“It was a lucky guess,” said Medea. “Ignore her, and come back and marry me.”
“Nay,” Ella protested. “William, before you get married, I want to tell you that I love you. I am sorry I ran out on you the other night, and I don’t care what happened with the milkmaid in the past.”
“The milkmaid.” A flash went through his mind. He saw the scene clearly now.
“Neither of us can remember our time together, because of a curse put on me by a witch named Hecuba.”
“She’s lying. Don’t listen to her,” said Medea.
William raised his hand to silence Medea. “Go ahead, Ella. Tell me more.”
“Telling you things won’t matter if the curse is going to continuously make us forget our past together. Look into your heart, William, and you will know the answer.”
“Yes. That is right,” he said, feeling that Ella was somehow the girl he truly loved.
“We might never remember our times together in the past, but I decided it no longer matters.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Nay. I don’t care about the past anymore, William.” She took his hands in hers, and a spark of excitement ran through him. “All I care about is what happens in the present. I hope we can find love together now and that it continues into the future. We can start over and make new memories from this moment on. We don’t need to remember the past. The past is gone, but the future is yet to be written.”
“I agree.”
“You do?” she asked, with hope shining in her eyes.
“Aye. I do.” When he said the words, I do, he no longer felt they were wrong. Nay, he knew in his heart that he was meant to be with Ella. He felt it, and felt love for her, even if he couldn’t remember knowing her in his past.
“I love you, Ella. I don’t know how I know it, but I do.” He stared down into her bright, violet eyes that were sparkling like gemstones.
“I love you, too,” she proclaimed. “And I always will.”
Ella could tell at that moment that the curse had been broken. Her mind exploded with thoughts and memories of the past that came crashing through like a dam had been broken. Parts of her life flashed quickly before her eyes, making her dizzy. She saw a swirling white light encompass them as they held hands right there in the middle of the chapel.
“I remember,” said William, seeming to search his memory. “Yes, I remember everything now.”
“So do I,” she said, feeling her heart swell, not only remembering their love for each other, but also feeling the love for her father, Lucio, and her six siblings. She knew exactly who she was now, and nothing or no one would ever take that from her again.
A puff of green smoke wafted through the air and Hecuba appeared in the chapel. The crowd shrieked, and almost everyone ran from the room.
“What just happened?” asked Hecuba, pulling out her hand mirror and gazing at it. “Someone just broke my curse!”
Then Lucio appeared with her brother, MacKay.
“Hecuba, what is going on here?” growled Lucio.
“I’ll tell you what’s happening,” said Medea in a huff. “Ella has gone and ruined my wedding to William.”
“Your wedding?” Lucio turned back to Hecuba. “You promised me if I brought MacKay to Medea, Ella would marry William.”
“I said your daughter would marry him, you fool, and she would have if things went the way I planned.” Hecuba exploded. “I never agreed to have Ella marry William.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said William. “I am marrying Ella now – if she’ll still have me.”
“Yes,” said Ella, feeling a weight lifted off her shoulders now that her memories had returned. “I will marry you, William.”
“Mother, stop this.” Medea lifted the hem of her gown and stomped down the dais stairs. “I want to marry William.”
“I changed my mind, Medea. You are not marrying anyone,” said Hecuba. “I have other plans for you now.”
Medea rolled her eyes and disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
Hecuba turned and sneered at Lucio and MacKay. “This is far from over.”
Lucio chuckled lowly. “Hecuba, when will you learn? After all, the de Bars have managed to break every curse you have thrown at us. So just stop trying.”
“Not every curse,” said Hecuba, talking about Wolf still shapeshifting to a wolf at night. She held up her hand mirror and smiled as she peered into it. “I will be watching you. I see your son, MacKay, is about to have the most terrible curse of all bestowed upon him.”
“No one is going to watch me, and I refuse to be cursed by the likes of you,” shouted MacKay, pulling his sword from his scabbard. “Now, give me that mirror.”
