Cinders & Ash: A Cinderella Story (Passion-Filled Fairy Tales Book 3) (18 page)

He squeezed her hand back and smiled. He stood and Ella followed suit, as he walked her over to the portrait. He released her hand and walked over to a cord hanging from the portrait.

“What you wanted to tell me,” she said, trying to figure out why he was at the portrait. “It’s about the portrait of your cousin?”

Ash shook his head. “It’s not about my cousin,” he said, reaching up and pulling the cord. The drape covering the portrait fell to the ground, and Ella looked up to see a giant portrait of Ash. Her eyes widened and she stepped back to take it all in. He was dressed in a royal blue uniform, with gold braid along the side and a crown on his head. He looked handsome and serious, more serious than he tended to look with her. The bottom of the portrait was labeled, Prince John Ashton, son of King Henry and Queen Elizabeth.

Ella looked from the portrait to Ash, her brows knitted as she tried to digest what she was seeing. “You’re the prince?”

He nodded. “I didn’t intend to lie to you,” he said. “But when I started doing the activity that brought us together, I asked Heinrich to tell the maidens they were being hired for a relation of the King. It seemed perfectly reasonable, given that my cousins Chandler and Leith often took a girl when they were visiting. Once you were under that impression, I rather liked that you treated me normally, and the longer it went on, the harder it became to figure out a way to tell you the truth. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

She bit her lip as she took in what he had said. He let her believe that he was the prince’s cousin. A powerful position for sure, but not as powerful as prince, someone who could command to marry any woman he pleased. Yet, he had tried to tell her last night. Only she had decided not to hear, to put him off so she could have her perfect evening. She should have been less selfish. She should have listened to him last night.

She felt the tears wet her face and Ash rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m sorry,” he said.

She shook her head. “It’s not you,” she said. “It’s me who should be sorry. I didn’t listen, and I left you last night, and I wrote you a letter that hurt you. And still you loved me. Still, you sent Faye to find me. Still, you helped Marigold, and I almost threw it all away because I was scared.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at him. “Can you forgive me?”

He laughed and nodded. “I would forgive you anything.”

She leaned into him, enjoying the warmth of his arms. In the distance, she heard the clock tower strike. Dong. It reverberated through the room. “It’s midnight,” she said. “Time to reveal your portrait.”

Ash nodded. “They’ll come for it soon, to wheel it out, though I suspect my father has sent them looking for me. He’ll be terribly unhappy that I’ve disappeared from my ball.”

Ella took a step back. “You should go,” she said. “Have your portrait reveal.”

Ash gave a curt nod as the fourth chime sounded. “Yes,” he said. “But there’s something else I wanted to reveal at the ball. I want to reveal that I’ve picked my bride.” He looked deep into her eyes, and said. “I wouldn’t want to look like a fool and reveal a girl who won’t have me. Will you?”

It took a moment for it do dawn on Ella what he was asking. She nodded. “Yes,” she blurted out, a grin on her lips. “Of course.” She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, feeling his silky lips on hers.

He pulled away and said. “Your stepmother won’t say no in front of all these guests,” he said. “Even she will realize the benefit of being connected to the King. I’ll even promise her a husband for Bathilda if it comes to that.”

Ella laughed. “You would doom one of your citizens to misery, just so you could be happy.”

Ashton frowned. “Oh, Cinderella,” he said. “Even now you have to save someone other than yourself. But, no, I would not doom anyone to misery. Just as your stepmother is a social climber, there are men who are just as eager to gain favor of the prince. They would happily marry Bathilda and not view it as a misery, if it raised their status. Do you not think your stepmother would marry a beast if it brought her improved stature and wealth?”

Ella paused and thought for a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure, but if the man was simply unpleasant and not evil and depraved, Ella thought Lady Kenna would welcome him and his stature. She nodded.

“We should hurry. I want to introduce you to my parents.”

Ella shook her head. “Not looking like this,” she said, reaching up, feeling her face for tears. She was sure she looked awful. “I should go to the powder room and fix myself up. I’ve never met a king and a queen, and I don’t want to look a mess. I’ve been crying.”

“You’re lovely, even after you’ve been crying.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re too kind, Ash—” she started. “I mean John.”

“I like it when you call me Ash. Besides, my family has always called me Ashton, so no one will think it odd that you call me that.”

She nodded.

“And how shall I introduce you? As my Cinderella, Cinders or just Ella?”

She couldn’t help laughing at that. How many names did they have for each other? “Cinderella,” she said, after a moment for thought. It was a name that combined his Cinders and her true Ella.

Ash held out a hand to Ella and led her toward the exit. As they approached the door, in came a tall, muscular man with dirty blond hair, a handsome face and a strong jaw. He looked somewhat familiar, but Ella couldn’t figure out why.

“Your father is looking for you,” the man said.

