The Wronged Princess - Book I (36 page)

“
Mamá
is watching,” Pricilla hissed
. 
“We’ll speak later.”

The knots in Cinderella’s stomach clinched as new waves of qualms flummoxed her
. 
Mayhap she should just find
the dungeons
on her own,
lock herself away in the
ir
depths
. 
Or m
ayhap Pricilla and Essie would
lend their assistance
by stashing her there
and throw
away the key.

Non
. She let out a sigh
tugging the covers to her chin
. 
She would be on her own this night,
Stepmamá
had
ensure
d
that
. 
In earlier days, hope might have lain with
an appearance by
Fairy Godmother but
Cinderella ha
d sealed her fate
once
she’d stepped on th
at
silver baton
. 

Despair settled over her like the heavy blanket already weighing her down
. 
Essie would marry Prince
. 
She blinked back weary tears
. 
He would never know his mysterious princess
stood feet away watching every sordid detail
, she thought glumly
. 
The thought made her
so very tired.

Perhaps, s
he
just
needed to see
things
from a different perspective
. 
Luck had been with her after supper
. 
For now
,
here she
laid
, snuggled deep in her bed with nary a word from
Stepmamá
, j
ust a few side glances Cinderella had managed to meekly endure
. 
It, of course, had been tense and uncomfortable, but Cinderella was certain she'd been
successful
in hiding
her anxiety
. 

’
Twas
a blessing
, at least,
Stepmamá
had not demanded a solitary audience with her
. 
Cinderella knew she would never have come out ahead in that clash
. 
Squashed like a bug, she'd be.

She closed her eyes
and
focused on the silence in the chamber
. 
The sheer hush would unnerve even the bravest of souls
. 
She shuddered beneath the heavy covers
. 
E
veryone knew she was the least brave person in all the land
. 
’T
was her last thought as the
draining fatigue
finally
claimed her.

****
*

A prick in her arm from Marcel’s teeny claws and frantic mew startled Cinderella to a sitting potion
. 
Disoriented and out of sorts she fought to still her pounding heart when she heard t
he creak of the door
. 
"Essie?"

"Essie, indeed,"
Stepmamá
cackled
. 

Terror ripped through Cinderella
,
rendering her immobile
. 
Alas, it would seem
her audience with
Stepmamá
inevitable.

With solemnity of the corridor,
Stepmamá
hadn't even bothered to lower her voice
. 
L
ight from
a
flickering candle
she held
gave her robust face an eerie mask-like quality straight out of a horrifying medieval epic.

Stepmamá
edged closer to Cinderella's frozen
form
until she towered
above
her
. 
"You have managed quite a feat, have you not, my pretty, turning
my dear Esmeralda
from the bosom of her family.”

Cinderella's response was an audible swallow
. 
"I...I could never do that,
Stepmamá
. 
Essie would ne
’er
allow it.
”
If she could not save herself, mayhap she could prevent Essie from
some
hazardous misfortune.

“
Essie!” she spat
. 
“How I despise that shortened version of her name
. 
But
’
tis not the reason I seek to speak with you, my dear.
”
Stepmamá
set the candle on the bedside table.

Terror stuck in her throat
,
muting
any response.

“
I see how you have lured the affections of the Conte
de Lecce
’s son."

The venom in her accusation tripped Cinderella into
subtle
action
. 
“
Non. Non
.
’
Tis not like that at all…
”
She shook her head
sidling
to the edge of the bed
. 
But
Stepmamá
would not be mollified.

"You little twit
!
You have never ceased to amaze me with your vile manipulative skills
. 
You have turned my
own
daughter from me and you
sha
ll pay.
”
To Cinderella’s surprise,
Stepmamá
sauntered
away,
her aim toward the dying fire in the hearth
. 
"There is no one to save you now, is there, sw
eet?"

Oh,
non
. 
There wasn't
. 
Ceasing
her
opportunity,
Cinderella
slid down the side of the bed
her feet hitting
the ice cold floor
. 
Mayhap, she could make it to the door
. 

