married and lived happily ever after.

  “Alright class,” Kylie Marks said as she addressed the classroom of children that varied in age from three to eleven. “Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with that tale?”

  “It’s a load of—”

  “Bradley, proper speech please,” Kylie scolded Bradley, one of the poor children rescued from Bianca Bastian’s mortuary hideout.

  “Sorry, Mrs. Marks. It’s a complete lie. Rose is the bad guy,” Bradley replied.

  “Good job, Bradley. Now, who would like to tell me—”

  “Kylie!” Matt yelled from the hallway.

  Kylie was so startled by her husband’s outburst she nearly dropped her book.

  “Matt, what on earth is the problem?” she asked as Matt rushed into the classroom. He bent over and gasped for air, but just as soon as he could breathe properly, he spoke.

  “Sorry. It’s your mother. She wants to... She thinks she should come to stay with us for a while to help out with the baby.”

  “Oh dear, that w
on’t work, will it?” Kylie said, then took the phone from Matt to explain for the tenth time why her mother could not visit.

  Matt stood staring at the children who stared back impatiently. He shuffled around a bit, oddly intimidated by the intense gazes of the children. “Um... Class dismissed?”

  “Yay!” The children ran around him to get outside where they would chase the Royal Guardsmen around with cardboard swords. Matt knew he’d get into trouble for releasing them early, but he wanted to give his wife a break. She’d been working like crazy since the school officially opened, and with a new baby and settling into the castle in Schattenland, life was utterly insane.

  Kylie came back to an empty room. She rolled her eyes and placed Matt’s cell phone on her desk. “I still had another hour of lecture, but we have a bigger problem. Mom is at our house in Greenville. She flew in from Hawaii to surprise us. Looks like the surprise is on her.”

  “Geez, that place is probably covered in an inch of dust by now,” Matt said, rubbing his temples. “What should we do?”

  Kylie sighed. “I guess we can call Henry and see if they can go scoop her up once they’ve finished their business in Jacksonville. May as well get this over with.” Matt nodded, but he wasn’t entirely sure telling his in-laws he was a prince that hailed from a fairy tale kingdom was a good idea—ever.

  Kylie bit her lip while Matt made the call to Henry. It seemed it was time for Grammie and Pops to learn the truth about where their grandchild had been, and there was a good chance it would give her mother a heart attack. Kylie tried not to think about that and spackled on a smile.

  Matt tapped his fingers against the back of his phone while he waited for Henry to answer. “Hey, Henry. Uh... so, there’s this thing I need you guys to do. I know you’re still scoping things out with Jeanine’s son, then you need to head to New York to fetch Jemma’s mom, but do you think you could swing by Greenville and, oh, I don’t know, pick up my mother-in-law?”

  Kylie heard the General fussing on the other end while Matt chewed his lip. After another round of sighs and fussing, the General agreed. Matt pressed the end button and shoved his phone in his pocket. Kylie still couldn’t believe she was married to a prince. Matthew Marks had always treated her like a princess, but the very thought of being a real princess, well that made her little heart flutter.

  “Looks like we better prepare the guest room,” Matt teased, then kissed his wife.

  “Which one? There are about fifty,” she teased in return.

  “Mmm... How about the one farthest away from our bedroom?” Matt chuckled, knowing his wife felt the same way. They loved their parents, but they loved them from a distance. The two walked together to pick up their baby from the nursery before heading back to Schattenland, the faraway land they happily called home.

  Chapter One

  I think becoming a cop was the natural choice for me. It wasn’t something I gave much thought. I jumped headlong into it and never looked back. It was hardwired in my personality to protect those who were weak or didn’t fully understand the cruel world they lived in. I wanted to serve my community, even though it didn’t really serve me very well as a child. I wanted, more than anything, to make things better.

  I was good at being a cop. I took to it like a duck to water and soon found myself swimming with the big fish, but there were days I wondered if I would ever make a dent in the badness. Would I ever do something spectacular enough to truly feel like I’d made a difference? What would it take to set the world right again? How could I change evil?

  All wonderful, philosophical questions I did not have time to ponder while chasing a petty thief through the streets of Jacksonville, Florida. My partner and I chased him into an alley where he paused to assess his situation. I knew he would run again. They always ran. His eyes connected with mine, his mind still working through his options.

  “Don’t do it. Just... just don’t run,” I said, pleading with the criminal I’d already chased six city blocks after he stole an elderly lady’s purse. “We’ve got you, so stand still and let me get these cuffs—” The perpetrator took off down an alley like something bit him right in the butt before I could finish my sentence. I threw my hands in the air. “Why do they always run? Don’t they watch movies?”

  “I’m getting tired of running, Parker. Should we chase him, or just let Carson and Baker get him at the end of the alley?” Chris asked, my partner of five years and my foster brother since... Well, as long as I could remember since nothing before that mattered.

