Just a week before the wedding, on one of the last warm days of the year, I was out there again, preferring the fresh air to the stuffiness of the palace. I walked slowly, taking in the flowers that were still holding on. Soon the blanket of winter would come in and cover them,
and they would die until next spring. I envied them. I wished I could hide somewhere for the winter and wake up next spring when this nightmare was over.
I could still see no way out of it. I’d spoken to my father to see if a thorough sweep of the palace had been done by the guards to find the bomb and he insisted it had, but I wasn’t so sure. He didn’t seem to care anyway. Why would he? With Xavier as his son-in-law, it would continue the legacy of hate he’d propagated. I began to wonder if there was a bomb at all, but banking on there not being one was putting too many lives at stake.
A delivery truck drove down the driveway, breaking me away from my thoughts. So many delivery trucks had been coming into and out of the grounds, all delivering things for the wedding, but this one was different. It was different because from the front of the truck appeared a man with blond hair. It was a man I recognized. I ran to him and threw my arms around him, and like he had done in our last week together, Daniel spun me around.
“Finished the first batch of chairs. The next lot will be here next week. Come on, come look at them.”
He looked so happy and exuberant, that for the first time in weeks, I smiled. Around the back of the van was a handsome man pulling chairs out and stacking them on the drive.
“This is Dean, my boyfriend.”
Dean put down the chair he was holding and held his hand out to shake. I took his hand and grinned.
“It’s nice to meet you, Dean. And, oh wow, these chairs!”
Dean picked up one of the stacks and began to take it to the palace doors.
I raised an eyebrow at Daniel. “Boyfriend?”
Happiness poured from him. “He’s been helping me with the chairs,” he admitted.
“I’m so happy for you,” I said, hugging him again. “What does your father think?”
“My father has come around. I think the massive order of chairs for the wedding helped. Thanks for that by the way.”
“It’s no problem. I’m glad things worked out for you. I hope you and Dean can make it to the wedding. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“I must say I’m surprised you ended up with Xavier. I had money on the prince. You owe me fifty dollars!”
I pushed him playfully. “No can do. I’ll be paying off chairs for the rest of my life.”
“Seriously, though, Xavier?”
My facade dropped. “I don’t want to marry him,” I admitted, keeping my voice down.
“So why are you?”
I so wanted to tell him the truth, but if Xavier found out, who knew what would happen?
“It’s complicated. I have to.”
“You have to?” Now it was Daniel’s turn to raise his eyebrow.
“I can’t talk about it.”
Daniel locked his arm in mine and began walking me down the driveway slowly. When he was sure that we were out of earshot, he turned to me.
“What’s going on?” His voice was so full of love and concern that I broke down. He took me in his arms and held me while I wept.
“I’m being forced into it. Xavier is the one who planted the bomb, and there is another one in the palace. If I don’t marry him, he’s going to blow the palace up.”
“What? Why hasn’t your father gotten the police involved?”
“My father wants me to marry him. They both want the Magi run out of Silverwood.”
Daniel just stared at me open-mouthed. “I don’t know what to say, Charmaine. I’m so sorry. Can’t you tell the press?”
“How can I? There are over a thousand staff members in the palace, not to mention Elise, mother, and Leo.”
“Leo is still in there? I thought he was eliminated?”
“He’s dating Elise. Father has let him stay on if he remains quiet.”
Daniel’s eyes widened, and he let out a low whistle. “Wow!” He mouthed the word, but no sound came out. “What about Luca? Is he still there too?”
“No. My father sent him home. Neither he nor Leo knows about the bomb. You are the first person I’ve told.”
He hugged me again, probably to save him from having to say anything. What was there to say anyway?
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked, breaking away from me.
“No. Just come to the wedding. I’ll need all the support I can get.”
He wiped a tear from my eye. “I’ll be there.”
As we walked back up to the house, he bent down.
“Hey, what’s this?” He picked up a silver chain that had fallen at the edge of the grass line. A small carriage and a small silver shoe charm glinted in the sun.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Before the wedding
I awoke to my wedding day in much the same way I had done in the weeks previously—full of dread and feeling sick.
Elise bounded in and jumped on my bed.
“It’s time.”
“I know.” I sighed. I’d spent the last week trying to come up with some way to get out of the mess I was in, but it was so much bigger than me. The whole kingdom was in a mess, but looking out of the window, my father was doing a good job of covering it up. White peacocks strolled around on the freshly mown grass, and millions of white petals were strewn over the back driveway. I knew that the front driveway would be even more spectacular, as it was in the garden there that the wedding was to take place. I’d watched as a huge marquee had been erected on the front lawn in case of inclement weather and this morning, as the sun was shining, they’d be setting out hundreds of Daniel’s chairs in rows outside next to it.
“It won’t be that bad, you’ll see,” said Elise, coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist. “Look. The people are already out in force to get a glimpse of you. You can see them through the back gates. Jenny says that a lot of people have been camping out by the front gate for days to get the best spot to see you.”
