by K. A. Last
I lean on the balcony wall and stare out over the grounds of Chethan Manor. The glow from the lights of the main house spread far enough for me to see the beautiful gardens below. The clock above us chimes and I panic for a heartbeat, until I turn to read the time. Eleven pm. I still have an hour before I have to leave.
It’s not enough time.
Several girls hover at the balcony doors. Two of them come outside and stand close enough to hear our conversation. I search the faces from the corner of my eye and relax a little when I can’t find my stepsisters. I want these girls to go away though, so I can have Ash to myself.
I glance at Ash’s new artefact, wishing I could ask him to stop time for us, so we can be here together without the whispers and the stares. But I won’t. The Bain pocket watch not only comes with great responsibility, it comes with conditions.
I remember reading about it in one of Anna’s old school books. Whoever uses it to stop time, will also lose time. Everything around you may seem like time has stopped, but the clock keeps ticking, and for every minute the hands turn, the user will age that time three-fold.
I reach out and touch the face of the clock resting against Ash’s shirt. “This certainly makes your family the richest in the county.”
“I don’t care about any of that.” Ash puts his hand over mine, and presses my palm to his chest. The watch is cool against my skin. “There are other ways to be rich.”
I step closer to Ash. So close I could kiss him if I was brave enough.
“You might think differently if you knew who I really am.” I stare into his eyes.
“I know who you are, Eleanor.”
I stiffen. How could he possibly know? Has someone recognised me? Have I been found out? Is it obvious that I’m a servant girl who doesn’t belong here, pretending to be someone she’s not?
Is he about to ask me a question I don’t want to answer while he’s holding my hand and wearing his truth ring?
I shake my head. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t have to,” Ash says. “I don’t care where you live, or where you came from. I could’ve asked you all those questions by now, and you would’ve told me.” He looks down at his ring, the opal shining like a rainbow on his hand that covers mine. “I only care that you are here now. With me.” He looks into my eyes again, and I see the truth in them.
My breath catches in my chest, and I don’t know how to respond. There is nothing I can say that will explain how I feel in this moment. A moment where I wish there was no one else around us. I close my eyes, and pretend that I am here with only Ash. I concentrate on the touch of his hand and the tickle of his breath on my cheek. My heart races as I sense him move closer to me still, then comes the soft touch of his lips on mine.
When Ash pulls away, I can’t keep the smile from my lips. I want him to kiss me again, but we have a large audience. Instead, I turn my back to the crowd and lean on the balcony wall, gazing out over the gardens.
Ash puts his arm around me. “Thank you for coming tonight.”
“Thank you for inviting me.” I lean into him. “Everything is ... perfect.”
We talk for a while, and I lose track of time, until a shrill voice interrupts.
“There you are!”
Anna.
Ash pulls away from me and turns to face my stepsister. Anna throws me a death glare, then smiles sweetly at Ash. Seconds later, Drew is at her side. Both girls are beautiful in their gowns and matching masks adorned with crystals and sequins. It’s a shame they aren’t also beautiful on the inside.
“Hello, Anna. Drew,” Ash says. “Are you having a nice night?”
Anna runs her hand up Ash’s arm, despite the fact he is standing so close to me.
“It has been wonderful,” Anna croons. “It would be even better if I could have a dance.”
“I’m busy right now. Perhaps later.” He turns back to me and gives my hand a gentle squeeze.
“Maybe you can introduce us to your friend,” Drew says.
My heart races. Oh no. If Ash says my name they’re going to know it’s me. Will my mask be enough to fool them?
“This is Eleanor,” Ash says. “And we were talking. If you don’t mind.”
“Eleanor.” Anna raises her eyebrows and looks me up and down, ignoring Ash’s blatant suggestion that she should go away. “We have a servant girl with that name. But we call her Ella. Eleanor is such an ugly name.”
I hold my breath.
Ash frowns. “It’s a very beautiful name in my opinion.”
