“I’m not weak!” Julie snapped, jerking free from her grasp.
“No?” Ursula smiled, her red lips pursing. “But you have no powers. You don’t know this sea. You were nearly eaten by a shark back there. And those two creatures with you…” she shook her head. “You let them down, Julie. Although, I must say, the shark did prove to be useful. He brought you to me.”
“So what? You’re in charge of the sharks now?” Sebastian asked, lifting his chin, and staring up at the sea witch.
“I’m in charge of everything in this sea,” Ursula said, swinging her head around to look down at him with evil eyes.
Sebastian jumped, scrambling back toward Julie. “Julie! You have to do something!”
“I don’t know what I can do,” Julie said. “She’s right. I don’t have any powers here. I’m useless.”
“That you are,” Ursula said, laughing. “And you’ll learn, that there is no defying me.” She raised the trident in her hand, a streak of lightning spewing from the tongs, and hitting Sebastian.
“Sebastian!” Julie screamed, lifting a hand to her mouth, as Sebastian turned to dust. “Flounder! You have to get out of here!” Julie shouted, shoving Flounder forward. “I can’t let anything happen to you too! Now go!”
Flounder swam away, and Ursula narrowed her eyes. She glanced at the eel to her right. “Go find him. No one defies me! No one!” She grabbed Julie with one of her tentacles, pulling her close. “And you. You are mine now, dear.”
Julie gasped, struggling to breathe as the tentacle tightened around her body. “What are you going to do to me?”
“Oh, you’ll see, my Dear. You’ll see.”
“Oh my goodness! This place is…”
“Amazing?” Cinderella asked, laughing at Jade’s expression as they stepped out from the carriage. “I know. The first time I saw it, I was in awe too. I never thought me, Cinderella. A girl who has spent her entire life, cleaning up after people, would ever be allowed in a place like this.” She stared up at 183-foot castle in front of her, it’s lights glowing in front of her, lighting up the castle. Fireworks splaying across the sky as men and women clambered up the steps. The sight of it still mesmerizing her to this day
“Everyone deserves to be happy,” Jade said, linking her arm through Cinderella’s. “Come on. Let’s go get you, your happy ending.”
They started up the steps, and with each step, Jade felt as if she were in some sort of dream. I can’t believe I’m actually here!
They reached the top of the stairs, and the guard at the door nodded to them. “Evening, ladies. I do hope you enjoy yourself.” He winked at them. “And try not to fall in love.”
Jade laughed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“You’re too cynical, Jade,” Cinderella said, as they entered the ball room. “Let yourself live a little.”
“As if I’m going to find love, in a room full of…” she trailed off, her eyes catching sight of the men walking around the room. Some dark-haired, some light-haired, some short, some tall, all dressed to impress. “Gorgeous men.”
“See something you like?” Cinderella asked.
Jade snorted. “Please! As if I need a prince to make me feel whole.” Although it was tempting.
“Like I said. Cynical.”
“No. Just practical,” Jade said, eyeing the tray of champagne the servant next to her was holding.
“Champagne, my dear?” the man asked, holding a glass out to her.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Jade took the glass, taking a small sip. “Hmm. That is lovely.”
“Only the best comes from the palace,” Cinderella said. “I think someone’s watching you, Jade.”
Jade froze, lowering the glass from her lips, and staring across the room. Her gaze landing on the dark-haired man making his way across the room toward her.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before, madame,” the man said, bowing in front of her. He smiled at her, his perfect white teeth glowing, and Jade gulped. Staring into dark, brown eyes that reminded her of the color of chocolate and his neat, black hair. Wearing a very nice, blue suit with white trimmings. “Because I would have noticed you. You are quite beautiful.”
Jade laughed, rolling her eyes. Corny much?
“No,” she finally said. “You haven’t. I’m not from around here. I’m just here to visit my friend, Ella.”
“Well, I’m glad you did,” the man said, extending a gloved hand. “Would you care to dance?”
