by Kiki Leach
“Wonderful. Place the earrings on her now.”
She tossed a hand back to Brigita, who quickly obliged.
I dropped my hands aside and suddenly thought of my wedding day, feeling the same dread and remorse, with the exception of feeling as if an encouraging light were to shed upon it all.
“You’re beautiful, Cinderella,” said Brigita after finishing the earrings.
I looked back at her and grinned wide. “Thank you. I only wish to feel as beautiful as you claim I am.”
I placed a hand on my stomach once more and the queen appeared more curious. As soon as I noticed her eyes traveling downward and crinkling, I immediately dropped my arm and whirled away from the mirror.
“That shall be all,” I said. “I shall meet you once more when John arrives--”
“I don’t believe that’s necessary, as you are to remain at my side until Norvack is ready for you.”
I leaned back and crossed my arms. “On who’s orders?”
“Mine.” She turned to Brigita and tapped her shoulder. “Perhaps you should run along to take care of the other girls, as well as yourself as you shall have great participation in the banquet.”
Brigita looked to me for approval, which the queen noticed. She clucked her tongue in anger.
I closed my eyes and nodded, then looked to the floor and laughed a little.
Brigita curtsied.
“And make sure my son has everything he needs as well,” snapped Eliza.
“Yes, your Majesty.”
She quickly escaped from the room.
I snickered and looked to the mirror once more to adjust my jewelry. “You’ve managed to put the fear of God into my handmaiden.”
“And it seems my son has managed to put a child inside of you.”
I spun around on the balls of my feet to face her and sneered. “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re pregnant. If not for the corset, this gown would hardly fit you.”
“You’re seeing things.”
“I don’t believe I am, Cinderella.”
I nodded and swallowed hard. “Do you remember our agreement? If I conceive at any point, Norvack shall learn all truths.”
“I remember. I also believe that you were aware of a child as you made such an agreement. You’ve been bidding your time ever since.”
“No.” I moved away from her, crossing the room. “If I were ‘biding my time’ as you claim, you would’ve been keenly aware of it long before now. And I am not with child.”
“Then you have gained pounds all on your own?”
“Perhaps the gown is too small, Eliza. Has that wonder ever crossed your mind?”
“You’re pregnant, Cinderella!” she hollered. “My son may be too preoccupied as of now to realize it, on the contrary, I--”
“I am not with child!” I stepped back and reached for my forehead, frustrated. “The banquet is in a few hours and I must finish dressing. I don’t have anymore energy to waste on whatever fantasies you’ve managed to dream up in this small amount of time we’ve spent together.”
“Why are you refusing to admit the truth?” she snapped.
“My God! Do you ever let up? I am not with child! End of discussion!”
I turned from her and went back over to the bed. She came up behind and made a faint coughing noise. I rolled my eyes and whirled around to look her in the face again. Her expression was stoic. She shook her head a little and eyed the corner of the room.
“The longer you plan to remain silent, the more time we have for Norvack to eliminate John. However, once you begin to show--”
“I won’t begin showing as I am not pregnant.” I grew even more annoyed than I was and rattled my foot against the floor. “You’re free to leave at any time.”
“We are to remain at one another’s side--”
“Please. Leave. I shall find you in the ballroom once I am finished here. I need time alone to think and prepare.”
She waited a moment and then nodded.
“Alright,” she grudgingly conceded. “And I shall not say a word of it again.”
“Good. Now please, leave.”
She grinned snidely and lowered her head prior to exiting.
I dropped to the edge of the bed and cursed myself for choosing to wear such a form fitting gown. As I looked down at my stomach, I could picture it growing in the days, weeks, and months to come.
Hours later, Brigita returned with a headdress at the request of the queen, but I hadn’t wished to wear one for the occasion at all despite its smaller frame. She placed it on the table near the door and turned to exit, but stopped and looked back at me.
“What shall you say to him?” she asked.
“To?”
She turned and placed her hands before her, then tilted her head and nervously grinned.
“John Devereux.”
“I don’t know. Perhaps he won’t even remember me.”
“Do you truly believe such a thing, Cinderella?”
“No,” I said quickly. “But it would make things so much easier for all of us, especially Norvack.” I stood and went over to he balcony, peeking down at the arriving carriages. “Are the girls prepared for the evening?”
“Yes, Mistress. One in particular is quite eager to meet John.”
I snickered. “Esmeralda, yes? Daughter of the queen’s first handmaiden and the most determined woman I have ever known who wished to escape such luxuries in the hopes of finding true love.” I thought for a moment and smiled. “I’m certain she will not wear her cape for this if she plans to charm former General Devereux. Perhaps the one and only night we shall see her golden hair.” I turned aside and dropped my head. “Is Norvack prepared?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“Good.” I grabbed my gown to keep it from dragging on the floor anymore than it had, and went to the door. “Inform him that I shall be in the ballroom with his mother.”
