The Wronged Princess - Book I (7 page)

“
I
know you are,
ma chére
.”

“So,
all
will
be well
?
”
Relief assailed her
,
and Cinderella
bestowed
Fairy Godmother
with
her brightest smile
. 
But it faded just as quickly as Fairy Godmother appeared to have not heard
or
seen her.

With
continued reasoning, or what Cinderella could only assume as reason
,
Fairy Godmother pressed on
. 
“Honestly, I can certainly understand the queen’s disconcertment
. 
What had he hoped to expect when he took that slipper to try on every maiden in the
k
ingdom
, hmm
?”
The
premonition
that stole ov
er Cinderella did not bode well
.

Fairy Godmother’s exasperation
surprised
Cinderella
into silence leaving her suddenly bereft o
f coherent words
. 
Fear mingled
with something she could not
define
. 
And, though Fairy Godmother proceeded in her bizarre
ramblings
, she seemed to be speaking more to herself
. 

“Did he truthfully believe only one person in all the land should wear a shoe that size?
”
Irritation colored
Fairy Godmother’s
features,
her
impatience
now
reigning full force
. 
“How the human race has survived as long as it had with
such lack witted intelligence
in charge is quite beyond m
y comprehension
.”

Cinderella’s mouth gaped open
. 
She was
too stunned to speak.

Fairy Godmother pinned her with a sharp gaze
. 
“The queen would like my, um, cooperation,” she said.

“I…I beg your…your pardon?
”
Fear had
her words
choking out on a whisper.

“As much as it pains me to put you through this, dear, I do believe the larger picture takes precedence.”
Fairy Godmother
stood then, and a certain panic soared through Cinderella
. 
“I’ve agreed to help her out.
”
She lifted Cinderella’s face by the chin, nodded sharply once, then dissipated along with her chair, leaving the black kettle in its wake. Dust and all
. 
The stick clattered to the floor once more in her hasty departure
. 
It rolled to a complete stop at Cinderella’s feet
. 
She stared at it in a stunned silence, but only for the beat of a second.

“Fairy Godmother,
arrêter
. 
Wait
. Don’t go,” Cinderella called out, any pretense of control deserting her
. 
T
o her immense relief
sparkles filled the air as
Fairy Godmother reappeared
. 
"Oh, thank goodness, Fairy Godmother, you
’ve
c
o
me back."

Only a quick smile,
before
she snatched up her silver baton
. 
"This thing
!
'Tis nothing but a nuisance
, I vow
," she muttered and melted away once more.

“But…
but
”
Cinderella’s
voice trailed
in stunned disbelief
. 
She longed to scream out her frustration
. 
In her heart she knew Fairy Godmother would not be returning
. 
Tears filled her eyes as she
cast a forlorn gaze about the room
. 
Free of
shimmers, glitters
, or any other sign of her graceful
presence
. 
Helpless despair settled over her as she scanned the room for any obvious evidence
. 
Marcel
sat perched in the corner
. 
She could be
thankful that at he’d
been spared.

Cinderella
sniffed back her tears and
mustered up a weak smile at his encouraging
peep
and wondered what was to become of her now
.

*****

Almost forgetting the matron of the little group, Prince
spun
round
. 
He clicked his heels together and bowed over the
swollen appendage of his
future mother-in-law’s hand in a grand gesture that only a charming prince could
maneuver
. 
A
t
the very
least
he
knew his strengths.

“Please make ready by the end of
a
fortnight,
Madám
. 
A carriage shall be conveyed to transport your family at that time.”

When she inclined her head in
acquiescence
, he
kissed the air
above
his newly betrothed’s hand
,
slightly in awe of the
breeze that touched his brow
.
“Until later, my lady.”

Odd, how those
eyes flurried in anticipation, or could it be apprehension
?
Is this what his life was to become
?
Married to a…a woman who…he had to pull himself together
. 
There had to be a way round this development
. 
No matter that he was the culprit that set the disaster in motion
.
His own worst enemy.

He
mounted
his horse
. 
A great, brute of a stallion,
something
a man could take pride in.

