Briar Rose (49 page)

‘Arabella could handle it. But are you sure? These guys will freak out.’

‘Exactly,’ Briar replied, smiling. ‘It’s time Elmer won for a change.’

The re-enactment went down like clockwork: the Union forces moved across the battlefield towards Bliss as the Rebs took cover behind various trees and bushes. Gunfire was
exchanged and then the Union unleashed their field cannons and the bodies began to fall. It was December 1864 all over again.

Briar held her ground, just like Elmer had. Then she began her run, flying across the field, dodging Union soldiers and their bayonets. At first she stuck to the script, but at the last minute
she veered towards a Union officer who was destined to fall from his horse, wounded.

Five, four, three, two . . .

The guy went down and this time Elmer Rose swung up on to the saddle, wheeled Arabella around and took off like Sherman himself was on his heels. Riding past stunned faces, Briar made sure to
avoid any bodies lying on the ground.

When she reached the fence that was the Union line, she vaulted it and kept going. Behind her came shouts and then raucous cheers. Further down the field, she reined the horse in. She turned
round to find chaos. Emboldened, many of the re-enactors had broken ranks and were attacking the bluecoats with unrestrained and totally non-historic glee.

Once the final bugle sounded, Briar nudged Arabella back towards the Confederate lines. Joshua trotted up to her, winded. ‘That. Was. Awesome!’

Briar hooted in celebration. She knew some of the re-enactors would be upset with her, but it didn’t matter. The fact that Rawlins had been the one to kill Elmer had cut her deeply, that
her ancestor had died at the hands of a traitor. That didn’t mean she couldn’t give Elmer Rose his own moment of glory.

Briar slid off the horse and claimed a hug from Joshua who placed a kiss on her sweaty neck.

‘I’m so proud of you.’

She beamed at the praise. It meant so much coming from
her
guy.

When she looked around for her father, he shot a thumb up in the air and she returned it.

After more photo opportunities than usual, they encountered Sergeant Nickleby at the edge of the battlefield. Since he was in charge of the re-enactment, she’d expected a lot of yelling
because of her flagrant misuse of history. Instead, he was so upset he could only wave his hands and croak incoherently.

‘That was totally farb, but I loved it, Briar!’ one of the Union soldiers called out. Translation: historically inaccurate, but it still rocked.

‘Thanks!’

Nickleby sputtered along, beyond words. One of his aides helped him to a folding chair where he sank down and put his head in his hands. Briar suspected that in future the part of Elmer Rose
wouldn’t be assigned to a headstrong girl. No doubt generations of Rose women would sing her praises for that.

After she’d stripped out of the uniform and touched up her make-up, she hunted down Joshua. He was near the horse tank, waiting as Arabella loaded up on water. Kerry sat nearby, chomping
on an ice cube.

‘Good news. We’ve both been given a reprieve this afternoon,’ he announced.

‘Honest?’

‘Yup. Your dad told me to have you home in time for the party at six, which
I am
invited to, by the way.’

‘For real? That’s cool! So what should we do?’

He gestured towards the saddle where a canvas bag hung from the side. ‘Your mom packed a picnic lunch for us. I’m thinking we should head for the lake. How about you?’

My mom packed us lunch?

‘Deal!’

Joshua didn’t head to their usual spot on the beach, but further round the edge of the lake to a private cove. It was quiet and remote, and Briar loved it on sight.

‘How did you find this?’

‘I know all the ground around here. Comes from spending a lot of time on a horse.’

While Arabella grazed on grass and Kerry chased squirrels, they dined on cold chicken and three-bean salad, laughed at each other’s jokes and fooled around. There was even apple pie.

‘Your mom is a great cook. Mine is just OK,’ Joshua observed.

‘How’s she doing?’

‘Better, I think. Still . . . confused.’

‘She’ll get better, I’m sure of it.’

With Kerry on guard for any rampaging wildlife, they stretched out in the grass under a shady tree, watching the clouds form weird shapes above them. Where Briar came up with all sorts of
different names for the formations, Joshua claimed every one of them was a horse.

He pointed at another cloud. ‘That looks like a—’

‘Horse, I know.’

‘I was going to say it looked like a zebra.’

‘Which is nothing more than a horse with stripes,’ she countered.

They laughed together and then he kissed her.

