Hello, Invisible Friends.  We’re the Glitter Chicks.

And we have a confession.

But first, you have to read Friday’s Twirl.

And the interview with our newest fabulous Creative Woman, Whitney from Whitney Inspired.

Finally, after you read the Gift, we’ll tell you….

On Saturday, for our new Critter Confessions.

Anticipation makes it sweeter….for this is quite a juicy confession.

For those who don’t know, the Gift is the story of Samantha, a grad student who discovered a strange gift while staying with her friends at her parent’s vacation cabin over winter break.  After traveling to her old friend’s bar to try to determine the origin of the strange necklace she received, she suddenly found herself in the enchanted forests of Ireland being pursued by a secret admirer.

Now, an Elf Prince has decided to make her his bride–whether she wants to or not.  As she struggles to escape, her childhood love Rouge and friends must fight to rescue her…as soon as they get out of the dungeon.  And the wedding is at sunset…

Can her friends and loser boyfriend Jeremy save her before she gets trapped in a real-life fairy tale?  Read on…

To read previous issues of The Gift, look under the Never Ending Stories Tab…

——————————————————————————————————————————————————-

She couldn’t tell if she was still dreaming.

It felt like she was dreaming.  The world was wrapped in fog, glimmering with an ethereal shimmer that marked all dreams.  Part of her mind perked up, fighting for clarity.

But she had never seen the girl that stood in front of her.  And she barely understood a word she was saying in her thick Irish brogue.  Until she said Rouge.

“Rouge!” Samantha cried.  “What about Rouge?”

The girl stepped closer, and Samantha peered at her face.  It was the same chin, the same nose…his cousin, perhaps?  A long-lost sister?

“Who are you?”  Samantha asked.  “I don’t understand.”

The girl waved her arms urgently, her words muffled as though she was shouting underwater.  She grabbed Samantha’s hand and touched her ring finger, pointing to the Prince’s ring.  She shook her head violently, motioning for Samantha to jerk it off.

Samantha shook her head.  She tugged on the ring with all her might, pointing to her finger.  The ring didn’t even budge.

Rouge’s relative looked worried.  She took Samantha’s shoulders and turned her to face the hill below.

Down a winding set of stone stairs that twisted down the grassy mountain dotted with wildflowers, two men stood below.  Each was wearing a tux and holding a small box.  Samantha’s eyes widened.  Rouge was on the left, with the Prince on the right.

And her hand, her left hand, was circled in a thin cold chain that trailed down the mountain…on the right side.

She prayed she was still dreaming.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

“What do you mean, in her dreams?” Cleo asked.  “How could he get her in his dreams?”

“Not his dreams, hers,” Elisa corrected.  “Long ago, the Fin Breha, the Prince’s father, made a deal with a sorcerer.  In exchange for a large chunk of land, the sorcerer would give the Fin Breha magical powers.  The sorcerer agreed, and gave him the magic of dream walking.  At night, he walks through dreams as though he’s strolling through the woods.  He can see your thoughts, replay your day like a movie and learn secrets you’ve never even whispered aloud.”

“And his son has the same power?” Ashley asked.

“Worse,” Aine interrupted.  Elisa nodded in confirmation.  “The Prince has the ability to weave dreams as well as walk through them.  He can write dreams like a script, making you fall in love with him every time your head hits the pillow.”

“He walks through dreams at night, finding pretty girls and twisting their dreams,” Elisa whispered.  “He appears in your dream, then starts leaving you little gifts when you wake up.  Soon, you’re obsessed.  He’s all you think about.  The deeper he draws himself into your dreams, the more control he has over your mind.  Soon, you’re dreaming about him during the day.  Then you’re searching for him.  At night, he gives you clues to one of three prizes, all which are jewelry.”

“Why jewelry?” Cleo asked.

“The jewelry is enchanted by a special race of dwarfs in the mines below this castle,” Aine answered.  “For the Prince, they enchant it so whoever wears it is under the Prince’s control.”

“That’s why Samantha’s Queen of the Undead,” Ashley murmured, nodding.

“Bastard,” Cleo muttered.

“So what’s our plan now?” Ashley asked.  “The wedding is in an hour.  How are we going to get Samantha away from him?”

Elisa shook her head.  “Our only hope is to either get in her dreams or remind her of someone she loves.  I’ve been trying to get to her, but I keep getting static.”

“What do you mean?” Cleo asked.

“Once you’re ensnared in the dream world by the Prince’s ring, you are a dream walker,” Elisa replied.  “It never goes away.  It’s kind of like my form here.  In reality, I’m a 60 year old woman in California with four children and twelve grandchildren.  Here, I’m eternally young.  I’m also eternally trapped.  The most I can do is walk in dreams.  I’ve spent the past decades trying to convince the other brides to escape.  Anyway, I’ve been trying to talk to Samantha, but she can’t hear me.  She’s too far gone.”

“Well, what are we going to do?” Ashley asked.  “We can’t give up now.”

The door flew open and Sibeal flew in with a team of maids.  “What are you doing here?” she snarled.  “I told you to deliver the food and come back.”

Aine ducked in the small handbag and Cleo stepped forward.  “It was my fault, ma’am,” she cried.  “I was begging her to help me.  See, the bride won’t eat at all.  I was worried…”

“Of course she doesn’t eat,” Sibean scoffed.  “She’s a bride.”  She eyed Ashley and sighed.  “Well, since you’re here, you might as well help.”  Behind her, Elisa shook her head and waved her arms frantically.

