by Shea, K. M.
“Close the gates!” soldiers shouted, blowing their whistles.
“We have to get through!” Cinderella said.
The great wooden gates of Werra creaked and moaned as they were unhinged.
The bells in the city bell tower started ringing, their clear tolls sounding ominous to Cinderella’s panicked ears.
“We’re not going to make it,” she said, shutting her eyes as her carriage thundered along.
The mice-horses snorted, their hooves clattering on the stone streets. Whistles echoed from all over Werra, and the gates inched along as soldiers pushed against them.
The city bells tolled, and Cinderella’s mice-horses slid through the open gap between the doors. The round carriage got stuck—pinched between the doors—but the mice-horses threw themselves against their black harness, and the coach popped free.
“We did it! We did it! I can’t believe that we made it! Mice, I will feed you from my hand for the rest of your life!” Cinderella vowed as the doors swung shut behind them.
Even from behind the city walls, Cinderella could hear the soldiers working furiously to open the doors. A soldier standing watch on the wall blew his whistle and motioned in Cinderella’s direction.
“Quick, into the trees,” Cinderella said. They had come out on the wrong side of Werra and were reasonably far from Aveyron’s lands. But Cinderella was satisfied they were out at all—and the different location was a blessing, for the land surrounding the gate was heavily forested for hunting purposes.
The city bells still rang as Cinderella and her entourage disappeared into the trees. Cinderella threw herself out of the carriage just as it started shrinking, collapsing around her. The black harnesses dropped from the horses, who were temporarily shrouded in smoke with the driver and footgirl when the last bell tolled.
When the smoke cleared, the elderly goat baaed at Cinderella. The four mice arranged themselves at Cinderella’s feet, shivering, and the young goat stumbled and shook her head.
Cinderella’s fancy dress was gone. She hadn’t noticed when the white and gray fabric transformed back to her servants clothes, but she was grateful it had. She hurriedly took her apron off and ripped it in half. She ripped the ties off the bottom half and tied them around the leather collars the goats wore. She took the top half of the apron and tied it to her head, covering her hair. She placed the glass slipper—the only reminder of the entire mad evening—on the remaining square of apron fabric. She tied the fabric around it like it was a sack of food that she carried.
“Hide for a moment,” Cinderella said to the mice.
They scurried off into the underbrush, doing as they were told.
When the soldiers entered the woods moments later, they found only a servant girl toting two goats instead of the fleeing coach with the agile carriage horses they were looking for.
“Spread out and see if the dogs can pick up the trail,” a lieutenant riding a black horse shouted, holding a torch above his head.
“Yes, sir!”
The lieutenant dismounted and approached the girl and her goats—who were baaing and shying at the soldiers and their dogs.
“Good evening, miss,” the lieutenant said, dipping the brim of his hat at the girl. “I apologize for the interruption, but did you happen to see a round, gold carriage come through these woods?”
“A round carriage?” the girl said, yelping when her buck goat tried to headbutt a dog that was sniffing an unripe pumpkin nearby. “That would certainly be an odd sight. Nope, I haven’t seen anything like that ‘round here,” she said, her eyes wide.
“Are you certain?” the lieutenant asked.
“I think t’would be rather hard to miss, if you excuse me for saying so,” the goat girl said, a little breathless as her goats yanked her around.
“Very well, thank you for your time,” the lieutenant said before he returned to his horse and blew a whistle and addressed his soldiers. “Red Dogs, follow the road with the dogs and search for tracks. Gray Boys, search the woods on both sides. Don’t depend on the dogs. Look for tracks, and keep an eye out for any side trails they may have taken. She can’t have gotten too far, or our scouts on the walls would have seen her leave the trees,” he said.
As the soldiers organized themselves, they ignored the wide-eyed servant girl and her white goats. They didn’t even notice when the girl stopped to let four mice crawl into her sack before she started off, her shoulders stiff and her chin held high.
Chapter 16
“There you are, Cinderella. You have chosen an unlikely spot to sleep in.”
