A Grimm Curse: A Grimm Tales Novella (Volume 3) (12 page)

Chapter
1
4

“Thin
gs didn’t go as planned tonight.
”

“SO, HOW DID IT GO?” she asked Remi as she struggled for breath in the tight costume.

“Can we please just go home?” he sighed.

Behind her she could hear the prince addressing the crowd. “No need for alarm, the princess just had a little fright.”

She reached the brick wall and cursed under her breath. She jogged along it, hoping to find a gate or opening that would lead her out.

“She was just right here.” The prince’s voice was close by, and there was no doubt he was searching for her again. What was with that man?

She stopped under a familiar pear tree and looked up into the branches. The gardeners hadn’t been as attentive to pruning as they should have and it’s limbs extended over the wall.

She tossed Remi onto a branch. “Climb,” she said, taking off her shoes and throwing them over the wall.

It took her two tries to get her hands around a lower branch—being short had its disadvantages—but she leveraged herself onto a limb.

Cynthia crawled through the leaves, edging onto the branch that hung over the wall. Remi had already hopped on top of the bricks and was waiting for her.

“Come on,” he said, glancing into the garden.

Cynthia could hear the prince and he wasn’t far. She lowered herself onto the wall, shaking the branches in the process.

“This way,” the prince called below her.

She swung off the wall, hanging on
to the top bricks with just her hands. She took a deep breath, and let go, praying she wasn’t going to break an ankle. She landed hard and stumbled backwards. She held up her hands for Remi and he leapt after her, his body long and stretched as he aimed for her cupped hands.

He landed with a plop. On the other side of the wall, they could hear the prince hunting for her. She located her shoes, stepped into them, and began the long walk home.

“Do you want to walk—umm, hop?” Cynthia asked Remi. They were on the edge of the evergreen forest that ringed their small town. There was just enough room to walk between the wall and the trees.

“If I do we’ll get there next year,” he said. “Can I—do you mind if I ride on your shoulder?”

“No.” She smiled and set him in his usual spot; glad they were on good terms again. “What happened?”

“What you’d expect.” His face was so glum. “What am I doing wrong?”

“I’m sorry, Remi,” Cynthia said, picking her way in the dark over tree roots. The only light came from the full moon and
the
pink and blue glow of the lanterns on the other side of the wall. “I guess it’s hard for people to see past the surface.”

“It wasn’t for you,” Remi pointed out.

“Well, I
am
exceptional,” she laughed.

“The prince certainly seems to think so,” Remi said.

Cynthia was having a hard time deciphering his tone.

“What do you make of him?” Remi pressed.

“He’s funny. Nice. Handsome. Seems used to getting his way,” Cynthia said.

“A common character flaw among princes,” Remi said with a wry twist to his mouth.

“Good thing it’s not one of yours,” Cynthia said.

Remi cleared his throat. “It may have been a small one of mine. Something that being a frog has all but cured.”

“Really?” Cynthia considered this. “I’m having trouble picturing it.”

They’d left the brick wall surrounding the castle garden far behind. Cynthia couldn’t risk walking along the road dressed like she was. She kept to the woods and wound through faint animal trails. Her legs ached, but with shoes on her feet, she was confidant she could make it home.

It was peaceful in the woods with Remi dozing on her shoulder and the moon keeping her company as it tracked its familiar path across the sky. A feeling of contentment she hadn’t felt in a long time settled over her. Things were far from perfect in her life, and Remi’s disappointment this evening was just as frustrating for her. But a change was coming, one way or another—her life was different than it was just last week. Despite everything
,
Cynthia considered it better. She had a friend.

It was late when she let herself in the kitchen door, but Ann was still up, working the dough for tomorrow’s bread.

“Don’t you have people to do that for you?” Cynthia teased her.

Ann dropped the lump of dough with a faint splat in the flour.

“Cynthia?” she asked. “You nearly gave me a heart attack, girl!” Ann continued to pummel her bread, taking in Cynthia in her costume over her working hands. “That’s quite a getup.”