Jade glanced at Cinderella, who shrugged. “Why not enjoy yourself a little while you’re here, Jade?”
“I guess you do have a point,” Jade said, handing her the glass of champagne. “Here. You can have the rest.” She placed her hand in the man’s, letting him lead her to the center of the room. “So, tell me, where do you come from?”
“Oh not far. I was actually born here, right in this very castle. I’m the prince’s younger brother,” the man told her, as they twirled around the room. “Prince Matthew.”
“What a lovely, royal name.”
“And you? What is your name?”
“Jade.”
“What a gorgeous name, to go along with a gorgeous woman.”
“Are you like this with all the women?”
“Only the ones I like,” Matthew said, winking at her. He drew her close, staring down into her eyes. “You look troubled. What’s wrong?”
“I’m not going to tell you my deepest, darkest secrets.”
“You’ve been through a lot?” he asked, ignoring her.
“More than you could possibly know.” Jade twirled away from him, breaking eye contact with him. I need to get away from this prince! she thought. Or I might just tell him my life story.
“So, where do you live, Jade? Did you travel far to visit… Ella?”
Jade laughed, breaking free from her thoughts. “Very far! I’m actually from a very faraway land called earth.”
“Earth?” Matthew raised a brow at her. “It sounds fascinating.”
“Oh, it is,” Jade said, missing the world she came from suddenly. “There’s nothing like it. The people you meet. The places you go. Oh and the food!” She sighed. “I miss it. It’s so different from here. I’m a little out of my element here.”
Matthew opened his mouth to respond, and a loud horn suddenly blared through the room. They stopped, along with everyone else on the dance floor, as a light shined at the top of the stairs. A young man with black hair started down the stairs. His arm linked through a young, red-headed woman’s.
“Is that your brother?” Jade asked.
Matthew nodded. “Yes. Prince Henry and his bride to be, Anastasia.”
“Anastasia… “Jade trailed off, her eyes widening. “Oh no.”
“What?”
She shook her head, a loud bang sounding as the door behind them swung open.
“Guards! Get them!” Lady Tremaine shouted, running into the room and jabbing a finger toward Jade. “They are intruders!” She jabbed another finger toward Cinderella.
“Cinderella!” Jade raced across the room, grabbing Cinderella by the hand. “Come on! We have to go!”
“No!” Cinderella shook her head. “I haven’t come this far to be scared off by a damned woman who never treated me the way she should. Like a daughter. I came here to get what’s mine, and I am going to do just that.” She broke free of Jade’s grip, grabbing the sword from the guard, and pointing the sharp edge toward him. “Back off.”
“Cinderella?”
Anastasia stared at her. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be back home, cleaning.”
“Because that’s all I do for you people, isn’t it?” Cinderella asked. “I mop. I dust. I sweep. I take care of your laundry. Well no more! I don’t know how you live with yourself Anastasia. I don’t know how any of you live with yourselves, because I belong here. Just like you do. In fact, this is where I first fell in love.” She weaved through t
he crowd, stopping at the glass slipper lying in the glass display. “You looked everywhere for me,” she whispered, glancing over at the prince. “You looked high. You looked low. You traveled far, and you traveled wide, but you never found me.” She pulled the band from her hair, letting her blond hair ripple down her shoulders. “Because it was my turn to find you.”
“Ella?” Prince Henry stared at her, his eyes widening. “Is it really you?”
“It’s really me,” Cinderella whispered, as the prince walked toward her. “And not a day has gone by without me thinking of you. About that night, right here in the palace, where I first met you.”
“But where have you been?”
“Trapped,” Cinderella said. “Trapped inside that mansion, cursed to never be free of my duties to my step-mother. To my step-sisters. But I found a way out. I found a way to break free, and I found a way to get back to you.”
“A dream come true,” the prince said, taking her hands in his. “I’ve wished for this moment for so long, Ella. I haven’t forgotten about you.” He pulled her close.
