Wickedly Ever After by Rachel Kenley

Author:Rachel Kenley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books
Published: 2020-01-08T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Rhiannon lay on her cot with Albert on her belly, one hand on him and the other holding a copy of a book she’d found in the restroom. Both of their stomachs growled. “Soon, kitty. Let me finish this chapter.” He purred as she stroked his white fur.

She loved to read. The world had changed so much, and books had been an easy way to keep up with human advances and upheavals. She particularly enjoyed fairy tales about her kin, the Fae and other magical beings. They were usually quite funny. Humankind had an inflated notion of its superiority and seemed obsessed with happy endings.

Books also kept the loneliness at bay. Through them, she would reminisce about her childhood and life in a simpler time. Today’s world was too complicated. Outside these walls, she’d faced unknown dangers without respite. Without friends.

Enough lamenting. Time to eat. She sat up and stretched, and then donned her favorite jacket, pulling the hood up and around her face. It enabled her to blend in, as well as spare the humans the sight of her. Her people were not known for their aesthetic appeal.

She climbed the stairs to the eighth floor. It was a long way from her enclave off the boiler room, but despite the years since the old building had been updated to include the elevator, a gadget that flew people to different levels, she still didn’t trust it. Nature’s way was best, always. If she wanted to eat, she’d take a walk.

With a wave of her hand, the steel door opened, and she peered out of the vestibule. The day was short, and few humans remained. None of them lingered in the food place called Cafe after the sun went down.

She headed first to the electric icebox, her favorite modern convenience. This one housed all manner of cheese, white cheese, yellow cheese, a cheese with surprisingly delicious mold. Today she found stone fruit and with the cheese, she had a veritable feast. Next, she went to the vast cupboard. Bags of tea leaves, bread, a jug of water, a jar of cherry jam. Fish in a can for Albert.

Stopping at one of the supply closets, she grabbed a light bulb and a few other essentials and happily sprinted down the steps with her bounty.

Albert mewled with irritation, winding in and out around her legs as she dished out his tuna.

“You would receive your food faster if you did not make it so difficult for me to move.”

After setting his bowl on the floor, she scooped cherry jam onto a slice of bread and slid down the wall next to him. In the quiet of their meal, she listened to the faint echoes from the music rooms. The only positive side effect from humans inhabiting her home was the stream of melodious sounds they produced, all pleasant to her ears. Many an evening she’d sat on the stairs adjacent to the room where instruments were played, and humans sang. Music, in all of its varieties, had been a part of the world since there were creatures in it.

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