  “I’m tired. Let’s wait and watch the show,” I replied, prompting Chris to chuckle and begin sauntering down the alley. I followed closely behind, but I was ready to get off shift and head home to the comfort of our sofa. “Think Ophelia is cooking tonight?” I wondered aloud.

  “Probably. She cooks every night but Wednesday. Is food all you ever think about?” Chris asked, glancing over his shoulder as I struggled to keep up. “Why are you always so tired lately?”

  I shrugged. “Beats me. I fell asleep in the shower this morning,” I admitted, a little concerned that I might be coming down with a wacky virus or brain-eating amoeba. “I cracked my skull on the wall, seriously. I’ll probably call my doctor tomorrow or something.”

  Chris started to respond but noticed the perp slipping by our team the same moment I did.

  “Aw, come on!” Chris cried, then took off after the guy. Chris ran by Carson and Baker, who stared after us with glazed eyes. The two rookies were about as bright as a box of cracked light bulbs, but that was a matter for later. I tried to keep up with Chris, but with each footfall, I grew more exhausted.

  “Hey, wait up!” I called, but Chris kept barreling along after the purse snatcher. I sighed, thinking of how welcoming my bed was and how I couldn’t wait to fall into it. I kicked it into high gear and followed Chris down the next road.

  The perp was fast, I’d give him that. Otherwise, the lady whose purse he stole would’ve knocked the snot out of him. The jerk dodged around and knocked people over left and right. I tried to help them up as we went, but Chris drove through the crowd like a bull in a china shop. He was a one-man wrecking crew determined to catch the little twerp at any cost. After helping a lady scoop her kid up and apologizing profusely, I ran after the two again.

  Somehow, Chris tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and tumbled right in front of me. I managed to jump over him and keep running, but the criminal had a good head start over me. Just when I thought he would escape someone opened the passenger door of their car, and he ran right into it. He fell flat on his back as the passenger got out of the car and stared down at him with an amused look on his face. I was panting again when I reached the crumpled thief on the ground, grateful for the accidental intervention.

  “Hey, thanks for opening your door at the exact right time,” I puffed.

  “Of course,” the man replied with a thick German accent. “One must always perform their civic duties.”

  “Wait, you did that on purpose?” I asked a bit surprised anyone bothered to step in. Most of the time, people gawked or laughed.

  “Indeed. I couldn’t stand by and allow this common thief to escape,” the man replied. “My name is Henry, and I am pleased to have been of service to you this fine day.”

  Weird. Weird was the first impression I had of the guy. Odd as he was, I was also happy I didn’t have to run any longer. “Would you be willing to come to the station to give a statement?” I asked.

  “Of course. Let me secure my things, and I will do just that,” Henry said, then slid back into the passenger seat of his sleek little sports car. The driver, who I couldn’t see through the dark tinted windows, smoothly exited the parking space and merged into traffic, then disappeared down the road.

  “I’m never gonna see that guy again,” I mumbled to the criminal as I cuffed him. The jerk said nothing, only lumbered along until Chris caught up with us. Chris’ forehead was scuffed from his fall, and he was hopping mad. Besides th
at, he seemed well enough.

  “What was that?” Chris asked me as he pointed to where Henry had been moments before.

  “I dunno. Some guy who opened his car door at just the right time, said he was happy to help, then left when I asked him to come to the station to give a statement. He was a little strange,” I said.

  “You catch the plate number?”

  “Yep. I was just about to call it in.” I pulled my cell from my pocket while Chris loaded the thief into the back of a squad car. Once I relayed the tag information to the desk clerk, I waited patiently for her to return with the results of her search.

  “Looks like a rental, but there are no red flags associated with it. Sorry, Parker. Hey, uh... I was wondering, are you free—”

  “Oh, look at that, Chris needs help with the... the thing, you know, the thingy thing. Sorry, Katie. I gotta go,” I said quickly, then hung up the phone before she could ask me to go with her to some fall festival everyone was talking about. I was running out of subtle ways to tell her I had no interest in dating her, short of just spitting it out. I knew the day would come that I’d need to face the music and just tell her I wasn’t interested, but she was so lovely I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I grumbled and followed Chris back to our car.

  Chris was annoyed he’d fallen, so I kept quiet and began typing our report on the way back to the station. At some point, I fell asleep while typing. When Chris parked the car in the station lot, I jerked awake to find I’d typed a bunch of gibberish. I sighed, also annoyed but for a different reason. I had no idea why I kept falling asleep at random times. I got a full eight hours every night, exercised properly, and ate well, yet I’d fall asleep standing—or that one time I dropped in the middle of a workout. It was strange, and I decided it was time to see a doctor.

  “Uh, oh,” Chris said the moment we entered the station doors.

  “What?” I asked, but I saw what concerned him just as I asked. Our Sergeant stood tapping her foot behind her desk, which meant only one thing—Jordan was in trouble again.