I'm Not Cinderella (The Princess Chronicles)
Page 24
“Daddy didn’t abandon us!” I cried. “He couldn’t come back!”
My mother’s eyes were wide. “Could it be true?”
I held up the open locket. “Mom, this is the man I saw yesterday when I found Lady Catherine.”
My mother took the necklace in her hands and traced the picture with her finger.
“Abby, it’s true,” the queen said. “Your husband was brought to the castle yesterday. He is receiving the best medical care in the kingdom.”
My mother’s hands rose to cover her mouth as tears fell down her face. “Jack.”
The queen wrapped an arm around my mother. “I should have recognized something was wrong when you didn’t visit for these long years. I assumed you had moved on with your life and forgotten about the land of Fenmore Falls.”
No wonder I had felt strangely connected to Gabby’s father. He was my father, too! I couldn’t believe I had inadvertently saved my own father from the evil Lady Catherine.
My mother dropped her hands to her sides. “I must go to him.”
“We should all go,” Nana declared.
This was all happening so fast.
“Including you,” my grandmother said to me.
“But I’m not Cinderella.”
“Cinderella is only a shell, a character in a story,” Nana explained. “You are the only one who can define who you really are—not the fairy tale.”
“But . . .” I closed my eyes. “What if Dennan doesn’t want me?”
“Only you can break the shell, Brinlee.” Nana touched my cheek. “Find the love within yourself.”
Was it possible? Could I actually live happily ever after with Dennan? What if this was supposed to happen? Maybe, possibly, my dreams would actually come true.
Excited, I passed through the magic door again, this time with my whimsical grandmother, my anxious mother, my apprehensive sister, and the queen of Fenmore Falls.
Epilogue
Fair, Brown, and Trembling
Ireland, 1890
“Well,” said the son of the king of Omanya, “when I find the lady that shoe will fit, I’ll fight for her, never fear, before I leave her to any of you.”
They visited every place where a woman was to be found, and left not a house in the kingdom they did not search, to know could they find the woman the shoe would fit, not caring whether she was rich or poor, of high or low degree . . . she belonged of right to the son of the king of Omanya.
Two Months Later—First Day of My Senior Year
Mr. Simms’s Biology class could not have been more boring. I had already suffered through Algebra and was hoping my next class, History, would be a little more exciting.
When the bell rang, I gathered my books and headed to my next class. I always chose a seat in the back. I didn’t even look up until I had sat down and moved my backpack to the floor.
“Hello, Brinlee.”
I startled and looked to my right. “Dennan!”
The dimple in his cheek deepened as he laughed. “You’re so cute when you jump.”
“Har, har. You’re so funny.” I impulsively reached up to play with the locket at my neck, the one with my father’s picture.
Now that my father and Gabby were home with us in Idaho, I never wanted him to leave my side. When I had to go to school, I took the locket with me and wore it close to my heart.
“So, do I look out of place?” Dennan sat at the desk next to me and looked down at his gray T-shirt and stonewashed jeans.
His chin-length hair was shaggy, he had that scar above his eye, and he was a twenty-year-old prince attending a public high school in Idaho. You’d think people would be terrified of him, but he made the look work, and every girl in the school tried to flirt with him.
“You fit right in,” I said, delighting in the fact that he was mine.
He reached over and lifted my hand to his lips. “I’m glad my parents allowed me join you for a while and experience your world.”
“Me too.”
When my mom, my grandma, my sister Cassidy, and I had gone back to Fenmore Falls—with the queen in tow—I was afraid of how Dennan would receive me because of my letter. After all, I had lied to him and said I didn’t love him. But when I arrived at the castle, he showered me with kisses and made me promise to never run away again. I also took an oath to love him forever.
Yep, I said it. I told him the four-letter word I had been holding back for so long.
Even though a classroom probably wasn’t the most romantic setting, I leaned across the space between our two desks and planted a firm kiss on Dennan’s mouth. “I love you,” I said.
“Mmm, I love you too.” He leaned in for another kiss.
“History class won’t be so boring with you here.”
He looked serious. “I will always be here for you.” His mouth quirked into a grin. “Even to save you from a boring History class.”
“You’re my knight in shining armor.”
“You’ve got that right.”
“And I’m a damsel in need of saving.” I placed the back of my hand to my forehead, feigning a faint.
“I’m always saving you.” He waved his hand as if to say I wasn’t worth his effort.
I stood to move from my desk. “Fine, I see how you are.”
“Wait.” Dennan jumped up to grab me around the waist. “Don’t ever leave me.”
I turned around to put my hands on the sides of his face. “Never.”
“Good, because I think I’m liking this world of yours, and I’d be disappointed to leave.”
“So, I guess it’s a good thing I replaced Cinderella in your world?”
He kissed one corner of my mouth and then the other. “It’s a very good thing.”
“I love you, Dennan—Prince Channing of Fenmore Falls.” I wove my fingers through his hair. “I’ve loved you since I was ten. I loved you when I dreamed of Prince Charming, and I’ve loved you since the day I met Black Rider.”
As I finally told him how I felt, my heart swelled with happiness. The truth echoed through every fiber in my body. This was my fairy tale, and it was better than anything I had ever created in my dreams. In fact, everything I’d thought was fiction had turned out to be real. In addition to falling in love with Prince Charming, who was also the son of the supposed Sleeping Beauty in a fairy-tale land called Fenmore Falls, I’d also discovered that my grandmother was the girl who fell out of the sky and landed on the Wicked Witch of the West.
What else was there to discover? Was my father the same Jack who climbed a beanstalk looking for treasure and adventure? What about Nana’s friends, Miss Wendy and Allie? Was their background just as colorful?
I guess that’s a story for another day.
For those of you who like to read the last page of a book first, you really don’t want to find out how this story ends yet. Trust me on this. Now go on, turn back to chapter 1 and get reading!
About the Author
Tarrah Montgomery has loved writing stories since she was a child. She earned her associate degree from Ricks College and her bachelor of science in education from Utah State University. Tarrah currently lives in Snowflake, Arizona, with her husband and young children. She loves to travel with her husband, and many of her story ideas have come from seeing the ancient castles and architecture around the world. Some of her adventures have taken her to Paris, London, Rome, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, South Korea, and Thailand. When not writing, Tarrah teaches preschool and enjoys reading, traveling, spending time with her family, and playing the piano. I’m Not Cinderella is her first novel, with several more to follow in The Princess Chronicles. Check out the upcoming sequels at tarrahmontgomery@blogspot.com. Tarrah loves to hear from her readers, and you can contact her at tar
rahmont@gmail.com.