by Kiki Leach
“No, no. I had seen you before then, but you didn’t know me. I told you earlier, I have loved you forever.”
I turned my face from his and he exhaled on my cheek, stirring up deep emotions within. My stomach flip flopped, my hands turned to mush.
“So you continue to say,” I began.
“So I continue to say it to be true. Look at me…” he said. I shook my head and grit my teeth. “Cinder, look at me.” I breathed out and slowly turned back to him. I noticed a faint sadness in his eyes and was confused. “I mean it when I say that I have loved you since we were children. It’s perhaps the only truth in my life. I have never despised you, ever. There has never been anyone else to capture me the way you have from the beginning. The moment I saw you in the square, stealing from the bakery, I wished to have you, to take you as my own someday.” He pressed his nose and lips to my cheek, inhaling deeply, almost desperate. “I needed you, and now I have you, and you loathe me.”
“I--” I closed my eyes to gather myself. I couldn’t think and could hardly breathe! So much of me wanted to revel in everything he said. I wanted him to take me and enrapture me on the bed. I wanted to forget my name and where I was. I wanted to forget how much I despised him, and remember this moment of what it felt like to have his skin, warm and wet, against mine. “Norvack, you…” His breath on my face nearly made me dizzy again, but I held strong. “You are a hot headed son of a bitch who can’t keep his trousers up, you… You treat people like dirt and expect to be treated with the utmost respect in return. You coerced me into becoming your wife without a single thought as to what I wished for.”
“You would not have come to me otherwise. And we each have what we truly crave.” He kissed the side of my throat and moved his hands down to my derriere, pressing me against his growing cock.
My sweetest spot began to ache for him.
“That does not make it right,” I said, trying to escape him, my hands becoming more feeble by the second. “If I had not agreed to this arrangement, would you have gone to your father and informed him of my murdering your brother?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you. It’s why I chose the lesser of two evils, because I can’t -- I cannot trust you.”
“Trust me, my favorite girl,” he muttered against my skin.
“No. Love is not blackmail,” I said. He stopped and stood up straight, still holding me. “I believe you love me, but the way you go about it is all wrong.” I exhaled. “Love is not forcing me to be your wife by any means necessary. You are much like the king, demanding and superior, and I refuse to be a clone of your mother.”
Norvack released me and stepped back, his eyes widened, his mouth agape. A look of terror developed on his face, spreading across like a well planted seed. “I only wished to keep you safe.”
“It doesn’t matter, your intentions,” I said. “The way it occurred was still by means of blackmail, as the end result appeases you more than it could ever appease me.”
His eyes became dark as he glared into mine. And then he puckered his brows. “You truly believe me to be like my father?”
“I have yet to see you any different--”
“I shall prove to you that I am nothing like the king.”
“How? I must say, you are not off to a very fine start.”
He nodded and scowled, waiting a moment. “I will allow you to return to Hadenville,” he said, his eyes down, his tone melancholy. “If you wish, my men shall escort you.”
“To return, to my cottage?”
“No. To return to your village. To return to the life you led alone. I shall find you another place to live, one that does not require you to sleep on the floor, enough money to provide you with regular meals to last you a lifetime and a new wardrobe fit for a princess. ”
“You would do that for me? As well as keep quiet?”
He placed a hand on my face and ran his thumb across my lips. “If that is what you truly wish.”
“What about your father?” I said. “Your need to marry?”
He shrugged. “I shall find someone. My father shall find me someone, Princess Sophia or a maiden who signed up for the game. He has sent his men back to Hadenville to announce that the game has been called off because I have already chosen a wife. However,” he narrowed his eyes, “that will change if you choose to go. Do you wish to return to the village, my favorite girl?” A knock on the door disrupted us. Norvack dropped his head and smiled. “I guess I shall find out soon enough.”
