A Ruin of Roses

The prologue takes place nine years before the main narrative. In the kingdom where 14-year-old Finley lives, a curse has consumed the land and made many ill, including Finley’s grandmother. Through trial and error, Finley has discovered a way to slow the curse’s effects using the everlass plant, which is difficult to grow outside the Forbidden Wood—the dark wood over which the great beast rules as guardian. One night, Finley sneaks into the wood and steals a satchel of everlass, only to be chased by the beast. Terrified, Finley crawls through brambles and runs for her life. Still, she can hear the beast gaining on her, and the Prologue ends with her dire observance that “the end was near” (3).

Nine years later, Finley wakes from a nightmare of the night in the woods detailed in the Prologue. Despite her success making the elixir to slow the curse, her grandmother and mother have died, and now her father is sick with the illness. Years ago, the king of the land made a deal with the demon king, which resulted in the curse.