“I’ll do it,” I said and hugged her. “I’ll do it.”
Chapter 3
Secret Stash
Anjelina and I planned to meet at her house after Lilith and my stepsisters retired for the evening. I pretended to be finishing chores in the kitchen far past my normal bedtime to avoid being caught when it came time to meet her. Every nerve in my body teemed with anticipation and anxiety as I lay on a worn blanket next to the dying fire in the kitchen, watching orange embers fade from the charred wood.
The wind outside slithered into the house through alcoves and split wood paneling. The smell of fall mixing with the soft smoke from the fire infused the house. Although fall continued to mark itself my favorite season of the year, the days growing shorter and colder meant more work for me. The brutality of last winter made me cringe.
Life the past year wore on me day after day. The tragic loss continued to tear me up, and although the cost bore much, when I saw that parchment with Prince Greyson’s name, a sliver of hope for something more awoke inside my heart for the first time since that day. Like Anjelina said, what if Prince Greyson did remember me? What if he chose me at the ball? What would that mean for me?
A blistered log broke inside the fire, sending glowing ash up into the chimney. A puff of warmth blew against my face, reminding me of my father’s breath. I wondered how he’d feel knowing I blamed myself, and if he’d want this life for me or if he would rejoice at the opportunity the ball presented me. The question inside my head answered itself the moment I thought it. Of course, he’d be pleased. He’d even encourage me. He had even spoken of me to the prince. Everything he ever did for me or my mother meant to bring us security and happiness.
I sat up and listened hard for any stirring or sign from Lilith and the girls but heard none, aside from the creaking of the eves and the owl hooting outside in the evergreen. I wrapped Mother’s old pink crocheted shawl around my shoulders and tiptoed outside.
The full moon lit the grounds with silver beams, easily lighting my way to Anjelina’s estate. The darkness generated new vision and life to my growing hope. Things always seemed peaceful at night to me, as if my reality were different, calmer. Silence enveloped the shadows and quieted the odd repetitive sounds of life, bringing a sense of serenity not known to me during daylight.
When I approached my friend’s home, I could already see her pacing. I found myself smiling, gratitude swelling inside for her ever-present enthusiasm.
“Ella, come on. I already asked Mother if you could borrow one of her old dresses. I’ve got them in the cottage out back.”
Anjelina grabbed my hand and we ran to the cottage like young children sneaking off to cause trouble. She lit a few candles. In the flickering light, I could see an array of satin, brocade, chiffon, and organza in a multitude of colors.
“I don’t want to tell you what you should wear on the most important night of your life but I think . . . this one,” she rustled in the pile and pulled out a silvery-blue ball gown. “Yeah, this is it. I just know it. It’s meant for you. I remember it was your mother’s favorite color.”
She held it up, biting her lip. As the candlelight burst into the crystal beads rolling over the bodice, the dress appeared to take on a life of its own. I reached out, breathless at its beauty, and caressed the satin sleeves, mesmerized at the dancing sparkle.
“Do you like it?” whispered Anjelina.
“It’s perfect,” I breathed. “Absolutely perfect.” I bounced up and down on my toes, allowing myself to feel joy for the first time in over a year. I imagined Mother looking down on me, sighing, a tear falling from her eye.
She’d have loved the dress.
I started envisioning the different twists and braids I could sweep my hair into. Father had given me a strand of Mother’s pearls after she passed. I’d kept them hidden in the attic in a small wooden box. Finally, I had somewhere to wear them.
Anjelina squashed me in a tight embrace and squealed quietly into my hair. “Then it’s yours. When Mother gave me this pile of dresses to choose from, I envisioned you the moment I saw it.”
A deep sense of appreciation swelled within me. I reached out and grabbed her up in my arms, hugging her. We twirled around twice. I had one person left in my life who knew me as the person I used to be. Anjelina woke that inside me tonight. If there was such a thing as a fairy godmother, she’d have been it.
