The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Faerie Tale Collection) (12 page)
Read The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Faerie Tale Collection) Online
Authors: Jenni James
Tags: #Fairy Tales, #Twelve Dancine Princesses
“How long will you be gone?”
He looked away then. “I do not know, exactly. It could be years before I see you again.”
She shook her head. “No. No! What about my coming-out ball? You promised me you would be there!”
He glanced back and chuckled. Reaching up, he brushed a lock of her long hair out of her face. “Rapunzel, that is years away. You are only twelve, and I am merely thirteen. It will be fine.”
“Will you be back once I turn fifteen, then? Do you give your word you will dance with me?”
“I hope so.”
Hope. He could only hope. Possibly three years without him? Without his laughter? His wisdom? His larks? What would she do without him?
“You are crying. You cannot cry,” he said gently. “It is good for me to go away to school.”
“No. I wish you to remain stupid and stubborn and all things horrid so that I may have you near me!”
“Listen to yourself. You do not mean it!”
She brushed at the tears. “You are correct. I cannot mean it. I wish you the best. I always have. I guess I should have realized they would send you away sooner or later. I just did not think about it.”
“I wish I could stay, or take you with me. But I cannot.”
They had been playmates and the best of friends since she was four and he nearly five. They had been inseparable and visited one another as much as possible. They had long wondered if there was some sort of understanding between the two royal families when it came to them, if they were betrothed to one another. But neither of them cared; there was no one else they would wish to be with anyway.
“I have something for you,” he said. “Something to remember me by.”
She did not want a token—she wanted him. But when he pulled out a pretty gold chain with a sapphire butterfly pendant, she gasped. “It is beautiful.”
“Come here so I can put it around you.”
She turned, scooted closer, and held up her long hair. She felt his hands secure the necklace in place.
“Rapunzel?” he asked as she released the mass of curls.
“Yes?”
“We have often wondered if our parents planned for us to marry. And I know this is very sudden and soon …” His voice trailed off.
She turned slowly toward him, her heart beginning to lighten and beat strangely within her. “What are you saying?”
He gulped and closed his eyes. “Will you wait for me?”
“Of course.”
“Truly?” He peeked one eye open.
“Yes, I will wait for you.”
A huge burst of air released from him, and he smiled. “Good.”
She grinned. “Good.”
All at once, he leaned forward and kissed her swiftly upon the lips before jumping up. He dashed out of the little house and worked his way down the ladder.
She touched her mouth, marveling at the tingly way her lips felt, before leaping to her own feet and leaning out the window.
He was already to the ground when she called out.
“Jonathan, don’t you dare forget me! You better come back—do you hear me?”
He looked up at her. “Even if you were a thousand miles away from here, I would still come back for you. I would find you. You have the Balligryn pendant, after all. And I cannot become king without it!”
“Wait. What?” She held the necklace out. “This?”
He grinned. “Do not ever lose it. My father would slay me.”
And then he ran away, Rapunzel’s heart twisting and jolting and beating like it never had before.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JENNI JAMES is the busy mom of seven rambunctious children ranging from the ages of 2 to 16. When she isn’t chasing them around her house in sunny New Mexico, she is dreaming of new books to write. She loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted at:
[email protected]
, or by writing to: Jenni James, PO Box 514, Farmington, NM 87499.
Jenni has several clean books for teens already published and many more to come, including:
Faerie Tale Collection:
Beauty and the Beast
Sleeping Beauty
Cinderella
Rumplestiltskin
Hansel and Gretel
Jack and the Beanstalk
Snow White
The Frog Prince
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Rapunzel
The Jane Austen Diaries:
Pride & Popularity
Persuaded
Northanger Alibi
Emmalee
Mansfield Ranch
Andy & Annie Series:
A Ghost Story
Greeny Meany
Prince Tennyson
If you’d like to find out more about Jenni James and the latest books she’s releasing, sign up for her awesome newsletter.
http://eepurl.com/FLYw1
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Jenni James © copyright 2013
All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
StoneHouse Ink 2013
Boise ID 83713
First eBook Edition: 2013
First Paperback Edition: 2014
Cover design by Phatpuppy Art
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to a real person, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
This book was professionally edited by Tristi Pinkston
http://www.tristipinkstonediting.blogspot.com
Published in the United States of America
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