Once Upon a Time just got hotter!
When starving artist Jax is transported into a different realm, she learns giants don't just have magical golden eggs and geese that play the harp. Forget the tale you heard years ago and find out what happens when Jax meets the giant Tael. You'll never think of this fairytale the same way again!
Read the first chapter!
Jax
“I will not eat SpaghettiOs morning, noon, and night,” Jax Butler repeated as she stared at her living room set. The mismatched couch, comfy chair, coffee table with splinters the size of daggers, and antique lamp were all she had left in the world. No more boyfriend—who had taken the plasma TV, the iDeck for her iPod, her computer, and all of her books. Her life had been on her computer, all of her graphic design files, portfolios. Everything.
He’d taken her livelihood and run, the smarmy bastard. Her friends had warned her not to get involved with him, but six months later she was happy with Steve and she’d figured she’d show them all, jealous, completely single girls that they were.
And then he’d screwed her over big time by suggesting that they open a joint account. They were living together and talking marriage, so it wasn’t a big step—not as big as, say, having a kid together or getting married. It was only money, which at times seemed to be her worse enemy.
Which was why she’d been living la vida broko for the last five months. Daddy had cut her off, Mom wouldn’t talk to her if the conversation turned to finances, and her sister only rolled her eyes—or revved up her Beemer and took off.
“Shabby chic,” she muttered. “People like shabby chic.”
But who was she kidding? This place wasn’t chic, it was garage sale reject shabby. Not cool, not hip, not worth the five hundred dollars she needed to pay her month’s rent, which meant she was about to be living in a cardboard box beside all of her belongings in a Chicago alley.
She ran her fingers through her short, freshly colored hair. Going darker and adding highlights now seemed like a bad idea considering she could have used the hundred and fifty she’d spent on hair and nails for her car insurance. Or dinner. Or maybe just a night out to make her forget about her pity party.
She walked onto her balcony and crossed her arms, unable to believe that her dream apartment had become a complete nightmare. No one would ever let her live this down. They expected her little artist ass to be starving and living in squalor.
“Right as always,” she muttered.
A knock on the door made her jump, and she turned to find a perky college age student with oversized sunglasses and spikey red hair standing by the sliding glass door.
“Hey, my name is Xu. I came to see the furniture you’re selling,” she said once Jax returned inside. She tipped her sunglasses down, revealing the most beautiful and unusual blue eyes for a petite Asian girl. “The note on the wall said willing to negotiate. What’s the asking price?”
“Three hundred for everything,” Jax answered.
The girl frowned. “I’ll have to think about it.”
“I can go lower,” she blurted out, unwilling to risk her first and possibly only customer.
No you can’t! Three hundred bucks or no deal!
Jax ignored her inner voice and squared her shoulders. “How about two-fifty?”
“I wasn’t looking to spend over two hundred.”
If she was going to go down like a punk, at least she could pretend to be tough as nails. Hands planted on her hips, she shifted her weight and thought about it. Two hundred bucks was at least enough to get her through the next week for food and necessities. Maybe her hair dye would disguise her when she started to frequent the soup kitchens at the end of the month. Besides, homeless people didn’t need new shoes or fancy clothes, and she was definitely going to be homeless by November.
“Well, maybe we could trade something for the price difference.”
The little pixie’s eyes lit up. “My car’s parked on the curb. I think I may have some CDs, remixes and stuff, if you’re interested.”
She could resell CDs at the local music recycling place, and since she knew the owner, he might take pity on her and buy remixes.
“Definitely.”
Jax tugged the sleeves of her hoodie down and followed the college student down the narrow stairway and out the front door where a little white four-door with butterfly stickers in the window waited. The car was crammed full of boxes, which she assumed hadn’t fit in the trailer behind the sedan.
“You have a lot of plants,” Jax commented.
“Do you like plants? I can’t have pets, but I don’t like living someplace where there isn’t life, so I have lots and lots of plants.”
“I see that.”
“Here.” The girl shoved a giant, viney mass of green leaves into Jax’s hands. “This is one of my favorites, but it’s a third generation from my original Lulu. You can have this as long as you swear that you will treat her right.”
Great, now she could hang a basket outside of her cardboard box to make it more aesthetically pleasing.
“Uh, thanks. Hey, did you say Lulu?”
“Of course. I have a close friend who’s a…botanist. I always name his plants. This is Lulu the Third.”
“Ah.” They were both crazy, then, Xu and her buddy Looney Tunes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Jaquelina. My friends call me Jax.”
“Jax,” she said fondly. “I like it.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, and here.” The girl shoved a handful of CDs into her grasp and pulled a wad of twenties from her pocket. “Now what about the furniture?”
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