’
Twas
t
oo late
. 

Stepmamá
whipped round in time to see her
. 
Cinderella chose her only other recourse and
dropped to her knees
, diving
beneath the bed.

"Auck
!
" she screamed
. 
"You little sorcerer
. 
Out with you, do
you
dare to disobey
me
?
"

Cinderella could only thank the heavens
and the Queen
for
her
massive bed
. 
Stepmamá
raised the skirt
. 
Cinderella could not make out her features for the darkness, but they were etched in her mind from years past
. 
The fierce anger of bulging eyes
,
quivering chin and cheeks flush
,
veins protruding from
pulsing
temples
were forever ingrained
. 

"Come out, child.
”
Her voice took on a cajoling timbre, but Cinderella was fooled n
aught
. 
Freezing
to death
fared
better than the alternative
. 
"I only
wish
to talk,
oui
?"

The bed skirt dropped and complete darkness
surrounded her,
both comforting and disconcerting
. 
She could not even make out the flickering light of the candle, only the rustling of
Stepmamá
’s
night rail
touched her ears
. 
Cinderella followed the
noise
about
the
chamber
, praying she would leave her be
. 
But,
no
n
. 
S
he
moved
near the grate
again
. 
Marcel twittered nervously
. 
His presence did not offer much comfort at this juncture.
But at least she was not entirely alone.

“Stay clear, my s
weet.
”

When the scrape of metal tapped the hearth a foreboding of horrifying magnitude surged through her body
. 
Before
Cinderella
had
time to consider
how deep
Stepmamá’s
depraved malevolence went, the skirt on the bed flew up from the opposite side
. 
Cinderella scurried across barely missing the
stroke
of the fireplace poker
. 
It snagged the edge
of
her nightgown
,
slashing the delicate fabric.

She brandished the poker beneath the bed like a broom
. 
Marcel darted forward and nipped
Stepmamá’s
forearm
. 
She did not seem to notice.

“Come out, child. I am waiting.”

“
Stepmamá
,
no
n
. 
Please,” she
begged
.

“There is no one to hear
,
my
dear
. 
You know
’
tis
worse if you fail to obey,
non
?
”
Anothe
r swipe of the poker miss
ed
her
arm
by mere inches
.

If she came out now,
Stepmamá
would likely kill her
. 
“Why?” she sobbed
. 
“Why do you hate me so?”

“
Mamá
?
”
Pricilla’s voice
echoed through the chamber
, clearly startling
Stepmamá
, the poker clattered to the floor
. 
“What are you doing
?
Is there a mouse beneath the bed?”

“
Oui, oui
. 
Une souris!
”
Stepmamá
stood and let the bed skirt drop leaving Cinderella shrouded in
blessed
gloom once more
. 

Cinderella stuffed
a
fist in her mouth to stifle her cries
. 
Marcel’s tiny body moved close
. 

“I’ve come to check on Cinderella
. 
But, alas, she is nowhere to be found, the ungrateful child.”

“
Mamá
. You know you will catch your death if you are not careful.” Cinderella heard Pricilla’s tongue cluck as if she were the mother and not the other way round
. 
“You know how sickly you can become
. 
Let us worry not about her
. 
We must get you back to your chamber, post haste.”

Cinderella
drew Marcel in the palm of her hand
. 
Comforting him; or was it he who comforted her
?
She listened
as Pricilla helped
Stepmamá
to her feet, cognizant of the shift in
movement
. 
Seconds later the door closed softly behind them
.
An ominous silence descended
over the chamber.

Massive quakes racked her body, making it difficult to crawl from beneath the large bed
. 
She set Marcel aside and with f
ingers frozen
and
stiff from the cold, she reached for the poker
. 
A deep mar of streaked ash had it slipping from her hand, clanging to the floor as reality set in
. 
Great waves of hiccupping sobs roared through her
. 
“What did I do
?
How could she hate me so?” she cried out
. 
“Oh,
Papá
. 
Would that you were here…”