“No!”
Anastasia let out a scream, grabbing the sword from the guard next to her. She charged forward.
“Oh, I don’t think so!” Jade grabbed her own sword, blocking Anastasia’s way. “You’re not going to ruin this for her.”
“But that’s my prince!”
“He was never your prince,” Jade told her. “He couldn’t be. Not when he’s in love with another woman. A woman he’s searched high and low for.”
“But we fell in love!”
“No, Anastasia, we didn’t,” Prince Henry said, turning to look at her. “You were just someone to fill the void. Someone I chose, to appease my father, but I never really loved you. Not after I’d met my true love.”
“You bastard!”
Lady Tremaine wove through the mass of people, narrowing her eyes on the prince. “You think my girl isn’t good enough for you? That… that woman in front of you, is better? Well, if my daughter can’t have you, no one will!” She flung the sword in her hands forward, striking the prince in the chest.
Prince Henry’s eyes widened. He glanced down at the sword lying in his chest, tumbling to the ground.
“Henry!”
Matthew broke free from the crowd, racing toward his brother. “Henry!”
“Henry!”
Cinderella screamed, falling to the ground. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she stared down at the prince in shock. “No! This can’t be happening!”
“Henry!”
Anastasia let out a loud, shriek. She stared down at the prince, tears streaking down her own cheeks. She lifted her head, glancing at her mother. “Mother! What did you do?”
“What was necessary,” Lady Tremaine said as the guards grabbed her from behind. “Now Cinderella will never be happy.”
“You’re a monster,” Anastasia whispered. “I never saw it before, because you’re my mother. Because I love you, but Cinderella was right. Henry was never really mine, not really. I wanted to believe he loved me. That we could be happy, but he would have never been happy with me, because he was in love with her. How could you do this to her, Mother?” She walked forward, taking Cinderella’s hands in hers. “Ella, I am so sorry. What we did. What we all did, wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. You’re our sister! Our family. You have a right to find true love just like us. Can you ever forgive me?”
Cinderella stared at her, tears filling her eyes. “Of course, Anastasia.”
“You little witch.” Lady Tremaine narrowed her eyes on Jade. “If you hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened! Cinderella would be exactly where she’s supposed to be, Anastasia would be marrying into royalty, and Drusilla…” She froze, glancing around the room. “Where is Drusilla?”
“Finding her own happiness,” Anastasia said, smiling. “She eloped with one of the servants here in the palace last night.”
“What?” Lady Tremaine’s eyes widened. “She did what? No! My girls do not get involved with the help! That is beneath them!”
“And apparently, you still have a thing or two to learn,” Jade said, staring at the spiteful woman. “Love has no boundaries, Lady Tremaine. It doesn’t matter if you’re serving at the palace, if you’re a guest, or if you’re royalty. The heart wants what it wants, and there is no stopping it. Cinderella knows all about that.”
“But I lost him!” Cinderella cried, cradling Prince Henry in her arms. “She killed him!”
“And you can bring him back. True love’s kiss, Ella. It’ll fix everything.”
“Are you sure?” Cinderella staring down at the prince, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Positive.”
Cinderella stared down at the prince again, then at Jade, then she slowly nodded. Lowering her head and brushing her lips against the Prince’s.
“Whoa!”
The world suddenly swayed, twirling, and Jade gasped. She stumbled, grabbing a hold of the person next to her as the world swayed. “What’s going on?”
“Things are the way they should be,” the Fairy Godmother said from next to her. “Look.”
She pointed upward as fireworks spread across the dark, star lit sky and Jade lifted her head. Gazing up at the colors. “It’s beautiful.”
“And it’s all thanks to you,” Cinderella said, walking up to her, carrying an infant in her arms. “I can’t thank you enough, Jade. You helped set things the way they were supposed to be, and you allowed Prince James to be born.” She smiled, staring down at the little boy in her arms. “I have everything I’ve always wanted, thanks to you. You want to hold him?”