“Thank you, Leith,” Ash said. “Tell him I’ll be there in a moment.” Leith nodded, glanced briefly at Ella, and headed back out of the room.

Ash turned back to Ella. “That was my cousin, Leith,” he said. “I would have introduced you, but I wanted your first introduction to be to my parents. You’ll get a formal introduction to Leith and his brother Chandler later.”

Ella nodded. Leith. A cousin. He looked familiar because he was related to the other cousin, the vile one who’d propositioned her. “It’s fine,” she said.

Ash walked Ella out of the portrait room and into the hallway. “Go down the hall, and the powder room is the second door on the left,” he said. “And then come right back here. I’ll tell the guards to let you into the ballroom so that you can stand with me and my parents on the balcony.”

Ella shivered. It sounded so normal when he said it. Only his parents were the King and Queen. She felt a storm of butterflies in her stomach.

Ash put a hand on her shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about. I know they’ll adore you,” he said. “You can still come with me right now. You look lovely.”

Ella shook her head. “I’d feel better if I freshened up,” she said. “I’ll go to the powder room and then return here.”

She kissed his cheek and turned down the hall. Ash went back into the main ballroom and Ella headed toward the powder room. As she reached the door, she felt a hand clamp around her mouth and nose. A strong, putrid odor assaulted her nostrils. Someone had grabbed her from behind, holding down her arms and trying to drag her away. Whatever the odor was on the hand clamped around her mouth, it was making her woozy. She tried to kick her way loose, as her arms were being held down tightly, but her kicks didn’t seem to be working. All it had accomplished was knocking one of her shoes off. She was trying to kick more, but her brain couldn’t focus. She couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. Her body felt heavy. Soon, everything faded to black.

Ash had returned to find his father quite irritated by his disappearance, but the king was too rushed to scold him about it. With a strained expression, his father said, “Hurry.” They all forced smiles on their faces as his father gave a speech in honor of his portrait reveal. It was long and boring, and he’d half expected Ella to return in the middle of it.

When she didn’t, he started to worry. He told himself it was silly. She was probably nervous and wanted to look her best. She was probably washing her face, making sure her hair looked just so. He always thought she looked perfect, but she had seemed incredibly intimidated at the prospect of meeting the King and Queen. Though, maybe her nerves were multiplied not just because of their station but because they were his parents. He had been honest with her the other day: he’d imagined what it would have been like to ask her father for her hand. And even that, an impossibility, had filled him with anxiety. Maybe she just needed more time to quell her nerves. Still, his father was going on and on about the painter and how glad he was to finally see his son’s royal portrait join the others, and she hadn’t returned to him yet.

He wondered briefly if the guards were detaining her, but they shouldn’t. He’d described her to them and told them to let her in when she returned. He kept the forced smile on his face, but wondered if he should step away and send someone to look for her. He had an incredibly uneasy feeling now. Where was she?

His father continued to speak, somewhat rambling, probably because they’d needed extra time to replace the curtain covering the portrait, as well as to wheel it into place.

And still, even with that extra time, Cinderella had not returned.

As soon as the portrait had been unveiled, Ashton stepped forward, thanked the artist and asked his guests to dance some more. Then, he scurried off. His parents’ eyes widened, and his father gave a barely perceptible head nod urging him to come back. While he knew he’d have to face their wrath, he didn’t care. He needed to find out where she was.

Ashton slipped into the hallway behind the ballroom and went in search of Cinderella. Near the powder room, he found her slipper, but no other signs of her. He picked up the dainty shoe and looked at it. It was covered in tiny crystals that shimmered in the light. The shoe was almost as lovely as its wearer, but where was she? And why would she leave her shoe?

He was at a loss as to what could have happened when he heard loud footsteps and turned to see Leith running toward him. His cousin looked distressed as he huffed down the hallway, his hair bobbing and brow furrowed.

“What is it?” Ashton asked.

“This,” Leith said, as he neared him, extending his hand. In it was a piece of parchment.

Ashton took it and read the words scrawled on the page.

Prince,

We have your Cinders. If you want her returned unharmed, you must gather 100 King’s Coins and be at the ready. Tell no one we have her, and make sure there are no guards with you tomorrow. We will send a note in the morning with instructions on how to claim your love. Again, no harm will come to her if you keep quiet that we have her. If you alert anyone, however, she will die.

Ashton read the note again, his eyes racing over the words a second time, trying all the while to be sure he understood them. His eyes left the paper and squared on Leith. He spoke in a low fierce voice, gripping his cousin’s arm. “Who gave this to you?”

Leith shook his head, his eyes darting around looking for possible spies. “No one,” he said. “I found it posted to the door of your little room downstairs.”

That didn’t make any sense. “What? Why were you down there?” he asked, releasing his grip on his cousin.