She squeezed me enthusiastically then pulled away and again rustled through the pile of dresses.
“I’m going in this,” she said. Anjelina held up a deep purple taffeta gown, layered with black lace and silver pearls.
“You’ll look breathtaking in that one,” I gasped. Her sharp angled cheekbones, bright blue eyes, and soft chin made her look cherubic.
She laughed and held the dress up to her, spinning around like a giggly ballerina.
“I’ll have my pick of the men at the ball. All but one.” She winked.
I gazed down at my blue dress, wanting to live inside the dream and fantasy of a perfect night with the prince, but reality brought me back to the present. Anxious trepidation started clawing at my stomach. Pulling this off would be impossible.
“How is this going to work? You know Lilith won’t allow me to go.” I peered up at my friend.
She dropped her dress atop the pile and put her hands on her hips.
“Well, I was in the market with Mother today after the royal messenger dropped off our invitation. She insisted on buying me a new ruffled slip for my dress. So, while in the dress shop I saw Lilith and your stepsisters shopping for their gowns.”
She scrunched her nose and set her jaw.
“I overheard them talking about the ball when the tailor was hemming Gisella’s dress. Lilith used the last of your family’s gold pieces to buy the most expensive dresses from the dressmaker. She kept hounding them about how to act and what to do to catch the prince’s eye. I mean seriously, how in the world could one of those two cows—”
“Focus,” I said, stifling a snigger.
“So, the herd of horrible hags dressed from nose to hoof will be leaving your house at 7:30 p.m. to arrive at the castle. After they leave, I’ll help you gussy yourself up to perfection in this beauty so you can be ready at 8:30. I’ve arranged with my two cousins to have a royal carriage sent for you.”
She reached out and took my hands.
“No one is going to stop this, Ella. Meeting the prince that day on the road was destiny. The stars aligned, marking you both. Stars don’t make mistakes. He’s yours and you’re his. Tomorrow night, sparks are going to fly.”
She grabbed my hand and we began waltzing around the room. All I could think of was how it would finally feel to have Prince Greyson’s hands around my waist, to feel the beat of his heart against mine. For so many years I observed him from afar—sketched his angled face, strong jaw, and broad shoulders. Tomorrow, I’d see them up close.
“You’ll kiss under the moon and stars. He’ll confess his undying devotion to you and whisk you away from your life of slavery into the castle, where you’ll get married. You’ll have gorgeous fat babies and do whatever princesses do.”
We stopped and she eyed me, her face as serious as I’ve ever seen it. “Because, Ella, your father’s death was not your fault. Forgive yourself. Stop punishing yourself for an accident that was out of your control. You’re a good person, the most loving, sweet, hardworking person I’ve ever known. We’ve been friends since forever. I love you. You do deserve to be happy, and it’s what your father and mother would’ve wanted. So, be happy, Ella.”
A lump of emotion rose in my throat. I swallowed three times to get it to go back down. I nodded, not being able to speak. I’d never told her about what happened, only that there was an accident. She knew Lilith, Ophelia, and Gisella blamed me for it. I wanted to tell her the truth so many times, I just couldn’t dig up the courage for fear somehow the commander would find out.
Anjelina folded the gown and placed it i
n a large dress box.
“Now, take this dress and get home. Work your butt off for the last time tomorrow, then be you’ll be off to the ball. Tomorrow night is going to be magical,” she said shoving the box into my arms.
“Are you sure your mother doesn’t mind?”
“Honestly, when Mother found out about the ball, she had me gather these to see if you liked any of them. If she wasn’t with Father at Lord Christensen’s fall feast, she’d be here fussing over you like she always does. I know she’d be proud to have you wear it. She loves you like a daughter.”