Cinderella groaned and rolled over, crashing off the settee she had collapsed in the night before.
“Ow,” she said. The aches and pains of her body brought the previous night’s events to her mind. Her feet hurt from the dancing and walking without shoes. Her arms hurt from the goats yanking on her the whole way home. As they had popped out on the wrong side of Werra, it had taken over an hour to reach Aveyron. It was all Cinderella could do to put the goats away, free the mice, and collapse in the nearest settee.
“Your servants are desperately looking for you. Some officials have arrived—they are asking for you.”
Cinderella finally recognized Lady Klara’s voice. “Great,” she said into the ground.
“I will inform Jeanne of your location, but, Cinderella?”
“Hm.”
“You looked lovely last night,” Lady Klara said before she was gone with the swish of skirts.
That comment got Cinderella scrambling off the floor. “You saw?” she squeaked. If Lady Klara realized it was her, did anyone else?”
Lady Klara was already gone, though, and Jeanne barged through the door seconds later.
“Mademoiselle,” she said, the closest thing she ever came to chiding Cinderella as she took in Cinderella’s wrinkled, askew clothes. “You must change into something more suitable, now,” she said, hovering around Cinderella in an effort to herd her to her rooms.
“Why?” Cinderella asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Prince Cristoph has called upon Aveyron, and asks to see you!”
Cinderella froze. “I beg your pardon, who is here?”
“Prince Cristoph! You must get changed—Mademoiselle?”
Cinderella sprinted out of the room, manners and elegance forgotten.
“He’s going to arrest me; he’s going to have me thrown in jail; he’s going to do something!” Cinderella said, darting down the chateau hallways.
“Mademoiselle,” various servants called as she charged past them.
Cinderella ignored the calls and made a beeline for the kitchens. “If no one can find me, he’ll go away. He’ll have to go away, and I have to find Friedrich and talk to him—curse my impulsive self!” Cinderella said. She nearly collided with a maid who bore a tray of food, but dodged at the last moment.
She slid into the kitchens, ignoring the uproar her servants were in, dodged a live chicken, and tripped on the cat sunning herself on the stoop outside the entrance to the kitchens.
Cinderella tilted alarmingly and almost fell, but she righted herself at the last moment and hopped several steps. “Darned cat!”
“I have to say, I’ve never seen you fall before, but you’ve gotten precariously close in the past day or so.”
Cinderella stopped pinwheeling her arms and could not help the rush of relief she felt when she saw Friedrich standing not three paces away, his arms folded across his chest.
“Friedrich!” Cinderella cried, throwing herself at him. “I am so glad to see you—but we have to get out of here. The Prince—,” Cinderella cut herself short and stepped back when her eyes finally caught up with her mind, and she realized Friedrich was not wearing his usual uniform.
Friedrich wore an outfit of black, and on his head was the copper crown with the ruby setting Prince Cristoph wore.
“I’m going to sit down,” Cinderella announced before her legs gave out, and she sat down, hard, on the ground.
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“I thought you would try to run when my men flashed my full title, so I positioned myself in the location you were most likely to exit from.”
“You’re a prince!?”
“Yes.”
“The oldest prince?”
“Prince Cristoph VI, yes.”
“Then you lied? You’ve been lying to me?” Cinderella said, her chest heaving.
“Not entirely. I go by Friedrich (as Cristoph is a family name), and it can make discussions quite confusing. I don’t use my prince title often, as my main occupation is Colonel of the First Regiment.”
Cinderella pushed herself to her feet, anger giving her newfound strength. “The organizing it must have taken to pull this over me—your whole regiment was in on it, weren’t they? And that explains why you kept sticking up for your greedy Queen Freja!”
“What happened to forgiveness?”
“That was BEFORE I found out you’ve been lying to me this entire time!”
“Cinderella, you need to calm down,” Friedrich said.
“I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE CALM IN MY LIFE!” Cinderella roared.