Hecuba cackled. “If you want my mirror, why don’t you try to take it from me?”
“MacKay, put away your sword,” warned his father, but MacKay didn’t listen. He shot forward, thrusting his sword toward Hecuba. With a bolt of energy from her hand, MacKay went barreling backward, knocking over a bench and landing on the floor. His sword slid halfway down the aisle.
“Don’t you dare hurt my son.” It was Lucio’s turn to repay the favor. Between Lucio and Hecuba, sparks flew and things went flying around the room.
“Take cover,” said William, pulling Ella to the side. The priest hid behind the altar, and Terris held up a prayer book to block him. Troy got on the ground and crawled on his belly over to William.
“Sir William, I am not sure how to fight that,” said Troy.
“Don’t even try,” Ella told him. “You can’t fight magic with anything but magic.”
“Well, I am going to prove that wrong.” MacKay got up from the floor and picked up a tall, iron candleholder and rushed forward swinging it at Hecuba. He caught her by surprise since she was warding off Lucio and wasn’t expecting him to attack without his sword. The candleholder hit the mirror, and it exploded, sending shards of glass everywhere.
“You broke my mirror,” yelled Hecuba.
“Yes, and now you won’t be able to curse me after all,” shouted MacKay.
“You foolish, foolish man.” Hecuba picked up the frame of her mirror, looking at the broken glass around their feet. “You have no idea what you just did. You’ve saved me the trouble because now you’ve cursed yourself.” Laughing, she disappeared.
“Is everyone all right?” asked Lucio.
“Yes, Father, we are.” Ella ran to her father. He gathered her into his arms in a big hug.
“Ella, Daughter. That was a horrible curse. I don’t want you ever to forget your siblings or me again.”
“Or me,” said William. “I want to marry Ella as soon as possible.”
“Me, too,” said Ella. “However, I would like to wait until the morrow so my siblings can be present.”
“Of course, my love.” William pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. “I have waited this long, so I guess another day won’t matter.”
“I will get the word to your siblings,” said Lucio.
MacKay groaned. Ella rushed over to him to see that he was bleeding. “MacKay, you’re hurt.”
Blood dripped down his face, getting into his eyes.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Some of the shards of glass from the mirror hit me, that’s all.”
Ella didn’t think much about it until she noticed the large shard of glass from the mirror sticking out of her brother’s chest. “MacKay, look!” She pointed at it.
“Ugh,” he said, taking hold of it and pulling it out of his body.
“Nay, wait!” cried Lucio, but it was too late.
“What’s the matter?” asked William.
“I wish you would have let me pull out the shard of glass, MacKay.” Lucio shook his head. “That was from Hecuba’s magic mirror and very powerful. There is no telling what might happen now.”
“I feel fine. Nothing is going to happen.” MacKay tossed the shard to the ground and got up and put an arm around Ella. “The important thing is that Ella
has her memory back. Now, let’s concentrate on making this the best wedding of all. She deserves it.”
“Thank you, Brother,” said Ella, giving MacKay a peck on the cheek. When she did, she felt a chill go through her. It was an icy, cold feeling like a frigid winter. It felt like dark magic if she wasn’t mistaken. Hopefully, MacKay had taken away Hecuba’s ability to curse them when he broke the mirror. But somehow, she had the awful feeling he had only made things worse.
Chapter 21
The wedding day was everything Ella could have hoped for. All her siblings and their spouses came to help her celebrate. She wore a pink and white silk gown that her father materialized for her. It was very similar to the one Medea had given her when she’d played fairy godmother to Ella. William wore a burgundy tunic with a surcoat of blue and white. They were married in the great hall of Castle Fremont because Ella wanted to make sure there was plenty of room for everyone to join in the celebration.
Tall ceramics vases filled with fresh flowers stood in each corner. The tables were set with cloths of pure white. Rose petals were scattered on the path that led to where they stood up at the dais.