“Help with what, ma’am?” Ashley asked, hoping she looked like a stupid servant.

The withering look Sibean gave her assured her she did.  “Help me get the bride ready, of course,” she sneered.  “The wedding is than less than an hour.  She must get her final dress on and we must get her down the mountain to be married before sunset.”

“Mountain?” Ashley and Cleo echoed.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

“What ring?” Rouge replied warily.  “The ring?  The Prince’s royal ring?”

“No, his wedding ring,” the troll snorted.  “Of course, the royal ring!  Can you imagine what that would be worth?  All I got to do is wait around until the Prince croaks and I’ll be set for life.”

“Won’t that take awhile?” Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow.

The watch troll puffed out his chest.  “We trolls live for hundreds of years, boy, while you humans live for a measly 80, if you’re lucky.  Elves live for much longer than you but the Prince is fairly stupid.  I figure he’ll kill himself hunting or fencing one of these days.  If anything, I can always sell it in your world and make a killing.”

“You know about our world?” Jeremy gasped.  “How?”

The troll rolled his eyes.  “Unlike you idiots, we prefer to know our surroundings.”

“I think he’s making fun of me,” Jeremy whispered to Rouge, narrowing his eyes.

Rouge hid a grin.  “So you’ll get me dreaming dust if I get you the ring?  I need it quick, now,” he added.  “Like before the wedding.”

“No sweat.”  The troll grinned, revealing a row of rotten yellow teeth.  Each tooth was the size of a child’s fist.  “It’ll be easier than catching an elves’s shadow.”

“You can catch shadows here?” Jeremy repeated, glancing around nervously.  “Can they catch you?”

Rouge extended his hand through a gap in the chain metal prison and shook the troll’s calloused paw.  “We have a deal,” he replied.

The troll snorted in agreement.  “I’ll be back,” he called, waddling off toward the door.  “Don’t do anything dumb.”

“Does he just assume we’re not going to escape?” Jeremy scoffed.  “I was a boy scout when I was six.  I can escape from anywhere.  One time, me and some friends were camping and I”–

“Shut up and listen,” Rouge interrupted.  “Listen, Jeremy, I need your help.  I need you to promise me something.”

“What?” Jeremy asked, his eyes narrowing.

“What I’m going to do is use this dust to get Samantha away from the Prince,” Rouge informed him.  “It’ll leave me kind of dazed, and the Prince and his guards will no doubt pounce on me.  I need you to promise me you’ll get Samantha, Ashley and Cleo out of here.  Don’t worry about me.  In any circumstances.  Don’t wait on me, don’t worry about me and don’t come back for me.   Samantha and her friends are the only ones that matter.”

‘How will we get out?” Jeremy asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

“If I do this right, you won’t have to ask,” Rouge replied.  His jaw tightened and his eyes filled with pain.  “I just have to save her,” he whispered.  “I can’t let him have her.  She deserves so much more.  So much more.  And if she stays, her life will be one of emptyness…”

Jeremy scratched his chin, narrowing his eyes as he studied Rouge.  “You really do love her, don’t you?” he asked in a low voice.  “Like you love her in that fairy tale, mushy song, I would do anything for you type of way?”

“I do.”  Rouge lowered his eyes, then glanced towards Jeremy.  “You don’t?”

“Not like you do.”  Jeremy lowered his head.  “I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone the way you love her.”

“Then why are you with her?” Rouge asked, his voice strained.  “Don’t you know what I would give to just kiss her?  To take her hand?  For years, I’ve wanted to tell her.  And I never did.  I never said a word.”

Jeremy shrugged, shame contorting his features.  “She’s hot.  And nice, I guess.  She’s always laughing and doing things for her friends.  Plus, her dad is loaded and we have fun together.  That was all I was looking for.”

Rouge shook his head, his jaw tightening as he tried to fight down the bile in his throat.  “You make me sick,” he muttered under his breath.

Jeremy jumped to his feet.  “At least I had the guts to get with her.  Look at you!  You’ve been crazy about her since you were kids and you never even tried to kiss her?  And then you just go off to Ireland and disappear from her life.  Then, when you come back, you don’t look her up or anything.   And the one chance you’ve got to tell her after she strolls into your bar, and you say nothing?  You’ve flown across the world and risked your life to save her.  And now you’re just going to send her away again with me?  What is wrong with you?”

Rouge lifted his shoulders in a shrug.   “I love her,” he said simply.  “I want her to be happy.  And safe.  As long as she gets out ok, that’s all that matters.”

“You’re crazy,” Jeremy muttered, plopping back down.  “Totally crazy.”

“He’s not crazy.”  The men whirled around to see the Prince standing in the dungeon.  “He’s in love.  Charming, really.  If you like that sort of thing.”

“What do you want?” Rouge snarled.

The Prince snapped his fingers.  The metal mesh curtains flew to the sides, and Jeremy scrambled out as if they would slam together again.  “For you to get dressed.”

“For what?” Rouge snapped.

“My wedding, of course.”  The Prince smiled.  “You’re the groomsmen.”

To be continued…

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  Tomorrow we have a fun ode and Wednesday, a new Coconut Queen! Then we’ve got a new recipe, a new Twirl and our Critter Confessions Saturday!  Stay tuned!