The Wronged Princess - Book I (15 page)

Another moment passed before Esmeralda spoke again. “I’m in a terrible mess, you know.
”
It sounded as if she were confessing, Cinderella thought.

“What do yo
u mean?” Cinderella
wiped her face clear of any expression unsure where this confession ventured
. 

“The prince; getting married;
M
amá
. 
The usual things.
”
Esmeralda threw out an impatient hand.

“The usual things
?
You mean
you do not
want
to marry the prince?
”
Cinderella squeaked. Disbelief roiled through her
. 
Her voice did not sound like her own
. 
“How…how could you not want to marry Prince
?
He’s so handsome, dances divinely, smart.
”
Oh, no
. 
She was gushing.

“How would
you
know he danced divinely?
”
Esmeralda asked, eyes narrowing, glittering with distrust.

“Of course, I…I don’t know…I…only just
…
suppose.
”
Cinderella dropped her feet to the floor and began to pace
. 
“I…I suppose you come into the ballroom and the room itself is floating in the air,” Cinderella sighed, her dreams carrying her away as she spun in a circle reliving Prince’s arms about her
. 
“If you’re suddenly confronted with his highness, you are frozen like a statue on the stair.”

“
Oui
,” Esmeralda whispered
. 
“
’Tis
exactly how it was
. 
Oh, not for me, but I imagine it was so for that mysterious princess.”

“Was she pretty?” Cinderella asked softly.

“Beautiful,” Esmeralda breathed
. 
Her brows drew together in sudden irritation and she cackled much like
Stepmamá
,
Cinderella
was forced to admit
. 
“But, I would not call
him
so smart.”

“In that we agree,” Cinderella snapped under her breath
. 
It stung that he would dare to offer her slipper to
every
maiden in the land
. 
Save
her
!

Esmeralda ignored her
. 
“After all, he went through a kingdom of marriageable young maidens having them try on a glass shoe
. 
How smart could that be?”

“
Oui
,
”
Cinderella agreed frowning.

“He does not love me, you know
. 
All I do when he is
‘
round, is blink
. 
’T
is a nervous habit,” she said unnecessarily
. 
“Besides, I think I made him
swoon
!”

“He did swoon,” Cinderella concu
rred
. 
After a thoughtful pause
, she asked, “What will you do?”

Defeat showed in the weight of Esmeralda’s shrugging shoulders
. 
“Marry him, I suppose
. 
Mamá
will otherwise kill me.”

Cinderella mulled over that statement before replying, both knowing the futility of denying it
. 
“
Oui
, I suppose she would.
”

Each sighed loudly, each immersed in her own thoughts
. 

Then Cinderella said, “You’d best return before they realize you’ve gone missing.
”

Esmeralda nodded and stood
. 
Cinderella watched Esmeralda drag herself from the chair and tug
open
the door
. 
She paused for a second before meeting Cinderella’s eyes
. 
Again, the brill
iance of green emeralds stunned
her.

“
Merci
.
Thank you.” Esmeralda’s voice was soft
—a
nd something else
. 
Forgiving? Regretful
?

Did it matter?

*****

The next morning sunshine streaked through a crease in the heavy brocade drapes stabbing Cinderella in the eyes
. 
The nattering of her gray companion reached her ears
. 
With a luxurious stretch she angled out of the direct light, keenly aware of the soft mattress
. 
So m
uch different from
her usual bed of
straw
that hugged
a corner of
the
basement in the
ir small
—
more than likely
—
forgotten
,
cottage
. 
S
he glanced at him
. 

“
Sheer heaven, this
is
. 
Do you
not
agree?
”
Heaven, she realized, that would not take much to
become accustomed
.

He danced a jig in agreement.

The delicious aroma of freshly baked bread teased her nostrils and she peeked about through squinting eyes
. 
Someone had already delivered a tray of cheese, fruit, water for tea on the sideboard
. 
Steam rose from the bread, causing a rumble from Cinderella’s usual empty stomach
. 

“Are you hungry
, my little friend
?”

She bounded from the bed hardly believing her good fortune
, he following close behind
. 
Obviously, someone had mistaken her chamber for
Stepmamá’s
. At the very least, Esmeralda and Pricilla’s
. 