He nodded to a pale faced woman who entered with an elegant gown draped across her arms. I was mesmerized by the striking sapphire color and tight fitting long sleeves. A pearled collar lined the top of the dress while white trimmed cuffs cupped at the wrists, and a ruffled skirt covered the toes. The waist was so tiny that it was barely visible to the naked eye. It was breathtaking, so much so that I feared even touching it. Norvack instructed the woman to place the gown on the bed. Another woman soon entered with a large velvet box containing the queen’s glass slippers. Norvack quickly assured me that the slippers were a perfect fit for me. I choked realizing I would have to wear them for dinner.
He instructed the woman to place the box on the dressing table, and she exited. When another woman walked in with a box of jewels and carrying a large bag, Norvack introduced her to me as my personal handmaiden. She lifted her head and smiled.
“Dear God,” I muttered. It was the woman from the house that night! The one whose home I had leapt into as I attempted to flee from the Sheriff and his men. Every ounce of blood drained from my face. But she didn’t appear surprised to see me.
She made her way to the dressing table and placed the large bag and jewels on top near the shoes. I watched as she moved, curious as to what she was thinking, what she was feeling to be in the same room as me.
“Cinder girl,” Norvack said. He placed his fingers on my chin, turning my attention back to him. “Shall I see you at the banquet tonight? Or shall I prepare my men for another trip to the village?” He caressed my face and I bit my lip, smiling against my will.
“I won’t return to the village tonight,” I said. “But if I so choose, I may return at anytime I wish.”
“Prior to the wedding. Once married, we belong to each other officially. I shall be back for you in a few hours, my favorite girl.” He kissed the tips of my fingers. Without thinking, I gradually edged one up against his mouth. “How I wish to taste you. In due time.” He winked at me and left the room.
I ran my fingers through my hair and tuned to my handmaiden, who had purposely kept her back to us the entire time. As I walked over to her, she nodded. “You’re a servant for the royal family?”
“Yes. The night you came into my home, I was visiting my family.”
“So you remember me,” I said. “How long have you been here?”
“Since I was a child.”
I paused, looking at her for awhile, wondering about her. It seemed she was trying to avoid making eye contact with me. “You know that I killed Willem, don’t you?”
“I didn’t…” She stopped. “Norvack informed me of what you had done.”
“He did? When?”
“The night it happened.”
I placed my hands at my back and exhaled. “That’s why he sent you to me, I suppose. And, no one else knows?”
“No! He wouldn’t dare tell another living soul…”
I arched a brow and diverted my eyes. “Hmm.”
“He saw you that night, Cinder. He kept quiet to save your life.”
“He kept quiet until the time was right to seek what he desired.”
She picked up a brush from the dressing table and began brushing my hair down to the tip of each curl. “He’s in love with you, every part of you. No matter what you say or do, he will never stop. I have never known a man to love a woman so much. Did you know he keeps a portrait of you in his room, under his bed?”
I snapped my head to the side. “What?”
“A portrait. I’ve seen it. It’s lovely.”
“How -- ?”
“Come. We should get you dressed. The banquet is in a few hours and the prince is expecting you soon.”
The Banquet
I waited for nearly two hours before Norvack finally returned to my chambers. Guests had already arrived and were seated in the ballroom by his servants. As per the rules of the kingdom, I wasn’t allowed to leave my room until he was ready to escort me downstairs himself. Brigita had excused herself long before, so I sat on my bed and gazed out onto the balcony. When he finally entered, I shot up and sighed agitatedly.
“You’re late.”
“Immensely, for which I apologize.”
I began pacing the room. “As if your parents don’t already blame me for stealing you from the flurry of potential maidens within and outside of Denmark willing to marry you for all the right, and wrong reasons, now I must contend with being late to your birthday celebration and them possibly blaming me for that as well!”
“Cinder--”
“What?!” I stopped pacing and he took my hand.
He extended my arm and grinned, bowing and placing his head over my hand. “My favorite girl.” He looked up a little and I noticed him staring down at my breasts as they peeked above the rim of my gown. “You are positively mouth-watering.”
