The Wronged Princess - Book I (22 page)

The game was on.

Chapter
15

Hilda thought her heart would burst from her chest, it pounded with such violence
. 
Her
daughter
. 
Her dear,
dear
Esmeralda, soon to be introduced to all of Chalmers as the future queen
. 
Why, she could hardly maintain her seat.

And now,
a ball in her honor
. 
It was a
dream come true
. 
Soon, she—Hilda
—would be mother of the future queen.

Hilda cast a covert glance to Pricilla’s lovely blond locks
. 
What a breathtaking sight she presented in her soft rose gown and her drawn up curls
. 
Gray eyes flashing set off a brilliance in her one could not help but notice
. 
She hid a frown behind her wine. One would think Royalty had much better vision
. 
Ah, but it had not been vision, had it not
?
But the size of a
foot
. 
Asinine, if one could say
. 
But one could not call the prince an ass, could one
?
Anyone could see Pricilla was the much more attractive of her two daughters
. 
Still, she gave an inward shrug
. 
A
n opportunity to marry Pricilla off advantageously could not be ignored.

She had only one pressing issue to take deal with hereto
. 
Hilda sipped slowly, conscious of the fragility of the glass she held, heart still thumping wildly
. 
She set a thoughtful gaze on Cinderella, hiding her disgust at the light purple dress
. 
Why, that color would appear better on one of her vermin field mouse friends than Cinderella
. 
And where had it come from, pray tell?

It appeared time for one of
her
heart-to-heart assembl
ies
with Cinderella
. 
It would have to be discreet, of course
. 
The queen had taken an unnatural interest in her undesirable stepchild
. 
  She worried not, however
. 
An opportunity would present itself
. 
She inhaled the fragrance of the dark red wine
. 
It always had.

With half an ear Hilda listened to the hum of conversation surrounding her while her mind drifted back to her majesty’s sitting room
. 
The tea service trimmed in genuine gold
. 
She struggled to hold back her glee
. 
The luxury and comfort of the palace, the circumstances, left her lightheaded
. 
Soon she would have a suite of her own
. 
Only natural as the mother of the future queen
. 
The idea was exhilarating.

“…tour throughout the gardens?” she heard Queen Thomasine ask
. 
Deep shades of green and gold velvet covered armchairs of carved, gilded wood
. 
Shimmering draperies hung to the floor in swathes of silk
. 
Hilda smiled
. 
She had an eye for these things.

“It was lovely
. 
I am especially fond of stories surrounding the Greek gods…
”
Cinderella’s soft voice snapped her attention back with a vengeance
. 
With a bland eye, Hilda took special care not to let her disgust show, conscious of her efforts in hiding her sneer as Cinderella’s sentence trailed to nothing
. 

“Those things cost a fortune to maintain,” King boomed, shoveling away a large portion of his venison.

Hilda shifted her attention to Queen Thomasine whose expression held a blank mask.

“The girls did seem to be enjoying themselves quite contentedly,” Prince said smoothly
. 
Hilda caught the queen’s grateful flash, but it disappeared quickly.

“That’s wonderful,” Hilda murmured, wondering what spell her daughters had fallen under
. 
She’d always leaned toward the possibility that Cinderella was some kind of white witch
. 
Evidenced
by
her way with the vermin she kept company with in the base
ment of their previous dwelling
. 
It signaled a prime example
. 
Why, the wretch came away with nary a bite
. 
Hilda let out a frustrated sigh
. 
One small case of rat-bite fever—was that too much to ask?

She directed another cove
r
t
glance toward Cinderella
. 
Ala
s, clearly it was past time for
their
little rendezvous
. 

She took another sip of her wine and smiled.

Chapter
16

A terrible premonition rocked Cinderella
. 
Fleeing to her room, however, did not prove to be an option at the moment
. 
Queen Thomasine’s invitation for the women’s adjournment to the library did little to dispel the pending sense of danger
. 
They removed
themselves as the men lingered
behind doing whatever it was men did when women
were
not in attendance.

She recalled something
to
do with
p
ort
,
whatever that symbolized
. 
Cinderella shrunk behind Pricilla and Essie hoping to escape
Stepmamá’s
notice
. 
But Queen Thomasine pulled her arm through hers and
gifted
her a most benevolent smile
. 

“Come along, Cinderella,
ma chére
.
”

Awestruck, she followed unfailingly
. 
One did not ignore the queen
. 
No matter how frightened one was
. 

