The King's Bride

CHAPTER 1

In the bustling streets of New York City, where towering skyscrapers kissed the skies and a symphony of car horns filled the air, there existed a world both enchanting and captivating. It was a world woven with the dreams of those who sought fortune, fame, and a life filled with endless possibilities. This was the world where Alyssa Hensler lived, a world that danced to the tune of ambition and opportunity.

In this city, the affluent and the poor lived side by side, creating a tapestry of contrasting lives. The elite dwelled in luxurious penthouses, attended glamorous parties, and dined in the finest restaurants, while the less fortunate struggled to make ends meet in cramped apartments and worked grueling hours to forge a path to a better life.

Yet, despite the disparities, the city echoed with stories that transcended social boundaries. Tales were whispered in the narrow alleyways, shared on crowded subway trains, and written on the walls of abandoned buildings. Stories of hope, sacrifice, and resilience, each woven into the very fabric of the city.

It was in this world that Alyssa toiled tirelessly, working as a chambermaid in a three-star hotel. She navigated the polished hallways and freshened up rooms with grace, while her mind wandered to far-off places and the secrets they held. Perhaps it was her love for stories that drew her to this line of work, for within the walls of each hotel room, she imagined the lives of the guests, each room a chapter in their own unique tale.

“Mum, does a forbidden book really exist in this world?”, A little girl who stood in the hallway asked, turning to her mother who fiddled with her bag.

“Well, I wouldn’t know about that, honey. Why do you ask?” The woman said, gently, rubbing her daughter’s hair with a smile.

“Nothing. Our teacher talked about it in class today and I got curious about it so I wanted to ask about it to be sure”, The girl answered.

“I mean, I’ve heard something about a special book like that and some people believe it exists but I’ve never seen it before”.

“I guess I’ll just ask my teacher more on it then”.

“You should do that, my love. Now, let’s go get our ice cream before daddy starts calling for us”, The woman said and hand-in-hand, they both walked off.

Alyssa Hensler who had been listening in on their conversation rolled her eyes as the mother-daughter pair left. She worked tirelessly at her job and as she went about her daily tasks, exchanging pleasantries with guests and laughing with her friend Lexi, Alyssa couldn’t escape the buzz of fervor surrounding a particular legend. It seemed that everyone was abuzz with talk of a forbidden book, an elusive treasure that resided only within the pages of children’s stories. The tale had taken on a life of its own, transforming into an urban legend that intrigued both young and old alike.

Hearing the child's mother concur to the insane story about a Forbidden book which was only found in children books, she couldn’t help feeling pissed. She wished parents wouldn’t fill their children’s heads with ridiculous stories of fantastical world or fairy tales stories with happy ending because it would be much harsher when they grew up to find out later on that the world wasn’t made of roses and a handsome prince wouldn’t suddenly pop out of a bush and ask for their hand in marriage.

She didn’t understand why people kept on talking about this book so much that it had turned into something of an urban legend.

“Ally?!”, Lexi, her best friend called behind her and she turned to give her a playful mean look. Lexi Walker had been Alyssa’s closest friend for a long time and they both worked the same jobs as maids in a hotel.

“What’s up, Lexi?”, Alyssa asked, stuffing her mouth with the mint chewing gum they gave out for free in the hotel lobby.

“You really should stop chewing those gum. You look horrendous when you chew them that way”, Lexi commented, poking her friend's cheek.

“It exercises your mouth and gets rid of cheek fat. What do you want from me? I know you don’t come here just to make fun of me”.

“Of course not”, Lexi said with a small laugh. “I wanted to ask you to take over my shift for me tonight”.

Alyssa frowned deeply. “Again?”.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that my boyfriend, Tom and I are going out to the historical museum tonight. You know how he is, he loves history and is really into antique stuff”.

“ Why do I have to care about whether you’re going out on a date with your boyfriend or not? I can’t keep covering your shifts for you, Lexi. You should tell him to give you some much required space”.

“I’m going to… Someday. But he’s really excited to go there today. Apparently some ancient book was found and would be displayed there or something. The museum is advertising it as some sort of mystery book so they’ll get a lot of visitors”.

Alyssa rolled her eyes again. “Last time. I’m not doing this for you again”.

Lexi jumped in excitement. “Thank you so much, babe. I promise, this is the last time”.

“Better. You should hurry and change. You don’t want to be late for your date”.

Lexi nodded and leaned over to give Alyssa a quick peck on the cheek before running off to the locker room.

                                                                         ************* 

Working as hard and as fast as we could, Alyssa finished up both hers and Lexi's work before heading into the locker room to change and head back home. Thinking about where she lived made her feeling incredibly sad but she had no where else to go and she had lived there all her life. That place had never really been her home, not after her mother died and her father got remarried to a woman that hated the sight of her. Her step mother and her two daughters did their best to bully and humiliate her and nothing she did ever made them happy. They enjoyed acting out Cinderella's story and they fit their roles perfectly but Alyssa knew that she was no Cinderella, she didn’t care about her step family even with how cruel they were to her and there definitely wasn’t a handsome prince right on her tail, chasing her around with a glass slipper for marriage.

They stayed home and did pretty much nothing and they expected her to come back home with the little wage she earned to feed and provide for them alongside her coward of a father who never did anything to stop their mistreatment.

He had promised her after her mother’s demise that he would love, protect and support her but after he made the new additions to the family, he became complacent and nothing she did or said made him put in any effort.

Alyssa heaved a small sigh as she got to the little house she stayed in with her family before walking in. The four of them were all in the living room watching a Spanish soap opera and as she entered, they turned to stare at her.

“You’re late. Again!”, Her step mother, Helen, yelled as she glared at her.

“I was helping Lexi with her shift” , Alyssa told her.

“Do you think we’re stupid? Everyone knows you’re out with men whenever you don’t return in time”, Sandra, one of my step sister said, giving me a smug look like she had done something.

“I wasn’t with anyone. I was working, okay? If it bothers you so much, you can just call Lexi”.

“Why would we want to do that? It’s not like we don’t know that she’ll just lie for you”, The younger one, Susie said.

Alyssa rolled her eyes and began walking to her room with a hiss but got dragged back forcefully by her step mother.

“Where the hell do you think you're going? You think you can just step into my house at whatever time you feel like without giving me an explanation as to where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing?”, She screamed and Alyssa pursed her lips, knowing that she was about to go on another one of her tirades.

Seeing that their victim wasn’t playing their games and wasn’t planning to say anything more to them, Sandra said, “If she really went to work and had been working the entire day, then she should show us the money that she’s made”, with a weird curve to her mouth that she thought was a smirk but really looked like she was in pain and getting paralyzed.

Before Alyssa could protest, Susie snatched her bag and poured it’s contents down on the ground.