Cynthia opened the icebox
,
and
pulling out some ravioli for her dinner.

“That’s for lunch tomorrow,” Ann sighed, taking the pasta out of her hands. “There’s some left over beef stew.” She started to stoke the stove. “No telling when your last hot meal was. Don’t they have all kinds of fancy food at those parties?”

“They do. I didn’t seem to have time to eat any of it,” Cynthia said. She filled a bowl with water for Remi and nudged him awake. “Dinner time.”

“He’s still a frog,” Ann commented.

“Things didn’t go as planned tonight,” Cynthia said, pulling a stool up to Ann’s workspace and perching on it.

Remi plunged himself in the water. Stroking around once or twice before poking his head up. “For the prince either,” he chuckled darkly. “I don’t think he anticipated losing you.”

“The prince?” Ann stopped her work at the stove and gave Cynthia her full attention. “You met the prince?”

Cynthia nodded, nibbling on a stale piece of bread while she waited for the stew to heat.

“And?” Ann asked, exasperated.

Cynthia smiled. “He’s handsome. It was nice to talk to someone who didn’t really know who I was. It was—refreshing.”

“He didn’t know who you were?” Ann asked, placing the warmed stew in front of her.

Cynthia shook her head. “I don’t know how he could have.”

Remi hopped out of his water bowl to investigate dinner.

“Ann,” Cynthia said around her first bite of food. “I need a favor.”

“A favor.” Ann planted her hands on her hips and fixed her with a hard stare. “What kind of favor.”

“I—obtained the key to the basement and let myself out of my room. I still need it to get out tomorrow night.” She returned Ann’s stare. “I
don’t
want Lady Wellington to know I can come and go as I please.”

“Agreed,” Ann said. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“I would just keep the key, but I don’t want the staff under suspicion for taking it. It really needs to go back on its peg by my door, but then I won’t be able to get out.” She raised her eyebrows at Ann.

“I see.” Ann took her time placing the dirty stew pot in the sink and running water in it. “So you’d need me to let you out.”

“Only after they leave for the last night of the feast. They’d never know.”

Ann was quiet. Cynthia chewed her dinner while she waited for her verdict.

“I’ve never liked the way they treated you,” Ann finally said.

“I know you haven’t, Ann. No one’s blaming you with the way things turned out,” Cynthia said.

“Your parents were good folk, especially your mother
.
” Ann sighed, pulling up a stool next to Cynthia and lowering herself on it with a groan. “Your father made a mistake when he remarried. He didn’t have time to fix it before he died, and you got the brunt of it.
”
Ann worried her hands together. “Of course I’ll let you out.”

Cynthia handed Ann the key and closed the basement door. She waited until she heard the catch of the lock snap in place before going down to her room with Remi on her shoulder. She’d made sure and stocked her room before being locked in. Firewood, food and water, a stack of books—including her fairy tales. It would be a long day tomorrow. She changed out of her costume and washed her face, watching the water in the bucket turn red from the face paint. She called for a few birds and asked them to take the dress back to her mother’s tree.

“You’re not—keeping it?” Remi asked, interrupted by an enormous yawn.

“I have to destroy the evidence,” she said with a sad smile. “I have to assume my stepfamily got a glimpse of me during the evening. Can you image Lady Wellington’s face if she saw that dress in my room?” But before the birds flew off, Cynthia yanked a crimson feather from the skirt and added it to her collection of knickknacks on the mantel.

She curled on her bed with Remi already dreaming on her pillow and drifted to sleep as the carriage wheels carrying her stepfamily pulled in front of the house.

That night, Cynthia’s sleep was filled with dreams—nightmares. At first the images weren’t bad ones, just everyday pictures. Washing laundry, walking along a dirt road with a lunch pail in hand, wading in an unfamiliar creek, learning to cook at an old potbelly stove. With her constantly was the little sister she had seen the night before and the man and woman she couldn’t help but think of as mother and father. In her dream the little girl turned her head and giggled, her blonde curls bouncing, her gray eyes full of mischief.

