Charm (A Cinderella reverse fairytale) (Reverse Fairytales Book 1)

by J. A. Armitage

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Prince Luca

  The days following Cynder’s departure were a void, a chasm of emptiness, but just because it felt like my heart had ceased to beat, the heart of the palace rattled on, and it became time for my next date. Of all the bachelors, Prince Luca was, on paper, the one I was most suited to. He was only a little older, and, like me, was the second in line to the throne. His elder brother would one day become king of Thalia. Marrying me was the only way he’d be able to rule a kingdom, or, at least, share the rule with me. Like anything on paper, the reality was that I didn’t really like the guy. He was good looking enough for me to put him on my maybe pile when I first saw his photo, but after the banquet on the night of the ball, when he’d spent more time talking to a member of the kitchen staff, I’d put his as a firm fourth out of the four. The only reason I was looking forward to my date with him was because after dating all of them, I was allowed to choose one to go home.

  I allowed Xavi to do what she wanted with me, something she took advantage of, having me dressed in an extravagant off the shoulder gown more suited to a formal cocktail party than a night at the cinema. When I pointed out that we were only going to watch a movie, she replied “With a prince!” and that was the end of the conversation. I, at least, got out of wearing a tiara for the occasion.

  I felt ridiculous as I waited outside the cinema room, but someone must have tipped the prince off because he appeared wearing a tuxedo.

  “You look stunning, my dear.” He kissed my hand.

  “As do you. Did someone tell you I was dressing up for the occasion?”

  “No. I like to dress smartly for a date. What are we watching?”

  I hadn’t even thought to ask for a specific movie. I just hoped that whatever the staff had picked, it wasn’t boring.

  The cinema room wasn’t massive, but it was big enough to house about thirty people. With the whole place to ourselves, we could choose anywhere to sit. Prince Luca pointed to the love seats at the front—huge double-sized sofas covered in red fabric, made for two.”

  “I can’t see when I’m seated so close to the screen,” I lied and sat in one of the single seats about halfway back. Immediately, one of the staff came in with two cartons of popcorn on a silver tray, and two large cups of lemonade.

  We took one each, and the movie began to roll. To give them credit, the staff had picked out a good movie for us. An action film from the previous year and one of my personal favorites. I’d almost forgotten Luca was with me until I noticed his hand behind my back. I cringed inwardly as his hand came down onto my shoulder. It was such a cheesy move and not one befitting a prince. When the movie was over, and the lights went up, I stood quickly, letting his hand fall. All I wanted to do was go to bed and think of Cynder

  “Thank you for a lovely night,” I said, making to leave.

  “You can’t go now. The night is young.”

  I yawned. The lack of sleep was catching up with me. “I’m sorry, but I’m tired.”

  “If it is your desire to sleep, then I will not stand in your way. I can’t say I’m not disappointed that we have not had more time to talk, but I wouldn’t want to keep you here if you didn’t want to stay.”

  He looked crestfallen, and I felt bad. Sure, my date with Xavier had been shorter than this, but then it hadn’t been my fault. If I was going to have to pick someone to send home tomorrow, it was only fair I gave him a chance.

  “I guess I could stay up a little longer.”

  His face lit up. “Let’s go for a walk in the garden. We can talk there.”

  My heart lurched. Even though I wanted to see Cynder standing at the window, or a light shining on me from a flashlight telling me he was ok, a bigger part of me wanted to see nothing. That meant he’d escaped.

  “Ok,” I said, trying not to show any excitement. Even though excitement was the last thing I should be feeling, my heart hadn’t gotten the memo, and it was still thumping loudly as we stepped into the cold night. The builders who were fixing the side of the palace had long since gone home for the day, and we only had the sound of the crickets to keep us company. I looked up to the top floor of the townhouse, but it was in complete darkness. I hoped it meant Cynder had gone. I’d been checking the newspaper all week for any news, but after reading them cover to cover, I found nothing, which I took to be a good sign. Once I knew that Cynder had left, I tried to hide my pain and talk to Luca.

