Gracie turned to Jaxon,her heart still aching from the sight of her parents’ departure, and found his gaze upon her.
He inclinedhis head and said quietly, “Seems ye are truly mine now.”
The words landedwith a weight she did not fully understand, and before she could answer, he bowed with formality. He turned and walked away across the stones, leaving her standing in the bright courtyard with questions blooming in her chest.
She looked to April,who offered her a gentle smile meant to steady her.
“I daenae kenwhat to make of him,” Gracie admitted in a low voice. “His ways confuse me so, and I think I would rather turn me thoughts to the bairns.”
April nodded,warmth in her eyes, and replied, “That is a wise choice, my lady, and they seem like good wee bairns indeed.”
They walked togetherthrough the castle corridors. Gracie felt her nerves settle. She paused before the nursery door, drawing in a breath to steady herself.
“I promisedI’d play with them today,” she murmured, and April encouraged her with a nod.
Inside,Rose sat by a window with a book in her lap, while Eden crouched near a chest of toys, arranging wooden soldiers into a grand formation. Both girls looked up at once, surprise brightening into delight.
“Ye really came,”Rose said softly, clutching her book, and Eden bounced to her feet.
“What will we do,Lady Gracie, read or build somethin’ grand?”
Rose huggedher book and whispered, “I like stories.”
Eden crossedher arms and declared, “Stories are dull, I want a castle made of mud.”
Their voices sharpened,and Gracie stepped between them before tears or tempers could rise.
“Why nae both?”she asked gently. “A story told while we build a castle fit for any princess?”
The twins stared at her,confusion knitting their brows in perfect unison. Gracie laughed and reached for their hands, one small palm in each of hers.
“Come alongand I will show ye,” she said, guiding them toward the door as their hesitation melted into giggles.
Eden exclaimed, “Outside, then,”while Rose added, “But ye must tell it kindly.”
They crossed into the gardens,where sunlight spilled over hedges and climbing roses, and birds flitted through the air. Gracie chose a quiet corner near the riverbank, far from delicateblooms, where earth lay soft and dark. She knelt without thought for her skirts and pressed her hands into the cool soil.
“This iswhere our castle shall rise,” she announced, and the girls clapped in delight.
Eden scoopedmud with fierce enthusiasm, shaping walls and towers, while Rose arranged pebbles into careful paths. Gracie joined them, molding battlements and smoothing arches, her laughter rising free and light.
As they worked,she began to speak in a soft, lilting voice. “Once there was a princess who dinnae wish to wed the prince her parents chose for her.”
The twins leaned closer,hands stilled by wonder.
“Did she run away?”Eden asked, eyes wide, and Gracie nodded.
“Aye,she fled through forests and rivers, seeking a place where she could choose her own fate,” she said, shaping a tiny bridge.
Rose whispered, “Was she afraid?”
Gracie replied,“She was, yet she was brave enough to keep going.”
Mud stained her fingers,and sunlight warmed her back as she spun the tale onward. The princess met friends who taught herstrength, and beasts who tested her heart, until she learned that courage did not mean being unafraid. Rose smiled dreamily, and Eden added new towers to the castle, declaring, “This is where she lives now.”
Gracie feltsomething loosen within her, a knot she had carried for years.
As the story ended,the castle stood proud in its messy glory, crowned with leaves and stones.