“I see,” Friedrich said.
“What was this past summer to you?” Cinderella said, stalking back and forth like an angry mountain cat. “A joke? A way to amuse yourself—by watching the penniless duchess scrabble for change?”
“It was a marriage interview.”
“What?”
Friedrich grabbed Cinderella by her shoulders. “Listen to me for a minute.”
Cinderella briefly considered slapping him, but settled for angrily brushing his hands off her shoulders.
“Mother and Father will be leaving the Trieux territory soon. For safety and military reasons, they must return to our fortifications in Erlauf—there have been magical attacks, as you know. I am to remain behind and rule in their stead. Since the war, I knew I would have to marry someone of Trieux blood to stabilize our claim to Trieux. So, I’ve been watching all eligible girls from the noble class, the guild and merchant glass, and the daughters of the remaining Trieux officials. I narrowed down my selection to include you, which was when I decided I wanted to meet you.”
“So, I was the best-bred mare to suit your purposes?” Cinderella said, her eyes narrowed. “You’re not winning any points for charm, Your Highness.”
Friedrich ignored the acid in her voice. “I know the story is less than romantic…but it’s all I have. I am the prince of a country that has finished one war and is on the brink of another against an enemy we have no real means of conquering. I’m sorry I only looked at you because I had to marry someone from Trieux. I wish I had approached you with more wholesome intents, but it is unfair to discount my love for you because of that.”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why did you want to meet me?”
Friedrich hesitated. “Because of…the position I’m in, I knew I needed to be careful with who I selected as my wife. I wanted someone who could learn to love Erlauf as I love it.”
“And?”
“I heard about your unusual situation—the way you gave up everything to keep your servants. Your actions were selfless, and they were what made me decide I should meet you. The day you saved my life, I knew, if I could convince you, you would love Erlauf just as fiercely as you love your servants,” Friedrich said, fixing his dark eye on Cinderella.
Cinderella could feel her anger starting to subside, but she wouldn’t admit it, so she looked away and turned her back to Friedrich.
“And then I fell deeply in love with you, and I worried you would marry me only to save Aveyron. You never gave any indication you felt more for me than friendship. You still haven’t,” Friedrich said, standing behind Cinderella.
He was so close Cinderella could feel the heat of his body, but he did not touch her.
“Cinderella, who were you thinking of when you refused my touch last night?” Friedrich said, his voice flat.
Cinderella set her shoulders and did not respond.
“Cinderella, please.”
Cinderella turned around. “Who do you think it was, but you, you idiot!” she said, smacking Friedrich to cover her embarrassed blush.
Friedrich caught Cinderella’s hand and pulled her into a hug, encasing his arms around her. As Cinderella leaned into him, she suspected he hadn’t touched her the night before because there was no way she would fail to recognize his warmth.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” Cinderella whispered.
Friedrich snorted. “Cinderella, you are loyal and lovely as the dawn, but you do not hesitate to use yourself as a bargaining chip. You cannot deny it. You would have accepted my offer purely because it would put you in a higher position of power to care for and protect Trieux citizens.”
Cinderella thought for a moment. “That’s about right,” she admitted. “But you said that’s what you were looking for in a wife.”
Friedrich kissed the top of Cinderella’s head. “Yes, before I fell in love with you,” he said, sounding quite sheepish. “After that I grew quite stubborn about wanting to woo you rather than buying your affections.”
“And all the sweet talking of your mother?”
“I want you two to get along. You need to get along,” Friedrich said.
“Why?”
“…You’re going to marry me, right?”
“You haven’t asked.”
“I’ll get to that in a minute. I have it all planned, and it will knock your shoes off—again. So yes, you and mother must get along, and I really wanted you to express concern for Erlauf as a whole and see the need for forgiveness because…”
“Because?”
“Well,” Friedrich looked to the sky when Cinderella leaned back far enough that she could see him. “Because I’m aiming to be the Commander of the Erlauf Army, like my Father.”
“And?”
