Beautiful Melody (The Happily Ever After series Book 1) Read online

  K.E. Drake

  Beautiful Melody

  Beautiful Melody

  Kindle Direct Publishing

  © 2019 K.E. Drake

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:

  [email protected]

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Image by Kharchenko_irina7 at iStock.com

  Cover Editing By K.E. Drake

  Editing By Melanie Rogers and Lillian Hoffman

  Acknowledgements

  God. Thank you for calling me into the writing field. I truly love what I do.

  Lily. For giving me the original idea to write this story, my first book. It’s because of you that I write today.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Two Years Later

  The Summer’s Eve Ball

  Gone

  Questions

  An Unlikely Hero

  A Day of Surprises

  The King’s Scheme

  A New Plan

  Found

  Forgiven

  The Royal Wedding

  Chapter Twelve

  With The Dawn

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  A Beautiful Melody

  Prologue

  Two Years Earlier in the Kingdom of Omrie

  “The ball is tonight, Papa. Can we go? Please?” Melody Prescott asked her father James with a pleading expression on her fair face. The fifteen year old girl hopped in place on her toes, causing her lovely, brown curls to bounce with the movement.

  James tapped his fingers on the surface of his mahogany desk, a slight grin turning up the corners of his lips. “It just so happens I received an invitation to the dance earlier today.” He pulled opened the drawer and retrieved a shining silver card with his name embellished on the front and showed it to his daughter. “Of course we can go.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Melody threw her arms around her father’s neck with a squeal.

  “What are you promising her this time?” Melody’s mother Rose questioned with a hint of a smile as she entered the room, the skirt of her ivory gown swirling and her autumn-red curls cascading down her back.

  “Papa said we could go to the ball tonight!” Melody announced with a beaming smile.

  “Did he now?” Rose looked to her husband and then back to her daughter. “If you’re going to the ball then you’ll have to go and choose your dress for this evening.”

  “I will!” Melody agreed and danced from her father’s study with twirling pirouettes.

  Rose remained quiet until Melody left the room and then moved closer to her husband’s desk. “A letter just arrived for you. It says it’s urgent.” She handed James the sealed envelope.

  He took it and opened the sealed flap with a letter opener. He pulled the letter out and his eyes scanned over the scrawled penmanship and looked to his wife with an expression of concern on his face. “It’s a notice from King Cassius of Glendower. He says our shipment of cargo was traveling through Glendower when it was ambushed by bandits. They overtook the guards and stole everything.”

  Rose clutched a hand to her heart. “Oh, dear. Was anyone hurt?”

  “The squadron guarding the consignment were rendered unconscious and tied up, but no soldiers were lost,” James read.

  Rose’s fair brow creased. She seated herself in the seat across the desk and placed her hand over her husband’s. “Darling… That was everything we had left. We have nothing now.”

  James released a heavy breath. He turned his hand and wrapped his fingers around his wife’s, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll travel to Glendower. I’ll make a request of the king to restore what we’ve lost. It may be our only hope. If this plan fails, we’ll have to begin again. I haven’t a moment to waste. I’ll leave right this moment to start the journey there.”

  “No, you will set off in the morning. The ball is tonight. You promised Melody.”

  James smoothed a hand over his chestnut hair and gave a sigh. “I will tell her that I can’t make it to the ball tonight. I have to leave now.”

  “She’ll be heartbroken. This is her first ball. You can’t just leave her.”

  “I’m sorry, my darling. I must leave now. Melody will just have to understand.”

  “I wish you didn’t have to go, papa. I’ll miss you,” Melody told her father. She stood beside her mother outside the front of their home early that afternoon.

  James adjusted a pair of the packs on his young horse’s saddle and turned to Melody. “And I will miss you too, my song.” He kissed his daughter’s forehead and wrapped his arms around her in a quick hug. “Is there anything you would like me to bring back to you?”

  Melody’s eyes turned to the dirt road as she thought. “A rose,” she decided.

  “Only a rose? Nothing else?” James asked Melody. She nodded. “All right, a rose it is.” He turned to his wife and pressed his lips to hers in a quick kiss. “Farewell, my darling.”

  “Stay safe, my love,” Rose murmured.

  “Always.” James leaned forward and kissed her again. “I will be back in a matter of days.” He pulled away from his family and mounted his horse. He urged the steed forward and started on the first steps of his journey.

  The path James took to the castle was the same route he had taken on his travels to Glendower many times before. It was a secluded dirt path that wound through the depths of the forest.

  The trees cast a welcome shade over him and his horse, cooling them from the present heat of the sun. The wind blew, causing the shadows of the leaves cast upon the forest floor to sway.

  What will I do if the king doesn’t grant my request? James wondered inwardly as he steed pressed on to their destination. There’s no recovering from the loss we’ve suffered, and it would take us years to rebuild. We would lose everything we have in the world and be forced to go back to where my grandfather began in the merchant business.

