Little Red Hood (3 page)

Authors: Angela Black

BOOK: Little Red Hood

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Their conversation was brought to a halt as the ballroom’s doors swung open with the arrival of one final guest. Everyone turned to catch a glimpse of the individual careless enough to arrive late.

“I’ll be damned,” Vivian said with eyes wide open. “Take a look at that.”

A beautiful woman dressed in soft blue silk with white lace engravings positioned herself at the entrance. A matching mask concealed her identity from the rest of the villagers, who were perplexed as to whom the woman was. Never before had they seen such ashen white skin and tumbling golden locks. Never before had they known such jealousy in their hearts. All the men wanted to have their way with her and all the women wanted to shove her in the mud. She was the kind of woman that captured a room’s presence and then bled it dry with her exuberance.

Only she knew her name, something the young woman vowed to conceal until the spell had dispersed. She wasn’t welcome here. The whole town had been invited to the ball, and as such, was a secret to none in the small mountainside village of
Oberth
. Yet, she had been forbidden to attend. Her step-mother hadn’t cared much for her since she first arrived with her now-deceased father. It was nothing she did that bothered her step-mother so. It was whom the old lady saw when she looked into her azure eyes, the last shot at love she ever had.

It was only my otherworldly forces that the young girl was able to attend the prince’s ball. She might not have had a mother, but the girl had a fairy godmother, and apparently she’d taken quite a shining to her. A spell was placed upon her and until the stroke of midnight she’d look like a princess. It was her night to break the constrictions her step-mother had placed upon her and she’d make sure to use every second to her advantage. Cinderella was her name, and tonight was hers for the taking.

She might’ve looked like a princess, but she certainly didn’t feel like one. Everyone’s gaze was on her and she looked around awkwardly and pawed at her dress in, anxious, and afraid she’d be revealed.

Even Prince Gregory found his gaze fixated on the young woman. His hope for this evening was that he may better acquaint himself with his denizens, but when he looked out into the sea of bland faces, there was nothing to capture his eye. He didn’t relate to these people and the prince feared he never would.

Yet, the arrival of this young woman had changed it all in a heartbeat and her found himself unable, or unwilling, to look away. Was she some far off princess? How could he never have seen such a lustrous woman before?

“Posh,” Vivian said in disgust. “Who does she think she is?”

“I bet that’s fake hair,” Matilda added.

Cinderella, sheepish, walked through the sea of onlookers towards the table where food presided. It was the shred of familiarity for her, the rest of the ballroom so completely foreign and intimidating. However, she decided to even the food, too, was beyond her realm of comprehension.

“Why would anyone make such silly looking food?” Cinderella muttered under her breath as she stared down at the intricate, yet wholly unappealing food. “I wouldn’t feed this to my dog.”

The sound of a melodic string orchestra began and removed her attention from both the food and her worries and she looked up to see what was going on. All eyes that had once been on her were now turned towards the prince.

The women waited to see if they’d be the first selected, fawning over Prince Gregory as they pressed their bosoms together in attempt to sway his favor. The men, on the other hand, simply waited for the dejected women to lower their expectations.

Cinderella had no such expectations and returned her focus towards the table. She was starved and the exotic food was becoming increasingly appetizing. She grabbed one of the plates and pondered over it for a minute, deciding which of the food would be least repugnant.

“Well,” she said with regret, “here goes nothing—.”

“Excuse me, miss,” said a stranger’s voice. “May I have this dance?”

Cinderella turned around in shock as she started right into the prince’s eyes. They were a sparkling green and she found herself lost in them. She tried to respond, but had forgotten what had been asked of her.

“May I have this dance?” Prince Gregory asked one more time with sweeping grin.

“Y-yes, of course,” she stammered and clumsily extended a hand towards him, “It would be my honor, sire.”

“Please, spare me the formalities,” he said. “I wouldn’t dare hold regency above someone as fair as you.”

Once more, all eyes were locked onto Cinderella and she found it difficult to think straight. It was that, or the prince held some power over her, akin to her fairy godmother.

“My house welcomes one such as radiant as you,” he said, leading her towards the dance floor. “My only regret is that you didn’t arrive sooner.”

Cinderella nodded apologetically as she allowed him to lead her in a waltz. It had been almost eleven when she arrived, giving her only an hour to make her dreams come true. Perhaps it was better this was, not allow her hopes to reach too vaulted a height before having to leave. Yet, how could she explain any of this to him?

“My apologies, your grace,” said Cinderella. “My responsibilities are great and an hour is all that I’m able to spare.”