  “What made you want to come here?” I asked. I’d only asked that question once before, and that was to Daniel. I probably should have asked Leo and Xavier too.

  He answered with a question of his own.

  “How did you feel being second in line to the throne?”

  “I loved it. I loved watching Grace become this wonderful princess who would one day become queen, and I was glad I didn’t have to.”

  “Except now you do.”

  “Except now I do.” I nodded. The grief I was feeling thinking of Cynder had eclipsed my grief over the death of my sister, but now they bubbled together like bile in my stomach. I felt sick with the loss of them both.

  “I hated it,” Luca said. “Being second to do everything. My brother got everything. I know it sounds as though I’m bitter. I’m not really. I love my brother, and I know he’ll make a good king, but I am jealous. I admit it. I would like to be king. He has two sons now, so the likelihood is that I’ll never succeed to the throne. When he dies, it will pass to my eldest nephew. That is why I came here. I want to be king.”

  “You know that even if you marry me and I become queen, your title will become prince consort, not king.”

  “It’s not really the title I care about. King, prince consort. It’s just a name. I want to rule a kingdom to make changes. I see the world around me and all the injustices and want to be able to do something about it. Thalia is a wonderful country, with many wonderful attributes, but I can see where things could be changed for the better. My brother likes to keep his head in the sand about such matters. I want to help people.”

  His answer surprised me. I was pegging him for an empty-headed playboy. “What would you change about Silverwood?”

  “I don’t want to talk ill of your kingdom or the way it is run It is a fine kingdom. A very fine kingdom.”

  “And that’s a cop-out answer.”

  He looked me in the eye “You live in fear.”

  “I live in fear?”

  “Not you, your whole kingdom. You are afraid of change. Take this thing with the Magi. Why can they not live among you peacefully? Thalia is as magnificent as it is because of the Magi. My-own-sister in law is one.”

  “Is she?” I’d met the daughter-in-law of the king and queen of Thalia once. I’d not known she was a Mage. What must she have thought of us using them to do slave work around the palace?

  “What would you do to change things?” I was fascinated now. This was the first conversation I’d had about changing things. It was long overdue.

  “Acceptance.”

  “Acceptance?”

  “Yes. As a ruler, I’d lead by example. I’d invite Magi to the palace, not as people to be hidden away to do the menial chores, but as friends. I’d change laws so that everyone was an equal, and no one would have to hide. The Magi would be allowed to go to university and get jobs and wouldn’t be treated in the disgusting way that I’ve seen since being here.”

  I never thought I’d agree with Luca on anything, but he was right. He mistook my silence for disagreement.

  “I’m sorry, Princess Charmaine, if I have offended you, but I would not be able to live in a kingdom that did not respect its subjects. I like you a lot, and I think you and I could be happy together, but if we disagree on such a fundamental topic, then I’m afraid, I will have to step down from this contest.”

  He turned to leave. Letting him go would make my life so much easier, and yet, I found myself running after him.

  “Please, don’t go.” I hesitated for a moment. “I w
ant you to stay.”

  And I did. He looked at me curiously. Light flashed in his eyes as he smiled. No wonder a million women wanted him. I felt my knees go weak just looking at him.

  “Many people would say that giving Magi the same power as us would be dangerous. What do you think?”

  “What do you think Princess?”

  “I think that the Magi are just like us. They are just people who happen to know how to use a magic wand. They want the same as us, to be able to feed and clothe their children, to be able to work without fear.”

  “And what do you think of me?” He was so close to me now. His voice had lowered into a growl. It was intoxicating. Like countless women before me, I was beginning to fall for his charms. It was so annoying. Only a couple of hours before I’d had him at the bottom of the list and here I was being won over by him.

  “I like you.”