Cel
i
a
.

The name fired in her head like a shotgun. More images rushed her, an old man in a black suit with a doctor’s bag, her father with his head bowed in his hands sitting by a dying fire, her sister pale as the sheets she lay on. Two grave markers in the snow—

Cynthia sat up with a violent motion that flipped Remi off the pillow. She scrubbed at her eyes, trying to rid herself of the images.

“What is it?” Remi righted himself and hopped on her knee, trying to peer into her face.

She was disoriented for a second and wondered why a talking frog was sitting on her knee.

“Just a dream. A dream,” she said like a mantra, clamping her hand
s
between her knees and trying to banish the images of her dream mother dying in the bed beside her.

“Didn’t you have a nightmare last night?” Remi asked, concern still pulling at his eyes.

“There’s just been a lot going on. I’m bound to have a bad dream or two. Last night violins were chasing me,” she told Remi, attempting a smile. She didn’t quite make it. Gray light was just showing in her tiny window. It wasn’t entirely morning, but she didn’t think she could go back to sleep.

Chapter
1
5

“There aren’t enough women here to keep you busy without me?”

CYNTHIA SPENT A RELAXING, IF boring, day in her room. It had been years since she had a day off. They snacked on some of Ann’s gingersnaps and Cynthia read out loud to Remi. The only damper on the day was Lady Wellington’s visit with her daily bread and water and her repeated request for Cynthia to grovel for forgiveness.

She knew it was petty to refuse her stepmother, really what did it matter at this point? But Cynthia was done being bullied.

The door slammed, echoing in her small
,
circular room. Cynthia smiled at Remi as he emerged from his hiding place in her kettle and they returned to their book.

Twilight came
. T
he sound
s of her stepfamily
’s
preparations rained down on Remi and Cynthia
, ending with hurried footsteps out the door and
the carriage roll
ing
away
. T
hey made
t
he
i
r way up the steps and waited for Ann.

Soon the key turned in the lock and the old woman’s face appeared in the crack. She was blocking the door.

“What is it?” Cynthia asked.

Ann swallowed and Cynthia sensed her nervousness. “Young misses is still here.”

“Coriander?” Cynthia lowered her voice to a whisper. “Why didn’t she go?”

“Her curse has gotten worse. The dresses and make-up, they can’t cover it up any more.” Ann’s eyes flicked over her shoulder before she continued. “They say she’s a monster.”

Cynthia exchanged a look with Remi. “Where is she now?”

“Her room. She never leaves it anymore,” Ann said.

Coriander’s room overlooked her mother’s hazel tree. Cynthia sighed, she’d just have to risk it. She didn’t plan on being in this house much longer anyway. If she and Remi failed tonight, they were going straight to his family.

“It’ll be fine, Ann,” Cynthia said, gently nudging her out of the way. She closed the basement door, locked it, and hung the key back up. That might buy her a little time.

In the courtyard, the moon was waxing, just slightly smaller than it had been last night. Cynthia stood under the hazel tree, one hand on her mother’s stone marker and considered what to ask for. She wasn’t sure what the feast would consist of tonight, but she remembered the dresses made last week for Coriander and Portia had been pretty casual in comparison to the last two nights.

The birds descended, and when they disappeared back into the tree, Cynthia found herself in a simple knee-length dress with a full skirt and wide collar. Little cherries dotted the fabric in a cheerful pattern. A thin red belt cinched
in
her waist, and a wide brimmed hat with matching cherries was cocked at an angle over one eye. She felt a little exposed without her painted on mask, but it was dark and hopefully she could just avoid anyone who might recognize her.

“And what are we doing tonight for transportation?” Remi asked, appraising her clothes.

“A friend is coming to pick us up.”

“A friend?”

An impatient honk came from the front of the house. Cynthia grinned at Remi as she tucked him in her small, square handbag.

The tree had provided her with practical black heels that were quite comfortable, as if it knew how much walking she had done in the last two nights. She rounded the front of the house, ducking under the lilac bushes and startling Todd who had been tapping the wheel of the Model T impatiently.