I snatched my hand back. “Flattery will get you nowhere tonight. It doesn’t excuse your being so tardy.”
“I know. I had a meeting with the King of England.”
I became worried and knit my brows. “What for? Is he forcing your hand to marry his princess?”
“No. It was a political matter. And, you are still quite breathtaking.”
My cheeks felt warm and I shut my eyes to keep from taking him in my arms. “Norvack…” He shut the door behind him and reached into his pocket, removing a tiny black velvet box. I panicked. “What are you doing? We’re already late!”
He placed the box in the palm of his hand and lifted it up. “It isn’t tradition,” he said. “But we shall make our own. Open it.”
“What is it?”
“A sort of engagement gift. I have been carrying it since I was a boy.”
I fell back, astounded. “You’re mad.”
“Perhaps you have always been right. Open it.”
I took the box from him and cautiously raised the lid, gasping when I realized what was inside. “Oh my God.” I looked into his eyes and he grinned wide, staring back at me. “It’s my birthstone. You made a ring of my birthstone?”
“A cluster of rare topaz diamonds.” He took the ring from the box, holding it between two fingers. It shined in the moonlight, the color glinted, sparkled across the room. It was large and round with what looked to be about one-thousand tiny diamonds clinging together inside the ball of one giant gemstone. I had never seen anything so beautiful before. So much it had rendered me speechless. “I vowed back then that even if we never married, I would find a way to get this to you. I wanted you to know that even if you were not mine, you were. My father gave my mother a necklace made of emeralds and rubies from all over the country and beyond. She cherishes it to this day. His father gave my grandmother the same, and so on. I wished for you to have something different, something unique and of your own.” He took my left hand and slid the ring onto my ring finger. And then he kissed my hand.
In that instant, I wanted to take him to bed and please him until my body went numb and sweat poured from my fingertips.
“Norvack, I--”
He raised his hand to my lips. “Come,” he said. “We should get to the ballroom.”
As we stood in the corridor waiting to be announced to the thousands of guests invited by the king and queen alone, Norvack excused himself to take care of a servant who needed assistance in the kitchen as a quarrel had occurred between he and the pastry chef. I was left completely alone, and untroubled near the doors, until I saw the Sheriff creeping upon me from what seemed like nowhere.
I jumped back and opened my eyes wide at his presence. And then I grimaced. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
He laughed boisterously, grabbing his stomach and leaning back. “I was invited by the king. We are old friends, as you know. One of his men hand delivered me an invitation this afternoon.” He shook his head and leered. He rested his hands at his front and stepped toward me. I moved away. “Well, well, aren’t you a delicacy this evening. Though I still question how you managed to find yourself as the future bride of the prince. What have you promised him? Has he taken you yet, my dear? I see no other possible explanation unless he has had you. Or, are you a tease? Given the bevy of beauties he has had overtime, and those who signed the scroll in the square for a game that was immediately forfeited, I have yet to understand what makes you more special than the rest combined. Are you the sweetest he has ever, or never tasted?”
“You bastard.”
“It was only a simple question, my lady. Or, shall I now refer to you as Mistress?”
“That was not a simple question for you,” I replied.
“Perhaps the answer is more simple then, hmm?”
I huffed, and then smirked. “I threatened to cut off his cock if he chose anyone else. Is that good enough for you?”
He swallowed hard and attempted to feign a grin. And then he nodded, tightening his jaw. “Quite. Though certainly not good enough in comparison to what I have in store for you. The time has come for you to pay the piper.”
“What are you speaking of, old man?”
“You don’t fool me, Miss Cinder. You never have.” He paused and leaned forward. “I know.”
“Know, what?!”