A flood of gratitude and adrenaline pulsed through me. When she hugged me goodbye, she had to pat my back to signal me to let go of her. Anjelina pushed me out the door, chortling. I hurried across the grounds. I turned back to see her waving enthusiastically. I hugged the box to my chest, promise glimmering like a beacon of heavenly light. I imagined myself at the ball, Prince Greyson’s arms hugging me, tossing me around the ballroom; the exquisite tones of the royal symphony filling my ears; the smell of food, flowers, and perfume scenting the air.
Tomorrow, my life is going to change.
Chapter 4
Primping and Prissing
Gisella and Ophelia bellowed at the top of their lungs from the upstairs hallway, screaming at me to bring the baby roses for the finishing touches on their elaborately coiffed hair.
My stepsisters not only bragged about the ball at breakfast that morning, they reveled in the fact my stepmother insisted I not attend. Primping them for the night’s festivities perpetually engrossed Lilith’s attention. I ran back and forth, braiding and curling, fluffing, and tying.
But I didn’t care.
My dress secretly lay under the blankets in my room in the attic. Each time one of them shrieked at me, I closed my eyes and focused on the crystal-green stare of the prince as he gazed deliriously into my face, hearing the whispered compliment floating off his perfect lips as I cradled his head on the road that day.
I prayed he’d remember me.
Night came fast. Although my joints and muscles ached from running up and down the stairs all day, my insides jittered with electric excitement. So many facets of tonight could be life changing but could also go awry.
An exasperated inner voice continuously chirruped in my ear every spare moment I had to take a breath. What if I get to the ball and Lilith catches me? What if my dress doesn’t fit? What if Jacque and Gus couldn’t get the carriage? Worst of all, what if Prince Greyson doesn’t recognize me or remember me?
Whenever I heard that voice in my head, Anjelina, in her lovingly obnoxious way shouted over it. “Lilith won’t catch you, I’ll be there to distract her. You’ve got the best figure in town and that dress will hug your curves like a glove. I’ve got dirt on Jacque and Gus, they’ll deliver. And if you think the prince could forget your adorable face, you’re delirious.”
“Cinderella, where are those roses?” Lilith snarled as she approached me from the foyer.
The clock chimed 7:15. I woke from my internal conversation into reality, meeting her piercing black-brown eyes as they bore straight into mine.
“Right here, Stepmother. I was just getting them.”
Lilith smirked and waved her hand. “Come, sit on the sofa. I’d like to have a word before we leave.”
Butterflies pirouetted like tiny ballerinas on the lining of my stomach as I followed her. She took a sip from the steaming china tea cup in her hand before she sat, then placed it on the table.
“I remember the first day your father spoke of you. We were sitting just outside the portico of The Maison Shariff, waiting for our table. Your name rolled off his tongue as if it were the most reverent name in our language. He loved you, child.”
A mixture of feelings sent tendrils into my core—longing, pain, love.
“Do you ever wonder if he looks down from heaven seeing you still alive and cries because you took him from his new wife and daughters?”
Shock poured into my stomach showering sparks of cool fire, igniting and silencing the innocent dancing butterflies. Sweat beaded on my lip. I chewed the inside of my cheek.
“Because, I know he does. I see him sometimes, in my dreams, reaching out for me. I was the love of his life. Our love story just began to flower when you stole his life on the road that day and left me here to mourn him alone. He finally had the family he wanted, the one he deserved. Yes, child he loved you, but he loved me more.”
She took another sip from her hot tea, her fingers trembling.
“You didn’t mention attending the ball today after Gisella brought it up. I found it quite odd that you didn’t ask permission to attend with your sisters. I wondered what was in your mind girl, but no matter.”
She licked a drying drop of tea from the corner of her mouth and clasped her hands together in her lap. “Now, I know you don’t have means for a dress or any other fancies, but that friend down the road, the insufferable one, she would help you.” She raised her eyebrow as if she already knew I snuck out last night. My heart smashed against my ribcage so hard I was positive she could hear it struggling to escape and the echo would give me away.
