Cinders, Stars, and Glass Slippers: A Retelling of Cinderella (The Classical Kingdoms Collection Book 6)

by Brittany Fichter

  “His Highness offers you the services of one of his coaches should you need assistance in attending his presence.” He paused, his hand halfway to the bag he wore slung over his shoulder. “Will you be needing such a service?”

  “Now?”

  The courier looked at the floor. “Yes, my lady.”

  Lydia seemed frozen in place, her eyes the size of plums and her mouth open in a little o.

  Fury, however, rippled through Elaina. He’d had the audacity to use her to betray her own cousin, and then had betrayed Elaina herself. And now he was summoning her like a child? A sharp response for His Royal Highness was on the tip of her tongue when Aunt Charlotte entered the room.

  “An escort will not be necessary,” Elaina said, clearing her throat. “I thank you, but I will take my own carriage and guard. You can tell Prince Nicholas that I shall be on my way within a quarter hour.”

  The courier bowed and left, leaving Elaina alone with her confused aunt and sobbing cousin. Over Lydia’s cries about their destitution and the end of all hope for respectable marriages, Elaina informed Aunt Charlotte that she hoped to be back in time for the midday meal.

  Elaina might have enjoyed her first glimpse of the palace’s interior if she hadn’t been so preoccupied with the reason for her visit. She might have found herself in awe of the gold-veined marble floors or paused to study the life-size paintings of men and women that stared down at her from their silver frames taller than her bedchamber. But there was no time to gawk, as the servant leading her walked so fast they were both nearly running by the time they reached a set of large wooden doors on the third floor.

  What little she had seen of the palace should have prepared Elaina for the prince’s study. But when she was ushered through the doors, the sheer number of books inside was more than overwhelming. Indeed, it was the largest library she had ever imagined, let alone seen. All four walls were covered entirely in books from floor to ceiling. They made Rosington’s library feel like a peddler’s cart. Surely this collection couldn’t belong to such a flighty man as the prince.

  “Never seen books before?”

  Elaina whirled around to see a man with wavy gray hair leaning against a large wooden desk in the corner. His scowl looked as though it had been carved into his face.

  “Never this many at once.”

  He only sniffed and looked down at the open book in his hands.

  Elaina shook her head a little to herself and turned back to examine the books more closely. She had been summoned by the prince only to be left alone with a cantankerous old man. This day certainly wasn’t turning out the way she had expected.

  After nearly fifteen more minutes of waiting and walking about the room, Elaina turned away from a tall window that faced the sea.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know what I’ve been summoned here for, would you?”

  He threw up his hands and rolled his eyes. “Of course I do, because the prince explains his every decision to his tutor.” He slammed his thick tome back on a shelf and pulled down another. “I haven’t the slightest idea.”

  Just as Elaina was considering her own sarcastic retort, the doors opened and the prince strolled in eating an apple. His rebellious brown hair stuck out even more than it had the day before, and he looked smug.

  Elaina curtsied stiffly, to which the prince shook his head and swallowed a large bite. “No need for such formalities in here. I told Dustin here to do away with such years ago.” He paused then held out his apple. “Bite?”

  Elaina could only stare. How on earth had she been enraptured by this infuriating man just two days before?

  “That’s an interesting one.” The prince nodded at the bookshelf. Elaina looked back at the book her hand still rested upon.

  “Strategies of Taljlekin Warfare?” She made a face. “The man who came up with these strategies was a pig. Besides, his theories on defense coordination are weak.”

  “So you’ve read it, I gather.”

  She shook her head. “No, I’ve seen his strategies in action, and they turn out poorly every time.”

  The prince folded his arms and leaned back, that hawkish look in his eye again. “Do tell.”

  “Was the lady in a rowboat to witness such dealings?” the tutor called across the room, scowling.

  Elaina ignored him and folded her own arms to match the prince. “The left flank is always left open.”

  At this, the prince gave her a wide grin. “So if you dislike his strategies so greatly, which would you recommend?”

  Where was he going with this? She studied him for a moment before answering. “I’m more of the classical approach. It takes more ships, but provides a less penetrable position in case of pirates.”

  The tutor slammed his book down and came to join them. “And what qualifies you to make such judgments? What expertise have you in recommending naval strategies to our future king?”

  Nicholas didn’t take his eyes from her. “Master Dustin, I would like you to meet Lady Elaina Starke, daughter of Admiral Baxter Starke.”

  The old man sputtered. “Very well then, but what’s that got to do with her?”

  “She’s lived on my father’s flagship for twelve years. I think that should be qualification enough. So,” he turned back to Elaina, “you must be wondering why you’re here.”

  “Yes, sire.” Obviously.

  He waved his hand at her. “Please, desist with the pleasantries. In fact, you are free to call me Nicholas. I would prefer it even.”

  “Sire will do just fine.”

  Her curtness didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. He tossed the half-eaten apple on his desk and sat in the chair behind it. Then he leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. “Have a seat.” He jutted his chin out at one of the three overstuffed leather chairs before the desk.

  Elaina sat stiffly.

  “Yesterday, you corrected me on a somewhat major detail concerning one of our most significant naval battles,” he said, giving Master Dustin a sideways frown.