How had she not
wakened
?
The only explanation she could discern was that the
servants
had servants in the Royal Palace
. 
This
could
become a habit, she thought cheerfully
. 

She broke off a portion of the bread unable to resist it
s crusty shell and warm middle and handed a tiny piece to her friend
. 
Guilt at such comfort was difficult to avoid after years of the cultivated discipline
Stepmamá
had seen to
. 
Someone would realize they’d brought the tray to the wrong chamber and she’d be hungry once more
. 

She shoved
the
larger piece in her mouth and chewed soundly
. 
She darted to the door and nudged it ajar
. 
Cinderella poked her head out casting her gaze left then right
. 

Still deserted
. 

The quiet unnerved her
. 
Such solitude
was
a luxury from the constant demands of her stepsisters
. 
But, alas, it was
really
quiet.

She pushed the door
to
and wandered to the windows
. 
Shoving the heavy drapes aside, she peered out
. 
The sun edged over the horizon shooting the sky with brilliant pinks, purples and orange
. 
Suddenly, remembering t
he statue she’d thought
she’d observed in the gardens she threw off her tattered night rail
, donning her one serviceable brown frock
.

Surely no one would miss her if she snuck out for a short walk
. 
Still, the fresh fruit beckoned her glance
. 
They’d
have
to feed her, she deemed
. 
Or not, she thought, snatching a
plump
berry.

She tapped
Marcel’s
tiny
pink
nose affectionately
. 
“I’ll return shortly.
”
He nodded
. 
“Stay out of sight.”

She contemplated her situation
. 
No one seemed to remember her at all
. 
Esmeralda had only stumbled upon her presence in err
. 
It was an oppressive thought
. 
Did Prince even wonder who she was
?
Or did he just think her a figment of his imagination
?
No
n
, she reasoned, he’d set out to find her by trying her shoe on every possible maiden in the kingdom
. 
He must have some regard for her.

Quickly
whipping her aged pelisse from the wardrobe
,
she was not
surprised at how
shabby
it looked in her new chamber
. 
She sighed,
and
shook off the silly meanderings
. 
Besides what choice had she
?

It was time to make her escape. Opportunities would soon be limited once
Stepmamá
started demanding her services
. 
This would likely be her only opening to see if the statue she’d spied was indeed Eros
. 
She seized a juicy red apple before stealing through the door.

With quickened steps,
her
slippers
sunk
into th
e thick rug, excitement beckoning
to capture
the moment of seeing a real statue. All she’d managed to date were drawings in books, and that was years ago hence
. 
Stepmamá
thought most books pure nonsense
. 
Cinderella took some comfort knowing her stepsisters had stashes in their closets
. 
Something the three of them had in common
. 
She’d
never seen fit to mention it, however.

The door did not make so much as a creak when she eased it back to glance about
. 
The quiet in all its ominous dwelling, soothed her haste
. 
She made her way toward the doors she’d seen the evening before
. 
Yet again, this door opened with nary a whisper
. 
Bless these royal persons and their order of well-oiled hinges.

Early morning dew dampened the ground, the air crisp and fresh
. 
It was a
wayward
feeling Cinderella experienced secreting from the castle under no supervision
. 
A rare crime, indeed
. 
Hand
shading her brows
,
she searched
out her target
. 

The memories assaulted her with her visions of much younger days perched in her father’s lap, head resting on his shoulder
. 
She could still feel the reassuring resonant timbre of his voice vibrating through her tiny body as he’d rattled off tale after tale of the
Greek gods antics,
his strong hands turning the pages
. 
Impulsive hands that toss
ed
her to the sky
to
catch her with strength and confidence.

She shook her head of the melancholy and veered off a well-marked path. A broad grin pinched her cheeks when she spotted the proud statue of Eros.
Oh, how his winged sculpted figure with long, perfect hair and slender fingers caressing the infamous bow and arrow made her want to wade through the pond to touch him
. 
Feel how perfect the figure molded in granite appeared
. 

It was too exciting for words
. 
The sight before her did not disappoint
. 
Her father’s gravelly voice reciting Eros as the most eligible bachelor in the universe, ripped through her
. 
Booming on how he’d finally married Pysche
after an
accident
in whence he’d
pricked himself with one of his own arrows
.