Page 36 of A Filling of Fables and Firelight

He’s never offered anything more than friendship, and I can’t ask for more. I had the opportunity to enter the contest and I didn’t. I was so sure that I already knew what he was like that I gave up the chance of getting to know who he truly is.

Regret left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she cleared her throat, pulling away and breaking the spell.

“Speaking of fabric.” She reached for her work basket. “I’m nearly done with this dress, and the night is still fairly young. Story time?”

Even if I’ve apparently gone and fallen for him, I don’t need to make things any more difficult or awkward for him. I can still be his friend—Abba knows he needs one.

“You’re not going to put me to work? What about rule number two?” Kamaran grinned, holding up his empty hands.

She dug through her basket and tossed him a tangled skein of yarn before dragging over the table that held the plate of Adhavian Delight and positioning it within reach of both of them.

“Ready?” she asked.

He nodded. “Please. I’m eager to hear how else lizards might be useful, contributing members of society.”

“Rule number one,” she quickly chided. “If you don’t like it, how about you tell the story?”

“Gladly.” Kamaran laughed at the surprised expression on her face. “You didn’t think I would?”

“I’ll admit, I was not quite prepared to have my authority so easily usurped.”

“That’s where you went wrong. You should always be on guard.” He said the words with such nonchalance that Rana wasn’t entirely sure whether he was joking or not. “Now. Where were we?”

“Prince Kamden had been accidentally carried off to a nearby village, where he crawled under a widow’s floorboards to help her find a lost necklace, scaled a thorny bush to dislodge a child’s kite string, and helped rid a farmer of a locust infestation.”

His upper lip curled in distaste as he eyed the remnants of the scorpion left on the floor. “Ah, yes. You had the poor prince eating insects.”

“He’s a lizard. Lizards eat bugs.”

“With the mind of a prince, which means he knows he shouldn’t.”

Rana gave him a look. “Are you going to tell the story, or are you just going to criticize mine?”

Kamaran cleared his throat, adopting a deeper, more dramatic tone than his normal speaking voice. “The farmer was so grateful to the prince that he invited him to live with his family. They gave him his own room and a seat at the table for dinner every night. After three days, the curse was broken, and Prince Kamden never had to eat a bug again.”

She clicked her tongue, shaking her head slowly. “A nice thought, but the stipulations clearly stated the bed needed to be shared.”

“Scandalous,” he gasped. “What kind of a prince do you think he is?”

“The lizard kind,” she deadpanned back,

He reached for a square of Adhavian Delight, prompting her to do the same. “What happened to rule number one?”

“I’m not criticizing, I’m critiquing.” She held the orange-flavored candy in front of her lips as she spoke. “This is a teaching moment. I’m giving you something to consider.”

His eyes dropped to the candy for a moment and he swallowed. “Yes, you are.” His voice was strangely husky, but before Rana could think about it any further, he forged ahead. “How about this? The farmer, having loudly praised Prince Kamden’s impressive locust-hunting abilities, attracted the attention of a visiting princess, who happened to be traveling the countryside. She stopped for a visit, and while speaking with the prince was charmed by his effortless wit and impeccable manners. Not wanting to cut her visit short, she stayed for dinner, but a sudden thunderstorm prevented her from being able to continue on her way. The only spare room the farmer had was the one he had given to Prince Kamden. The princess assured him that she didn’t mind sharing. As they conversed through the night, the princess fell more and more in love with him, and, just as the sun was rising, she kissed the top of his lizard head. In that moment, the curse was broken.”

Rana set her needle down and crossed her arms. “True Love’s Kiss was never a part of it.”

“I never said it was. They shared a bed, didn’t they?”

“What would possibly compel her to kiss a lizard?”

He crossed his own arms, mirroring both her posture and the look of challenge on her face. “You kiss Zade all the time.”

“That’s different!”

“He’s an animal.”