“You may kiss the bride,” the priest told them. They were only too eager to seal their vows of marriage. William’s kisses were even better than before. Perhaps, it was because now she remembered all the special times they had spent together in the past. Her heart was overflowing with love.
“I don’t think I ever want to let go of you or to stop kissing you,” said William, kissing her once again and pulling her closer.
“All right, save that for the bedchamber and move aside so I can congratulate my sister,” said Wolf, reaching over and hugging Ella. His wife, Winifred – or Red was with him.
“We are very happy for you both,” said Red, holding her hand on her stomach. Ella had a suspicion and had to ask.
“Red? Are you by any chance pregnant?”
Red looked up at her husband and smiled.
“Go ahead and tell her,” said Wolf with a nod. “Everyone else already knows.”
“Yes, we are,” she said, looking more concerned instead of happy. While Wolf talked with William, Ella leaned over and whispered to Red.
“What’s the matter? You don’t look happy.”
“I am pleased about being pregnant,” said Red. “But since Wolf is still cursed, I am concerned it might affect our baby.”
“Oh,” she said, understanding. No one wanted their child to shapeshift into a wolf. “I am sure everything will be all right.”
“I’m pregnant, too,” said her sister, Rapunzel, overhearing them.
“At least you don’t have to worry that your child will be part dragon since you married a Dragon Lord,” said Red.
“Mayhap not,” answered Rapunzel. “Since I have newfound magical powers, I wonder if my baby will have them, too.”
“I hope I’m pregnant with William’s child,” said Ella, laying her hand on her stomach. “I want a family with him as soon as possible.”
“Let me see if I can tell.” Rap put her hand on Ella’s belly and smiled. “I am still getting used to my newfound powers, but I think I feel a new life growing within you, Ella.”
“I hope so, but don’t tell William yet. I don’t want him to get his hopes up if it’s not true.”
“William has already heard,” said her husband, slipping his arm around her waist and kissing her. “I will always have my hopes up to have children with you, so there is no use keeping things from me.”
“Just think,” said Stefan, walking over with his wife, Bonnibel, and his brother Kin with his wife, Olivia. “William, you almost ended up marrying our sister, Medea.”
Marco, Rap’s Dragon Lord husband, joined them, chuckling. “I thought Medea only wanted to kiss me. I almost feel slighted.”
“Medea wants to kiss every and any man possible.” Arnon pushed into the middle of the crowd holding the hand of his wife, Freya. “She might be our half-sister, but she is a nasty little witch.”
“Arnon, do not insult witches when I am standing right here.” Freya gave him the evil eye.
“Sorry,” said Arnon. “I didn’t mean she was anything like you. You are a good witch, my dear.”
“Ella, I am sorry I wasn’t here to stop all that nonsense with Medea,” said Lucio. MacKay was with him, looking tired and peaked.
Ella didn’t hold anything against him. “Father, she is my sister. I am not sure why she turned against me after she played my fairy godmother, but I forgive her. I have never liked confrontations. I would rather solve problems with love than war.”
“I’ve seen a dark side of Medea that none of you have seen.” Rapunzel talked to the entire family. “She is becoming more and more powerful every day. Working with Hecuba, there is no telling what she can do.”
Lucio explained more. “It seems Hecuba had a spell on the Trevanes, and they thought Ella was their daughter.”
“They sure didn’t treat me like a daughter.” That was one memory Ella wished she could forget.
“For that, I am sorry,” said someone from behind them. Ella turned to see the baron. “I never meant to be mean to you, Ella. It was all my wife’s idea. But now that I’m myself again, I put her in her place. My wife and daughters will never bother you again.”
“Baron, I am ever so grateful that you unlocked my door and let me out of the tower or I would never have made it here in time to marry William,” Ella told him with a smile.