“I—”
Lilith’s face flushed. She pursed her lips, blew a long breath, then leered like a wolf just shedding its sheep’s clothing. “Shh, girl. I’m talking now. I just want you to know that I appreciate you not asking. I see that you acknowledge your fault, the part you played in your father’s death. I’m happy to know you understand that attending the ball would not only disgrace my beloved husband’s memory but would put a black mark on our name. And that will…Just. Not. Do.” She paused in between each of the last words, pronouncing them with such ferocity each syllable punched me in the gut.
“So, we’ve agreed, yes? There will be no duplicitous attempts to attend King Francis’s ball tonight.”
My tongue stuck to the roof of my cotton mouth. Even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t speak. I swallowed, nodding my head once more. Lilith stood with stiff grace, sipped the last dregs of her tea, and reached out to hand me the cup but let it go just before I secured it. The second to last cup of Mother’s china collection shattered into shards of porcelain on the wooden floor. My heart broke with the ceramic mint-colored cup. One more of the physical memories of my parents dashed to bits.
“Get those roses up to my daughters first, then get that cleaned up. Our carriage will be arriving any moment.”
A sob choked in my throat but I wrestled it down. My stepsisters would rain hell down on my if they saw me cry. A few months ago, Ophelia found me crying while hanging laundry on the line outside the back door. She approached me as if to comfort me, then slapped my wet cheek. She told me to stop blubbering and get on with the laundry because she wanted to wear the sodden lavender dress to tea that afternoon.
I left the smashed tea cup on the floor. When I arrived in the girls’ bedroom, they stared at me, clearly annoyed by the delay. Gisella clicked her tongue and studied me.
“Cinderella, you are useless, truly. I don’t know why Mother bothers with you at all.”
I set my jaw, grinding my back teeth to keep from crying, and wove the roses into Ophelia’s hair first, then Gisella’s. They talked the entire time about who would talk to the prince first and what they would say. Echoes of Lilith’s words banged around inside my head, each of them hammering my hope and heart to dust.
A knock echoed from the door. They squealed. “The carriage is here!”
Just as they left, I caught the last of Gisella’s sentence, “Love is false, will never stay. The only man worth salt is the one who will pay.” They both giggled and rushed down the stairs.
A twinge of pain seared my finger. I studied my finger and noticed a rose thorn protruding from it. I pinched my fingertips around it and yanked it out. Wine-red blood oozed up to the surface. I closed my eyes. Flashes of my father’s crumpled, bloodied body peppered the dark canvas. Pain I’d felt only once before as I pounded Father’s still chest envel
oped me. Floods of the horrible things my stepmother and stepsisters chanted at me day and night squeezed in on me from all sides. I bent, then reduced into a heap on the floor.
Chapter 5
The Glass Slipper
“I had a feeling,” said the most musical voice I’ve ever heard.
I sniffed and saw Anjelina standing above me, the base of her enormous purple gown filling the entire bedroom.
“Come on, let’s get going.”
I shook my head and buried my face in the floor again.
“Nope, that’s not going to work. We’ve got to get you ready, Ella. Suck up those tears. Give me your hand.”
I peeked my head out from my hands to see her reaching down for me.
“No, you don’t understand. I shouldn’t go. I can’t go, I just can’t. Lilith said if I went to the ball, I’d disgrace my father’s memory and our family.”
Anjelina sighed a long, dramatic sigh.
“Ella, she just said that because she doesn’t want you to go. She knows if you’re there, her pig daughters won’t have a chance.” She grabbed my hand and yanked me up.
“Where’s the girl with the twinkling eyes I saw last night? The girl who visited the royal castle? Who memorized and sketched every inch of the castle grounds, the one who’s destined to win the fair prince’s heart?”
She wriggled and adjusted her slip, then squatted down and put her hand on my cheek.
“I know it’s been hard on you. I can’t imagine what you must have been through. But this is your chance to change things. To find out where the rest of your life will take you. Don’t tell me you picture yourself serving those three witches until they’re old and gray?”
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