“Hmm.”
“Does it matter that you are cousins? Not really. He’s still utterly gorgeous, and really, we are only half-cousins. It’s not like you are marrying a brother.”
“I don’t love him, Elise.”
“I know. I knew when you told me you did that you were lying. I could see it in your eyes, but maybe you could learn to.”
I knew she was trying to make me feel better, but she didn’t know the truth, and I wasn’t about to tell her. She’d be as devastated as I if she found out what our father had done.
“Where is Leo? Is he getting ready?” This was to be their first official date. Until now, they’d kept their relationship secret from the press, but with all eyes on me, they were now free to be together.
“He’s been out for the last few days. He says he’d got something special planned for the wedding so expect a big present.” She giggled, and I smiled at her. She was truly happy. I could see it in the way her eyes sparkled, which made me happy. At least one of us was.
“Come on then,” I replied, linking my arm in hers. Let’s go and get ready!”
As the chief (and only) bridesmaid, Elise was going to spend the morning in the dressing room with me.
When we got there, we found a huge table set out with fruits, baked goods, and champagne.
There were also so many people there that I could barely see Xavi, who stood in the middle looking flustered and trying to coordinate everyone.
“What’s all this?” I asked.
Jenny appeared from the throng.
“This is your wedding breakfast. I know, traditionally, it’s supposed to be with the bride and groom and all the guests, but many of them haven’t arrived yet, so we are having a girls only breakfast in here while you get ready.” She thrust a glass into my hand and poured champagne into it. “Your mother is already a littl
e tipsy.”
I searched for my mother in the crowd and found her talking animatedly to Alezis. I couldn’t see that she was tipsy, but then my mother always knew how to be a lady.
I knocked back the champagne and grabbed a croissant. If these were my last hours of freedom, I might as well enjoy them.
The champagne numbed my brain, and after my second glass, I was beginning not to care what happened for the rest of the day.
I was just about to pour my third glass, when Xavi, pulled it from my hand and guided me towards Alezis.
“Nobody wants a drunk bride,” she reprimanded. “I’ll bring you some juice.”
“I don’t want juice,” I called after her retreating form, but it fell on deaf ears. A minute later, she was back with a glass of orange juice. As usual, Alezis was gazing at my hair as if it might suddenly change color or do something exciting.
An hour later and the only hair he’d touched was the fuzz that had grown on his chin.
“Are you going to cut my hair? Because my ass is getting numb!”
“Perfection takes time,” he murmured and went back to stroking his chin.
I was about to snap back again. I knew that it was hardly his fault that I didn’t want to get married, but he was adding stress to an already stressful day.
Xavi came over and whispered something in his ear. Watching her expression in the mirror, I could see that something was wrong, but I was already past the point of caring. Maybe Xavier had dropped dead or run away, either of which would be a bonus as far as I was concerned.
No one thought to let me in on the secret, but as soon as Xavi left, Alezis got to work on my hair, cutting it and styling it in double quick time.
He’d put it in a half-up do and curled the bottom of it. It was beautiful as it was, but I knew that a veil would cover most of it once I was fully dressed.
As soon as I was finished, Elise took my place, ready to be made beautiful. How they could improve in the perfection she already was, I had no idea.
Makeup was next, and like Alezis, the three makeup artists who made me flawless rushed the job. Agneta was quickly brought over, and she powdered my face and applied mascara and a coat of pale lip gloss. I could see Xavi waiting impatiently by her side and tapping her foot. Something really must be up if Xavi was in a flap. I sneaked a peek at my watch, wondering if we were running late, but there were hours until the wedding started. We had plenty of time. If I still had any doubt that something was wrong, a quick look in the mirror showed me the usually unflappable Jenny pacing up and down with a worried look about her. Even my mother seemed to be on her third or fourth drink.
“Xavi. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” She answered a little too quickly. “I’m just excited is all.”
Her expression showed anything but excitement.
“Less is more,” she said, wrestling me away from Agnata’s hands. Agneta sighed, but let her take me.
Unlike all the other times when I’d had to dress for an occasion in here, there was only one dress brought out. It was so far from the huge meringue style monstrosity I’d been expecting. There were no frills or layers or crystals or tulle. It was just a white dress. Long and elegant and as close to my style as it was possible to get without having holes in the knee and grass marks on the back. In short, it was stunning. The only bit of detail was a beige satin sash around the middle. I put it over my head and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like me. Ok, me in a long white dress, but it was still me. Beneath the months of heartache and pretending to be someone I wasn’t, it was almost a relief to see that I still existed in there. When my mother handed me a pair of white sneakers with pale beige laces, I almost cried. For the first time in months, someone had listened to me.
“Why?” I asked, slipping my feet into them.
