Wicked Ugly Bad (A Kinda Fairytale) (15 page)

Either
that or they were trying to make her snap.

Maybe
this was all a plan to incite her.  To make her to lose her temper in front of
Charming.  Well, provoking her wouldn’t work.  Cinderella had spent years
crafting her perfect image and she wasn’t about to lose it in front of her
groom.  Even under a spell, Charming was suspicious of her.  So outwardly she
would keep her cool and smile through the constant attacks.  She would show
them all she was a
real
princess.  Sweet and benevolent and serene.

…Even
though she wanted to kill every single asshole out to ruin her wedding.

Even
the two shuddering climaxes she’d had from scrubbing at Gustav’s feet couldn’t
make up for this.  Her gaze slashed over to Charming, trying to gauge his reaction
to the grotesque monstrosity of a cake. 
Surely
he saw it was a direct
insult to his gentle bride.  Not even someone as blandly, blindly
Good
as the prince could miss this outrage.

“It’s
gorgeous, Antonio.”  He told the fuckwad baker.  “You’re really outdone
yourself.”

Cinderella
wished a house would fall on his head.

Charming
was a blond Adonis of a man, with sunshine hair and rich chocolaty eyes.  But,
his good looks were squandered on someone sickeningly… earnest.

Charming
favored tailored slacks and turtleneck sweaters.  With his wire rim glasses and
constant intellectual chatter, he always seemed more liked a college professor
than a royalty.  He liked to have boring discussions about philosophy and social
justice with Scarlett.  But did he ever want to do anything that Cindy
enjoyed?  Of course not.  The
one
time
Cindy had convinced him to
go to the hairdresser with her, he’d seem bored.

And
now
this
.

Antonio
grinned,
obviously
laughing that his disrespectful slight against Cinderella
was going unpunished.  Like all Baddies, he was stupid and worthless and
scheming.  “I did my best to make the cake perfect for you and our princess,
majesty.”  He simpered.

Charming
gave the furry idiot a pat on his arm and glanced down at Cinderella.  “Didn’t
he do an incredible job?”  He prompted when she remained silent.

Somehow
she found it in her to hide her hatred.  It felt like spikes were being driven
into her cheeks, but she even managed a smile.  “Well… I know he tried his
best.”

Antonio’s
face fell.

Charming
looked annoyed at
her
for some reason.  “Can I speak with you for a
moment?”

He
drew her to the other side of the royal kitchen.  Everyone thought he was
such
a gentleman, but really he was just weak.  The thought of being married to
someone so weak was repulsive.

“The
staff just wants to please you.”  He said in a disapproving tone.  “Can’t you
try harder to…?”

She
cut him off.  “That
thing
,” she pointed to the cake with a wild gesture
of her hand, “is a blight on baked goods!  I wouldn’t feed it to a pig, let
alone present it to a royal princess.  You
must
see that!”

He
looked confused by what was painfully obvious to anyone with eyes.  “It’s
beautiful
,
Cindy.  Probably the most beautiful cake I’ve ever seen.”

The
man was either blind or stupid.

“Bullshit! 
That fucking tree ogre probably got his dirty green hairs all over the
frosting!”

“Antonio
is the best baker in the Westlands.”

Tears
burned Cinderella’s eyes.  Why was everything so impossibly hard?  Why couldn’t
she have
one
nice thing?  “I just want our wedding to be perfect.  Don’t
you want that?  Do you
want
the other kingdoms to mock us?”

“Of
course I want the wedding to be perfect.”  Charming agreed, but his voice
wasn’t enthusiastic.  If her bitch of a stepsister was here, he’d probably be
thrilled
to get her an adequate cake.  He’d make sure every detail was up to standards. 
“But, I don’t see that necessitates treating people so…”

“They
aren’t people!”  She interrupted.  “They’re servants.  They’re Bad folk.  If
you can’t control their disrespect, I’ll do it myself!”

“You’re
being irrational.”

“And
you’re being a pussy!”  She shrieked.  “You’ve resented me ever since the ball!” 
The spell couldn’t make him love her.  It just muddled his mind, so he thought
she was the one who’d fit the shoe.  Still,
anyone
should be thrilled to
have her for a bride.  “You blame me for what happened to Letty and Dru, even
though I was the victim!”

“The
girls wouldn’t intentionally harm you.”  He said.  “They wouldn’t harm anyone. 
Under the law, I can’t get them out of that prison yet, but I
know
there
has to have been a mistake.”

“The
wizard-judge said they were probably plotting my death!  You’ve heard the
rumors about their mother’s family and
still
all you care
about is
setting them free.”

“That
has nothing to do with…”

She
started sobbing.  “If it was up to you, I’d be dead.  That’s what you
really
want!”

“That’s
not true.”

“It
is!  You’re taking their side over mine! 
Admit it
.”

“I
just know the judge was wrong.  I know Letty.  I know Dru.  If they’d been able
to have a real trial and they weren’t carted off before I could talk to them…”

“Bad
folk don’t deserve trials!  It’s in the constitution!”

“Well,
I’m in the process of changing that law.”  He retorted.  They’d had this
argument before.  “Once I do, I can force the courts to reexamine their case
and we can find out what
really
happened at that ball.”

“I
already told you what happened.”  She hissed.  “Don’t you believe me?”

He
paused for a moment too long.  “Of course I do.”

“You’re
lying!”

“I
just think you must have mistaken some of the facts.  I can’t imagine Scarlett
coming at you with a hatchet.”

“Well,
she
did.
”  Jesus, was it really so hard to imagine Letty as an attempted
axe murderer?  Cinderella could picture it so clearly that she almost believed
it had happened herself.  It wasn’t a lie so much as a preemptive strike. 
She’d just accused her stepsister of something before Letty had a
chance
to ruin her.  How did he not see it?  “And what kind of prince doubts his bride’s
word?”  It was
infuriating
that he didn’t trust her.

