The Fairy Tales Collection Read Free Page B

Rafe.  “Thank you again, Rafe.”
    He nodded and she walked him to the door. 
“Are you certain you should leave?  This may blow over quickly.”
    “My husband is a good man but he will never
trust the humans.  Even a rumour started by a little girl is enough to make him
fear for our safety.  It’s better for everyone if we leave.”
    “Good luck,” Rafe said.
    “Thank you.  Good bye, Rafe.”

Chapter
1
     
    “Ms. Vale?  Can you sign here please?”
    The voice was loud and intrusive in the
quiet library and she instinctively made a shushing noise before smiling at the
courier.  He gave her a bored look and held out the clipboard.
    “Sign here.”
    Her hands trembling, she scrawled her name
at the bottom of the paper before taking the long, narrow white box.  The
courier left, his boots clomping loudly on the wooden floor as she set the box
on the desk and used scissors to cut the ribbon that was wrapped around it.
    She held her breath as she lifted the lid
of the box and unwrapped the tissue paper.  A rose, its crimson petals as dark
as blood against the white tissue, was nestled in the box and she lifted it
carefully before pressing it to her nose.
    “Ms. Vale?  I can’t find a book.”
    She placed the rose in the vase of water
she had filled this morning and smiled at the little girl.  “What book this
time, Valerie?”
    Valerie studied the piece of paper in her
hand.  “Little Women.”
    Mirabelle smiled again.  “That’s a very
good book.  I’m glad you’re going to read it, Valerie.”
    “Mama says it’s a classic,” Valerie said
solemnly.
    “It is.  Follow me.”
    She moved around the desk and led the
little girl to the children’s section.  She scanned the shelves quickly before
pulling the book.  “Here, honey.  Take it to Mrs. Simpson, she’ll check it out
for you.”
    “Thanks, Ms. Vale!”  Valerie grabbed the
book and scampered back to the desk as Mirabelle followed more slowly.  She
passed by the computers, tugging self-consciously at her cardigan as one of the
young men working at the closest computer glanced up at her.  His gaze wandered
over her plump body with vague disinterest before he returned to staring at the
screen in front of him.
    She sighed and adjusted her cardigan again
before moving behind the desk.  Her glasses slid down her nose and she pushed
them up irritably.  Man, she really needed to remember to pick up her contacts
tomorrow.  She supposed she should go tonight but she was meeting Ella at
Gaston’s Bar and Grill after work.  She’d have to put up with her glasses for
another day.
    Speaking of which, she glanced at her
watch, ten minutes until closing.  She hurried around the desk and shelved the
last of the books as the head librarian, Mrs. Simpson, announced the closing of
the library.  She smiled to herself as people gathered their things and headed
to the door.  She loved working at the library and she knew how lucky she was
to have gotten the job.  The economy was the shits right now and she was still
surprised that she had managed to find her dream job in her small town.
    As Mrs. Simpson ushered the last of the
patrons out the door and locked it, she returned to the desk and gathered up
her jacket and purse.  She picked up the vase with the delicate rose, another
little beat of pleasure going through her.  As the day ticked on, she had worried
that perhaps this year would be the year that no flower appeared.  For the last
eighteen years on this exact day, a rose had been delivered to her without
fail.  The scars on her back throbbed suddenly and she winced before touching
the rose’s soft petals.
    “Belle?”
    She smiled at Mrs. Simpson.  “It was busy
today for a change, huh?”
    “Yes.”  The older woman looked
distinctively uncomfortable and Belle gave her a worried look.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I’m sorry, Belle, but I’m going to have to
let you go.”
    Belle blinked at her, certain she had
misheard.