He whistled and Cynthia cocked her head so her hat hid her face. She reined in the silly smile that had popped up on her face as Todd opened her door and she slid into the car.

“No Christina tonight?” she asked as he put the car in gear and they rolled down the dark street toward the castle.

Todd scowled, looking smart in his suspenders, tie, and fedora. “She’s been acting cagey the last two days. Said she didn’t want a ride tonight, she had other plans.”

Cynthia remembered seeing her with King Rothstein last night, but chose to stay quiet.

“I was pretty surprised to have a dove drop a note in my lap from you this morning,” Todd said after a moment of silence.

“You did say we could be friends,” Cynthia pointed out, knowing how needled Remi was sitting alone in her purse.

“I did.” He smiled at her. “And I’m glad you asked.”

As they got closer to the castle, the curious smells hit Cynthia first, followed by a quiet rumble of new noises.

“What’s going on tonight?” Cynthia asked.

“Didn’t you know?”
H
e glanced away from the road momentarily to take in her profile. “Tonight’s the carnival.”

A thrill went through Cynthia and she sat forward in her seat like a little girl, anticipating her first glimpse of the fair. The carnival had only come to their small town once before, and Cynthia—of course—had not been allowed to go. Coriander and Portia had come home laden with stuffed animals and cotton candy, talking about it for a week afterwards. She remembered being able to see the very top of the Ferris wheel if she climbed onto the roof of the barn. The royal family must have brought them to the castle for the prince’s birthday.

Todd grinned at her posture. “Haven’t you been before?”

She shook her head, her eyes glued to the road ahead.

He laughed. “This is going to be fun.”

They had to park outside the brick wall of the castle and walk in. They passed a pair of guards whose eyes seemed to follow Cynthia as she passed by, but they made no move to stop her.

She stood just inside the gate and took everything in. Popcorn and caramel saturated the air, underlined with a peppery sawdust smell. The grounds of the castle and surrounding gardens were lit up as bright as noon. Electric lights strung along the midway and traveled to the top of a giant wheel that spun people high in the air. There was a ride that mimicked a top, spinning swings with dizzying speed. Kaliope music flooded them, mixing with the call of carnies, the ding of bells, and babble of excited voices.

“Where do you want to start?” Todd asked, but Cynthia was already wandering to a cluster of tents labeled
Nature’s Marvels!
Pictures of gorillas beating their chests with fangs bared adorned the outside of the tent.

The barker outside noticed her staring and lifted the flap, winking at her. “Go on it, little lady. Monsters of the jungle inside.”

Todd trailed her into the dim tent. A pungent smell similar to the inside of the barn made her wrinkle her nose. Several cages were set up inside. Cynthia gazed into the first one. The beast was hunched in the far corner. Covered in dark fur from his head to his feet that looked curiously like hands, he was
humanoid
in shape, but massive in size.

“What do you think of him?” Todd asked in a low voice.

The gorilla shuffled around at the sound. His deep-set eyes under rigged brows stared into hers. The deep brown color and expressiveness surprised her. It wasn’t like looking into the eyes of one of the horses or sheep dogs at the estate. These were more—human.

“He looks sad,” Cynthia said.

“Wouldn’t you be, stuck in that cage?” Todd asked.

Cynthia flashed back to the stone walls of her basement room and shook her head. “I think I’ve seen enough.”

“Come on,” Todd said, taking her elbow and steering her out of the tent. “Let’s try some of the rides.”

“Only if I get a caramel apple first,” she said with a smile, spying a booth across the way.

“Sure, wait here,” Todd said.

Keeping one eye on him, Cynthia opened her handbag.

“How you doing, Remi?”

“Nice of you to remember me,” he grumbled.

“Don’t be that way,” she sighed. “We need a plan.”

Remi was quiet for a minute and Cynthia wondered what he was thinking.

“I’m a little parched. Do you think you could find me some water?” he asked.

