by Diana Flame
“Thee canst not charge me 'round, thou art not the boss of me,” Rufus replied.
“Cometh down hither, Rufus, I pray thee.”
“Very well, only because thou hath said it nicely.”
Rufus moved with such speed that Cinderella was left dazzled. One second he was in the tree and the next he was standing before them.
“Prithee, taketh me back Rufus, we needeth a safe place in which to hide ourselves,” Galien said.
The sprite shook his head. “Cannot be done. Thou must stayeth on this side of the portal and complete thy mission.”
“I am not ready and thou knowest it.”
“Aye, but I cannot taketh thee back, thee knoweth the rules. Concluded, be it, I has't a gift f'r thee, which thee shall needeth.”
Rufus dipped into his pocket and pulled. Slowly a golden objected showed its head. He yanked on the object and out came a golden bejeweled scepter about the length of him. Cinderella blinked and shook her head. How was such an object able to fit in his small pocket?
“Guardeth it well,” he said, stretching forth his hands. “Good luck!”
Galien took the item and turned it over in his hand. “Is’t magical?”
“Nay, t’is just a royal scepter.”
“Thank thee. But Rufus, I am in need of my sword.”
Rufus fingered his chin. “Thou art truthful. Doth one thing. Wait hither.”
As soon as the words came from the elf’s mouth, he vanished. Within a few seconds, he was back with a sword that he handed to Galien.
Cinderella watched all of this with fascination and most of all confusion. Why did Galien need a sword and especially a royal scepter? What happened to him? Why he was cursed to live as a beast? In those moments of questioning the events, she never once recalled the stories from her childhood of the cursed prince.
“Thee wilt anon wend (go now) to the Forbidden Mountain. Whilst on thy journey, thee shall meeteth someone who is't shall guide thee. Fare thee well.”
With his goodbye, Rufus disappeared once more. Galien stared down at the objects in his hands with a look of sorrow on his face. Cinderella heard the soldiers in the distance coming their way and urged Galien.
“We must depart this place, Galien. The soldiers cometh forth.”
“Aye.” He didn’t sound happy.
They followed the trail west, which led to the mountain called Forbidden. Cinderella had never been there because there were stories told of people going there and never returning. On the other side of this mountain was Padian, a land she yearned to visit but had never set foot on.
When they reached the foot of the mountains, they paused for breath. They ran most of the way since the soldiers were on horse and could catch them easily.
“Art thou afeard (afraid),” he asked when she looked at the thick band of fog covering the hills.
“Some,” she admitted.
“I am hither with thee and I shall protect thee,” he assured her.
“How shall thee protect me when thou art human as well?”
“I am still a beast inside. I can calleth upon t whenev'r I wanteth.”
“I understandeth not.”
“Soon thou shall knoweth all things. We must moveth 'long if 't be true we art to reach to our destination ere dark,” he urged. “I knoweth thou has't many questions, which I shall answer at which hour we art safely in the mountains.”
* * *
Hungry and tired, their feet dragged along the mountain trail. There was a stillness in the Forbidden Mountain that gave Cinderella the chills. Not a wind blew, and the fog was thick enough that she could slice it with a knife. They could only see a few feet ahead, therefore it took longer to travel. The good thing was that they knew the king’s soldiers would not follow them there.
She kept close to Galien as the place gave her the creeps. Occasionally a weird sound resonated from the shadows. They could not see what made the noise, and this made it even more terrifying. Not certain how far they’d gone, they kept climbing higher.
Another sound startled them and they paused a moment before moving along. As soon as they moved off, a shadow crossed their path and Galien came to a halt. Cinderella’s heart leaped and she jumped into the arms of her companion. He pulled her close and she clung to him.
“What wast it?” she whispered.
Galien caressed her hair and softly replied, “I knoweth not.”
The thunder of Galien’s heart was loud in her ear and his heat penetrated her as he held her close. His face did not betray any fear and this both surprised and pleased her. While he held her near with one hand, the other hovered over the pommel of his sword, which hung from his waist.
They moved off again, but after a couple of steps, they came to a halt as they made out what looked like a human form in the fog. The figure glided forward and the closer it got, the more defined it became.
Long white hair, eyes that were gleaming white pools and skin touched with that of the golden sun was what greeted them. A woman emerged from the fog and stood in their path. She wore a long blue dress, which shimmered in the dimness.
“Be not afeard. T’is I, Lenora.”
Lenora was the name of Cinderella’s Godmother, but this could not be she. The voice was somewhat familiar, but the Lenora she knew had a quaver in her voice from old age.
The woman approached. She was much younger than the old woman who lived at the edge of Black Thorn, though her hair was as white. But the eyes were somewhat unnerving. Their gleaming white pools made her look like a mythical creature.
“Cinderella,” the woman said her name. “Of thee I am proud.”
“Thou knowest my name?”
“Aye, my child. I has't known thee all thy life. We spake a few day ago. Recalleth thee how thou insisted that I calleth thee Ella… E-L-L-A?”
“Lenora… but how…?”
“Followeth me and I shall bid thee everything.”
Cinderella was reluctant to follow some stranger, but Galien bravely made the first step.