  He answered me with a kiss. His rough lips took me by surprise and with a force that almost knocked me off my feet. I wanted to stop him, and yet, I found I couldn’t. What was I doing? Somewhere to our right, a camera flashed. I pushed him away, feeling horrified at what had just happened.

  “Fucking Paparazzi,” Luca growled, pulling away from me and running to the garden wall. At the other side, I heard the sound of a ladder being taken down and someone running away.

  I stood there in shock. I’d kissed Luca. I wasn’t even sure I liked him. Just an hour ago, I was ready to send him home tomorrow, and now there would be a photo of us kissing on the front cover of the newspapers. My parents would see it. Cynder would see it. Cynder, whom I’d fallen head over heels in love with would read the newspaper and hate me. I wouldn’t even blame him.

  I turned on my heels and ran back into the house as confused as ever. Ignoring the looks of the staff as I raced past, I ran straight up to my room and threw myself on the bed.

  What had I done? The chain around my wrist dug into the flesh, and I let it. I deserved the pain. Cynder had trusted me in a way no one else had, and I’d completely failed him. I felt my heart break in two remembering the last words he said to me. You’re all I have.

  “Whatever is the matter, child?”

  I turned to see Jenny in my room. I don’t know how long she’d been standing there, but upon seeing her, I launched myself into her arms.

  “Elise said she heard you crying and came to get me, but I could hear you all along the corridor.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Stop being sorry and tell me the problem.”

  Always the mother hen. I’d never been more grateful for her.

  “I kissed Luca.”

  “Luca? The prince? Well, well. I can’t say I’m surprised. He’s a very attractive young man. I certainly wouldn’t be crying about such a thing.”

  I couldn’t tell her about Cynder. About how it would break him. About how it had already broken me. She wouldn’t understand.

  “Someone took our photo. They used a ladder to climb up the perimeter wall and took the photo as we kissed.”

  “Ah. This does pose a bit of a problem unless you plan on picking him out of the four.” She regarded me with such intensity; it was almost as if she could see right into my soul.

  “I don’t know. I hadn’t planned on kissing him. Before our date, I was planning on sending him home tomorrow.”

  “I see. Well, it seems like you have a lot of thinking to do tonight because your father and the public will expect a name. The press has already erected a stage out front for the loser to be interviewed, and they are expecting crowds. About the photograph. I’ll speak to your father and see if we can keep it out of the papers.”

  “Would you?”

  “I’m not promising anything, but I’ll try.”

  I wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you!”

  “My pleasure, now get some sleep. You’ll need to look your best for the TV cameras tomorrow. No one wants to see a soggy princess.”

  I lay on my bed, grateful for having someone so wonderful as her for my nanny.

  My eyes had only just closed when my other door flung open, and Elise came rushing in.

  She jumped on the bed with a big grin on her face.

  “I was listening in through the keyhole. You kissed Prince Luca!”

  She bounced on the bed, full of her usual enthusiasm. Not for the first time, I wished I had the energy she had.

  “I did.”

  “Does that mean you are going to marry him? Who are you sending home? Daniel? Xavier?”

  “It was kind of an accidental kiss.”

  “How do you kiss someone accidentally? What was it like?”

  I wanted to tell her that it was horrible, that I hated every second, but it would have been a lie. However much I wanted to dislike the guy, something about tonight had changed my mind. The kiss was only part of it.

  “It was nice,” I conceded. Yes, there were better words to use, hot, unsettling, delicious, or confusing, to name but four. For now, until I was ready to decide how I felt, ‘nice’ would have to do.

  That night I thought about the four men, one of whom I’d have to send home. There was Daniel who made me laugh, Leo who was the knight in shining armor, and Xavier who was a beautiful enigma, and finally Luca, the boy who kissed me.

  Who would I send home? Four beautiful men. Four men who wanted to marry me.