Leith hung his head. “I’m sorry, cousin, but I’ve seen you before and wasn’t that interested in the portrait reveal,” he admitted. “Chandler had found us a couple of interesting maidens who wanted a, uh, closer relationship. Chandler had taken his girl to the other room, and he thought you wouldn’t mind if I used your little room downstairs. The note was on the door when we arrived.”

Ashton nodded. Though, he couldn’t fathom how the scallywags had known about her or his room. He looked to Leith, a feeling in his gut telling him he was missing some crucial piece of information. “This girl you were with. Why wasn’t she with you when you found me to tell me my father sought me?”

Leith grimaced. “As you know, cousin, I am betrothed, and Chandler thought this might be a fun pre-marriage folly for me. So, I have been trying to stay discreet. I’d told her to meet me in the rear hallway and was on my way there, when your father bade me over. I can’t very well ignore the king.” This was true, Ashton thought. “I went to see what he wanted, which was for me to look for you. After I’d found you and delivered your father’s message, I went to our meeting spot, and then took her down to the room. Only, there was this note when I got there. I must admit, I read it, even though it was addressed to you. I was curious. I apologize. But, once I saw its contents…”

Ashton sighed, feeling thankful Leith did read it. “Did your lady friend see the contents?”

“No,” he answered, shaking his head vigorously.

Ashton blew out a long breath and closed his eyes. This was miserable. She was there, and then she was gone. Kidnapped on his account. And they wanted such a small sum for her. This was strange. Everything about it was strange.

“What are you going to do?” Leith asked.

“Everything they say,” Ashton admitted. With pleading eyes, he turned to his cousin and said, “You must tell no one. Not Chandler, not my parents, not my guard. Promise me you’ll tell no one of the contents of this note.”

Leith gave an assured nod and said, “I swear. No one will know.”

“Leave me,” said Ashton. “I must think. I must figure out how to get rid of my guards.”

“I can help,” Leith offered.

Ashton shook his head and hurried toward his chambers. “No,” he called out. “I must figure this out alone.”

He headed down the hallway, back toward his chamber, determined to figure out how to do what the kidnappers wanted. He would need to get rid of his guards and show up with the ransom. The coins would be easy enough to come by. Sure it was a tidy sum, but not so much that he couldn’t acquire it easily without anyone’s knowledge. And that is perhaps why the bandits asked for that sum rather than something larger. They wanted the prince and the prince alone to know and to pay. He was nearing his chamber door when he heard someone call his name. It was Gertrude.

“Master Ashton,” she called out, concern in her voice as she approached him.

He planned to ignore her. But then she said something so odd, so peculiar, that he stopped cold and turned to face her. “What did you just say?” he asked

“I asked why you had Cinderella’s shoe,” she repeated, then lowered her voice before saying the last part again. “If you keep it apart from her too long, it’s liable to go off looking for her.”

He grabbed Gertrude’s arm tight and she yelped, her eyes widening, as he pulled her into his room. “What are you talking about?” he asked, once they were inside, his voice bordering on madness.

“Sire,” she said, looking at the shoe, then at Ashton. “What’s wrong? Where is Cinderella?”

He held out the note to her and watched her read it. “For sure, that’s strange, Ashton,” she said, placing a hand to her chin.

“Can this shoe really find her?”

Gertrude nodded. “It’s fairy glass. It has many magical properties,” she admitted. “They can hone in on each other, and when separated will eventually find their way back to each other. I was teasing you a little bit, the idea that it would go looking for her without prodding, but we can certainly prod it.”

Ashton stared at her. “Then do it.”

Gertrude stared at the shoe in Ashton’s hand and bit her lower lip. “I’m not sure we ought to,” Gertrude said.

“Why not? You’ve seen these men’s demands,” he shot back.

“Yes,” Gertrude said. “Yes I have. It’s just that these demands seem strange. They surely know they could get more from a prince. Money seems to be of less concern than you coming alone to their lair.”

Ashton stared at his old nanny. Even now she was full of surprises. She had honed in on the heart of the matter, the thing about the note that was giving him pause, only he hadn’t been able to pinpoint it.

“I was there the night the oracle delivered the prophecy to your mother,” she said, her voice was low and even fearful of the memory. “Your mother has many wonderful qualities but she sometimes misses the forest for the trees. You are in danger, and while your mother has convinced herself that you were always in danger, I wonder now if today, the day of your 20th birthday is where the true danger lies.”

He swallowed hard and tried to push down the fear creeping up. “What do you mean? What did the oracle say exactly?”

She looked at him. “It’s been a long time child, but my recollection is that she said your danger lurked in shadows; beware his safety ‘til his 20th birthday after midnight or ‘til he marries.”

“Midnight has struck on the eve of, not the eve after,” she responded, walking over to him, and taking the shoe from his hand. “We must proceed with caution. Let me think.”