So This Is Ever After

Arek hadn't given much attention to what would occur if he fulfilled the prophesy, which said he was meant to free the Kingdom of Ere from the dark monarch. It turns out that magical swords taken from bogs don't come pre-sharpened, so once he eventually succeeds in beheading the wicked king (although clumsily), he and his motley crew of quest allies are a little lost about what to do next.

Arek's closest friend and fellow wizard, Matt, persuades him to take the crown in the interim, providing protection, until the rightful successor can be freed from her tower. that is, unless she's deceased. Arek is now confined to the position of king, which has a magical condition: you must choose a spouse by the time you are eighteen or you will eventually fade away.

Only Matt knows that Arek's eighteenth birthday is in three months, so he sets out on a last-ditch effort to locate a bride in order to prolong his life, beginning with his mission companions. However, his efforts to court his pals backfire horribly and comically. until he realizes that maybe love was standing right in front of him the whole time.

In this rebellious, "delightfully original and whimsical" (Kirkus Reviews) young adult fiction, Carry On meets Arthurian mythology to explore what happens when the chosen one wins the kingdom and must get married to retain it—that is, to survive.