Bride of Alvar (Redemption Saga, Book 1)

Prologue

Hey, this is Silver, thanks for picking up my book. The book's edited, full version (with extra content) is available on Amazon, thank you to those who already have purchased this book!

At the vulnerable age of nine, in the basement of my best friend's house, on a cold, late December evening, I shared my big secret for the first time.

Emily Hall's family lived in a two-story colonial in an upscale suburb, and compared to the one bedroom apartment my mother and I shared, it was the ideal place to play in the winter months.

"What's your guy's name?" Emily asked me.

We'd recently gotten our first Ken dolls for Christmas from Emily's parents. My mother discouraged Barbie dolls, but I'd hidden a secret stash of them at Emily's.

"Mine is named Greg. He's a news anchor. Like Amanda's dad," Emily said with pride. Everyone wished Amanda's dad was their dad.

"Mine's name is Alvar," I announced.

"Alvar?" Emily wrinkled her nose at me. "That's a weird name."

"What are you talking about? It's a great name!" I declared, defensive of Emily's dig at the person my mother had placed on a pedestal for me since I could talk. "It's the name of my future husband."

I covered my mouth with one hand.

Oh-my-gosh! I shouldn't have said that!

My mother had instructed me not to tell anyone, and up until that time I'd ensured my secret didn't get out.

Mom would say, "Lucy, your life here on Earth doesn't matter. Once you turn twenty-three, your life will become a real fairy-tale! The magical king, Alvar, will come and sweep you away to live in his castle with him. Can you imagine, Lucy? A castle! Why will he do that for us you ask? You need to marry him, Lucy, because you have to save the world."

"What are you talking about?" Emily's tone was hushed and her expression went from teasing to curious, as if my secret were exciting to her... as if I were somehow special.

Butterflies came alive in me.

Happiness over the fact that poor, awkward, nobody Lucy could be interesting to her cool, popular friend, bubbled through me and I felt a newfound bravery.

If anyone could hear about it, Emily, my best friend in the whole world should know.

Maybe she'll even think I'm cool!

I'd never been the cool girl, my secret kept me bound to sitting on the outside looking in.

"Don't tell anyone, it's supposed to be a secret," I said, and glanced around the playroom, checking if Emily's little brother was hiding behind the pool table or if her parents had left the door open on the stairs.

Emily leaned forward and nodded at me, excited and interested, encouraging my transparency. "Okay," she said, "I promise I won't tell anyone!"

"My mom told me I'm going to save the world someday by marrying a king called Alvar," I whispered to her.

"A king?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"You know like in those fairy tales you read? Well, they're real! Alvar is the king of another, magical world. There's this portal that connects our worlds and Alvar—"

"Lucy, what the hell are you talking about?" Emily interrupted me, using a grown-up swear word for emphasis. She frowned, her eyes widened. "You're not serious... are you?"

"Yeah, I mean, not really..." my voice trails and fear gripped me.

This is why Mom told me not to tell anyone.

I'm so stupid for talking about this.

"No, Emily, I was just kidding! It's just a joke," I said, and tried to laugh it off, my heart rate steadily rising as every horrible second after my revelation passed.

Too late to take it back.

"But you were serious," Emily said pointedly, fear for my sanity in her eyes, she dropped her dolls and scrambled up off the carpet. "That is really, really weird, Lucy, and I hate to tell you this, but your mom... is a liar."

Before sharing my big secret, I'd felt separated from all the other kids, but seeing the reaction on my best friend's face, I learned I was an island, separated from the rest of the world by my mother's insanity and my own stupidity in believing her.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to read the full and final version, the book has been published and is available as a paperback to order! Follow my account. And follow my insta for updates and funny author lives: @silverreins