Once Upon A Rose - Chapter 18
This is the final chapter of our fairytale, so we are going to start serializing Spell Bound, An Enchanted Fairytale 2 next week. With summer on the way, we’re going to hopefully be posting on Thursdays for a while. Fridays can be so busy and who doesn’t love a long weekend in the summer?
We hope you enjoyed the story…and be sure to see the recipe at the end!
Chapter 18
Arabella and her guard had met with a group of soldiers from her own kingdom. “We can see the castle from here, but not what’s happening inside the walls,” Arabella said.
“It’s not perfect, but far better than being in the dungeon.” Orris smiled. “Without my men warning you of the princess’ escape, you would have been captured.”
“You will have earned your reward,” Arabella replied, “if your flaming arrows work as well as you say.”
“They will,” Orris said. “I assure you.”
“They’d better,” Arabella’s guard said. “Once we light the arrows, they’ll have our location.”
“By then, it will be too late to stop us,” Arabella said, smiling. “My father will be very pleased and hopefully, I’ll never have to hear him complain about not having a son…ever again.”
Nicholas and Celsiana made their way to the southwest tower with the guards close behind.
“I didn’t realize your father agreed to you coming along as part of the plan,” Nicholas said.
“He didn’t say I couldn’t,” Celsiana replied, watching the guards carry the container of linseed oil mixed with soap flakes and natron up the stairs. “Of course, with all the excitement, I may have forgotten to ask.”
Nicholas chose not to respond to that. “We know they have to be either to the west or the south,” he said. “They wouldn’t be able to see the castle from any other location.”
“Yes, but which do we choose?” Celsiana asked. “We’ll only get one chance to make this work.”
“Your brothers rode out with the guards in each direction,” Nicholas reminded her. “We just need to distract Arabella while they get into position.
Celsiana nodded. “You’re right.” She smiled. “I’d guess the south. What do you think?”
“I think you’re right,” Nicholas replied. The guards followed them and placed the container of oil on the stone parapet, then Nicholas handed her the torch. “If you would be so kind, Your Majesty.”
Celsiana lit the oil, then stepped back as the flames shot up. “I may have put too much natron in this time.”
“We want to make sure they see it,” Nicholas said, watching the hill to the south. “When they think we’ve made our own flaming arrows, they’ll either run or try to shoot first.”
Celsiana nodded as the guards continued to scan the hill. “There!” one of them exclaimed.
Nicholas looked in that direction, then grabbed Celsiana and pulled her down to the stone walkway as an arrow whizzed overhead. “It seems they plan to shoot first.”
“I thought they’d run,” she said in surprise.
“We’d better wait here until your brothers capture them.” Nicholas smiled. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
Celsiana looked up as more arrows sailed overhead, then heard the guards cheering. “They got them,” one of the men said.
She smiled at Nicholas. “We did it!” she said.
“We certainly did,” he agreed.
When her brothers brought Arabella and the others to the castle, Celsiana walked over and stood next to Seraline. Taking her hand, she squeezed it. “There’s no way you could have known.”
“I thought she was my friend,” Seraline said quietly. “What will happen to her now?”
“She’ll go back to her own kingdom I would imagine.” Celsiana paused. “After that I have no idea.”
Epilogue
Trevor and Seraline got married as planned, then they took a long trip to her homeland. She wrote Celsiana every week, telling her about all the wonderful places they visited and the many shops they had.
Orris had confessed to everything the night he’d been captured in hopes of making some kind of deal. He was banished from the kingdom after being stripped of all his wealth. If he or his men ever returned, they would end up in the dungeons…or worse.
Arabella returned to her kingdom, but her actions caused her father to abdicate in favor of his younger brother. The new king had a daughter that Bryce had already met, whom he found quite charming and intelligent. They were married that year.
As for Celsiana, she didn’t see Nicholas for some time. He went back to his studies with Vargas, while she promised her parents there would be no more sneaking out of the castle. When he returned, Celsiana was surprised but very happy.
“Your Majesty, I have come to offer my services as a trained apothecary,” Nicholas said, bowing. “I have finished my apprenticeship and would like to be added to the list of approved practitioners.”
“I see,” the king replied. He glanced at his wife and tried not to smile. “It seems we are in need of an apothecary in the castle, but you would have to be knighted to serve here.”
Nicholas looked up in surprise. “Your Majesty?” He took a moment to recover, then bowed again. “I would be honored.”
Six months later, Celsiana and Nicholas were married. And they all lived happily ever after.
Enjoy these scones with rose jelly…making them a wonderful choice with rose petal tea or rose hip tea (for a stronger option).
*ALWAYS make sure your roses are organic with no pesticides before using for tea, jelly, or any other edible product.
Scones with Rose Jelly
Preheat Oven to 450 degrees
Sift together:
· 1 ¾ cup flour
· 2 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
· 1 tablespoon sugar
· ½ teaspoon salt
Put into mixing bowl.
· Cut in ½ cup butter
In separate bowl combine:
· 2 eggs – save 2 tablespoons aside for later in recipe
Add majority of egg to flour mixture
Make well in mixture and add:
· 1/3 cup milk
Mix until just blended, then handle as little as possible when placing on floured board. Pat until ¾ inch thick, then cut into diamond shapes.
· Brush with reserved egg and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for about 15 minutes, check a bit early to see they don’t get too dark.
Serve hot with butter and jam or toppings of your choice. Makes about 1 dozen scones.
Rose Jelly
· 4 cups unsprayed/pesticide-free rose petals
· 4 cups water
· 2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh lemons if you have them)
· 1 package (1.75 oz) fruit pectin
· 4 cups sugar
Carefully check rose petals to make sure no debris or other objects are stuck to the petals.
Please rose petals in a heat-proof, glass container (quart jar or large Pyrex measuring cup).
Cover the rose petals with the 4 cups boiling water, be sure to poor slowly. Let the rose petals steep for 15 minutes.
Strain the rose water to remove all petals and parts, leaving only the rose-infused water.
Place rose water in saucepan and add lemon juice. Bring to a boil and stir in pectin until completely dissolved.
Boil for one minute, THEN stir in sugar. (Do not add sugar any earlier, this should make jelly set a bit better.)
Bring mixture back to boil, and boil for one minute.
Let cool slightly, then ladle into glass jars or plastic containers. Cover with lids and store in refrigerator for 5 – 7 days.
*To make long-term jelly that can be stored without refrigeration, be sure to follow a traditional jelly recipe including hot water bath, etc.
Thank you for reading the story! We’ll see you next Thursday for Spell Bound.