Charmed: a Cinderella Reverse Fairytale book 3 (Reverse Fairytales)

by J. A. Armitage

  “I was supposed to be at that reception,” she replied in a daze. “My children were going to be there.”

  “He was going to murder us all. Maybe he had plans to get you out first. I don’t know.”

  Her face contorted into a look of horror. “My children! How could he do this?”

  I waited while Seraphia processed everything I’d told her, keeping my ears open for footsteps along the corridor. If she took too long, Luca or a guard might find us, and then Seraphia would be in as much trouble as I was.

  “We need to tell the world,” she raged. “This can’t be happening. I need to tell Tomas. I need to tell his parents.”

  “No! Don’t tell anyone yet. The media is being controlled by him. Frederick Pittser is his right-hand man, and no one can get anything past him. I just need to get out of here to figure out what to do next. I had a plan to find a media outlet that isn’t controlled by him, but I’ve not had the chance. I’ve been with the Freedom of Magic hiding out down south. Cynder is with them along with my family.”

  Seraphia sat up straight. “You need my help, right? What can I do?”

  “I don’t want to get you into trouble. If you can get me out of here tonight, I think you should feign illness and get yourself out too.”

  “I can’t leave tonight.”

  “Can you leave early tomorrow? The quicker you are back in Thalia, the better.”

  She thought for a few seconds, her face screwed up in concentration. “I’ll see what I can do, but first, let’s break you out of here.”

  Jason Copper

  With Seraphia and her magic on my side, getting out was going to be a lot easier than expected. With a wave of her wand, I was transformed into a guard complete with uniform and even a mustache.

  “I’m not powerful enough to keep this magic up for long, so you’ll need to get out of this place pretty quickly,” she said as I did a twirl for her. “In half an hour or so, the charm will fade, and you’ll go back to looking like your original self.”

  “The guy that made me look different before managed to keep me that way for over a week,” I replied.

  “All magic takes training. Morphing is not my specialty. You need to get out of here and as far away as possible. Once you turn back, you are on your own. Are you sure you want to do it this way? Won’t it be easier to just go downstairs and show his parents that you are alive? They’ll believe you.”

  I hugged her tightly. “He was planning to murder you all remember. I don’t want him to know you have anything to do with this. Just promise me you’ll get out of here yourself.”

  She nodded sadly. “I will. Here.” She handed me what looked like a small stone tablet. “It’s a talk stone. A lot of Magi use them instead of telephones. If I want to contact you, my words will appear on the stone. If you want to talk to me, you just use a pen to write on it. The words disappear pretty quickly so if someone finds it on you, they’ll think it’s just an ordinary stone. Again, the magic won’t last too long, a couple of days at most. Once you are back with your friends, they will be able to charge it with their wands. Promise me something...”

  “Anything.”

  “If you need me, get in touch. The castle in Thalia will always welcome you.”

  I sighed. “The castle in Thalia is not safe for us. Nor you if Luca catches us there.”

  “Then my own ancestral home. It’s near the border to Silverwood. My parents live there, but they are on a year-long vacation. Let me know if you need it, and I’ll draw you a map on the talk stone.”

  I gave her one last hug and watched as she left the room. A minute later I walked the same corridor and down to the front door. I waited until I heard her mention how unwell she was feeling and then quickly opened the large front door. As expected, the siren went off, and seconds later more guards appeared followed by Luca.

  “Where did she go?” he bellowed as the confused guards moved their heads around checking every direction.

  “Maybe she went outside?” I ventured. “The door’s open.”

  “She’ll not get very far, but you should check outside just in case,” stormed Luca. “The rest of you, split into teams and check each floor. I won’t have my dinner ruined because the lot of you can’t do your jobs properly.”

  He stalked back into the dining room. As the door closed behind him, I caught Seraphia back in her seat. She gave me a small wink and then the door closed. I slipped out of the front door and into the small garden at the front. As the back courtyard had been, this small space was also full of guards. I approached the one by the front gate.

  “She’s escaped. Did you see her run this way?”

  The guard shook his head, but I could see excitement in his eyes. “No. I’ve not left my post. No one has come this way.”

  “Great! She must have tried climbing a wall at the side of the building. I’ll be the one to catch her. The King will reward me handsomely for this.” I tried to look as excited at the prospect as possible. The guard shared my enthusiasm. I saw his eyes light up at the mention of reward.

  “Do you need some help...to catch her, I mean?”

  “No,” I replied nonchalantly. “We can’t be leaving the front gate unmanned... but...”

  He looked at me quizzically.

  “I guess you are lighter than me and have more chance of scaling the walls if she is trying to escape that way. If you leave me your keys, I could man the gate, and we can split the reward ok?”

  He practically threw the keys at me before running off. Idiot.

  I found the right key and made my escape into the night.

  Without any kind of plan or transport, getting out of the city was going to be difficult. I could try to steal a horse, but as soon as I came to one of the cities borders, I’d be caught. Not one of them was close enough to get there within the half-hour timeframe that my disguise would last.

  I could also put the plan I’d spoken to Cynder about into action, but I’d need help to pull it off. It was then that I realized I still had an ally in the city.

