Medea giggled.
“That’s enough from you, too, Medea,” snapped the woman. “Now watch Ella, so she doesn’t wake up before I’m done with this fool.”
Medea rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she slowly headed over to the pallet.
“What kind of witchery is this?” asked William, getting to his feet. “Who are you, because you are certainly not the healer.”
“I’m Hecuba – an old friend of Lucio de Bar’s. And this is my daughter, Medea. She is also Lucio’s daughter.”
“Friend? Hah! I doubt that. Lucio only has two daughters, and Medea is not one of them. I know him personally. I’ve known the de Bar family most of my life.”
“Oh, all right, I’ll tell you. Lucio and I are enemies but at one time were lovers.”
“I don’t understand,” he said, looking over to Ella whose eyes were still closed. “What’s wrong with her?”
“I’ve cursed her,” said Hecuba. “I’ve cursed all of Lucio’s children to get back at him for shunning me. Plus, I am amused by it, and that is why I do it.” She cackled, sounding like an old hen.
“Curse? What kind of curse? And why do the Trevanes think she is their daughter?”
Hecuba clucked her tongue and shook her head. “First of all, the Trevanes think she is their daughter because I put the idea in their heads,” said the witch. “They don’t know any better. But it is obvious that part of them must remember the truth because they are treating her more like a servant than a daughter.”
“What is Ella’s curse?”
“The curse is that Cinderella cannot remember who she is or from where she came,” Medea told him from across the room.
“Why doesn’t anyone else seem to know her?” asked William. “Her family is well known in this part of the land all the way down to Devon.”
“The longer she is under the curse, the more people forget she ever existed at all,” explained the witch.
“But I remember her. So, why don’t they?”
“You were out of the country when I cursed her, so I guess it hasn’t affected you as much yet – but it will. Eventually, you, as well as everyone else, will forget who she is altogether.”
“Nay, I will never forget her,” he protested, his anger rising that Ella would be subjected to something like this. She didn’t deserve it. “I love Ella. I will make her remember me, no matter what it takes.”
“You love my sister?” asked Medea, seeming surprised. “Have you kissed her?”
“Aye, I have,” he told Medea. “Her father was supposed to betroth us, but then I had to leave to fight for the king.”
“That’s not the whole truth,” said Hecuba, looking into her hand mirror. Her eyes darted back and forth as if she were watching something within it. “I see the reason Lucio didn’t betroth you to his daughter. It is because you were caught kissing a half-naked milkmaid in the barn.”
“You were?” asked Medea in surprise.
“Nay.” William shook his head, hoping to shake away the bad memory as well. “The milkmaid kissed me. That is different. I am going to marry Ella, and no one is going to stop me.”
“Can he do that, Mother?” asked Medea.
“Well, now, that would be interesting,” said Hecuba in thought. “After all, being married to someone who doesn’t know who you are doesn’t make for an ideal relationship, does it? And by the time you marry, you won’t remember her anyway.”
“Ella will know who I am as well as who she is as soon as she awakes and I tell her.”
“Oh, it doesn’t work that way,” said Hecuba, laughing. “If you tell her anything about her curse or your past together, then the curse will never be broken. Lucio and her siblings cannot tell her either.”
“Then how do I break the curse?” he asked anxiously, glancing back to Ella on the bed.
“Yes, how does he break it, Mother?” asked Medea.
“Do I look like a fool?” she snapped. “If I divulged that information, I wouldn’t have half the fun of watching Lucio get all upset. Nay, I want him to come to me and beg me to remove the curse. Matter of fact, I think I’ll make this even more interesting. Sir William, starting tomorrow, you won’t remember me or Medea or your past with Ella at all. Neither will your friends, your squire or your family. You won’t even remember her as one of Lucio’s children. You will only remember her as the peasant girl you met cleaning up ashes at Inglewood Manor.”
“Nay! Don’t do that,” William half-begged and half-threatened.
Hecuba smiled widely. “And when you have your ball, you might end up marrying Greta or Beatrice instead.”