The frightening mother cast her daughter
one
final look of exasperation and rolled her eyes
. 
She
somehow remembered protocol in her deep curtsy, prodding her daughters to do the same
. 
Prince
managed to hold back a groan
. 
He was appalled
. 
At himself, no less.

He raised a hand in farewell
. 
Somehow he and Arnald would claw their way from this scrape
. 
They always had before
. 
Surely, they could once more
. 

With a quick nod, he signaled the Royal party to follow
. 
Once they’d made distance he shook his head, numbed by the turn of events
. 

A sharp gust of wind burst out of nowhere, making him unable to resist one last glance behind
. 
He watched the mother’s robust figure disappear into the cottage, the blonde with the over-large feet following with her nose in the air
. 
Even from this reach he could see her back stiff and fuming with resentment.

The stunning outcome of the events had him on the verge of hysterical laughter
. 
It would not do, however, to terrify his party
. 
The state of bewilderment had Prince turning to the entourage, and citing calmly—because that is how one’s leader
was expected to carry oneself,
“Well, I believe we have
accomplished
our
search
.
”
He would never know how he contrived to not strangulate on the words.

He motioned to the footmen and trumpet player to lead on
, but
narrowed his eyes on
his right hand man
. 
W
ho swiped a suspicious smirk from his face
, not quickly enough, however
. 
“Do you find something amusing, cousin?”

“Oh,
oui
, cousin
. 
I believe I find thought of the next few weeks
highly
entertaining.”

He cast Arnald a scowl
. 
Mayhap, he would seek help elsewhere.

*****

At a loss to what appeared a completely hopeless situation, Prince guided his men through to the courtyard stables and pitched
the
reins to a waiting groom
. 

It wasn’t
her
. 
Where was his mysterious princess
?
He’d searched everywhere
. 
’T
was
as
if she’d vanished into thin air
. 
And what was he to do now
?
H
e could
not
conceivably marry
Elspeth
.
Non, non
, that was not right
. 
Erasma.

And
, those eyes
. 
Mon…Dieu
!
Determining the color
?
Impossible
when they
hammered like
a thousand horses
in an Indian desert
in the midst of a dry spell
. 
Nor could he remember the color of her hair, her dress, so distracted was he by the wild and out-of-control flapping
of her lashes
. 
Another hysterical urge to laugh almost escaped
. 
It was an obvious sore
point
with her mother
. 
He shook his head to clear the picture of Erlinda, and growled in frustration.

So intent he’d been on his one focused goal that when the petite and surprisingly elegant foot slid right into that blasted tiny slipper—well, it was clear he had not thought the idea through
with any sort of clarity
. 
He needed advice and he needed it now
. 
From anyone but his blasted cousin.

Papá
?
Possibly, he thought frowning
. 
But
even at his best,
Papá
was somewhat simple minded
. 
He would have to do
. 
He had not much choice
. 
Abruptly dismissing the footmen, he stormed the castle and aimed a determined stride for the library
. 

A roaring fire blazed in the enormous hearth that gave the room warmth despite the high-reaching, frescoed ceiling and large windows
. 
Heavy mahogany bookcases overflowing with books covered two walls from top to bottom
. 
Freshly waxed wood scented the chamber
. 
Prince had loved this room as a child, partially due to the heat it provided in this monstrosity of a castle
. 

He spied his father slumped in an overstuffed gilded chair, feet propped on a matching ottoman
. 
Reading spectacles sat askew his large nose with one hand resting over his chest
. 
The picture was complete by the massive book that lay open across his lap
. 
His loud snore ruffled the pages
. 

Always a jolly fellow, Papá had a zeal for laughter that would explode through the castle walls when the slightest humor took his fancy
. 
“Sir?”

Nothing
. 
This truly was not in the realm of his dear papá’s strengths, more the pity, Prince thought, as h
e considered the sight of his slumberous father
. 
He
pushed a hand through his wind-ruffed hair
. 
As life would have it, and age carried Papá along, his mind did tend to wander about with an absent-minded childlike excitement, endearing in its way, at the small things life had to offer
. 
Unfortunately, t
he decision became plain
. 
He must seek assistance elsewhere.

Mamán
.