They looked like they’d stepped out of a fairy tale.
Shayla’s gaze finally stopped on the picture where the newlyweds were holding the one-year-old Princess Tmynne between them, the baby leaning trustingly into the prince-consort’s shoulder as her parents gazed into each other’s eyes with so much love and need that it seemed too intimate for such a public setting. Behind the newlyweds, Shayla could see Prince Jamil’s younger brother leaning into his own husband as he watched the newlyweds with a smile.
Shayla realized that she was smiling too when Nina said, “See? I told you they were cute together!”
Shayla laughed, raking her hand through her daughter’s hair. “There’s no need to be so smug, honey.”
Nina wrinkled her nose. “But I was right, Mom! The prince got his happily-ever-after! A happy ending is loads better than a sad one.”
Shayla looked back at the magazine and smiled wistfully. “Maybe.”
She had to admit her heart felt lighter as she closed the magazine and turned back to the oven.
“Did you read the bit about Prince Eridan?” Nina said excitedly.
Shayla chuckled, feeling a pang of nostalgia for her own childhood. Kids grew up so fast. In twenty years, Nina would be telling these stories to her own kids.
“What about him, darling?”
The End