“And so, as my wife, you will be the ruling queen,” Friedrich said.
Cinderella blinked. “So I will be queen and you’ll be king.”
“No, you will be queen and I will be your consort. I will control the Army, but you will have undisputed control over the country.”
“But how can you…what?”
“The Erlauf Army needs direct supervision thanks to its size and power. I can’t be the Commander and lead the country. If Johann, my brother, showed any inclination to be the Commander, then I could just be King. But he spends most of his time making eyes at foreign dignitaries and refuses to enter the Army,” Friedrich said, sounding disgusted. “Besides, I take after my father with my sweet, quiet, personality. I am so easily frightened and cowed. Mother always told me I was born to be a consort.”
“You are without a doubt your Mother’s son,” Cinderella dryly said as she tried to adjust her mind to the idea. “Queen? And you would only be the consort? Are you sure?”
“Now you see why I wanted to be sure you loved me before I told you? Although you still haven’t said you do…”
“And you still haven’t asked me to marry you.”
“Right, let’s take care of that. This way, please,” Friedrich said, taking Cinderella’s hand and leading her to the front of the Chateau.
Friedrich’s soldiers from his regiment saw them and started hooting and whistling.
“I haven’t convinced her yet! Stop carrying on, or she’ll run the other way,” Friedrich said as they stopped at a covered wagon. He plucked a sack from the driver’s seat and led Cinderella on.
“What’s in the wagon?” Cinderella asked.
“You can just sense money, can’t you? It’s gold.”
“What for?”
“It’s the exact amount Aveyron owed Mother before you paid off the debt. It is my bribe in case you decide to say no. Sit here, on that bench. Yes, face this way, perfect,” Friedrich said, arranging Cinderella on the bench next to the hulking wild rose bush.
“Put both feet on the ground, this shoe off, please, thank you,” Friedrich s
aid, twitching one of Cinderella’s shoes off her feet. “Stay. There,” Friedrich said, pointing to the bench before he retreated some distance.
Still within view, Friedrich attempted to smooth his clothes, which were as badly wrinkled as Cinderella’s. He tossed his crown aside, and plucked a basket out of the sack. He took a deep breath, held the basket behind his back and turned to face Cinderella.
“Duchess Cinderella Lacreux, I must confess I have fallen deeply in love with you. If you would marry me, I would be the happiest of men—but there are some things that must be stated. I am in the Army, and while you will always have my love, I cannot guarantee I will always return to you whole, or alive,” Friedrich said, briefly shutting his eye. “Also, I am the prince of a troubled country. If you marry me, I fear you will be called to show love, kindness, and compassion beyond what a normal human could extend. I am confident my country will learn to love you and cherish you as deeply as I do, but I am aware you have already made great sacrifices… and I do not want to force more on you,” Friedrich said, kneeling at Cinderella’s feet.
“I want to marry you not because you have the strength of will to save my desperate country, but because you have stolen my heart for some months now, and I want to spend every second I can in your presence. If you choose to marry me, I will treasure your love and loyalty more than the Crown jewels, and I will do my best to make you happy and to make you smile and laugh for the rest of your life. I am from Erlauf, not Trieux, and most of my worth is based on my military position rather than my royal title. It’s not what you deserve, but I ask that you would consider it, consider me. Cinderella, will you marry me?”
Friedrich’s eye shone with love, and perhaps a little fear. He was a man nearly impossible to read. The display of trust twisted Cinderella’s heart.
Cinderella smiled through the tears in her eyes. “Cristoph Friedrich, before I answer, there are some things that must be stated,” she said, smiling. “Yesterday I officially refused Julien’s suit because I realized I was in love with another man—you—and I didn’t want to marry anyone else. Also, your country ceased to bother me months ago as you have taught me to look past heritage and study a person’s heart. As for your profession, I would be proud to call a soldier—a calling of bravery and courage that I am ashamed to say I previously did not value—my husband. Finally, I will gladly make personal sacrifices if it means I can marry you.”