  With no one else to turn to, I headed for the one person in Silverwood I could trust. Jason Copper.

  The huge police headquarters was almost dead at this time of night although I could see a couple of lights still burning in offices for those that were catching up with work, or working on an urgent case.

  There was no receptionist at the main desk, but a night security watchman was perched on a chair, his feet on the desk and his face hidden behind a newspaper. As soon as he heard the main doors open, he threw the paper to one side and adopted a more professional posture.

  “How may I help you?” he asked politely. As soon as he recognized the uniform I was wearing, not to mention the golden rose pinned to my lapel, his whole attitude changed. He adopted a look of disgust at my apparel. I liked him already.

  “I need to speak to the chief inspector. It’s urgent.”

  “The chief inspector isn’t here. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

  I leaned in, knowing that I could trust him. “I’m not working for the MDS. I’m in disguise. I need to speak to him urgently. I have news about the whereabouts of the queen.”

  He eyed me up and down, and I could tell he was trying to decide whether to believe me or not. He picked up the phone and had a quiet conversation with someone. Either Jason was coming, or I was going to be arrested. I didn’t see a downside to either at this point. If I was in jail when I turned back into myself, Jason would be informed. I’d just rather not have to spend another night locked up first.

  “He’s on his way,” the guard said, replacing the receiver.

  I nodded and found a seat to wait for him in the reception area. With each minute that passed, I felt more and more nervous. Even though there was only myself and the guard there, the police reception was a public place which anyone could walk into or look into through one of the massive windows.

  I was just about to head into the public restroom to hide when Jason walked
through the door.

  “You wanted to see me?” Jason asked. I could hear the reservation in his voice.

  “Can we go somewhere a little more private?”

  “I am in charge here. If you don’t tell me what this is about, I’ll ask my night guard to throw you out.”

  Obviously, he didn’t believe I wasn’t one of the MDS as the night guard had.

  I stood up until I was facing him and slowly brought my lips to his ear.

  “It’s me. I’m the queen,” I whispered.

  He pulled back with a sneer on his face, but as he did, I felt my own face changing. The mustache was disappearing; my own features were rearranging themselves and my smart uniform was going to be replaced by a ragged grey dress.

  Jason’s eyes got wider as he took in my transformation.

  Taking a quick glance to see if the night guard had noticed, he grabbed my arm and led me to the back of the reception where he jabbed his fist on the elevator call button. When we were safely in his office with the door firmly shut behind us, he bowed down to me.

  “Your Majesty. I thought you were dead. Even with all our intelligence in the task force, we’ve not been able to locate you.”

  “I’ve been in hiding with the Freedom of Magi. I need you and the task force to get me out of the city so I can get back to them.”

  Chief Inspector Copper bowed his head.

  “What is it?” I could sense that he was going to tell me something I didn’t want to hear.

  “Luca disbanded the task force days ago. All the Magi have been fired and those that haven’t fled the kingdom, are being rounded up and killed.”

  I slumped in my seat. It was much worse than I feared. Luca was killing people? I don’t know why I was surprised after everything else he’d done, but to murder people for no reason? It was barbaric.”

  “Why has no one stood up to him?”

  “There isn’t anyone left to stand up to him. Everyone thinks you’re dead. He’s taken over the media, the police, everything. We are powerless to stop him.”

  “No!” I slammed my hand down on his desk in frustration. After everything I’d done, it couldn’t come to this. “You said he’s taken over the police. What do you mean?”

  “Officially I’m still in charge, but behind the scenes, I’m just a puppet. He’s got a lot of my best men and women looking for Magi to murder.”

  I felt sick.

  “It’s not all bad news,” Copper continued. “What he doesn’t know is that a lot of them are very loyal to me and still loyal to you. Knowing you are alive will bolster their spirits. They are out trying to find Magi because they are told to, but in reality, many of the task force are helping them escape. It’s extremely dangerous, but those that were on the task force and a number of others joined the force to serve everyone.”

  “You are telling me that people are fighting?” I asked hopefully.

  “Kind of, no one is standing up to Luca publically. There is a lot of confusion and a lot of anger. Many believe it was the Magi that started the fire at the Palace. I’m assuming that isn’t true?”

  “No. You can guess who did.”

  Copper brought his hand up to his head and massaged his temples. “At first I believed him, but when he started messing with the force and bringing in his MDS men, I realized the truth. I still believed you were dead though. I’m sorry” He looked directly at me. I could see how upset he was for letting me down.

  “You’ve nothing to be sorry about,” I said, taking a seat opposite him. “You’ve done everything you can to help the Magi.”

  He sat down at the desk.

  I took the opportunity to tell him everything. About where I’d been and the fact I’d been held in Luca’s house.

  “One thing is for certain,” Copper said. “You can’t stay here. It isn’t safe for you. I agree that you should go back to the Freedom of Magic group, at least for a while. It sounds like they know what they are doing.”

  “You said that some of your men are getting the Magi out. How are they getting them out of the kingdom? He’s got all the borders closed.”

  “Yes. The official borders are all heavily patrolled, but there are still a few places that aren’t patrolled. He might have a lot of men working for him, but they can’t literally stand around the entire border of Silverwood.”