Charming
arched a brow.  “Scarlett was in a gown, at the palace, attending the ball,
when she allegedly attacked you.”

“So?”

“So,
where on earth did she get a hatchet?”

Silence.

Cinderella
glowered up at him.  “You and I had sex that night in the garden.”  She finally
spat out.  “You know we did. 
I’m
your True Love.  You’d better get used
to it and let this drop, or you’re never going to touch me, again.  You can go
fuck those Baddies you love so much.”

Charming
slowly shook his head and that familiar look of disgust passed over his face. 
He tried to hide it, but it was always there just under the surface.  Charming
wanted nothing to do with her.  “I know you’re supposed to be my True Love. 
And the glass slipper says you’re my destined princess.  I’m trying to respect all
that.  But, don’t fight me about getting Letty and Dru out of jail, because it
will
happen.”

Cinderella
was too angry to even speak.  Prince or not, he was
such
a whiny loser.

Turning
on her heel, she headed for the door.  Sooner or later, Charming would discover
the truth.  Cinderella had placed hundreds of calls to the idiot she’d bought
the spell from, hoping for some way to ramp up Charming’s dosage, but there was
no answer.  Typical of a Bad folk to be so totally unprofessional.

But,
honestly, it wouldn’t matter anyway.  There was no way Cinderella could keep
him in the dark forever, especially not if he was determined to get to Letty.  The
spell would break if he uncovered the truth and Scarlett would do anything to
destroy Cinderella’s life.  She’d tell him
everything
just as soon as
she could.

So
there was only one thing of a real princess to do.

After
all, Cinderella needed Charming to
get
the crown, but she didn’t need
him to
keep
it.  Come her wedding night, his royal righteousness was a
dead man.

Marrok
begins to show signs of sexual interest in Scarlett.

This can
only be further proof of his masochistic leanings.

Psychiatric
case notes of Dr. Ramona Fae

The
basement was even more dank and moldy than the rest of the WUB Club.  It was
the oldest part of the facility and a dungeon in the literal fashion sense of
the word.  Stone walls.  Thick doors.  No windows.  It was a place that no one
ever escaped from and that nobody
ever
wanted to go.

Except
Scarlett.

She
was exactly where she wanted to be.

Mostly.

She
was locked in an eight-by-eight cell, with nothing but a bucket and a
“mattress” made of hay.  That wasn’t really helping the plan.  But, she
was
in the basement.  She just had to find a way to make it to the boiler room and
everything would be fine.

Or
rather
they
needed to find a way to make it to the boiler room.

The
guards had dumped Marrok in the cell with her, no doubt as part of Dr. White’s
ongoing seduction scheme.  The wolf took up a lot of space in the cramped
cell.  Scarlett was doing her best not to look at him, but it was hard.  Even
in the darkness, she could see the glowing gold of his eyes.

He
sat with his back against the wall and watched her pace.  “You wanna talk about
it?”

“No.” 
She didn’t even have to ask what “it” was.

“‘Cause
you seem a little tense.”

“Of
course I’m tense.  I’m thinking about our escape.”

“You’re
thinking about
me
.”

“Don’t
be such a narcissist.”

“Baby,”
he watched her with something like compassion, “it’ll be alright.  Being my
True Love isn’t the end of the world.  I
know
you could do better, but --I
swear-- I can be a loyal husband to you.  You can trust me.”

He
was determined to talk about it.  Fine.  “You might
think
I’m your True
Love, but there’s been a mistake.”  She’d been rehearsing the perfect calm
words in her head.  “It’s just not real.”

“Uh-huh.” 
Marrok sounded like he was humoring her, now.  “You understand that wolves are
biologically programmed to identify their True Loves, right?  It’s like arguing
that I’ve ‘made a mistake’ about blinking or swallowing.  It’s
automatic
. 
I have no control of it.”

“So…
if you
could
control it you would?”  Scarlett translated, annoyance
derailing her prepared speech.  A familiar feeling of uncertainty filled her.  A
sense that she was a complete letdown to someone else.  “You’re disappointed to
have me as a True Love?”  She paused.  “I mean, disappointed to
think
that I’m your True Love.  Because, I’m not.”

“I’m
not disappointed.  I’m just
surprised
.  I was expecting someone more…
evil.”

Scarlett
refused to be hurt by that answer.  All her life, she’d heard similar
complaints from her grandmother.  Letty wasn’t good enough to Good or bad
enough to be Bad.  On some level, she knew that.

So
what
was
she?

“I
honestly have no idea what to do with you.”  Marrok continued.  “Most True
Loves just meet, recognize each other, have sex a bunch of times, and plan a
honeymoon crime spree.  You’re much more challenging.”

“Breaking
out of here
is
a crime.”  Scarlett defended.  “And –you make a good
point-- Bad folk
do
know their True Loves right off.  So,
if
we
were bound, I’d feel this too and I
don’t.
”

Was
that true?  Even as she said it, Letty wasn’t sure.  She definitely felt
something
with Marrok.  She had right from the start.  A… connection.

Shit
.

Marrok
shrugged.  “You’re Good.  Good folk have no way of sensing their True Loves
before the wedding night.  It’s one of your major problems as a group, because
how the hell can you be sure you married the right person until it’s too late?”

“I’m
not Good and I’m not your True Love!  You say these things about me that just
aren’t true.  I know you
think
they’re true, but they’re
not
.”

“Because
of Charming?”

“Because
of many things.  The first one being, you and I are not compatible.  You are
handsome and famous and…”