I'm Not Cinderella (The Princess Chronicles)

by Montgomery, Tarrah

  “You’re a prince?” my sister shrieked.

  Dennan chuckled. “Yes, I’m the prince of Fenmore Falls.”

  “B–b–but, uh, how did you get here?” Cass stuttered.

  Obviously my sister didn’t know that Gabby and I had switched places via, well, paranormal means.

  Dennan looked at me, then said, “I followed Brinlee.”

  “You followed me?” I was touched.

  “I saw you open the door in the kitchen. I couldn’t figure out how to open it until I remembered seeing Lady Catherine open her secret door. I simply copied what she did.”

  Why did it take him only two minutes to figure out what I couldn’t figure out in three weeks? So unfair.

  “We all entered through a door in the attic,” Gabby told Cass.

  My sister scrunched her nose. “In the attic?”

  “You see, Cass,” Gabby began, “I’m from a place that doesn’t exist in your world. You could say that I live in a fairy tale. There is a little bit of magic in that enchanted world, and I discovered a magic door in my home.”

  Gabby looked at me as she continued to explain to Cass. “Three weeks ago, I opened that door and stepped into your world, which is far different from mine. That’s the night I met your sister in the attic.”

  I felt goosebumps run along my arms at the memory.

  “You’re saying you simply stepped through a door into Brinlee’s bedroom?” Cassidy didn’t hide her sarcasm.

  I reached for my sister’s hand. “She’s telling the truth, Cass. Gabby is from a storybook world, and she and I switched places.”

  “I’m sorry you got stuck on the other side,” Gabby said to me. “I couldn’t open the door from my side.”

  “I thought you locked me out on purpose.” I didn’t know how many times that thought had crossed my mind.

  Gabby shook her head. “I tried several times to pry the door open, but it wouldn’t budge.”

  “Wait a minute!” Cass demanded. “You’re telling me that you live in a different world and came here through a magical door, and that my sister has been trapped on the other side in your world?”

  Gabby nodded.

  “Who are you?” Cass asked her.

  Gabby was silent a moment then said, “Some people call me Cinderella.”

  Cassidy looked at me, then at Dennan, and then at Gabby again. “You’re telling me you’re the real Cinderella from the story?”

  “That’s what I’ve discovered,” Gabby said.

  “So, that’s why you wanted to read all of the books about Cinderella?” Cass wondered.

  “When Brinlee told me I was from a book, I had to find out everything I could about my story,” Gabby said.

  Seeming a little calmer, Cass looked at me. “Did you really take the place of Cinderella?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re the prince?” Cass asked Dennan, who had stood quietly listening.

  He nodded.

  With the stall in conversation, I remembered why I’d returned. I looked at Gabby. “You have to go back. Your father needs you.”

  “My father?”

  I grabbed both of her shoulders. “Your father is alive.”

  Gabby shook her head. “My father is dead. This cannot be true.”

  “He’s sick, but he is alive.”

  Dennan finally spoke up. “Brinlee and I found him. Lady Catherine had hidden him not far from Sherwood Manor.”

  “My father is alive?” Gabby’s eyes teared up.

  “There isn’t time to tell you more,” I said. “You must hurry to him. He needs you.”

  “Yes, yes. I must go now.” She quickly moved to climb the stairs to the attic.

  We all followed. I went first, then Dennan, and then Cass. My sister looked dazed and bewildered—understandably so.

  “This is what we’re going to do,” I said when we reached the attic. I looked at Gabby and then at Dennan, who stood close by me. “Cassidy and I will say goodbye, and then the two of you will step back into storybook land.” And I’ll spend the rest of my life in therapy.

  Dennan leaned forward and said in a low voice, just inches from my ear, “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  I was mortified by his nearness. What would his future wife think? I looked at him. “I don’t belong there.”

  He spoke again, this time quiet enough that only I could hear. “You belong where I am.”

  My heart pitter-pattered. Curse you, traitorous heart.

  “I can’t open it,” Gabby shouted from behind the boxes.

  I hadn’t noticed she had gone to open the magic door. I squeezed through the towers of dusty boxes and approached the door. Gabby pulled and yanked on the doorknob.

  “Did you not leave the door propped open? I don’t know how to open it from this side.” She slammed her palm on the wood. “I’ve tried everything.”

  I stepped to the door. “Oh yes, it will work. Cinderella and Prince Charming have to get through this door.”

  I put my right hand above the doorframe and my left hand to the side, but felt nothing. I switched hands. Still nothing.

  Come on! Why isn’t this working?

  “Perhaps the levers are on the back of the door.” Dennan stood next to me. He peeked behind the leaning door and located the necessary buttons on the back side of it—one on the top right and one straight to the left.

  What a relief. I turned hard at the doorknob and almost fell back as the door opened easily.

  “No way,” Cass gasped behind me.

  Dennan chuckled. “I never would’ve believed it if I didn’t see it.”

  “I’m just glad you’re all going insane like me,” I said.