Cynthia glanced up, the attendant at the booth was handing Todd an apple.

“There’s a fountain not too far,” she said.

“Perfect,” Remi said.

“One caramel apple and now a ride on the merry-go-round,” Todd said coming back over.

Cynthia closed her purse with a snap and accepted the apple.

“Do you mind if we look around a bit first?”

Todd shrugged. “Sure, lead the way.”

They wove around tents advertising acrobatic shows and wonders like the bearded lady and the strong man. Barkers flung their voices, enticing people to try their hand at knocking down milk bottles or tossing hoops over stuffed animals. Cynthia kept her eyes open for her stepfamily, ready to turn her back or dash away at a moment’s notice, but they never appeared. The merry-go-round fascinated her. She itched to ride the painted wooden horses that seemed to prance in a circle to the tune of an organ. But she turned her feet toward where she knew the fountain was.

She was sticky from the caramel apple, and splashed water on her hands from the fountain. Unlatching her purse, she slid Remi out. Todd had stopped to watch a fire-eater that had drawn a small crowd from the fountain.

“Better?” Cynthia whispered to Remi as he hopped into the water.

He gave her a smile that for some reason seemed sad. “Much. Why don’t you leave me here a
while and go enjoy yourself?”

She gave him an odd look. “I’m here for you, not the rides.”

“What’s wrong with the rides?”

Cynthia stood up, almost banging her head against the prince’s in her haste.

“Your highness!” Cynthia dipped into a curtsy. She was in trouble if people could sneak up on her so easily.

His expression told her he was still expecting an answer to his question. She had to think a second to remember what he’d asked.

“I just haven’t ridden any yet.”

“Allow me, then.” He held out a hand. Cynthia glanced at the fountain, but Remi had disappeared.

She looped her hand through his arm as Todd came back over, a look of irritation on his face that morphed into surprise when he recognized the prince. He gave a clumsy bow.

“Prince Wilhelm, this is my friend Todd Levinson,” Cynthia said, her eyes shifting around the milling crowd. All she needed now was for her stepmother to walk up.

The prince gave Todd a bored passing glance. He looked down at Cynthia’s face and back to him with more interest. “Is this the friend? The one you needed a princess for?”

She laughed despite the situation. “No, different friend.”

She didn’t miss Todd’s puzzled look.

“Come, you have to ride the Ferris wheel.” The prince tugged at her hand.

“I can’t just leave Todd. He’s the one who brought me,” Cynthia said, digging in her heels.

“No, it’s fine. I should probably check up on Christina anyway.” Todd looked like it was anything but fine, but Cynthia gave him an apologetic smile and let herself be lead away.

The prince laced his fingers with hers as they dodged through the crowd toward the giant star shape that lit up the side of the massive wheel. Cynthia wasn’t entirely comfortable with this intimacy, but she didn’t know a tactful way to disengage her hand.

“That wasn’t nice, the disappearing trick you pulled last night,” Prince Wilhelm said his eyes forward and concentrating on navigating the crowd. Cynthia glanced up at him, his tone was teasing, but his eyes were hard.

“I apologize, my friend was having a difficult evening and was ready to go,” she said.

“The friend that isn’t the one I just met?” the Prince asked with raised eyebrows.

“That’s the one,” she said.

“You know I’ve been waiting for you tonight,” his voice was low and intense.

Cynthia’s heart jumped into a faster gear and her scalp prickled as she started to sweat.

“There aren’t enough women here to keep you busy without me?” she tried to keep the comment casual.
She was tired of the
glowers
being sent her way by
every female in the vicinity
, though
.

She couldn’t be the only girl the prince had spent time with
in
two days. Could she?

“Wait! I love this game.” The prince pulled Cynthia to a stop in front of a booth. “Let me win you something.”

There was no waiting at the milk bottle game. Cynthia had heard most everything along the midway was rigged, but the barker bowed low and offered a handful of baseballs to Wilhelm. The prince rolled up the sleeves on his white collared shirt and tilted his boater hat back off his head.