“Thank you, Gretta. But as thou canst see, I already have a gown.”
She nodded.
Cinderella gathered her gown in her hands and held it up so that it would not trail the floor. “Come, let us not be late for the ball. I must not keep the Prince waiting.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Crazy
Wisteria rubbed her hand across her brow. “So let me see if I have this straight—you’re telling me that we …” she pointed “ … you and I are from another realm.”
“I know it sounds crazy but—”
“Alexander, let me finish … please.”
He nodded.
“And you’re also telling me that Edward and Rush are from this same place … this …”
“Aandover Peaks,” he inserted. “We are all from Aandover Peaks.”
“You are a king and Edward is next in line for the throne.”
“Yes.”
“And we have been banished here to this world, is that what you’re saying?”
“No … yes … err … we weren’t exactly banished.” His eyes met hers. “Some things happened to our children, and we chose to come here. Don’t you see? We were given a second chance.” He caught hold of her arm. “Darling, I know it sounds absurd, but surely a part of you must remember.”
She removed her arm from his grasp. “No, I don’t remember!”
He could see the frustration building in her eyes, and he fought for the words that would help her understand. “Wisteria, I love you! I’ve always loved you. You hold my heart in the palm of your hand.” His voice broke. “Please try to remember!” He held up the ring for her to see. “I brought this with me, here to this world. You gave it to me, darling.” Tears formed in his eyes. “You once told me that the red was a symbol of our love and strength. The fire that will forever burn between us.”
She rubbed her forehead and stood. “I don’t know what to make of this.”
He also stood and wrapped his arms around her. “We were meant to be together … always.”
She turned to face him, and he was surprised to see that her eyes were blazing. “Of all of the stupid, low-down, tactics!”
“What?”
She let out an incredulous laugh. “I finally find a good guy … someone I can connect with, and surprise, surprise, he’s crazy.” She shook her head. “Or at least you’re acting like you’re crazy.” She threw her hands into the air. “This is absurd! And the ring? Really, Alexander?”
“No,” he countered, panic rising in his chest. “No! I’m not crazy, and I’m certainly not trying to break up with you. I told you before, and I’ll tell you again—I want to marry you.”
“Yeah, well unfortunately, that ship sailed the minute you started talking crazy.” She looked up at him, and he could tell from the stubborn set of her chin and the way that her eyes went flat that she was closing him out. A lifetime’s worth of pain engulfed him. She was standing right in front of him, and he was losing her all over again.
“I’m leaving now! Goodbye, Alexander.”
“Wait! Please.”
She paused.
“I was only kidding, darling. I know we didn’t come from another realm. I was only saying those things to get your reaction.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “What?”
He forced a laugh. “I was talking to Mr. Wentmore and some of the other teachers in the lounge today, and they were discussing psychology and how people react when they hear something crazy.”
She frowned. “This was some kind of sick joke … an experiment?” She jerked her head back, causing her hair to toss on her shoulders. There was a haughty expression on her face. How well he remembered that look from the other world. It’s the look that Wisteria would give before she went on the rampage.
“It was silly, I’ll admit, but I promised Mr. Wentmore that I would try it out on someone.”
“Well, it wasn’t funny,” she snapped.
“It was a mistake.”
“It was cruel!”
“I would never intentionally hurt you.”
She searched his face, and he could tell that she was trying to decide whether or not she could trust him. “I don’t like being played,” she said coldly.
He put his arms around her, and she didn’t pull away, although she was stiff and unrelenting. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her ear. “What can I do to make it up to you?”
She relaxed a fraction. Her eyes were smoldering when they looked into his. “If you ever try anything like that again, Alexander Kingsley, it’s over! Am I making myself clear?”
“Absolutely, it won’t happen again.”
Her eyebrow arched. “It had better not.”
He tried to kiss her, but she averted her face. “We need to get to the High School Formal,” she said stiffly.
He kissed the top of her hair instead. “Okay, let’s go.” His attempt to tell her the truth had failed dismally. A mixture of relief and disappointment settled over him. It would take a while before she would trust him again, but at least she was still speaking to him. The biggest problem that was still looming over him was Ruben. What was he going to do about him? And how could he possibly protect Wisteria when she refused to remember who she was?
* * *
Elle was walking down the hall toward the stage when she bumped into someone. She’d been looking down at the floor and not paying attention to where she was going because she was mentally going over the chord changes for tonight’s performance.
“I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, moving to get past.
“What’s your hurry?”
She looked up and saw Huntsden, towering over her. She scowled. “Excuse me, I have to be somewhere.”
Before she could get past, he stopped her. “Like I said, what’s your hurry?”
Her heart started to pound. What was it about this guy that unnerved her so? Maybe it was because his cold eyes were roving over her like she was dinner.
“Get out of my way,” she ordered through clenched teeth.
He stepped closer to her, and a peculiar light settled into his eyes. “What’s wrong, Elle, are you afraid?” He reached out and touched a strand of her hair.
She jerked away from him, a feeling of dread knotting her stomach.
“Hey, blondie, what gives?”
Relief surged through her as she turned to see Jack walking up. She’d never been so happy to see someone in her life. He paused beside of Elle and got a look at her face. “Are you okay?”
