My heart fisted with love. “That’s right. Now, stop interrupting.” Taking a deep breath, I hugged them harder. “One night, Needle had the largest party of her life. Kings and queens came from everywhere to see her magical creations with lace and cotton. She’d worked for years to create something so perfect and a dress that defied all beauty. A dress with feathers and diamantes and silk.”
“And the naughty prince ripped it off her.” Nila kissed my cheek, granting the secret words directly into my ear. “He threw her on his gallant steed and stole her into darkness.”
Placing her head on my shoulder, she breathed, “But he was already in love with her, so he’d lost the fight before it’d begun.”
Kes and Emma couldn’t hear what my incredible wife whispered, and I fought the urge to steal her away again and show her just how much I wanted her for eternity.
I fought the urge while my children waited for me to continue. But I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Nila. “I was, you know.”
She tensed, her eyes meeting mine. “You were? The text messages? They were enough to fall—”
“Fall in love with you? I think I fell in love with you when we met the final time when you were thirteen.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“You wouldn’t. I was supposed to say hello, but I couldn’t ruin your day. You looked so happy. So I watched you in the park and gave my heart to you without even knowing it.”
“Story! You’re forgetting the story.” Emma tugged on my sleeve, her face open and eager. “Please…”
Nila shifted in my arms, kissing me gently. “I loved you when you were Kite007. I loved you when you were Jethro Hawk, and I loved you when you finally became mine.”
“Ewww.” Kes stuck his tongue out.
With my soul about to split open with joy, I forced myself to ignore my wife and continue with the tale. Once the children were in bed and Jaz and V had gone, I’d spend the rest of the night showing Nila just how much I adored her and how glad I was that our story existed.
My voice threaded around the room, plaiting with the crackle of the fireplace. “Where was I? Oh yes, that’s right. The dress Needle and Thread created was the most incredible thing anyone had ever seen. People offered to buy her castles and paradise for the chance to have her sew for them.
“Everything seemed right in the world, but Needle didn’t know that a monstrous prince was coming for her. That he’d lied to her for months, sent secretive messages, and stolen her heart without her knowing.” I paused for dramatics, squeezing Kes and Emma tight. “He’d been sent to hurt her.”
“No!” Emma squeaked.
“Oh, yes.” I nodded sadly. “His task was to hunt her, hurt her, devour her.”
Kes balled his tiny fists. “But you didn’t let the bad prince take Mummy, did you?”
I lowered my voice, turning grave. “I did.”
“No! Why?”
“Because…I was the bad prince. I’d been given a task to prove I was royal enough to inherit the realm and faraway castles, but no matter how bad I was, Needle had a magic I couldn’t fight.”
I settled into the soft bean-bag, diving committedly into the tale.
I wouldn’t sugar-coat.
I’d tell them of the debts and pain. I’d gloss over things too old for their young ears, but I would ensure the message behind the history remained.
I believed everyone had a tolerance for darkness because life wasn’t just light. Life wasn’t rainbows and bunny rabbits nor good luck or easy fortune. Real life was hard. There was mess and lies and heartbreak. They deserved to know they’d suffer tragedies as well as triumphs. They needed to be equipped to deal with losing as well as winning. Because that was what made an empathic human over a monster.
And no matter how twisted and terrible our story had begun, our belief in love and tenderness turned fate’s plan. Our dreams came true and were even more precious because of what we’d survived in order to earn it.
“There’s darkness inside all of us.” I glanced at my children, making sure they paid attention. “Some of us let it rule us. Some of us let it destroy us. And some of us rise to the challenge and fight it.
“All it takes is for that one person to believe that they’re worthy. That we won’t bow to poverty or hate or greed. That our life can be better than the shadows we let creep over it.”
Emma nodded, but Kes turned sombre, turning over my words, soaking in the wisdom beneath.
Nila had won because she fought against the darkness.
And I’d won because I’d embraced my truth.
All it takes is for one of us to be brave enough to turn on the light.
“So the bad prince hurt Needle?” Emma whispered.
“Yes, he gave her to the trolls in the forest to extract tolls and payments for things she hadn’t done.”
“If she hadn’t done them, then why could they do that?”
“Because they thought they were better than her and she owed them.”
“That’s mean.” Emma pushed out her bottom lip. “Stupid trolls.”
“I know,” I agreed. “Very unfair and against every law of the land they lived in.”
“So…what happened?” Kes asked, his face alight with interest.
“Yes, Kite, then what happened?” Nila brushed her lips across mine, her soul sewn completely to mine. “If the story started so cruelly, how does it end?”