“That it was you who killed the king’s son with Norvack’s stolen weapon!” he said through his teeth. “The golden sword in which you place beneath your floorboard each night after a hunt is what you used to kill Belarus’ first born son.” He stood up straight and fixed his Sheriff’s jacket. My throat tightened, though I did my best to remain fearless in his presence, standing straight the same as him and matching his cavalier demeanor. “Beware, Misssss. I am aware of the truth, and soon, the entire country of Denmark shall know what an evil and greedy little mongrel you are as well. It is only a matter of time before you are to be punished for your sinful crimes. First the vagabond in the village square and then the prince… Norvack shall hang you himself for the murder of his brother when he learns the truth.”
“Shall he?” I asked, my voice lifting. He blinked sharply, appearing bewildered, and then he sneered. “You know nothing!” I gathered my dress in my hands and turned from him, but he jerked me back, hard.
He lifted a brow and sucked in his fat cheeks. “I shall see to it that your words and past misdeeds are made known to the prince and king. I shall see to it soon.”
“I shall not allow you to add to the long list of my supposed nefarious endeavors with countless muck of you own!” I snatched my arm from his hand and grit my teeth. “I am quite aware that you look down upon me but there is no need for you to--”
“But you see, Miss. There is a need. A desperate need. And no muck whatsoever, only facts! Truths!”
“You speak truths?” I placed a hand on my hip and leaned aside. “Here is the truth, Sheriff. If you utter one word to the king, one single word of what I may or may not have done in my past, as if you have not already done enough with that, I shall make sure that your head rots on a silver spike in the estate gardens in place of my own!”
“On what grounds?”
“On the grounds of treachery, old man. The night of Willem’s murder, you moved his body to Hadenville to escape persecution for not keeping an eye out for him as you were ordered to do. You and your corrupted posse of dog catchers. And now he is dead. Belarus himself may blame me for a murder of which I may or may not have taken part, but he shall no doubt blame you for the cause! You most certainly don’t believe I shall die alone if this comes about, now do you?”
The Sheriff�
�s eyes twitched beneath the lids, forcing his lashes to do the same. Shock crossed his face and he opened his mouth so wide a fly could have made a home at the ball in the back of his throat. His face turned puce and he exhaled harshly. “Y-Y-Yoooou witch!”
“Unfounded. I may suffer for the death of a man who deserved it, but I shall not endure even more torture beforehand as well! If you choose to speak of me in a devil’s tongue, I shall do the same before the royal family tonight and watch in glee as the king rips it straight from your throat with his bare hands rather than shove a spike through it!” He snarled a bit and tightened the skin around his lips as he pressed them together. “I am no fool, Sheriff, and shall be damned to ever be mistaken for one in any setting again, by you or anyone else here. Therefore, you speak of me,” I said again, “and I shall speak of you as well, in that same devilish tongue.”
He flared his nostrils and waited a moment to back away from me, though I could tell it incensed him to do so as his eyes darkened, becoming as black as coals. He smiled sinisterly and tugged on his jacket. “Very well, then.” He clinched his fists and gulped. “A fine performance, Miss. Just fine. Enjoy the rest of your evening, and the future life as a princess within the estates.” No matter what he said, I knew he wasn’t done with me by any means, but I was relieved to lift the temporary burden.
The moment he walked away and entered the ballroom, I let out a wild breath of air and turned straight into Norvack who had taken my hand.
He looked down and glowered. “You’re shaking,” he said. “Was that the Sheriff I saw?”
“Yes. He was congratulating us, personally. And, I’m fine. Just nerves.”
“You’re sure?”
I nodded and smiled, though he seemed quite dubious, and with good reason.
We lingered in the corridor for only a few more moments before the large wooden, hand-carved double doors leading to the ballroom opened with the help of two servants. A long red carpet lined the marble floor, leading straight from the doors to the other side of the sphere shaped room.
Royals from all over the world dressed in their finest gowns, jewels, and trouser suits, waited on either side of the carpet, staring and gasping as we stood hand in hand. I was sure some gasps were indeed more bafflement than actual amazement at my presence aside the prince.
