Tales From Long Ago and far Away

By Charity Rau

A collection of short stories all set in the same world as my novel, The Bloodstained Key.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charity Rau
• Release date: Feb 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224311705

Charity Rau

Charity loves fairy tales and myths and re-imagining them. When not writing, she takes creative photos, paints, and spends time with family. Charity lives in Maryland with her sassy pomchi and her own charming prince. The Bloodstained Key is her first book.

Book preview

Note to the Reader

All of these stories are set in the same world as The Bloodstained Key. Some of them may seem to have ambiguous endings, like there could be more to the story, and that’s because they do. Many will be mentioned in later books in the series. Some may even end up having their own novel someday, but for now they are setting up events to come. Hope you enjoy.

And if you like playlists, check out the one I made for this book on Spotify:

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Happy Reading,

Charity

Snow and Kai

The cottage door crashed open. Snow looked up from her knitting. Kai stood in the doorway. It’s time, he said. She’s coming.

Snow jumped up, the blanket she’d been working on fell, needles clanked against the floorboards. She ran to the closet and pulled her already packed bag from it, then grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows.

Did you tell the others?

Kai nodded. They are ready, waiting for you.

Okay, let’s go. Snow pushed past Kai and ran out the door and down the hill to the barn.  Nine sleek horses danced in place, the seven Fare Warriors atop them, waiting patiently. Fryar, their leader, held the hackamores of the two riderless horses.

Snow went and took the reins of the silvery white horse. Hey, Moonlight, pretty boy. She stroked his nose as he leaned into her, snuffling her face.

You okay? Concern covered Fryar’s face. She loved all the Warriors, but Fryar had a special place in her heart. He’d been like a father to her. She had lost her own father when she was ten, and her mother at three. Her stepmother had never cared for her and was now out to kill her.  

She nodded and mounted her horse. She had to be okay. What other choice did she have? The whole country was depending on her. The crown was rightfully hers. She was the only one who could do something about her evil stepmother. She had been training for this since she was fourteen years old, when Kai had brought her here to the Warriors.

Fryar didn’t look like he believed her, but Snow turned away signaling her horse forward. The others followed, Kai pulling his mount over to her, staring intently. You going to be all right? he whispered.

Why does everyone keep asking me that? she hissed back. She signaled Moonlight to go faster. We don’t have time to worry about petty feelings. Cordea’s probably already slaying everyone in her path, she yelled over the wind.

Kai didn’t answer. They were going so fast conversation was difficult. He kept pace with her, Fryar doing the same on her other side.

She knew why they were so worried. Cordea had managed to create a massive army. Word was she had a wizard creating special weapons for her. Snow and the Warriors had managed to raise a fair-sized army themselves. Plenty of people were angry about Cordea’s vicious ways, but they had mediocre weapons at best, made from things they could gather from the forest and the dump fields.

Worrying wouldn’t make it better. She had to stay focused. Cordea had a bigger army and fancier weapons, but they had the element of surprise, people hidden in plain sight, and the Fare Warriors on their side.

After riding for a couple hours, the Warriors in front of Snow pulled the horses to a stop. In the distance, several of Cordea’s soldiers stood before a large iron gate. They were armed and dressed in full chainmail armor.

Snow glanced at Fryar. His look of surprise told her he hadn’t expected this either. Had Cordea somehow found out where they were? Did she know they were on the way to confront her?

What are we going to do now? Skye asked. He was the youngest warrior, only a few years older than Snow herself.

If we fight, we’ll have to kill them all or take captives, Darhye said bitterly. He was Fryar’s second in command and was persistently gloomy.

Maybe there’s another path we can take? Smeleye suggested. He was the exact opposite of Darhye, preferring to look on the bright side.

And what other way do you know that leads to Crimson Peak? Darhye snapped.

Smeleye shrugged. Perhaps we could find some locals that could tell us.

We’ve studied all the maps and memorized the routes. I don’t think another way is just going to magically appear. Darhye crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Smeleye. Smeleye shrugged but didn’t say anything.

Okay, calm down, Darhye, Fryar soothed. Let’s just go into the woods and set up camp.

You think they’ll be gone tomorrow? Khyree asked. He was the quietest of all the warriors, only speaking when he had something important to say.

I doubt it, Darhye groused.

Fryar ignored him and replied, Perhaps, but if not, we may have to try traversing the woods. Capturing or killing is our absolute last resort, but we certainly can’t let them see us and report back to Cordea.

They turned into the woods, going far enough away that they could be sure their voices wouldn’t be carried back to the soldiers. It didn’t take long to set up camp, and once they had a fire going, Kai plopped down next to Snow.

You think they’ll be gone in the morning? he whispered, his eyes full of concern. Kai had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. He was the son of the royal huntsman and been proclaimed huntsman himself after his father died when he was only seventeen. He’d loved the honor until the day the queen had commanded him to take Snow out into the woods and kill her.

Instead, he taken her to the Warriors, aware that war was coming, and Cordea was better prepared than anyone to take over. Still, he’d chosen Snow’s side, and he served as their spy in the royal courtroom. He’d taken back a pig’s heart to prove that Snow was dead. Until recently, Cordea had been satisfied with that. 

Snow shook her head. Not really. I think Cordea knows more than we think. She seems to have someone helping her who knows a lot about us.

Who could possibly be helping her? We are the only ones who know the whole plan.

A desperate villager, maybe? Snow shrugged. I’m not sure. But she found out that I was still alive somehow, and she nearly killed you because of it.

But she didn’t. I got away. Kai smirked, clearly proud of the way he managed to outsmart Cordea’s soldiers by crawling away through the long-abandoned mining tunnels.

What about those people you were staying with? Maybe gold meant more to them than helping us?

Kai shook his head. I don’t think so. Cordea killed their son just because he refused to come to the Summer’s End Ball. They hate her.

Snow sighed, pulled up her knees and rested her head on them. There were hundreds of stories like that. Cordea killed without hesitation. It didn’t help that the smallest thing could set her off. She had to be stopped.

Still, Snow was sure she was receiving information about them in some way. She just didn’t know how. It did seem unlikely that any of the villagers who had joined their cause would turn on them, as nearly every one of them had someone who had been killed by the queen. But how else could she be getting information?

Kai reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. We’ll find a way to overtake her, Snow. I promise. His dark eyes burned with intensity, and Snow didn’t doubt his words, but maybe he believed in something he couldn’t make happen.

Snow, wake up. Snow opened her eyes to see Cyre kneeling over her. Sorry to wake you, but we need to get moving.

Eyre offered her his hand. The twins were always together. They were the ones who’d taught Snow how to fight, the ones who viewed themselves as her own personal protectors. They were the ones who’d told her about Cordea’s vengeance. Both of their parents had been killed by her.

Are the soldiers still there?

Cyre nodded. We’re going to backtrack to Hunter’s Village and take the long way.

Eyre sighed and shrugged. It’s about all we can do short of killing them all.

Okay. Snow had known this would probably happen. Backtracking was going to add two to three days to the journey to Crimson Peak. At this rate, Cordea would get there first and slaughter everyone.

Kai had discovered the queen’s plan before leaving the palace for good. She’d invited all of the nearby Crimson Village to a bonfire, but it was a ruse. She was planning to raid the village and kill anyone wouldn’t vow allegiance to her.

This was where they had decided to take their stand against the queen. Most of the people they had rallied to their side could easily reach it, and it would be a fair fighting field. No hidden places. But if the queen got there days before them... Well, it wouldn’t be good.

But they were not sure what day the queen would be arriving. She had been waffling on the day she wanted to arrive at Crimson Peak and