  The old man only straightened his coat, avoiding Nicholas’s eyes.

  “If I have brought you offense,” Elaina said in slow, measured words, “I apologize—”

  But he held up his hand. “I don’t wish for your apologies.” He gestured at Master Dustin. “I pay this man lots of money to teach me about naval battles and strategy. When I take the throne, I wish to be familiar with my fighting men and their needs.”

  This conversation was taking a turn Elaina had not expected in the slightest.

  Unfortunately, the prince seemed to recognize her surprise because a satisfied smile spread across his face. “Apparently this man is teaching me incorrectly.”

  “I most certainly am not!” Master Dustin cried.

  “Really? How many ships are in my father’s navy?”

  “Two hundred.”

  “Lady Elaina?”

  She huffed. “Two hundred and forty-six.”

  Prince Nicholas’s smile only grew. “I visited our shipyard this morning, and according to the keeper there, Lady Elaina is correct. We have two hundred and forty-six.”

  “I suppose this means you will no longer be needing my services then.” Master Dustin straightened his jacket. Elaina felt pity for him as he trudged toward the door, looking even older than he had a few minutes before.

  “I never said that, Dustin.” The prince’s gaze softened a bit. “You’ve been a good friend, and you’ve faithfully fed my appetite for knowledge for years now. I couldn’t let such a valuable asset or friend go so callously.”

  The old man turned around, hope lighting his features. “What of the girl then?”

  “Lady Elaina will tutor us both.”

  “Sire,” she said, scrambling for words. “Surely you can’t mean—”

  “But she’s a woman!” Master Dustin sputtered. “No, not a woman but a mere girl!”

  The prince held his hand up. “Dustin, I have great respect for all the hard work you’ve give
n me over these last four years. But you’ve never been on a naval vessel. You might learn more than you think outside of books for once. And you.” He turned to Elaina. “I ask you to consider the fact that my father will not live forever. When the Maker takes him to his eternal rest, loathe as I am for that day to come, I’m sure you will want the king’s successor to know enough about the navy to keep it afloat with proper funds and sound orders.”

  Whatever Elaina had been about to say, she promptly closed her mouth. She did, however, hold the prince’s piercing gaze for a long moment as his words rolled about in her head.

  Unfortunately, he was right. Her father wouldn’t be the king’s admiral forever. He wasn’t much younger than the king himself. But even without him on the seas, Elaina pictured the faces of her father’s crew as well as the faces of all those sailors beneath him she’d met over the years. Even if her father were safe and at home by the time Prince Nicholas took the throne, the rest of the navy would be at risk without a king who understood them and their needs.

  She sighed. “Very well.”

  “Excellent. Please arrive here in my study each morning at the ninth hour. Excluding the holy day, of course. Dustin and I will await your every word with bated breath.”

  Glancing at Master Dustin’s face, Elaina doubted that very much, but decided it would be best just to remain quiet.

  After that Elaina was given her leave. When she started for the door, however, she noticed the prince trying to smother a laugh.

  “May I ask what’s so funny, sire?”

  “Oh, only that I’ve never seen such misery in a young woman who’s been asked to spend every day in the confidence of a handsome bachelor.”

  She gave him a sweet smile. “Of course, sire. Master Dustin’s face is handsome indeed.”

  Prince Nicholas’s laughter ceased, but Elaina felt quite light on her feet as she walked out the door.

  10

  Focus, Nicholas

  Nicholas picked up the remnant of his apple and shook his head as Dustin followed Elaina out of the study. He had been correct about her holding valuable knowledge. As soon as he’d met her, something had told him she knew more than many of his father’s military advisers combined, and now he was convinced more than ever he was right.

  But good gryphons, the girl had a tongue like a dagger. Nicholas grinned to himself as he stood and walked over to peruse the new pile of maps Dustin had left for him. He hadn’t stumbled upon such an interesting soul in ages, particularly not one willing to stand up to him. Henri had been right. She hated him with a passion. Of course, that wasn’t a great bother. On the contrary, he loved a challenge. And Elaina Starke would prove to be a delightful one, he was sure.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “Yes?”

  “Your father wishes to see you in his study, sire.”

  Nicholas still didn’t look at the servant, this time because he didn’t want her to see the annoyance flash across his face. “Thank you. That will be all.”

  As soon as the servant was safely gone, Nicholas pulled in a deep breath through his nose and blew it out slowly through his mouth. He had known this conversation was coming. His return to the palace the night before had been far too late. Not that he’d meant to stay out so long, but circumstances had changed and had forced him to make a choice. Now it was time to pay.

  As Nicholas approached his father’s study, located on the highest level of the sprawling palace, the door opened. Out slipped a servant woman carrying a tray of goblets, a half-finished cluster of grapes, and dried, sweetened meats. This might not have bothered Nicholas, except for the fact that she was smiling just a bit too widely to have been merely collecting the king’s half-finished midday meal.

  She stopped smiling as soon as she caught Nicholas’s eye, and immediately her face whitened as she hurried past him. Yes, she seemed like just his father’s type. Buxom, with black hair and an excessive amount of rouge. Nicholas shook his head and took a moment to steady himself before knocking. It would do him no good to anger his father before they’d had a chance to start their usual argument.