The prince smiled affectionately and motioned for the other guests to join them on the ballroom floor. “Then we must make best use of the time we have available.”

“What a haughty little foot-licker,” Matilda snarled. “Someone should run her through with the sword.”

“If I met a codpiece like that back home, I’d throw it down a flight of stairs,” Vivian added.

The two sisters were unaware of the identity of the young woman, and much to Cinderella’s pleasure, their conversation put a crooked grin on her face. For once, she was the apple of someone’s eye. Her step-mother had squandered her father’s inheritance on frivolous clothes and other niceties, all in the hopes of finding her daughters a husband, leaving Cinderella nothing to call her own. She was dressed in rags most of the time and was forced to clean up after her sisters while they frolicked around the town. Now it was her time so shine, and she’d take full advantage of the opportunity she was given.

It seemed like an eternity she danced with the prince, yet only a few minutes had passed. If she could only spend one hour in the prince’s company, it would seem fate would allow her to spend it astutely.

The first song finally ended and before the band could wind down; every woman in the room had pushed her partner aside and waited for the prince to make his move.

“It would seem I’m being called upon,” Prince Gregory said. “May I ask that you allow me one more dance before you must depart?”

“Certainly,” she said. “I look forward to it, my liege—.”

In the distance, Cinderella could hear the sounds of the bell tower striking twelve times. No, no, no, she panicked. It had taken far longer than she anticipated to arrive. How could she have been so careless? She should’ve known that all good fortunes have their limits.

“I-I have to go,” she said with a flushed face. “I’m sorry; I r-really must be going.”

Prince Gregory tried to grab hold of her, but she was too fast and began to tear out of the room.

For a third time such she arrived, the entire room was captivated by the mysterious woman. However, while at first it had been both feelings of jealousy and lust, it now turned to cynicism and hatred. Who did this woman think she was?

“First she steals the prince from us,” Vivian said over the jeering crowd, “now she decides she’s too good for him? The silly hag doesn’t even know what she’s lost.”

Cinderella knew exactly what she was losing—her only dream—one she’d likely never have again. It mattered little what her opinions might’ve been, she knew escape was the only option for her. It was either that, or risk further public humiliation from her sisters as her gown turned once more to rags.

“Wait!” bellowed Prince Gregory as he called out for someone to stop her.

It was no use. She was out the door before a guard could raise his spear. She hurried down the marble steps of the castle’s front entrance and prayed to the gods that her carriage arrived in time.

She’d never felt so foolish before, actually believing that she had a shot at happiness. That had never been the case for her before and she was once again reminded of the limitations fate placed upon her.

Cinderella cried out in pain as her ankle twisted on one of the steps and her crystal shoe stayed behind. Too panicked and pressed for time, she decided to leave without the slipper and continue down to the end of the steps.

“Goodbye, Prince Gregory,” said Cinderella as she turned at the bottom to look back upon the castle’s glistening white walls. “Goodbye, life I’ll never know.”

The doors swung open and she was caught off guard by the prince hurrying to her location. All the guests had followed him and looked on as he chased after her.

“C’mon,” Cinderella said nervously as she turned back to the courtyard. “Hurry up you damned horses.”

Her carriage was almost there, but so was Prince Gregory, and the conviction in his eyes told Cinderella he’d not give up so easily.

The horses clicked their heels in approach and as the door opened, Cinderella rushed inside and closed to door on her dreams. It was a heart wrenching moment for the bewildered young girl, allowed a glimpse of her dreams, only to have them ripped from her hands by a cruel twist of fate. She could see the prince holding her glass slipper in his hand, extended in attempt of opening her carriage door, but it took off and left him holding the only piece that remained of the woman that captured his heart, if even for just a half hour.

“You cannot leave!” Prince Gregory pleaded. “Please, I beg you. You can’t leave me… not just yet.”

He had never once before given such a plea, and never before had he been denied anything. Whoever this woman was, she’d stolen his heart from the moment he laid eyes upon her. She could’ve been a commoner for all he knew, but what was sure to him was that it mattered little. Prince Gregory would make sure he found her, or die trying.

End of Excerpt

Angela Black’s Collection

In No Particular Order

Angel Fairy Tales – Volume One:

Cinderella is the Belle of the Ball

Little Red Hood

Sleeping with the Beauty

Pussy in Boots

Angel Fairy Tales – Volume Two:

Alice in Wanderlust

Rapunzel’s
Curlies

The Emperor’s Clotheless