“Oh, well, the Eleanor we know is a wretch,” Drew says.
“Yes, she wanted to come tonight,” Anna adds. “But we made sure she couldn’t.”
I can’t believe how rude my stepsisters are.
“You shouldn’t talk so badly about people when they are not here to defend themselves.” I take my hand from Ash’s and face my stepsisters. “And jealousy doesn’t make you look very pretty.”
Anna’s mouth drops open. Then she narrows her eyes at me. “Do you know who I am? Obviously not. How dare you speak to me that way?”
I snap my mouth shut in an effort to stop myself from saying something else I will regret later. But I really want my stepsisters to go away, because I’m running out of time with Ash. Anna takes a step towards me, and I try to move out of the way, but there’s no room. My back bumps into the railing of the balcony. The stone edge presses into my skin.
“I think you should back off, Anna,” Ash says. “Eleanor is right. Jealousy doesn’t look good on anyone.”
“What is happening out here?” Lady Roche’s voice comes from behind her daughters.
The balcony is now quite crowded, and I want to get away. To go downstairs and run into the open fields so I can breathe properly. But there are too many people between me and the doors.
The clock above us chimes and I glance up as the hour hand ticks over to midnight.
I’m out of time.
Ding ... ding ... ding.
I look over my shoulder to the grounds below. My carriage is waiting at the entrance.
“This girl is being rude to us,” Drew says when she sees her mother. “She told Anna she isn’t pretty.”
I did no such thing, but Lady Roche will believe whatever her daughters say. As she always does. In her eyes, the two girls can do no wrong.
The clock chimes again, and again, and again.
“And who is this girl?” Lady Roche steps forward.
“She is my guest,” Ash replies. “And if your daughters don’t check their manners, I will have to ask them to leave.”
Ding ... ding ... ding ... ding ... ding.
Anna comes closer again, and I lean back with nowhere to go.
“I want to know who you are.” Her hand darts out and grabs my mask, pulling it from my face. I stumble forward.
The clock chimes for the twelfth time.
I raise my hands and cry out. Magic shoots from my fingers in a subconscious reaction, and Anna staggers backwards. Ash grabs me and steadies me.
The pendant around my neck glows a brilliant blue. Light flows out of it, down and over my dress, shrouding me in magic that drips from me, slowly revealing my stained top and ripped trousers. I glance over my shoulder, and one of the horses pulling my carriage dissolves. The swallow flutters away. The carriage disintegrates into blue light. The driver falls to the ground, then also disappears before he can get to his feet.
“Ella!” Drew cries. “No, it can’t be you.”
“What is all the yelling out here?” Lord Chethan appears through a break in the crowd. “What is going on?”
“What are you doing here, girl?” Lady Roche asks, ignoring Lord Chethan’s questions. “And where did you get that artefact?” She lunges towards me.
“No!” Ash cries.
Everything stops.
Lady Roche is still, with her arm outstretched. I look down at myself. My dress is gone, but my feet are still encased in the glass slippers.
Anna and Drew’s faces are frozen in ugly snarls. Everyone else around us stands like statues. I survey the scene in disbelief. Then I look to Ash.
He has the Bain pocket watch open on his palm. The second hand ticks around the face, counting the time it will age him. The time it’s taking from him.
I shake my head. “No. Ash. No. Turn it off. Turn it off!”
He doesn’t reply. He just smiles and lets the watch fall to his chest, the case still open. Then Ash pulls me to him, and crushes his lips to mine. I fall into him, letting him sweep me away on a wave of longing and passion.
When he pulls back, he stares into my eyes. “I meant what I said. Your name is beautiful. Ella is lovely, too.”
I shake my head again, and tears spill onto my cheeks. “Please turn it off. Don’t waste time for me.”
“You are worth every second.”
Despite his kind words, I break away from him. I have to get out of here. The longer I stay, the more time he will lose. I can’t let him make this sacrifice for me. I’m just a servant girl. I’m not worth it.
“I have to go,” I say.