She pulled me to one side, away from everyone else. “Because you stepped up at last minute to do a job that was never intended to be yours. In an extremely short time frame, you’ve had to grow up fast and in the public eye. You took on so much more than anyone could have expected of you and apart from a couple of hiccups along the way, you’ve done a marvelous job. The public adores you, and from a personal point of view, you are the bravest young lady I’ve ever met. I’m proud to have you as my daughter. That is why I listened to you when you said you didn’t want a fancy dress. I thought on today of all days, you should have something you asked for.”
Her eyes were moist which threatened to set me off crying. I hugged her tightly. She was right about one thing. Everything had changed, including my relationship with her. Once upon a time, she was like a fairy princess to me. Not only was she the queen, but she was also my hero. She must have noticed our relationship had changed over the last few months. Like a lot of other people in my life, I felt like I was losing her too.
“You look perfect!” She smiled as I did a little twirl for her. There was sadness in her eyes too. It should have been Grace standing here in the white dress. She handed me a diamond necklace, and I let her place it around my neck. Like the dress, it was understated.
“Are you ready? Your father has been waiting outside for half an hour.”
“What for?” I asked, surprised. The wedding wasn’t scheduled to start for hours.
“We’ve brought the wedding forward. As soon as Elise is dressed, your father will be escorting you to the gardens for the wedding.”
“Why?” I asked perplexed. This whole charade had taken months of planning. The guests had invites for a certain time, the catering was ready to go for after the wedding, the media had been told five o’clock and the people had too. It made absolutely no sense at all to move it to the morning. “The guests won’t even be here yet.”
“Your father has had people calling the guests for the last hour to notify them of the new time. I’m sure a few will be late, but it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
“But why are we bringing the wedding forward?” Something was going on. I’d seen it with the way Xavi was panicking, and I could see it in the others. “What are you not telling me?”
“I don’t want to worry you on your big day.”
“Just tell me.”
“Your father received intelligence that the Magi are going to stage another demonstration outside the palace walls. He’s got police filling the streets, and all the palace guards are on maximum alert, but we thought it would be better to get the wedding done as soon as possible just in case there is a problem later.”
It was funny how much this piece of information didn’t bother me. My mother seemed more worried about it than I could ever be. The only thought in my mind was not one of a ruined wedding or for my own safety, but the fact that I might see Cynder again.
Xavi came over and with the aid of one of her helpers, fitted my veil. Elise, looking stunning as always in a form fitting beige satin dress with pink flowers in her hair, came over and handed me my bouquet.
We hugged and as I walked through the door to my future, I pulled the veil over my face. For the first time in months, I was hidden from the world.
“You look beautiful, my dear,” my father said gruffly, kissing me on the cheek. I put my arm in his. What I really wanted to do was hit him with it, but at the back of my mind, I knew that as soon as I was married, I would be counted as a grown up, capable of making my own decisions. I might have been losing a lot of freedom, but I would also receive other freedoms. I’d be able to travel outside of the palace without permission, and I’d have some say in the way things were run. The police and other officials would have to obey me. I wouldn’t be queen yet, but I’d be one step closer. And even though my father didn’t know it, I was going to fight him on the laws of the Magi. No matter what happened later today, the Magi would have an ally on the inside. My father wasn’t going to know what hit him!
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The Wedding
I could already hear the music as I followed Elise out of the front door of the palace. The music
ians had either managed to arrive hours early, or someone was playing a record on a player through a speaker. I couldn’t see either way because at some point in the night a white fabric tunnel from the house to the wedding venue had been erected just so that no one could see me before I walked down the aisle.
I wanted to ask my father if there were Magi outside already, but I knew it would be fruitless. My heart thumped as we walked through the tunnel, and yet, all I could hear was the music and the sounds of thousands of people cheering. Unlike the televised events from my dates where the public had been invited into the grounds, the public was to be kept outside and the wedding broadcast on huge screens erected on the tops of the palace walls. Only a few people, who had been camping out for days, would actually see anything in real life through gaps in the palace gates.
Still, it hadn’t stopped anyone, judging by the noise. I tried to make out whether any of the noise came from the Magi and if the screams and shouts I could hear were happy noises or ones of fighting. It all sounded happy, but it was so loud that screams of distress could quite easily have been hidden.
My mind was whirling with thoughts of Cynder. Was he on the other side of that wall right now, surrounded by other Magi who were protecting him? I fingered my bracelet, twisting the carriage charm around nervously in my fingers. Was I the first bride to walk down the aisle thinking of another man to the one I was marrying? Surely, I couldn’t be the first, but unlike the others, I didn’t have the luxury of calling the whole thing off at the last minute. I couldn’t run away and leave it all behind. Where would I go? As we rounded the corner, a couple of guards opened the end curtains slightly. I got a peek at the rows of chairs, all decked out in beige ribbon with pretty pink flowers on the backs of each, matching both my dress and bouquet. Daniel had done an amazing job. They looked wonderful. They were surprisingly full of people. Amazing, as most of the guests had barely had any notice.
Charm (A Cinderella reverse fairytale) (Reverse Fairytales Book 1) Page 22