“Shall we?” he urged.
“Nay,” she whispered. “I knoweth not this lady.”
“T’is good now,” he told her. “Methinks the lady is the fairy witch.”
“How dost thou knowest this?”
“The eyes. Rufus once toldeth me about the eyes.”
Cinderella was hard pressed to believe him, but she followed him nonetheless. Then again, Lenora always was a strange one. She always spoke of things that no one else seemed to know, such as declaring what was written in the book of the fairies. Cinderella never questioned it because she thought the old woman was senile.
It was difficult to see Lenora as anything but the old woman whom she’d known since she was a toddler. Everyone said Lenora was her Godmother and she believed. She saw Lenora every day for the past twenty something years.
This woman in front of her was nothing like the woman she knew. How could she be sure this woman spoke the truth?
“Who art thou?” She blurted out.
The woman stopped and turned. “Doth thou recall at which hour thee wast five years old and hath used to climb the tree in mine own yard? Thou would climbeth to the top and would be unable to cometh down until someone cameth to fetch thee.”
“Everyone knoweth this story. Bid me something thee and I only knoweth.”
“What if I bid thee something only thee alone kneweth?”
That was impossible, Cinderella thought, but she agreed. “All right, bid me something only I knoweth.”
Lenora beckoned her closer and she gingerly made the step. When she was within an arm from her, the woman leaned and said in a tone that only she could hear, “Thou has't been using the liv'r weed poultice to rid thyself of a mold thou has't inside thy right thigh.”
Lenora moved off again as Cinderella’s eyes widened. No one was supposed to know that, not even Eliza. She’d found the recipe among her mother’s books and had been making a poultice, which she was using to get rid of th
e mold. It looked more like a birthmark the size of a coin. She hated having it there.
When they had gone some more paces, Galien asked her what Lenora said to her.
“I cannot bid thee what the lady toldeth me.”
“So thee believeth that lady?” he asked.
She sighed. “I am uncertain of this.”
They followed the rest of the way in silence, while Cinderella contemplated the situation. Too many things had happened for her to make sense of them all at once. Someone needed explaining to her from the beginning as she was going crazy inside, not know what was going on.
So many questions assailed her. What made him into a bear and how did he know to rescue her? Who was Galien and why was he locked out of the Enchanted Kingdom now that he was part human? Things made no sense to her. He was human when she met him there so why could he no longer enter? Why was he given a golden royal scepter? What mission was he about that he needed to prepare for? And now, her Godmother… who was she and why was she here?
Galien gripped her hand and pulled her to a stop. “What is the matter? Art thou still afeard?”
“Wherefore doth thee asketh?”
“Thy appearance is as though thou has't seen an apparition. Thy hand, it trembleth.”
“I has't not a clue what I am involv'd in.”
Taking a deep breath, he took both her hands, his thumbs brushing the back of them setting them both on fire. “I am the coronet prince of Izadel, King Reginald and Griselda’s heir.”
“Huh?”
“Cometh 'long,” Lenora called. “Thee shall has't time to talk later. We has't hath reached our destination.”
There wasn’t enough time to assimilate what Galien told her, but the revelation sent her reeling. Her next steps were made on wooden legs and her stomach did backflips. Not only did she assault two princes, she ended up kissing one of them. Her mind went into a tailspin and the stories of her childhood bombarded her thoughts. If this was King Reginald’s son, that meant the rumors about Tobyn were true. No wonder she hated the bastard.
She shook her head and tried to focus on the here and now. As they neared to where Lenora stood, a monumental building took shape. Emerging from the mist was a castle, the likes of what she had never seen.
Chapter 13
Lenora broke the lock on the huge double doors by touching it with the tip of a long fingernail. The doors creaked loudly as she pushed them open. Cinderella took a moment to observe the structure. Its dark walls stood stark against a moonless sky. Thick mist swirled around the building like smoke. Nothing else was visible on the outside.
Stepping inside was a stark contrast to the exterior. Lanterns hanging from the walls illuminated the halls. The first thing Cinderella noticed when she followed Lenora inside was the winding staircase with gleaming wooden banisters.
The place seemed empty of life, yet was clean as though recently polished.
“Thee two must abode in this castle until the time cometh at which hour thee must returneth to Izadel,” Lenora said. Many chambers art at thy disposal in which to catch but a wink (sleep). The staff shall care f'r thy every need.”
“What is this lodging?” Galien asked, his eyes cruising the large hall. “Wherefore is the staff?”
“This castle once did belong to the king of Taucia until the land hath broken into the seven provinces,” she revealed.
Too much information was bombarding Cinderella for her to absorb all together. This new revelation was also a shocker. The story of the king of Taucia was more than five centuries old.
Lenora continued, interrupting her thoughts, “At which hour the king wast murder'd and war hath broken, a dark cloud descend'd on this mountain. It hast been called the Forbidden Mountain ere since. I shall returneth in seven days at which hour time I shall giveth thee instructions.”
Cinderella was confused. “Lenora, what is the meaning of all this?”
“Galien shall fill thee in on his role and at which hour I returneth I shall bid thee what this all means f'r thee. Just recall, this is thy destiny.”