  “Can you show me on the map?” I asked, noticing one on the wall filled with pins.

  There’s one place where they can cross into Thalia here, but it’s treacherous,” he said pointing to a particularly mountainous area. “It’s easier to get into Ramsden and Leafdonia here at the bottom of the country as they are much further south and he’s concentrating his efforts up here nearer the capital. On the west, it’s possible to cross the desert into Ling, but it takes a few days and a lot of provisions.”

  I pulled out the scrunched up piece of paper that Cynder had given me with the details of where they were headed. Locating it on the map, I saw that it was closer to the southwestern border than any other. The Kingdom of Ling stretched down Silverwood’s entire west side. If I could get in somewhere near the top, I’d be free to head down and come back into Silverwood near the bottom. It was safer than trying to get down south through Silverwood itself.

  I explained what I wanted to do to Copper. I wanted to get down south to the Freedom of Magic hideout and find a media station there where I could come out to the whole Kingdom. Once they knew I was alive, and let them know what Luca had done, there would be nothing he could do to stop me coming back to the capital and throwing his sorry ass in jail.

  Copper listened in silence, taking in everything I had to say. Only when I’d finished did he speak.

  “Going to the media is a brilliant idea, but we have to know who we can trust. I know for a fact that Frederick Pittser has his fingers in a lot of pies right now, even down south. Even getting there is going to be a problem. It will be easier to get out of the kingdom and move down through one of the neighboring kingdoms. While I would say that the borders between Ling and Silverwood are less heavily patrolled than other borders, especially Thalia, getting across will be difficult. You’ll need a horse and a guide, and at this time of year, you’ll have to carry a lot of water with you. There are no shops in the Ling desert.”

  I pulled all the pins from the map and ripped it from the wall.

  “If you can get me out of the capital and to the border, I’ll worry about the rest from there. The northeast gate is the only one still open. It’s the only chance I have to escape.”

  “I could try. One of my best officers is from Ling.” He picked up the phone on his desk and barked a command into it. When he’d replaced the receiver, I placed a hand on his sleeve.

  “Thank you. I’m going to turn this kingdom around, I promise.”

  “I don’t doubt it Your Majesty.” He nodded his head and smiled softly.

  “You keep doing what you are doing,” I insisted. “Get as many of the Magi to safety as possible. If you can’t get them to safety outside of Silverwood, get them to this address.” I wrote the address that Cynder had given me down for him. “Whatever you do, don’t let Luca or his men find it.”

  I’d been incredibly lucky that Luca hadn’t thought to search my pockets back at his house. Otherwise, he’d have found the map.

  Copper nodded curtly. “You have my word. Wait here. I’ll bring officer Julep in. We’ll get you to safety!”

  I folded the large wall map carefully as he left the room. I knew coming here was the right thing to do. If anyone could get me to safety, it was one of Copper’s men.

  Ten minutes later and Julep turned out to be one of Copper’s women.

  With dark hair put into a neat bun and dark features all the people of Ling possessed, she was pretty in an understated way. Although a good couple of inches shorter than me, she appeared strong and athletic. She was also extremely polite.

  “Honored to meet you, Your Majesty.” She curtsied. “I have a couple of horses wa
iting outside. We need to go now under the cover of darkness. I won’t be able to come with you all the way to Ling, but I’ve instructed my cousin to meet you at the border. He’s been a desert guide all his life. He’ll get you to Ling safely. He’ll also have the right supplies.”

  Copper spoke directly to her. “You’ll have to use the northeast gate to get out of the capital. It was supposed to be closed like the others, but her majesty tells me it’s currently open.”

  “Perfect,” she grinned. “I know it well.”

  “I came in using magic,” I said. “Without it, I’m not sure how we’ll get out.”

  Julep smiled. “The Magi aren’t the only ones that can perform magic. Leave it to me.”

  A Stranger Revealed

  I jumped on the back of one of the two horses outside the police headquarters and wondered what Julep meant about magic. As far as I was aware, the Magi were the only people that could do magic. I’d heard tales of magical, mysterious beings in far-off realms, but they were urban myths.

  I followed Officer Julep silently apart from the clip-clop of our horse’s hooves, through the streets of the capital. I knew these streets well, but now they looked different. They were quiet, empty apart from an occasional guard. Every time we passed one, I held my breath, waiting for them to make me take my cloak hood down as Julep flashed her police badge.

  None of them did. I guess the news I’d escaped hadn’t got out yet. It wasn’t these officers that bothered me as much as the guards at the borders to the capital. They wouldn’t be so complacent, and a police badge would mean nothing to them. Whatever magic Julep had in mind, I hoped it was good.

  Once the exit out of the capital was in sight, Julep stopped. Beyond the city limits were endless fields and rolling hills. Perfect to run the horses, but before that, we had to pass a roadblock with two men at it. Two men with very large shotguns!

  Officer Julep turned to me. “Follow behind me, keep your hood up and don’t say a word. Once we get past the border, head for the path between the hills as fast as you can. I happen to know these idiots. Neither can ride a horse very well.”