49. Jasmine

49

JASMINE

J asmine let out a relieved breath. At least she wouldn't have to explain what magic was. She wouldn't know where to begin.

As she settled more comfortably on the bed next to Ell-rom, she was reminded of another situation when she had spun a tale, which had also led to lovemaking.

That was how she and Edgar had started their relationship.

She'd always thought that it was her looks that attracted men to her, but evidently, it was her storytelling.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a grand palace. She had everything she could ever want—beautiful dresses, delicious food, and all the luxuries a girl could ever dream of. But she was lonely."

Ell-rom smiled. "That sounds like my life, just without the dresses or the plentiful food."

Jasmine snorted. "Yeah, that kind of fits, but in our fairy tale, you are the prince, and I'm the frog, and instead of letting me eat from your plate and sleep on your pillow, you have to give me the kiss of a venom bite, and then I'll turn into something more. I'm sort of mixing two fairy tales together here in order to make my point."

He leaned and kissed her lips. "You are already the best there is. All I can give you is immortality."

"That's so sweet of you to say." She frowned as the rest of what he'd said registered. "Did you lack food in the temple?"

"I don't remember being hungry, but given the need to hide my and Morelle's identities, getting us food that wasn't blood must have been difficult."

"Right." Jasmine tucked one leg under her and turned to face Ell-rom. "I hope your mother made sure that you had enough to eat. She might not have been very affectionate with you two, but she went to great lengths to save you."

"That she did."

Ell-rom seemed to like what she'd said, and she understood why. He hadn't experienced much love as a child, and it was important for him to know that he had been loved despite the lack of attention and physical affection.

"Back to the fairy tale," she said. "One day, the princess was playing with her favorite golden ball in the palace garden and accidentally dropped it into a deep, murky pond. The princess was devastated and began to cry. Suddenly, she heard a voice: 'Why are you crying, beautiful princess?'

"She looked around and saw a small green frog sitting on a lily pad. The frog offered to retrieve her ball, but on the condition that the princess promised to be his friend. He wanted her to let him eat from her plate and sleep on her pillow."

Ell-rom smiled. "I love the way you tell a story. It's so animated." He leaned and kissed her again. "I love everything about you, my Jasmine."

It was so nice to hear him say he loved her, and it was also a reminder for her to do the same.

Jasmine had a moment of epiphany, realizing she'd had so little love in her life that the words felt foreign on her tongue. Her mother hadn't been around long enough for her to even remember what she looked like, let alone if she'd told Jaz that she loved her. Her father was a cold and bitter man, and those words had never left his mouth.

There had been a long list of boyfriends, but even though she'd believed she'd loved some of them at the time, she couldn't remember saying these words to any of them.

Evidently, she and Ell-rom had more in common than they realized.

"Jasmine?" Ell-rom's voice shook her out of her reveries. "Did you forget the rest of the story?"

"No." She smiled, not yet ready to talk with him about the lack of love in her life. "I was just taking a breather. The princess was grossed out by this idea," Jasmine chuckled, noting Ell-rom's amused expression. "I mean, who wants a slimy frog on their pillow, right? But she was so desperate to get her ball back that she agreed without thinking. True to his word, the frog dove into the pond and brought back her golden ball. But as soon as the princess had it, she ran back to the palace, completely forgetting her promise to the frog."

"That was dishonorable," Ell-rom said.

"The king thought so as well when he heard the story, and he admonished the princess, telling her to never make promises she did not intend to keep." Jasmine chuckled. "Someone should tell this fairy tale to all the politicians running for office. They all make big promises they have no intentions of keeping, just to get elected."

Ell-rom shook his head. "That's worse than dishonorable. That's criminal."

"I agree a hundred percent." Jasmine shifted to get into a more comfortable position. "That night, as the princess was having dinner, she heard a strange noise at the door. 'Let me in, princess,' called a familiar voice. 'It's me, the frog you promised to befriend!' The king, overhearing this, insisted that the princess keep her promise. Reluctantly she let the frog in, allowed him to eat from her plate, and even though she really didn't want to, let him sleep on her pillow."

Ell-rom nodded his approval of the king's decree.

"That happened each night for two more nights, and the morning after the third night, something incredible had happened. The princess woke up to find not a frog but a handsome prince in her room. He explained that he had been cursed by an evil witch and could only be freed if he could manage to persuade a beautiful princess to take him out of the spring and let him spend three nights in her homedespite his unappealing appearance.

"The princess fell in love with the prince, they got married, and lived happily ever after," Jasmine finished with a smile. "So, you see, the moral of the story is that you shouldn't judge by appearances and that kindness and keeping your word can lead to unexpected rewards. Oh, and I guess it was also the origin of the saying that sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince because you never know where he's hiding, right?"

As understanding illuminated his eyes, Ell-rom laughed. "I like this fairy tale." He leaned over and kissed her lips.

"I'm glad that my prince arrived fully formed with no magical transformation required, just in need of some nurturing." She took Ell-rom's hand. "In real life, it's more about getting to know different people, learning what you want in a partner, and not giving up hope that you'll find someone special. And sometimes, that someone special might come from a place you least expect, like, say, an alien escape pod buried inside a mountain in Tibet."

The smile that spread across Ell-rom's face at her words was breathtaking. "I'm glad I'm your prince, but I have no country and no riches to offer you."

"I don't need any. All I want is to be your princess."

"You are." A hint of playfulness shining in his eyes, he wrapped his arm around her. "So, about that bath..."