“Nay, I won’t. I love Ella, not them. I will never forget the love in my heart for Cinderella de Bar.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Hecuba with a sly smile. “Now, get out of here before I send you back to your castle using my magic.”
William walked across the room and picked up his sword, pushing it back into the scabbard. Then he crossed the room and kneeled down, kissing Ella on the lips. Medea watched intently. Ella stirred and her eyes started to flicker open.
“That’s enough!” shouted Hecuba. Before he knew what happened, he was standing at the foot of the stairs, right outside of the great hall with his sword in his hand.
“My lord, is Ella going to be all right?” Troy stood in front of him, staring.
“I – I think so,” he said, feeling confused. His head was cloudy. “We’d better get back to the castle anon.”
“What did you learn?” asked Troy.
“I will tell you on the ride back, and I urge you to remember every single word I say. Matter of fact, when we get back to the castle, I want you to write it all down.”
“Write it down?” asked Troy, following him out of the great hall. “Why? Do you think you are going to forget it?”
“I guarantee it,” he said, feeling a gnawing sensation in his gut because he never wanted to forget Ella de Bar as long as he lived.
Chapter 6
Ella woke up to find a strange woman in her room. She jerked upward to a sitting position on the pallet, feeling frightened. She’d been having dreams all night about kissing the man from the shadows. It had felt real. Then she remembered that Lord William Fremont from Carlisle arrived yesterday, hand-delivering invitations to the ball. Yes, he was the man from the shadows.
“Who are you?” she asked, scrutinizing the old woman who was short and fat and very wrinkled. Her teeth were blackened and broken as well. Oddly enough, she had a hand mirror tucked under her waist belt.
“Who am I? Who are you?” the woman asked her.
“Why, I’m Cinderella . . . Cinderella . . . Trevane.”
“That’s right,” said the woman with a satisfied chuckle. With a wave of her hand, she disappeared in a puff of green smoke. Cinderella watched in shock, not able to move. What had she just witnessed?
Then the door burst open, and Maria hurried into the room.
“Maria, did you see that?” Ella pointed to the place where the old woman had stood just a second ago.
“See what?” asked Maria looking around the room.
“An old woman was here, and she disappeared in a puff of green smoke.”
“My lady, you must have been dreaming. There hasn’t been anyone in your room since last night when Lord William and the healer brought you up here after you swooned.”
“I swooned?” she asked, thinking back, finally remembering what happened. “Yes, I swooned. When Lord William touched me, I felt something happen. I became dizzy and must have passed out.”
“I came to tell you that your mother is on a rampage. You are late cleaning up your sisters’ rooms while they are supping in the great hall. She wants you there immediately.”
“Aye,” said Ella, rubbing her head, feeling as if there were something she was forgetting. It had to do with Lord William Fremont.
Ten minutes later, she entered the bedchamber of her stepsisters with rags and a bucket of water in her
hands. She walked into the room and stretched and yawned, feeling very tired today. Ella made up the beds and hung up her sisters’ clothes. Then she headed over to the cold hearth and knelt down. She used a small shovel to scoop the ashes into the bucket.
Out of nowhere, a missive fell from the air and landed on her lap. Ella looked around, wondering if it had fallen off the table. She was about to put it back when she saw her name on the outside of the rolled-up parchment.
“Ella,” she read her name aloud, her heart beating wildly since Sir William was the only one who called her by that name. With trembling fingers, she unrolled the parchment and read it aloud.
“Lady Ella, you are cordially invited to the ball in four days from now at Castle Fremont.” It was signed, Sir William.
“Are you going to the ball?” asked a woman from behind her. Startled, she dropped the missive right into the bucket of water. She jumped to her feet and turned around to see a tall and very beautiful woman who looked to be just a little younger than her own age of twenty years. The woman wore face paint that outlined her dark eyes. Her lips look as red as rubies, and her hair was jet-black and long – all the way down to her waist. She was dressed in an elegant gown of velvet and silk that was entirely black.
