The people of my planet are under a devastating genetic curse. To treat the disease’s effects, we’ve turned to cultivating a rare flower. That’s my occupation: raising and studying this flower. That’s precisely what I’m doing the daycycle that an alien drops into our research plot, approaches our plant… And cuts my flower’s head off, stealing the bloom.

Note: This 37K, standalone story is intended for readers 18+ due to romantic elements. There is no cheating. There is a Happily Ever After, because this is a sci-fi retelling of Beauty and the Beast--you have to have an HEA. (There is, however, no singing cutlery.)
*Important Note II: No unicorns were harmed in the making of this story.

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** Cosmic Fairy Tales is a collaboration in which several authors are retelling beloved tales with a science fiction romance twist. Each book is a standalone, containing its own Happily Ever After, and they can be read in any order. **