“I had a feeling you needed a friend and that is why I came to the tower in the first place. You helped me realize I need to stand up to people and take my life in my own hands. You were a friend to me, first.”
“I was the one who needed to stand up for myself,” said Ella. “Thank you, Baron. We have both learned much from each other.”
“Baron, I have a confession to make,” said William.
The baron held up his hand to stop William from talking. “Fremont, if you are going to say you stole the taxes I collected and gave them back to the poor, I already know.”
William cocked his head. “You do? You don’t sound angry about it.”
“Nay, I’m not. I learned a lot living with Ella and have thought about things that I’ve done that were not in the best interest of the people in town. Therefore, I’ve lowered their taxes and also promised to invite the townsfolk to the manor to feast every holiday.”
“That was good of you, Baron,” said Ella. “Thank you.” She looked back at her family, so happy to see and remember them all again. “I am looking forward to spending more time with each of my siblings.” Ella smiled lovingly at her family, remembering every little thing that ever happened. She held tight to William’s hand, never wanting to forget about those she loved again.
“Well, you will have to spend time with me later,” said MacKay. “Father is transporting me back to Scotland as soon as the wedding celebration is over. My men are still there, and I will lead them home from the Highlands.” He rubbed a hand over his heart.
“Are you feeling ill?” asked Ella. “You don’t look well.”
“Nay,” said MacKay with a shake of his head. “I am just healing from that shard of glass that stuck in my chest from Hecuba’s mirror.” He coughed and winced a little in pain.
“MacKay, you will feel better once we’ve celebrated Ella’s wedding with a feast,” Lucio told him.
“Aye, some food is in order,” agreed MacKay with a smile.
William’s brother, Terris, and his squire, Troy, walked up with tankards of ale in their hands.
“Ella,” said Troy. “I still don’t understand why that glass slipper didn’t fit you.”
“It was Medea’s magic that changed the size,” she told him. “I am only thankful that my love for William and my willingness to live without my memories broke the curse.”
“We didn’t need the glass slipper,” said William, holding up Ella’s hand to show them the ring. “After all, just look at the ring that has sealed our lo
ve. This is all the proof we ever needed, and it is A Perfect Fit.”
From the Author
I hope you enjoyed A Perfect Fit and will take the time to leave a review for me.
Sometimes living in the memories of the past can get in the way of creating new memories of the future. What we feel in our hearts will never die or be forgotten, just like the love between Ella and William. I have always liked the saying that the beauty inside a person far surpasses their physical beauty. Nothing can be more beautiful than the love in a person’s heart.
The last book in the Tangled Tales Series is MacKay’s story in Heart of Ice (Snow Queen.)
Thank you for sharing in the fun of experiencing fairy tales from a twisted, tangled, but romantic adaptation that is woven into a family saga in my Tangled Tales Series.
Elizabeth Rose
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Rose is a multi-published, bestselling author, writing medieval, historical, contemporary, paranormal, and western romance. She is an amazon all-star and has been an award finalist numerous times. Her books are available as Ebooks, paperback, and audiobooks as well.
Her favorite characters in her works include dark, dangerous and tortured heroes, and feisty, independent heroines who know how to wield a sword. She loves writing 14th century medieval novels, and is well-known for her many series.
Her twelve-book small town contemporary series, Tarnished Saints, was inspired by incidents in her own life.
After being traditionally published, she started self-publishing, creating her own covers and book-trailers on a dare from her two sons.
Elizabeth loves the outdoors. In the summertime, you can find her in her secret garden with her laptop, swinging in her hammock working on her next book. Elizabeth is a born storyteller and passionate about sharing her works with her readers.
Please be sure to visit her website at Elizabethrosenovels.com to read excerpts from any of her novels and get sneak peeks at covers of upcoming books. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or Bookbub. Be sure to sign up for her newsletter so you don’t miss out on new releases or upcoming events.
A Perfect Fit: (Cinderella) (Tangled Tales Series Book 6) Page 14