  I tried a mental pros and cons list for each, and when that didn’t help, I imagined them standing by my side as I repeated age-old vows at our wedding. The only face I could picture as I closed my eyes was Cynder’s.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The Choice

  Xavi was uncharacteristically flapping around me as I was dressed for the cameras. Jenny had been up to my room and prepped me on the running order of the day. After getting dressed for the public, I was to give the name of the man I’d chosen to formally eliminate to my father. Thankfully, this was to be done in private and not out at the front of the palace like some bad game show. Unfortunately, that’s where the dissimilarities to game shows ended. Once the decision had been broadcast, the men would have to go out on stage and be interviewed by Sadie. The loser would get the longest interview, and then I’d have to come out on stage and say lots of nice things about him and how sorry I was to see him go.

  I’d already mentally prepared my speech, making it as generic as possible and leaving the most important detail out completely. The name of the guy I was choosing.

  I read my speech to myself on the cue cards I’d prepared as a tiara was fitted onto my hair. In ten minutes, I would have to come up with a decision, and I still didn’t know who to choose. Everyone else had an opinion, just not me.

  Elise favored me marrying Luca because of the kiss, and Jenny wanted Daniel to stay because he was her friend’s son. I wished yesterday had never happened because I was quite happy to see the back of Luca until he told me his plans for the future. I tried to pretend to myself that the kiss had nothing to do with it.

  The walk down to my father’s office seemed to take a thousand years, and yet, it was over in a minute. Elise was waiting for me outside his door, desperate to find out who I was going to pick. How could I tell her I still didn’t know?

  I knocked on the door and waited for my father to let me in. In my head, the four men fought a battle. As the door opened and my father ushered me in, I could see there was only one choice. It was not the choice I had anticipated.

  “Do you have a name?” my father asked, shutting the door behind me. I knew Elise would be trying to listen from the other side.

  “Yes, Father. I’ve been on a date with each of these men, and I think I’ve chosen the best one to leave.”

  My father scratched his chin and looked at me warily. “Before you give me a name, I want you to think about the implications for our kingdom.”

  “I believe I have, Father.”

  “Have you indeed? I’m not so sure you were thinking about the implications when you allowed yourself to be photographed
kissing one of the young men last night.”

  I squirmed under his glare. “It was an accident.”

  “Hmm. Can I assume there will be no more accidents?”

  It felt like I was three again and getting chastised for breaking something. “Yes, Father.”

  I knew he wasn’t bothered about who I did or didn’t kiss; he only cared about who saw me.

  “So, do you have a name?”

  “Xavier.” I said it firmly. Yes, he was exceptionally good-looking, and there was something about him that was magnetic, and yet I’d spent the least amount of time with him, and apart from his glorious, muscular body, I had nothing really to say about him.

  “I was hoping you’d pick someone else.”

  This was news to me. I knew that my father had put Xavier into the mix in the first place, but I had thought that it was because I was dithering over choosing four men.

  “I’d like to get to know the others more. I don’t really have anything in common with Xavier.”

  “You both like swimming, don’t you?”

  I sighed. “It’s not enough for a lasting union, Father.”

  I thought that was the end of it, so I was surprised when he spoke again.

  “Xavier stays. Pick another.” His tone was forceful.

  “Why do you want Xavier to stay?” I asked, and as soon as I had, I wished I hadn’t. His face clouded over.

  “Don’t question me. I’ve made a decision. Pick one of the other men, or I’ll do it for you.”

  I’d seen my father angry on many occasions, but nothing like this. As far as I was aware, my father barely knew Xavier, so why did he want him to stay? This was supposed to be my choice. I’d only agreed to it because I had the final say in who I picked, and yet, things were changing. I was no longer in control. Arguing with my father was impossible. I’d just have to pick one of the others, but who?

  “I don’t know,” I replied angrily. “This was supposed to be my choice!” I felt tears spring to my eyes. I wasn’t crying over the men who would stay or the one that would leave, but the fact that my own future no longer belonged to me.