She bowed. “Yes, Princess.”
Thunderous claps erupted throughout the room once it was announced that John would be arriving shortly. While every man seemed skeptical and personally felt threatened by his arrival -- as the various members of Norvack’s army complained to never having been told of the news until today -- every maiden seemed to salivate at the very thought of laying their eyes, and possibly their hands, on him as soon as he was welcomed inside. I only hoped that he would bed one fairly quickly as it would mean that he had in fact forgotten me, or at the very least, continued not to care, as always. The queen and I made rounds throughout the room, which seemed to expand by the second as more and more people arrived for the banquet.
Within seconds, I managed to spot Esmeralda. Or rather, I spotted her arm and flailing hand as she waved me down in hopes for a chat. Wearing a flowing, bright red gown that was certainly difficult to ignore, she pushed through the crowd as if she were a traveling swan on water. The queen had escaped from my side almost immediately.
The moment Esme closed in, she reached for my arm and dragged me to her. I was practically sliding on my feet the entire time as she forced me to walk alongside her.
“You look lovely tonight,” I told her.
She lifted the rim of her gown upon her breasts and lightly played with her golden locks.
“It took me months to sew this gown. I had been prepared for tonight for so long.”
I laughed. “I was certain you came prepared every single night.”
“Not for someone like this! The former General of England? My mother told me about him years ago, but I had never seen him in person before. He appeared to be a myth until tonight.”
“You speak as if he is a sort of enigma. He is only a man.”
“Only a man who shall remain at the right side of the Prince of Denmark.”
“Why not sneak to England when he was at the right side of the king?”
“We both know the answer to that, Cinderella!” she snapped. “I’ve always dreamed of a man like him coming to sweep me off
my feet and carry me from the palace in his strong arms.”
I soured. “He doesn’t appear to be that kind of man, Esme.”
“Then you know of him?”
“I know very little of him.”
“Oh, my! Tell me about this man!” she squealed, her pale green eyes beaming with both elation and anticipation.
I tossed my hair behind me and kept my attention on the room.
“What do you wish to know?”
“Everything! I wish to know of his dreams and desires, likes and dislikes.”
“I am the incorrect person to ask such questions, as I don’t know much of him personally. There were few times he traveled to the village for a whore, but I don’t know much outside of it.”
She sighed and wrapped her arm even tighter around mine, and tapped her fingers against my hand. “Who shall I find that knows all about him?”
I arched a brow and looked over at her. “Perhaps his wife?”
“I’ll ask her if I ever wish to know of the King of England, and I do not.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. Loudly. Her golden locks sprawled across her shoulders and down her back.
“What is Norvack like in bed?”
My head snapped in her direction and my eyes widened.
“Have you no couth?” I asked. “Considering your mother --”
“Who remains so deathly ill,” she replied, placing a hand upon her chest, “and may not be with us much longer -- may God bless her dearly, take her soul and allow her to sing with the angels.”
“She shall look down upon you and seethe.”
She pulled her head back and smirked. “Look down?”
I grinned but quickly turned away.
“Your obsession with the male species has always been so unbecoming,” I said.
“You wouldn’t feel that way if you were me and had yet to be touched by any man.”
“At your own volition,” I said. “It’s not as if no man has never tried. You’re one of the most beautiful women I have ever known Esmeralda, yet also quite hard to please.”
“As were you at one time.” She sighed. “I only wish for true love, Cinder!”
“And you believe John shall provide it?”
She exhaled harshly and looked ahead.
“All I know of him is that it’s perhaps not the best idea to get too involved so soon, or at all. Many a whore nearly went insane after she was with him.”
“The same could be said for the whores with your husband prior to his life with you, which is why I asked what he was like in bed. If many a woman has nearly lost her mind, I am willing to take my chances in losing mine as well.”
“If I ever see you looking at Norvack with the slightest amount of lust in your eyes, I’ll rip them from those deep sockets with my bare fingers and shove them so far down inside your throat, you’ll be shitting them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and repeat the process for an entire week’s time.”
Her mouth dropped open and she scoffed, in part disbelieving and in part, frightened. “And you accuse me of no couth? It was only an observation, Cinderella. I’ve no interest in Norvack physically. Not since I was a child.”
“Hmm--”
“How often did you see John in the village?”
I groaned. “Not often. Except when he was in search of a whore, as I said.”
She nodded. “Perhaps he is willing to marry again.”
I rolled my eyes so far into my head, I feared them remaining there for eternity.
She grabbed her face and opened her eyes quite wide.
“Oh, no! The intimate dinner tomorrow night! What am I to wear?”
“You’re attending?” I asked.
“Yes, at the request of the queen.”
“When did she request this of you?”
“This morning as I dressed.”
“An impromptu invitation?”
“Yes!” she said. “Is there something the matter?”