‘I proclaim this a perfect day,’ Briar said, feeling loved like never before.

‘Who knows, it might get even more perfect,’ he replied, his eyes promising mischief.

‘How?’
Could that even be possible?

Joshua rose up, dug for something in his pack and returned with a small box. ‘I was going to give you this tonight at the party, but with all your relatives around it’d get
awkward.’

Inside the box was a charm, a silver rose. ‘Wow, that’s really pretty. It’ll work great on my bracelet. Thank you!’

‘Thought you’d like that. Turn it over.’

She found ‘BR + JQ’ engraved on the back of the charm. ‘Awww . . .’

Joshua touched her face in genuine fondness. ‘See, I’m good with Roses now.’

Briar laughed, and they were just about to kiss when someone charged up to them at full speed.

‘I found them!’ Pat called out.

Reena quickly joined him. ‘Hey, girlfriend. We’re not interrupting you or anything?’ she asked, then sniggered.

‘What are you doing here?’ Briar muttered.

‘Breaking up your PDAs, what else?’

Her two friends quickly stripped down to their swimsuits and, though she wasn’t supposed to be looking, Briar couldn’t help but notice that Pat looked pretty good.

‘Avert your eyes, woman!’ Joshua said, turning her head towards him.

She laughed and stole a kiss.

‘Race you!’ Reena said, and then took off for the water. Pat was right on her heels and when they reached the lake they began splashing each other like small kids, laughing and
joking. Kerry bounced around and barked at their antics.

‘I thought you said no one knew where we were,’ Briar murmured.

‘I might have told some friends about this place. Well, those two, at least. I didn’t figure you’d mind.’

‘No. Pat’s cool.’

Briar leaned back into Joshua’s arms, listening to the sounds of the summer.

This was like their own little kingdom, no castle needed.

‘Happy?’ he asked.

‘Totally.’

‘Let’s keep it that way from now on. No drama.’

‘You got it.’

Even if their summer break was almost over, she’d done a lot of cool stuff. What other princess had rode a flying horse, fought with mechanical wolves and defeated a cunning magical
enemy?

Even better, Briar had found her very own prince and saved
his
life a couple of times.

‘Do you believe in happy endings?’ she asked, curling up Joshua’s arms.

‘I do now,’ he replied and moved in for another kiss.

So do I.

Where would we be without fairy tales? Be they the sweet Disney kind or the blood-drenched Brothers Grimm versions, they have remained our constant companions throughout the
centuries. One of the most iconic – ‘Sleeping Beauty’ – still has meaning today. A young girl’s awakening, the weight of a curse that refuses to quit. There was so
much here to work with and I’m thrilled I had a chance to tell Briar’s tale. I hope you enjoyed it as well.

My deepest gratitude goes to Rachel Petty, my incredible editor, who suggested I try my hand at a Southern retelling of a classic fairy tale. Thank you for making the process
painless and, dare I say, fun?

As always, a hug and much love to my literary agent, Meredith Bernstein, who was willing to go in a new direction. You rock, lady!

Also thanks go to my critique partners Berta Platas, Carla Fredd, Maureen Hardegree and Michele Roper, who quizzed me about the plot, the magic and the emotional landscape of
Briar
Rose
. These talented authors threw out the strangest ideas, many of which made it into the story (the creepy metal worm in the apple, for instance). Thank you for everything, ladies, even if
your excellent cakes and baked goods added a few pounds!

I owe many an Innis & Gunn to Shane Burton, who grew up near Briar’s fictional town. His tales of quicksand, alligators, armadillos and cotton fields helped make Bliss come alive.

The hoodoo portions of the story came from various references books, including Catherine Yronwode’s
Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic
and Jim Haskins’
Voodoo and Hoodoo
.
Any mistakes are on my head, not theirs.

Finally, a hug for my very own prince, who shares my daydreams and helps make them come true.

Jana Oliver’s imagination has always had the upper hand despite her attempts to house-train it. When she’s not on the road tromping around old cemeteries, she can be
found in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and far too many books.

Books by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trappers series

Forsaken

Forbidden

Forgiven

Foretold

First published 2013 by Macmillan Children’s Books

This electronic edition published 2013 by Macmillan Children’s Books
a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-4472-4136-2

Copyright © Jana Oliver 2013

The right of Jana Oliver to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital,
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liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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