Description
(Sleeping Beauty, but entirely genderbent and set in its own universe. Inspired by both the Disney movie and various other iterations of the tale that have been passed down from different cultures through the centuries, but without the heteronormativity!) Many years ago in the land of Athain, a young orphan named Zella Amberwolf led a coup d'etat and became queen of the realm. The official story is that she saved the country from the clutches of a crazed, murderous king in the midst of a massive electric storm. The true story is much more sinister, and something only she and her closest friends can know and that her people can never find out. Twenty-three years after this "Storm Revolution," Athain is in the midst of a civil war between humans and faeries; both its Prince Consort and Crown Prince have disappeared, leaving Zella alone to defend her secrets. Meanwhile, in a seemingly unrelated incident in the neighboring ally realm of Redrea, two teenagers meet in the middle of the wild arctic woods. One of them is Princess Bryn Beynon, heir to the throne of Redrea, fearsome warrior, and alleged murderer who has been placed into temporary exile. The other is Talon, a boy who has never left this dangerous, largely uninhabited forest, who lives with his three eccentric aunts and claims he can talk to trees and animals. When Bryn and Talon fall in love, they don't realize that their story began long before either of them were born. Their destinies are entangled in bloody wars, dark magic, and moral grey areas, and the decisions they make together could cause the destruction of everyone they love and two entire realms with them.
Prologue: Nothing to Fear