“No.” I took in a breath. “No, not at all. I only…”
I looked across the room and noticed the queen glaring at us as she stood with her court. I lowered my lids a little, indicating I had realized her tactics and then turned away.
“Cinder,” Esme started. “Cinder, if you wish for me--”
“I wish nothing of you. But, perhaps you shall wear a gown to dinner?”
“A gown, yes! Certainly, as I was not already aware of that.” She wrinkled her nose at her own sarcasm and whimpered. “We were not all fortunate enough to marry the Prince of Denmark. There are those that are forced to strive harder for what they wish to have someday.”
“Yes, of course. As you recall, my days of eating rats and fried snakes was nothing more than child’s play compared to the amount of work it takes to lie on your back.”
“That isn’t what I meant! You have always been the chosen one for Norvack, whether or not his parent’s approved. I knew it as a child when my mother forced us into ‘tea time’ and he couldn’t stop going on regarding a girl from the village.”
“And you were so certain it was me?”
“At the time I had no idea nor any interest in who you were, as I was only seven. You forget how much older he is than I am.”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
She glanced at me then refocused elsewhere. “His mother also informed me this morning that you two have become distant as of late.”
“Of course she has, just as she has invited you to dinner with John.” I grunted and sighed.
“It’s not as if I will be there with him alone as I wish.”
“I know.” I took in a breath and then exhaled. “Norvack and I are fine.”
“Then why am I forced to lead you around this room and not your husband?”
“He is still preparing to meet the General -- you damn well know that,” I snapped. “And I never forced you into anything! You all but seized upon me to get information on a man you shall never see outside of his trousers!”
“You have Norvack! You cannot lay claim to the newest member of his court!”
“Lay claim?” I scoffed, disgusted. “I am warning you against many future regrets! The biggest in involving yourself with a man who shall never truly love you!”
“Why are you saying this to me, Cinderella?” she asked. I heard the pain and anger in her voice, but refused to placate.
“Because you deserve to hear it and I would be a fool to keep it to myself! A man like him will use and discard you within the same night and never give a single thought to your feelings or his actions -- I have seen it happen, witnessed it first hand time and again. You are a safe, warm body and nothing more. If you wish to pursue it, I certainly cannot keep you from doing so, but as your friend? I am warning you that he will never atone his pleasure seeking lifestyle, and he will never marry you.”
“The same manner in which Norvack never married you?”
“The circumstances were quite different--”
“Yes, because as I said, he had been in love with you since birth! Not all of us are blessed with such a luxury.”
“There is no need for such ill-temperedness.” I looked aside. “If you wish to pursue John, be my guest. But never proclaim I didn’t caution you against him first.”
“Caution me? It’s quite clear that you’re seething with jealousy at the very idea of he and I together.”
“You’ve gone completely mad, Esmeralda! Everything I am informing you of is truth! If you choose to lie with him in spite of it, so be it.”
She gathered her gown and moved away from me as fast as she could.
I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned back.
“Mistress Cinder?” asked Brigita. “Norvack is waiting for you in the corridor.”
“Thank you,” I said. “And if you don’t mind, please keep as much of an eye on Esme as you can. She plans to pursue the General against my warnings and quite frankly, I fear for her current state of mind.”
She bowed. “Yes,
Mistress.”
I met Norvack in the corridor located in the east wing of the palace. He paced the hall and was mumbling to himself. He rubbed his hands together then looked down and slid them over his jacket and trousers. When he saw me coming, he smiled and stood still, placing his hands behind him and exhaling in intervals.
I stood aside him and rattled my foot. After a few moments of strange silence, he looked down at me and glowered.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
He slipped his index beneath my chin and turned my eyes toward his. He grinned. “Something.”
“This is your day. I don’t wish to ruin it with petty squabbles.”
“It was ruined the moment I learned of John’s purpose. Enlighten me.”
I nodded and swallowed, then breathed out.
“Eliza has invited Esme to the private dinner tomorrow night.”
He looked to the corner of his eyes and casually shrugged. “This is what has gotten you so upset?”
“Were you made aware of it?”
“No. Does it matter?”
“Yes!” I hissed. “Esmeralda is young and impressionable and vulnerable to any man of success willing to lay claim upon her while she mistakes it as some sort of ‘true love’ for the ages! This man will use and discard her before he even learns her last name or what she wishes for breakfast.” I leaned in closer and lowered my voice. “She’s still pure, Norvack.”
He chortled. “Is that what she has informed you?”
I glared. “It’s certain,” I answered.
“Alright. Either way, it’s her own choice to make, Cinderella, no matter. Just as it was your own choice to marry me. What are we to do, disinvite her? What good would it do as my mother has already made it clear that she wishes for her presence at that table alongside him?”
“Alongside him?” I looked away and folded my arms. “He is no good for her, or any woman of dignity. He isn’t.”
He adjusted his collar and cleared his throat. “You seem more concerned than you should be.”