  Still, he couldn’t help himself completely.

  “I see lunch was quite appetizing,” he said dryly when his father called him in.

  “Always is,” his father answered without looking up from his desk.

  Nicholas folded his hands behind his back and waited for the usual tongue-lashing to begin, but this time it was a full ten minutes before the king even spared him a glance.

  “You were down in the city last night.”

  “I was.”

  His father finally looked at him directly, but Nicholas kept his eyes on the shimmering sea outside the window behind his father’s desk.

  “I shouldn’t need to remind you how inappropriate it is for a royal to be sneaking about the city at night unattended. For the love of all that’s holy, Nicholas, you’re of nineteen years! Danger aside, we have enough trouble brewing for us in Solwhind without you causing more in the capital.”

  Ah, an opportunity.

  “Do we have any news of Solwhind from our contact?”

  “We do.” His father stood and handed him a parchment. “King Everard has finished his assessment of the rebellion.”

  Nicholas scanned the document but couldn’t suppress his surprise when he came to a familiar name. “Lady Elaina was present for their meeting.”

  “So it seems she was. Anyhow, Everard has concluded that a dark power is at the heart of all our troubles.”

  “That would make sense.” Nicholas frowned as he continued skimming the report. “We hadn’t even heard of this rebellion five years ago. Usually natural rebellions take years to gather. This one seems to have sprung up overnight. It’s as though—”

  “While I appreciate the good king’s attempts and have sent him a gift of thanks to compensate him for his time, I’m not sure I agree.”

  “King Everard is the most knowledgeable source of information about power of any kind on the entire continent! Why in the depths not?”

  “He is very talented, yes. But, I’m afraid, too quick to see dark powers in every corner of the world.” His father sat down again and pulled out a clean parchment and a new bottle of ink. “Sometimes reconciliation can be made through simple negotiations.”

  Nicholas stared at his father, unable to keep from gaping. He wanted to remind his father that Xander himself had yet to step foot in Solwhind in over five years. If anyone was qualified to draw conclusions as to the foundations of the small but quickly growing movement across the bay, it wasn’t him. But Nicholas had another question, and angering his father further wouldn’t get it answered.

  “Have there been any more killings reported?” he asked.

  Without looking up, his father handed him another parchment. Nicholas retreated to an open chair by the west window and sat down to study it.

  “Did you read this?” he asked his father when he was done.

  “Yes.”

  “And six more gifted citizens murdered doesn’t bother you?”

  “These killings have been going on for years. I have a rebellion to quell and business as usual to keep up for the rest of the kingdom, despite our largest city being in turmoil. For all we know, it’s thugs marauding citizens who are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can’t very well drop everything for thugs. That’s what we have bailiffs for.”

  “But they will continue unless we do something about them!”

  “Focus, Nicholas!” The king was on his feet. “I admire your desire to protect our citizens. I really do. But if our kingdom decides to tear itself in two, there will be a great many more than half a dozen dead on our doorstep.”

  “I understand.” Nicholas growled. “Now may I be excused?”

  “Go.” His father sat back down with a gusty breath. “But stay out of the city! Do you understand me?”

  Nicholas understood. But ignoring the names of the dead on the list he clutched was the las
t thing he intended to do.

  11

  Being Vague

  “He was here and he didn’t notify me?” Elaina looked at the dock keeper in disbelief.

  The dock keeper pulled at his beard and gave her a look of sympathy. “I am sorry, Miss Elaina. Said his business was right urgent. Oh, but he did leave this.” The dock keeper darted back into his little shack, surprisingly quick for a man of his age, and emerged carrying a box just larger than Elaina’s fists put together.

  Elaina sighed. “Thank you, Chapman.”

  “Chin up, now, Miss Elaina.” Chapman’s green eyes were kind in his sun-weathered face. “Won’t be the last time the Adroit comes to harbor. If I know ahead of time, I’ll make sure to send you a missive.”

  Elaina pulled the old man into a quick hug then turned with her box to search for a place to sit that was out of the sailors’ way.

  She hadn’t given up on convincing her father to take her back. Far from it, she had come to the docks every day for the last three weeks for news of him and his ship. Her plan was perfect. As soon as he arrived, she would tell him that with the prince interested in her knowledge, he might as well take her back so she wasn’t tempted to share her secret. But it seemed her father hadn’t given up his intentions either. He hadn’t even seen fit to summon her on the one day his ship was in port.

  Elaina yanked the string off the box and slid the wooden slat off the top. The note that had been folded over and sealed with her father’s favorite blue wax raised her ire more than ever, but the little baubles in the box melted her heart. She didn’t even have to read the labels to know who each was from. A bottle the size of her thumb, filled with her favorite molasses, a cloth bag of roasted seeds, a miniature pine cone, two seashells, and a single, misshapen pearl.

  They must have gone south for a few weeks before returning to the capital. Elaina was tempted to keep the gifts and throw her father’s folded note off the side of the dock but then thought better of it. If she couldn’t live on her beloved ocean, perhaps she could at least glean a bit of information about it.