“How many fountains did you manage to see today?” the queen asked.

“We counted four, your majesty.”

“Ah, then you will have to see more in the next few days
. 
Weather permitting, of course
. 
Tell me, dear, which of the four of our infamous Greek fountain gods struck you best?”

“Apollo was spectacular,” Cinderella reflected
. 
The queen was so warm and sincere in her efforts, Cinderella allowed a moment of tranquility to settle over her before answering
. 
She
reveled in the touch of an absent mother she’d never known
. 
The
silence drew out and her cheeks heated as if the queen could read her very private thoughts
. 
“The depiction with his golden lyre is brilliant
.
”
Cinderella
answered quickly
, breathlessly
.

“But?
”
Queen Thomasine’s patience reigned so true, Cinderella let her guard slacken.

“And Zeus
. 
He is so strong and fierce
. 
I wonder at the artist’s ability to carve such vivid thunderbolts about him…” she trailed off shaking her head still shocked by the intricate detail
she still could picture
. 
She lowered her voice
. 
“But I suppose of the four, I could not help but be most singularly impressed by Poseidon
. 
How
did
they create all those elaborate sea creatures encircling him?”

Queen Thomasine’s laugh burst forth drawing
Stepmamá’s
sudden undivided attention
. 
Venom spewed from her and Cinderella flinched under the silent assault
. 

“I am pleased you like him, my dear
. 
He happens to be one of my favorites, as well
. 
As I said, you shall see more tomorrow
.
”
The queen
moved forward indicating the women to sit
. 
Cinderella moved to the outset of the circle,
well
beyond
Ste
p
mamá’s
reach.

Small talk from Pricilla and Esmeralda and their view of the gardens and grounds ensued until
the k
ing and Prince joined them a short time later
. 
Prince’s manservant f
ollowed
them into the library
. 
He seemed to be everywhere
. 
Cinderella only noticed because Pricilla’s cheeks pinkened
so
prettily at his arrival, surprising Cinderella at the
sudden
change
in her
manner
.

“Ah, Arnald, my nephew
. 
How nice you could join us,
my
dear,” Queen Thomasine said
. 
There was a twist to her lips that Cinderella might have described as acerbic
. 
It did not comport with her earlier demeanor.

From there it was all torture
. 
Sheer torture
. 

Cinderella felt like a bug under a large magnifier
. 
Not just by
Stepmamá
. 
She caught several covert glances from Prince, which only flooded her cheeks with an uncomfortable warmth
. 
He could not know who she was, could he
?
Non, non
. 
Impossible.

There were also worried perusals from Essie though she failed to grasp the underlying reasons.

“It was the strangest thing, it just flew up out of the air like….like magic,” Pricilla demurred with a soft laugh, reveling in the sudden attention
. 

Cinderella forced her consideration to Pricilla’s less than animated version of the afternoon’s
wind;
however, the smug look Pricilla shot Essie was not very nice
. 
She clearly laid blame of the wind on Essie’s unfortunate affliction
. 
Cinderella pressed her lips together
,
irritated with Pricilla’s self-satisfied complacency
. 

The wrath of Athena
. 
Well, she supposed it took time for some things to change.

“I’m sorry, dear?” Queen Thomasine inquired.

Oh, no
. 
She’d said it aloud
?
There was no hiding the fire in her cheeks with everyone’s eyes bearing down on her.

“Who’s Athena?” Essie asked quickly, plainly grateful for Cinderella’s untimely words
. 
Pricilla, on the other end of the spectrum, gnashed her teeth.

“The Greek goddess of wisdom, Esmeralda, dear,” the queen told her
. 
The moment smoothed over
. 
“You’ll find her pond on the further most southern area of the gardens
. 
Another of my favorites.”

“One of Zeus’s favorite daughters,” Cinderella squeaked
. 

“Ah,
oui
. 
The embodiment of strategy and justice.
”
Prince intervened
. 
It drew the attention away from Essie
,
and she, thank
ed
the heavens. Cinderella let out a slow breath and gave him a shy smile of thanks.

Pricilla shook her head, light blond curls brushing her cheek
. 
It gave off a decided feminine delicacy any man in his right mind would be hard-pressed to resist
. 
Cinderella watched in amazement as a slight smile touched Pricilla’s lips making her appear, quite…
irritatingly so…
beautiful
. 
She stifled a groan
. 
She didn’t
want
Pricilla to be beautiful too
. 
She would never stand a chance against the both of them.