  “You have to come with us,” Gabby begged me.

  “You don’t need me.” And I don’t need to be near Dennan anymore with the feelings I’m feeling.

  “Come with me,” Dennan gently whispered.

  For so long, I’d dreamed of love. With Dennan so close but so unattainable, I felt as if I was letting go of my dreams. I knew I couldn’t hold onto them forever, but I’d need them when he was gone. They were all I had, and I wasn’t ready to let go of them yet.

  “Please, Brinlee,” Gabby said. “Help me find my father.”

  I knew I needed to help her. Nothing else mattered—not even the devastation of my heart.

  “All right, I’ll go.” I glanced back at my sister, who looked perplexed. “I’ll be back by tomorrow. Tell Nana not to worry.”

  “Where are you going?” Cass slowly asked.

  I looked at Gabby and answered my sister. “I’m going to help Gabby see her father, and then I’m going to help her get ready for the ball.”

  Yes, that was what I was going to do. I was going to make sure this fairy tale ended right—with Cinderella and Prince Charming dancing at the ball.

  “Tell Nana I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I said.

  Cass nodded numbly.

  So, one last time, along with Cinderella and Prince Charming, I stepped into Cinderella’s kitchen in Sherwood Manor. With every effort I had made to leave the house in the first place, I was right back where I started.

  Chapter 28

  “Tell Him Anything But Not That I Love Him”

  This song says it all.

  Don’t let him know

  Why I must leave him

  Why I must go so far away

  For if he knew how much I love him

  No power on earth could make him stay.

  (The Slipper and the Rose, Image Entertainment, 1976)

  Back at Sherwood Manor

  “Where is my father?” Gabriella asked as soon as we stepped through the door.

&nb
sp; “He’s not far away,” I said. “Dennan can take you on his horse.”

  “No, I’ll ride my own horse. I’ll get there much faster.”

  I followed her outside to the stables. She mounted the beautiful brown mare that excitedly whinnied at her arrival. Dennan climbed onto his own horse and reached for my hand to help me up.

  This was my chance to leave. “I’ll stay here and make sure the stepsisters aren’t part of their mother’s plans,” I said.

  With a deep frown, Dennan dismounted his horse and firmly grabbed my waist. He easily lifted me onto his mare. “I’m not leaving without you.”

  He climbed onto the horse and sat directly behind me. He kept one hand tightly around my waist, while the other held firmly to the reins. My heart pounded. It was hopeless to try to ignore my feelings for Dennan, just like it was impossible to stay away from deep-fried Twinkies. So good, but so bad for you.

  “Follow me,” he said to Gabby.

  His horse broke into a mad gallop, and I had no choice but to lean on Dennan’s chest for support. He wrapped his arms more securely around my waist, and I could feel the thumping of his heart against my back.

  Everything about him was magical. He had the strength of heroes and champions, and the good looks of princes and models. Yeah, he’s pretty much perfect.

  I closed my eyes, blocking out everything except the man behind me. I pretended he was Prince Charming. I ignored the fact that I wanted to live in a pretend world and therefore must be deluded. For a moment, I disregarded what my head told me and listened to what my heart was shouting. I gave in to the inescapable truth—that I loved Dennan. I loved him, and now I had to find a way to leave him.

  He said nothing as we rode toward the house in the woods. I wondered what he was thinking, what questions he had. He hadn’t said much at Nana’s house. How did he rationalize all of this in his mind?

  When we arrived in the clearing, a company of royal guardsmen stood near the rundown house. Obviously, Krys had gotten word to the king.

  Dennan halted in front of the line of men. “Did you find the old man inside?” he asked a tall guard who stood in front.

  “Yes, Your Highness.” He bowed his head. “We have placed him in the far coach under the shade of trees.” The guard pointed to his right.

  Gabby slid off her horse and ran to the sheltered carriage. Two guardsmen tried to intercept her.

  “Let her pass,” Dennan ordered.

  The men moved to let her pass.

  I felt awkward sitting so close to the prince while his guardsmen stared at us. I still wore my sweatpants and T-shirt, and Dennan was shirtless.

  “What about the dead body in the woods?” he asked. “Have you located him?”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” the man answered again. “He has been recovered.”

  “And the woman and the two men locked in the carriage?”

  “Already on their way to the castle for tribunal.”

  “Very well,” Dennan said. “You may finish your post and return to the castle.”

  “Yes, Your Highness.” The man bowed. The rest of the sentinels scattered like ants.

  Dennan guided his horse toward Gabby, then dismounted and gently lifted me to the ground. I quickly moved away to avoid being close to him.

  I approached the carriage and saw Gabby bent over her father.

  “I love you, Daddy,” she said through her tears. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  Her father smiled up her. Gabby patted his hand and smoothed the gray hair away from his forehead.

  Dennan placed his hand on my back. My cheeks were wet, and I didn’t know when I had started crying. I wiped the tears away.