  James breathed a heavy sigh and viewed the surrounding forest. He had ridden for nearly two days now, only stopping a few times to eat and give his horse a rest before continuing toward his destination.

  Finally, the surrounding of trees began to thin as James entered a meadow and the towers of the palace peeked over the rolling hills.

  He soon made it to the palace gates and entered the courtyard, his horse’s hooves echoing in the hollow quiet of the courtyard. He dismounted his horse and handed the weary steed off to the only stable boy within sight.

  James moved on to the palace’s entrance and a pair of guards dressed in gray and blue uniforms pulled open the towering double doors. With a nod, James walked into the entrance hall. Several maids kept to themselves as they moved about doing their work. The only other individuals in the area were a few nobles and travelers, who remained sober as they went about the palace on business of their own.

  A young girl dressed in a gray and white maid’s gown entered the hall from one of the many winding pathways leading deeper into the palace. The rippled curls of her shimmering, golden hair cascaded past her waist, tamed only with a frayed ribbon tied in a meek little bow at the nape of her neck. She walked with quick, soundless steps and kept her head down as she carried a tray laden with steaming dishes of food.

  “Pardon me, miss.” James
halted the maid with a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Would you know where the king is?”

  The young girl visibly startled and stumbled back out of his reach, appearing almost as a doe caught by the hunter’s bow. She dropped her gaze back down to the cold stone floors and murmured an answer ever so soft. “T-the king? I-in throne room. Right this way.” Almost unsurely she began walking again on her intended path and James followed.

  He and the maid went down the pathway directly across from the palace entrance and soon they came upon a large set of polished mahogany doors. The girl kept her eyes on the floor and bobbed a small curtsy to the guards posted on either side of the doors, and the guards nodded in return and drew the doors open, and the two entered the room.

  The walls and the magnificent pillars supporting the raised ceiling were made of white marble with gray and blue accents, a carpet of pale-blue was rolled out down the center of the room, and the gray wood floor was polished to shine.

  James and the girl made their way down the room to a throne that sat at the end of the room on a raised dais. They came to a stop near the dais and the maid moved away from James to stand a few steps to the right of the throne.

  A man sat on the throne. He was dressed in the finest clothes and wore an ornate crown studded with exquisite jewels rested upon his raven-black hair. He rubbed a hand over his well groomed beard and his face was grim with a scowl.

  “King Cassius.” James bowed. “I’ve come to ask a boon of you for the misfortune that fell upon myself and my family. ”

  “I am sorry. What you desire is not possible.”

  James’ heart stilled. He watched the king for a moment and then tried again. “If we only could be granted a portion of what was lost. Just enough to start over. To make a new beginning. That would be enough.”

  “There are hard times for Glendower as well, with the recent drought killing the crops and now this band of brigands plaguing the kingdom. You are not the first victim to fall prey to these bandits, Prescott.” Cassius’ dark eyes narrowed but he smoothed his expression over. “You may stay here for the night. A maid will prepare you a room for you. I cannot do any more for you.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.” James offered a bow. He lingered for a moment longer and then made his exit from the throne room. He stepped back out into the corridor and stilled to a stop, unable to move. What am I going to do?

  Moments passed and the maid from before exited the throne room. With her fair face turned down, she approached James, her hands now empty of the tray she carried before.

  “I am to prepare a room for you. This way, sir.” She stepped past James and started walking down the long corridor.

  He followed her and they wound their way deeper into the castle until they came to a doorway, which she opened to reveal an unlit room.

  She stepped softly inside and went to a window across from the doorway. She drew back the velvet drapes and warm streams of golden sunlight spilled in, chasing back the shadows of the darkened room.

  James lingered near the doorway as the maid drew open the curtains on the rest of the windows and turned down the velvet coverlet on the bed. He watched her for a moment with sad eyes. She reminded him of Melody, with her quiet demeanor and her gentle kindness. He sighed wistfully. How I long to be with you again, my darling.

  The girl stepped back from the bed and turned to James with her eyes focused on the toes of her slippers. “I will bring up a dinner tray for you. You may call on me if you have need for anything else. My name is Dawn.”

  James thanked the young girl and she turned and left the room without another word, shutting the door softly behind her. James looked over the room and gave a sigh. What am I going to do?

  The following day after breakfast, James secured a freshly prepared pack to his horse’s saddle. He mounted the horse urged the animal forward. He gave one last look back to the castle he had come to in his time of need and then set his eyes straight ahead and started on his journey back home, back to take the news to his wife of what had happened. He rode out of the palace yards and then set off on the forest path he had taken to make the journey.

  Hours passed. The sun set and the moon rose until it shone high above all the kingdoms. The leaves on the trees blocked the moonlight from the dark woods. Only the flickering lantern he held and the palest slivers of light which made their way through the trees were the only sources of light, casting a gentle glow to the shadows surrounding him.