“I would love to,” Jade said, taking the infant from her and staring into his cute, scrunched up face. “Oh! He’s so cute!” Tears filled her eyes, and she touched a finger to his little button nose.
“You’ll have a baby of your own one day,” Cinderella told her. “I know you will.”
“I hope so.” Jade stared down at the baby, thinking about the baby she’d lost, and the ground suddenly opened underneath her. “Uh oh!”
“Looks like it’s time for you to go back to your time.” The Fairy Godmother said, taking the baby from her. “Goodbye Jade.”
“And remember,” Cinderella leaned against her husband, smiling at Jade as she disappeared. “To believe.”
Someday I am going to learn to keep my stupid mouth shut!
Josslyn let out a growl, gripping the horse’s mane, as they raced across the green grass. Behind her, she heard the men shouting. She glanced over her shoulder, watching as they raced up behind her, wielding axes, torches, and swords. “Dammit, this is not what I wanted!”
She pulled the horse to a stop, jumping off his back, and racing across the grass. She trotted up the steps, gripping the banister tightly, as she rounded the corner. She jumped up another flight of steps and burst through the door. “Tyler!”
“What?”
Tyler jerked his head up from the book he was reading in front of the fireplace, his big head turning toward her. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be in the dungeon!”
“I escaped,” Josslyn said, lifting the hem of her yellow dress, and racing toward him. “But Tyler, I messed up. They’re coming. You have to go!” The door pounded loudly behind her as she said the words.
“Open up beast!”
“Face us like a man!”
“Your head would look great on my wall, next to all my deer heads!”
Laughter sounded behind the door, and Josslyn cringed, bowing her head. “I am so sorry, Tyler!”
“You just couldn’t mind your own business, could you, Josslyn?” Tyler asked, staring at her with black eyes. Josslyn stumbled back a step as he jumped to the floor. He arched his back, standing on all fours, and stalked toward her.
“Tyler! Please! Don’t do this. It’s me, Josslyn!”
“I don’t care who you are!” Tyler shouted. “You’re a menace!” He lifted his large paw, striking it forwa
rd.
“Let her go, Beast!”
The door behind them slung open with a loud bang, a dozen men racing into the room. They grabbed Tyler by the fur, yanking him back.
“Grr!”
Tyler swung his head around, as the men circled him. They jumped toward him with their torches, and he lunged forward. He grabbed the torch to his left with his sharp teeth, throwing it across the room.
“You think you can scare me?” Tyler asked, laughing. “I’ve been cursed! My family taken from me. I have nothing left to lose!”
“You have your life!” another one of the men shouted.
“And you have my daughter.”
Gaston stood in the doorway of the castle, a sword in his hand. “And you have held her hostage long enough.” He lunged forward.
“Gaston! No!” Josslyn screamed. “Stop! He’s not a beast!”
“The hell he’s not!”
She winced, watching as the men circled the beast. “Please! Don’t do this,” she whispered.
“Stay out of this, Sugar,” one of the men said, as he hurried past her. “This is no place for a lady. Why don’t you go outside with the others?”
Josslyn narrowed her eyes. “Oh, how I wish I had my powers right now, you bastard. You would be sorry you ever said that to me.”
“Josslyn!”
Her name sounded behind her, and she turned her head, as the armoire jumped down the stairs. “Go get the others!”
“What are you going to do?”
“What I do best,” the armoire said, a loud whistle sounding from its lips. Behind her, a desk, a dresser, and a dozen chairs came flying down the stairs. “We’re going to create a diversion!”
“But I can’t leave him!” Josslyn cried, looking behind her at Tyler, as he fought to keep the others at bay. “They’re going to kill him!”
“No, they’re not. We won’t let them,” the armoire said. “Look.”
Josslyn looked again, watching as the chairs slammed into the men. The men startled, turning in shock. “What the hell?”
Once Upon a Hallow’s Eve Page 10