  “You did this,” he whispered in my ear. His thumb rubbed gentle circles on my lower back. “You found her father.”

  My heart warmed. I had finally discovered the purpose of this dream. I had found Gabby’s father. Seeing them together was worth every unhappiness I would face. Gabby was back home, exactly where she needed to be—she was in the right place at the right time.

  It made me think of my own father. Where was he, and why couldn’t I have the wonderful interchange Gabby was having with her father? Maybe I could search for him. Didn’t I deserve to find my own dad?

  Even more than wanting to locate my father, I realized how much I needed my mother. I yearned for her to wrap me in her arms and promise me everything would be all right. Leaving Dennan would be awful, but right now I wanted nothing more than my mother. Sure we had our tough times, but sometimes a girl just wanted her mom.

  Chapter 29

  Cinderella

  Germany, 1857

  She danced until evening, and then she wanted to go home. But the prince said, “I will go along and escort you,” for he wanted to see to whom the beautiful girl belonged. However, she eluded him and jumped into the pigeon coop. The prince waited until her father came, and then he told him that the unknown girl had jumped into the pigeon coop.

  The old man thought, “Could it be Cinderella?”

  He had them bring him an ax and a pick so that he could break the pigeon coop apart, but no one was inside. When they got home Cinderella was lying in the ashes, dressed in her dirty clothes. A dim little oil-lamp was burning in the fireplace. Cinderella had quickly jumped down from the back of the pigeon coop and had run to the hazel tree. There she had taken off her beautiful clothes and laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken them away again. Then, dressed in her gray smock, she had returned to the ashes in the kitchen.

  Day 21—Last Night in Fenmore Falls

  “I can’t believe we’re in the castle.” Gabby twirled in front of the mirror in her lavender gown and matching mask.

  “You look lovely,” I said. We were in a luxurious room of the castle, getting ready for the ball that evening.

  The day before, when the guardsmen brought Gabby’s father to the castle, all the residents of Sherwood Manor were invited to join us. Katie brought her sister and mother, Miss Brenda came, Fanny and Rose came (after proving they weren’t involved in their mother’s crimes), and Krys and Henry drove the carriages. We were like one big happy family.

  With the best medical treatment in the kingdom, Gabby’s father was recovering nicely. I didn’t visit him, though, because seeing him made me feel a new sadness about my own father. I knew the two situations were different, but I still felt as if I’d lost my father again.

  Now, pushing aside thoughts of my father, I said to Gabby, “I don’t think your sneakers will be appropriate.”

  She lifted the hem of her skirt and stuck out the toe of her white tennis shoe. “You’re probably right.”

  “At least you got rid of the jeans.” I giggled.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “What can I say? I was born out of time. I’d much rather be dressed in pants than a skirt and corset.”

  “I’m with you on that one.”

  I moved to stand in front of her so she’d look at me instead of her reflection. “But this is where you belong. You are Cinderella.”

  “It’s different somehow,” she said. “I’ve read the stories, and I know who I’m supposed to be. But that’s not who I am.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, but I knew how she felt. It was hard being who you were told to be.

  “The prince and I do not have a fascination with one another,” she said. “Feelings can’t appear out of thin air.”

  “Give it time. You’ll see he’s the man you were born to love.”

  “I’ve changed, Brinlee. Seeing what I’ve seen has given me a new view of things.”

  I grabbed Gabby’s shoulders. “You’re Cinderella and he’s Prince Charming, for crying out loud. You were made for each other.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Ju
st promise you’ll give it a chance.”

  Gabby grinned. “Fine, as long as you will come to the ball.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t leave yet. Stay for the ball.”

  “What do you mean? Of course I’m staying for the dance.” I stepped back and lifted the skirt of my red ball gown.

  She gave me a pointed look. “I know you’ll take the first opportunity to run away.”

  She was right, of course, since I planned to sneak away during the ball and go home to the twenty-first century. She must be psychic. Either that or I’m really easy to read.

  “I will not run away,” I fibbed.

  “Stay, Brinlee, please.”

  “If I promise to dance, do you promise to be Cinderella?”

  “Yes.” She thrust her hand toward me.

  “Agreed.” I felt guilty as I shook her hand. She hadn’t specified where I had to dance. I would dance at home in Idaho, when I needed my dreams to dance me away to the memories of a faraway land.

  “Miss Gabby, Miss Brinlee, can we come in?” Katie asked from the other side of the closed door.

  Gabby sprinted to the door and opened it wide for her chambermaids, Katie and Amanda, who were more like her sisters to her than servants.

  “You two look amazing,” Gabby exclaimed to the two blond-haired beauties dressed in their ball gowns.

  “You look like princesses,” Katie said as she and Amanda entered the room.

  I couldn’t help the moisture from flooding my eyes. These girls—these figments of my imagination—were the best friends I’d ever had. When I passed through the magic door, it would be almost as hard to leave them behind as it would be to leave Dennan.

  The four of us jumped when a knock sounded at the door.