  He had ridden late into the evening hours, barely stopping even to rest on the journey back to Omrie. He had spent most of the trip puzzling through solutions to the problem he faced, becoming distracted and letting the horse lead the way.

  James drew himself from his troubled thoughts and appraised his surroundings. He came upon a fork in the road and pulled the horse to a halt. Where am I? What is this place?

  At the divide in the pathway was a plank of wood with two signs. The moon's glow was hardly enough for him to read them. He lifted the lantern to better see, casting orange light upon them. The two signs pointed in each direction. The sign directing to the left was broken in half and the words left on it were faded, but the sign pointing to the right read “Monroe Estate.”

  An estate, James considered. Perhaps the residents would be willing to give me shelter for the night. He directed his horse on the right path.

  He rode for nearly a half an hour before a large building came into view in a clearing. The home was barely visible in the dark. He drew nearer to the building and suddenly stopped when he heard a branch snap. James looked in the direction of the noise come from to see a large, dark figure move within the trees.

  He turned his horse back in the direction of the estate and urged him forward, but a rustling sounded and the dark figure leapt out of the trees right in front of his horse, causing the steed to shy.

  It was a wolf, or at least it looked like a wolf. It was five times the size of any wolf James had ever seen before. The beast blocked the forest path in front of him. A low growl came from its throat, and then it started to talk.

  “Who are you? What are you doing here?” the wolf snarled.

  James stared at the beast. How could this be? He had never witnessed a talking animal before. He had heard of them, yes, but he believed them to be a myth and nothing more.

  The wolf growled again and James stammered to answer the beast. “I’m a poor merchant I was looking for a place to stay for the night. There was a sign that led me to this estate.”

  “This home is not a shelter for lost travelers.” The wolf slowly began to stalk around the horse.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude upon the owner’s privacy, but I have no food and no shelter for the night.” James tried to keep his voice even. “I have some silver, though only a little. I am willing to pay for a hot meal and a night’s stay, if I could just speak to the owner of this estate.”

  “He’s gone and will not be back until the morning. You’ll just have to leave.”

  “Please, I’ve been riding all day. My horse needs rest. I can even sleep in the barn with him.”

  The wolf came to a stop and James reached into a bag on his saddle. He pulled out a small pouch of silver and held it aloft for the beast to see. “It isn’t much, but you can have it all if only I can have food and shelter.”

  “Keep your silver. We have no need of it.” The wolf turned to return into the forest, but he stopped to cast a glance back to James. “Go around the back of the manor. Find the servant’s entrance and ask for Gabrielle. She will prepare a room and food for you. But you must be gone by morning.”

  The wolf faded into the shadows of the woods and James remained still for a minute. He then placed the pouch of coins back into his bags and urged his horse forward, steering him towards the estate. He went around the house as the wolf directed and he came to a plain door and knocked. A moment passed and the door was pulled open to reveal a kind looking woman a few years older than him. Her silver-gray hair was
pulled back in a messy braid and an apron was tied around her slender waist.

  Her brow furrowed but the perplexity was quickly replaced as she smiled at James. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes. I’m looking for Gabrielle. There was a wolf. It... um, told me to come here, that she would help me.”

  “I’m Gabrielle. Come in you must be starving.” The woman stepped back and pulled the door open so James could step into the quaint kitchen.

  Gabrielle waved a hand to a young boy with dark golden hair. He sat at a table in the center of the kitchen carving a piece of wood, a small, brown and white dog lying by his feet. “This is my son, Caleb. Caleb, would you take our guest’s horse to the stable and feed him?”

  “Yes, mama.” Caleb set down the wood and the knife, got up, and walked out the door.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude at such a late hour.” James apologized.

  “It’s no trouble at all,” the woman assured with a warm smile. “Please, have a seat.”

  He thanked her and seated himself at the table.

  Gabrielle went over to an oven and pulled out a steaming loaf of bread. She grabbed a knife, sliced two pieces of bread, and spread fresh butter on each of them. She put the bread on a plate and then set it on the table in front of James.

  “Thank you very much.” He picked up the bread and began to eat as Gabrielle went back and prepared a plate of meat and cheese and gave it to him. “It’s not much, but it is the best I can do on such short notice.”

  “It’s enough, thank you.”

  “What were you doing traveling in the middle of the night?”

  “I was journeying from Glendower back to my home in Omrie.”

  “Glendower? What business did you have in Glendower?” She asked as she sat down at the table with James. “If you don’t mind my asking,” she added quickly.

  “Not at all,” James assured her. “I’m a merchant. Or at least I used to be. Some days ago a band of thieves ambushed the carriages that carried all my cargo to King Cassius in Glendower. That’s why I was in that kingdom. I’ve been traveling for quite some time trying to make it back here to my home in Onrie. At least I think I’m in Omrie.”