“Who are you?” she asked, not remembering seeing this woman before. Then again, since she couldn’t remember anything of her past, perhaps she should know her.
“My name is Medea.”
“Do I know you?”
“No, you don’t.” Medea walked over and ran her hand along the surface of the red velvet curtains hanging around the bed.
Ella perused her. “You’re not a servant. I can tell that by the way you are dressed. Are you a lady?”
“I am,” she said with a nod. “But I’m more than just that. You see, I am your –” she stopped in mid-sentence, seeming to choose her words carefully. “Let’s just say I am your fairy godmother.”
“Lord William, Sir Lucio de Bar and his sons are here to see you,” announced William’s steward, Sir Albert. He was followed into the great hall by a line of noblemen.
“Really?” William looked up from his meal. “I wonder what they want.”
“You sent for them,” his squire told him from the foot of the dais.
“I did?” he asked, not remembering at all. Curious to know more, he grabbed his tankard of ale and descended the dais stairs to greet his guests.
“Lord Lucio and sons, how nice to see you.” William held up his tankard in greeting and brought it to his mouth, taking a swig of ale. “Please, join me for a drink.” He flagged down a serving boy, but Lucio shook his head.
“Nay. We have important business to tend to, Lord William. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”
“Aye, of course,” he said, his eyes trailing from Lucio over to four of his five sons. “I see you’ve brought some of your sons with you. Who is missing? Oh, it is MacKay.”
“MacKay left with a troop of his men recently for the Highlands,” said Lucio.
“The Highlands?” William laughed. “Why would he want to go there of all places?”
“There was a report that someone saw Ella.” Hugh, one of Lucio’s twin sons, relayed the information. “He is scouring the land to see if he can find her.”
“Ella?” asked William, very confused by what they meant. The name almost sounded familiar rolling off his tongue. But he searched his mind and did not know anyone by that name.
“Our sister,” said the blond-haired brother named Kin.
“Your sister’s name is Rapunzel,” said William with a chuckle, looking at him from the corner of his eye. “Have you given her a new name?”
“Boys, I think Hecuba has gotten to him,” Lucio told his sons in a low voice. “Let’s take this conversation to the solar.”
“Hecuba?” repeated William. “Is that another fictitious daughter of yours, de Bar?”
“Lord William, can I show the men to the solar?” asked Troy, stepping forward.
“Of course.”
They all went to the solar. Once inside, Lucio closed the door.
“Are you sure you don’t want some ale?” asked William, wondering why the de Bars all seemed so uptight. “Troy, call in a serving wench, anon.”
“Nay,” said Lucio. “Sir William, you summoned me, and that is why we are here. Your messenger said it was imperative I get here immediately. It had something to do with Cinderella. Did you see her?”
“Cinderella?” William sank atop a chair, taking another swig of ale. He swallowed and then shook his head. “I am sorry, Lord de Bar but I am not privy to the jest you are pulling. I don’t know anyone name Ella or Cinderella or even Hecuba. I am certain you only have the one daughter named Rapunzel.”
“What’s the matter with him?” growled Stefan, the eldest of the de Bar siblings. He was a big man and one of the fiercest warriors William had ever met. There was a long scar running down his face that made him look menacing.
“Where did you get that scar, Stefan?” asked William. “When I left to fight for the king, you didn’t have it. Or if so, I don’t remember it.”
“It seems you don’t remember quite a few things,” replied the second twin, Arnon. “Especially since, at one time, you were almost betrothed to our sister, Ella.”
“And you claimed to have loved her as well,” added Kin.
“Boys, he doesn’t remember,” said Lucio. “I think Hecuba is responsible for his forgetfulness. I only wish we knew why he called us here.”
“Perhaps this will help.” William’s squire came forward and pulled out a missive from inside his tunic and handed it to Lucio.
“What is that?” asked William.
“You asked me yesterday to write down everything you told me after we returned from Inglewood Manor,” said Troy.