“I am confused about one thing, Lenora.”
“What is that?”
“Wherefore wast thee insisting I attend the ball to marry Tobyn?”
Lenora glided towards her and touched her face. “Silly wench, I wast not insisting. I wast making sure thee wast not bethinking of marrying the god-awful imposter. Thy destiny is with Galien.”
Lenora departed shortly after, leaving her to think on the many things that had happened in the last few days. Cinderella felt as though she was living a nightmare and not the fairytale of which everyone dreamed.
A staff that kept themselves hidden unless summoned by a bell, already prepared food. They had travelled for a day and they were tired, hungry and dirty. The sight of food made her mouth water, but the idea of the bath and bed appealed to her more.
Everything felt surreal and she wasn’t even certain if the people in the castle were human or not. She was anxious to hear Galien’s story but scared of the details. Therefore, when they’d eaten, she excused herself and made her way up the staircase to one of the chambers that Lenora told them about.
A bath awaited her and she cleansed herself before sinking into the large canopy bed fit for a princess. One thing she noticed was that the castle was stripped of lavish furnishings, only having the bare essentials except for the room she found.
As she sank into the bed, the thought occurred to her that this room belonged to the queen. The closet which was ajar had many dresses that Cinderella recognized as royal apparel. Too tired to verify her suspicions, she closed her eyes. The last thing she recalled before drifting off to sleep was Lenora telling her that her place was with Galien.
* * *
Galien lay back on the bed and thought about his mission to take back his birthright. Rufus had trained him well, not only teaching him the way of the sword, but how to be a prince when the time came. Except for the first ten years of his life, he knew nothing about his princely duties.
Hughoc was his blood and it would be difficult to harm one’s family, but the memory of his parents’ demise gave him the courage he needed to do what had to be done. As for Tobyn, he didn’t know who he was or how he fit into the picture, but he sure wasn’t going to allow an imposter on the throne that was meant for him.
As he thought on these things, his breathing became shallow and his heart rate increased. He felt the stirring of the bear inside and knew it wanted release.
“How wast it possible?” he asked the empty room. “The lady did hug me and hath returned me to human. What dost this mean?”
For as long as he could recall, he’d thought the curse could only be broken with a kiss. But that didn’t make sense either. Who would want to kiss a scary bear? That’s the reason he’d tried to kiss her when they met. He’d hoped that her kiss would break the spell and make him human again. Only now, he seemed trapped between both worlds. He was not complete, as he knew the bear lurked within the shadows of his mind.
His last thought before drifting off to sleep was the memory of Cinderella’s lips as she pressed them to his. The electric shock of it had mobilized his body, making him weak. It was the same in his dreams and he saw himself dancing with her in an open field, her body pressed up against his as his heart drummed heavily and his body sizzled as though burned with live coals.
* * *
The following morning …
They were having breakfast the following morning and Galien wasted no time in telling her about himself.
Cinderella listened as Galien revealed details about his life, including the terrible deeds Hughoc did to his family. She’d heard rumors about this all her life, but never thought she’d come face to face with ‘the creature’.
He told Cinderella what he remembered about Marge, the witch and showed her the scar. There were pieces of memories lost, but he recalled most of his childhood locked in the room of the palace until he was taken away by the fays. As she lis
tened, she wondered what happened to Marge and why she disappeared when the king and queen died. Although she wanted to know, she refrained from asking. There were many other questions that needed answers, but they had time enough and she wanted to allow him to tell her on his own.
There was so much that happened to him that her heart ached to comfort him. She wanted to hold him and tell him it would get better.
With this new information, she still found it difficult to understand her role in all this. Was this her destiny? Was her place with Galien, as Lenora had said?
As he spoke, she listened to his smooth rich tone and watched his lips move. Sitting across the table, she was able to see him clearly. Something about him was pulling her in. It happened from the moment they met. What she was feeling wasn’t witchcraft. It wasn’t Galien casting a spell on her. It was her heart responding to him.
Without a conscious thought, she pushed her chair back. Galien raised his head and looked questioningly at her. She moved around to his side of the table and took his hand. He stood, still looking at her with a crease in his forehead.
With some amount of courage, she rested an open palm on his chest. His heart was beating wildly, much the same way it drummed when he had held her close while they journeyed up the mountain.
“What troubeth thee?” he asked.
“I am not troubled. I now know what thee wast trying to bid me.” Taking his hand, she placed it on her own breast, allowing him to feel her heartbeat. “See… thee wast right.”
“What art thee declaring?”
“I doth not knoweth what the meaning is of all this, but our hearts hast connected somehow. I believeth what Lenora hath said mine own destiny is with thee. I yearn'd f'r thee at which hour I returneth to Izadel from the Enchanted Kingdom. I yearn'd f'r thee at which hour they wast about to behead me.”
“I yearned f’r thee as well,” he whispered as he dipped his head.
Their lips met in a searing kiss, igniting a fire that began a slow burn. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her up against him. Tongues entwined as the kiss deepened, sending ripples of excitement through them both. All Cinderella knew was that this was the beginning of a new adventure and she couldn’t wait to see what happened next.