I run. Through the frozen people and into the ballroom. Out the main entrance and down the steps. I trip, and one of my glass slippers comes off my foot.
“Eleanor, wait,” Ash calls, but I take the other shoe off and keep running, through the grounds of Chethan Manor, until I reach the road. Only then do I stop and look back at the lights glowing from the house. At the silhouette of Ash standing on the steps.
A horse neighs in the darkness.
Ash bends to pick something up.
I clutch the slipper to my chest, the last remnant of my magical night, and cry for everything I have lost.
Chapter ten
I SHOULD HAVE BEEN more careful. I should have kept track of time, and left the ball earlier. Before I could get myself into so much trouble. I should never have talked to my stepsisters the way I did. Then Anna would never have ripped the mask from my face, and I would not have thrown her off with my magic.
Now, Lady Roche knows about my pendant, and there is no way she will let me keep it. She will want it for herself. She already thinks everything of mine is hers.
I stumble along the road in the dark, one hand clutching my glass slipper and the other my pendant. The ground digs into the soles of my bare feet. I need to hide my pendant somewhere that it can’t be found. My cottage is out of the question, especially now I know my stepsisters have been in there snooping around. Besides, the floor is dirt, so I have no boards to lift.
There are no other places where it would be safe enough, and I need to put it somewhere Lady Roche will never go. The willow will protect it. Lady Roche would never go to visit my mother at the cemetery.
The village is quiet as I pass through, and when I come out the other side, exhaustion threatens to take me. The cemetery seems so far away, but I push on. Finally, I reach the gate with no idea what the hour is. It must be very late. It feels as if I have been walking forever.
I have to stop twice and rest my feet on the way up the hill to my mother’s grave. By the time I get there, weariness has seeped into my bones. I fall on my knees in front of her headstone, clutching the glass slipper tightly, and weep.
“I’ve had such a terrible night. The ball ended in disaster. I don’t know what to do,” I tell her. “I’m afraid to go home. Lady Roche will be furious. She will demand my pendant.”
There is no answer other than the willow’s leaves rustling in the light breeze. I get to my feet and go to the trunk of the tree, placing my palm against it and closing my eyes. Will you keep it safe? I ask in my mind. I open my eyes, and my tears fall onto the dirt below. They seep into the ground, glowing blue and pulsing in time with my pendant.
Light comes to the surface and swirls into the shape of a swallow. The slipper in my hand also glows. The little bird loops around me, leaving a trail of magic, before it flies up into the tree and perches on a branch high above my head.
I take a deep breath, tuck the slipper into my pocket, then climb the tree, pressing the soles of my sore feet to the trunk so I can push myself up to the first branch. I keep climbing, until I reach the swallow, then stop and sit amongst the leaves in the moonlight. The little bird pecks at the crevice in between two branches. I unclasp my pendant from around my neck and place it into the nook of the branch. There is a dip in it deep enough to hold the pendant and the chain.
“Please look after it.” I press my palm against the bark, and the willow sighs. The swallow flitters off, changing shape until it is nothing more than tendrils of blue magic again.
I sit in the tree for a while, cradling the glass slipper in my hands, and wonder why it didn’t disappear with my dress when the magic wore off. I’m too tired to think of an explanation. I’m just glad to have something left of the magical night I had with Ash.
By the time I climb down and make my way home to my cottage, it’s almost sunrise. I hide the glass slipper in my blanket box, then fall onto my bed and close my eyes, hoping sleep will come quickly. I drift for an unknown amount of time, aware of the birds chirping outside, but stuck in the half-way place between wakefulness and sleep.
Something bangs.
“Ella,” Anna’s shrill voice shouts. “Come out right now.”
I roll over and curl into a ball, then pull the blanket up and put my arms over my head, in no mood to deal with my horrible stepsister. If she’s here, it means I missed breakfast. Right now, I don’t care. They can look after themselves for one day.
“Ella,” Drew says this time. “You better open the door.”