“I did?” William thought hard, but couldn’t remember. “What does it say?”
Lucio scanned the contents and looked over to William. “It seems you found my daughter, Ella, after all.”
“Where is she?” asked Hugh.
“Here, see for yourself.” Lucio handed the missive to his son.
“What does it say, Wolf?” asked Stefan. Arnon stretched his neck to read the missive over Hugh’s shoulder.
“Did you just call Hugh, Wolf?” asked William with a chuckle.
“You’ve been gone a long time, William,” answered Lucio. “There is a lot you don’t know. And although I was good friends with your late father and you were like a brother to my sons, I have to tell you that there are things we kept a secret.”
“Secrets? What kind of secrets?”
“I’ll tell you everything, but first I need to explain to you that you were once in love with my daughter, Ella. She has been missing, and it seems you found her yesterday. But after reading your missive, I see Ella has been cursed by the evil witch, Hecuba, and has lost her memory of who she is.”
“A witch? Curses that make one lose their memory?” William laughed aloud. “That is a lot to ask me to believe, Sir Lucio.”
“It’s true,” said Troy. “I was with you yesterday when we found Ella being treated as a servant at Inglewood Manor. You told me you met the witch, Hecuba, who cursed Ella. She cursed you in a way, too, and told you that you would forget all about her and Ella by morning. That is why you asked me to write it all down. Or at least I think that’s what happened.” The squire scratched his head. “Things don’t seem to be clear.”
“God’s eyes, you don’t really expect me to believe this?” William banged down his tankard and sprang to his feet.
“Read it,” said Wolf, shoving the vellum into William’s hands. William scanned the contents, unable to believe this all happened, and he forgot about it. He was about to object and say this was all an ill jest until he saw his signature scribbled at the bottom of the page. He reached back and clutched the chair and sank down, shaking his head. What was happening to him? He felt as if he’d been made a fool of and he didn’t like
it. He hated not being in control.
“I – I don’t understand this,” he told the others. “And I really can’t remember Hecuba or Ella,” he said, reaching to the corners of his mind, but not coming up with any memories at all.
“Boys, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Lucio told his sons.
“What can we possibly do about this?” asked Stefan, taking the missive from William and reading it with Kin looking over his shoulder.
“The missive says we can’t tell Ella who she is or the curse will never be broken,” said Wolf. “That is going to make things difficult.”
“And I don’t think true love’s kiss is going to break this spell,” added Arnon. “After all, Ella and William can’t even remember each other or the fact that they were once in love.”
“Mayhap they’ll need to fall in love all over again,” said Troy.
“You might have something there.” Lucio paced back and forth as he spoke. “But we need a way to bring them together. It’s not like we can force this to happen.”
“Lord William has delivered invitations to his upcoming ball to Inglewood Manor,” Troy told them.
“I think I’ll just use my magic to strike down the wretched baron and his family who are treating my daughter as nothing but a servant.” Lucio’s face turned red, and his hands balled into fists. “No one treats a de Bar like that and gets away with it.”
“Nay, Father, that might not be a good idea,” said Wolf. “After all, we don’t know if the Trevanes have been cursed by Hecuba, too. They might only be doing Hecuba’s bidding but are not even aware of it.”
“Aye, I hadn’t considered that,” said Lucio, calming down a little.
“We’ll just have to find another way,” said Kin. “Possibly, we can use the invitation to the ball to help us somehow. Sir William, is there anything at all you remember about Ella?”
“Ella,” said William, getting up and pacing the room, drumming his fingers against his chin. “Ella, Ella. What did you say her full name was again? Berthella? Or was it Gabriella?”
“This is worse than we thought, boys,” Lucio said with a frustrated shake of his head. “I have a feeling Sir William is the only one who can help in this situation, but he can’t even remember the woman he loves. So, I don’t see how this is going to work. I only wish there was a way to make sure Ella will attend that ball. If not, we may never be able to break the curse.”
A Perfect Fit: (Cinderella) (Tangled Tales Series Book 6) Page 4