“Now, girl,” Lady Roche demands.
More banging.
I sit up. Lady Roche never comes to my cottage.
I am in trouble.
I push my matted hair away from my face, and get out of bed. The door sticks like it always does, and I have to lift it to open it. Lady Roche stands on the other side of the threshold, flanked by my two stepsisters. They don’t look very impressed.
“My gosh, you look terrible,” Anna says.
“You better get cleaned up,” Lady Roche adds.
Drew scowls. “You have a visitor.”
The girls step aside. Ash is standing a way up the path that leads to the front door of my cottage. He holds the reins of a beautiful black horse in one hand, in the other is something wrapped in silk. A carriage pulled by two more horses sits behind him. Ash rocks on his heels, a smile curling his lips upwards.
I haven’t washed or changed since before the ball. I look down at my grubby, torn clothes. At the dirt on my hands and feet. I really must be a sight.
“Thank you, Lady Roche,” Ash says, leading the horse towards us. “Perhaps you can go up to Roche Manor now? My parents will be arriving soon.”
Lady Roche hitches her skirt and raises her chin. She doesn’t reply, but turns and walks past Ash. My stepsisters follow.
“My carriage will take you back,” Ash says. “Eleanor and I will be along shortly. I trust you will have tea ready when we arrive.”
“As you wish,” Lady Roche says, but her pursed lips suggest she is far from happy about taking orders from Ashwin Chethan.
Ash’s driver opens the carriage door for Lady Roche and my stepsisters, and they pile in. Ash watches them drive up the forest road before turning back to me.
I have so many things I want to say to him. How I’m sorry for running away. That I wish the night had ended differently. How I should have told him the truth about who I am. But the words are stuck in my mouth, and all I can do is stare at him.
“I brought you something.”
“A horse?” I cross the threshold and walk to ash, holding my hand out to stroke the animal’s nose.
“And this.” He holds out the silk-wrapped parcel.
I curl my fingers around it, feeling the solid item underneath the smooth fabric, but I don’t unwrap it.
“Why are you here?” I finally manage to ask.
“Beca
use I want to be.”
“But ... you know who I am now.” I stare down at the silk in my hands. It’s blue, like my gown was. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Why?” Ash reaches out and lifts my chin with his finger. “Because you’re treated like a servant?”
“I am a servant.”
Ash shakes his head. “Even if you are, I don’t care. Now open this, or I will.” He puts his hand over mine holding the parcel.
I fold back the silk to reveal the glass slipper I lost running down the steps of Chethan Manor. It glitters, and I smile.
“Thank you. The slippers are all I have left from last night.”
“You have more than just a pair of shoes.” Ash takes my hand and squeezes it gently. “You have me. And this horse.”
I frown and look from Ash to the beautiful mare, and back again. “What do you mean?”
Ash shrugs. “I assumed she had something to do with the spell you cast. She isn’t one of ours, and I found her roaming the grounds shortly after you ran off.”
“I did wonder why my slippers didn’t disappear.” I look down at the shoe in my hand. “I have the other one inside.”
“Maybe we don’t need an explanation.”
Bird song fills the air, and a swallow lands between the horse’s ears.
“Maybe.” I stare at the horse and her bird companion, remembering back to when her partner and my driver returned to swallows, and the carriage disintegrated. To when ash used the Bain pocket watch. Did stopping time have something to do with it? “Everyone was frozen, and I still had my shoes.”
“What are you talking about?” Ash asks.
I look at him, excited. “You stopped time. Maybe you stopped it before my spell wore off completely.”
“Or maybe the willow tree wanted you to have something special.”
The swallow chirps a few notes before taking to the air and fluttering off. The black mare whinnies and tosses her head, then nuzzles my cheek with her velvety nose. Ash and I laugh.
“A gift from my mother, perhaps. Does she have a name?”
“I’m sure you can give her one.”
“Swallow.”
“Perfect,” Ash says. “Come on. My parents are eager to meet you.”