She gave him a weak smile. “Yeah.”
He glared at Huntsden. “What’s going on here? Are you bothering her?”
“No, not bothering her … just saying hello.”
“You stay away from me,” she warned.
He nodded.
“Jerk!” Elle muttered as he walked past them. “Thanks, Jack, you saved me from that creep.”
Jack laughed. “Anytime, Elle, anytime.” Then he grew serious. “Has he been harassing you?”
Elle shrugged. “A little, but nothing I haven’t been able to handle.”
* * *
Thankfully, the band performance went off without a glitch, and everyone seemed to love them. Elle had managed to change chords smoothly, and Rae sang like an angel. Rush was still pointedly ignoring her, and she was just working up the courage to go and talk to him when Edward approached.
He gave her a tentative smile. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Great job!”
“Thanks.” As she was putting her guitar in the case, she caught a glimpse of Rush out of the corner of her eye and could tell that he wasn’t happy that Edward had come up on the stage. It hit her then that she was going to have to find a diplomatic way to break things off with Edward.
“Hey, can we go out in the hall and talk for a minute? There’s something I want to show you.”
She pushed her hair behind her ear and wet her lips. Now was as good of a time as any to end things. Putting i
t off wasn’t going to help matters. She forced a smile. “Sure.” She looked over at Rae. “Hey, I need to talk to Edward for a minute, would you mind loading up my stuff?”
Rae made a face. “Of course, you go right ahead. I’m at your service. I’ve got nothing better to do than to load up all of the instruments.”
“Thanks, Rae.” She offered an appreciative smile. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
“Yeah, yeah. All right. Go ahead.”
“You’re the best.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s what they tell me.”
“What who tells you?” Jack piped in.
“Shut your trap and help load up these instruments,” Rae ordered, giving Jack a death glare.
Elle and Edward stepped out into the hall. “I know that things between us have been a little tense lately,” Edward began.
“Yeah, I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
He began rubbing her arm. This couldn’t continue. She had to tell him how she felt. She had to break up with him once and for all. She licked her lips. “Edward, you’re a great guy, but things aren’t working out.”
His jaw dropped. “What?”
She noticed that he’d stopped rubbing her arm. His hand fell down by his side. “Ever since the accident, I’ve tried to be the girl that I was—the girl that you fell in love with.” Her eyes grew moist. “But the truth is that I can’t pretend anymore.”
“Elle, I can’t even begin to imagine what you have been going through with the memory loss. But I have to believe that a part of you still loves me.”
She reached for his hand. “A part of me will always care about you, Edward, but not in the same way you care about me.”
“I was afraid you would say something like this.”
“You were?”
“Yeah.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved a folded letter. He began opening it. “I want you to read this.”
“But Edward, I don’t see how reading some piece of paper can make any difference in how I feel.”
“Just read it,” he urged, pressing it into her hands.
“Okay, I’ll read it, but I still—”
“Read it now.”
“What?” She looked around the empty hallway. “Right now? With you standing here watching me?”
He gave her a small smile. “Yes, Elle, now. If you read it and don’t feel anything, then I’ll walk away … no hard feelings.”
She searched his face. “Really?”
“Really.”
He was a handsome guy with his even features and golden eyes. She could understand how she’d fallen for him once. She looked down at the paper and began reading silently. Then she paused and jerked her head up at him. “This letter is from me. I wrote you this letter.”
“Yes.”
She continued reading. Tears sprang to her eyes. She’d poured out her heart to him in a very personal way. It was obvious that she’d loved him. From the looks of this letter, she’d loved him with an all-consuming love—the same way she loved Rush. “I don’t understand,” she said, her voice shaky.
“What’s there to understand? You love me. You just don’t remember it.”
She was at a loss for words. She looked up at him. “I don’t know what to say.”
He took the letter from her, folded it, and returned it to his pocket. Before she could react, he gathered her in his arms. Tears were spilling down her cheeks. “I’m such a mess,” she sniffed.
“A wonderful, adorable mess.” He looked into her eyes. “Please tell me you remember this.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a tender kiss.
“Well, that’s just great!”
Elle jumped back from Edward, a wild look in her eyes. “Rush! This isn’t what it looks like.”
“What do you mean it’s not what it looks like?” Edward said. “Of course it’s what it looks like. You don’t owe this guy an explanation.”
Rush gave her a scathing look. “You and I are through!”
Edward stepped forward. “What do you mean through? You and Elle never had anything to begin with. You’ve been taking advantage of her memory loss and confusing things.”
“Really? Is that what I’ve been doing?” He let out a sarcastic laugh. “Because from where I stand, it seems that I’m the one that’s being taken advantage of!” He glared at Elle. “I told you, I won’t be a stand-in for him any longer!”
A look of fury twisted over Edward’s features. “A stand-in? Let’s settle this thing once and for all.” He clenched his fists.
“Bring it on!” Rush countered, getting in his face.
“Stop it!” Elle cried. “Stop it right now! You’re both morons!” She shook her head and ran off.
Edward turned to Rush. “See what you did?”
“What I did? You’re the one that can’t see past the end of his nose. Elle doesn’t love you, man. The sooner you realize it, the better. If she loved you, she never would’ve come looking for me!”
A deep blush came over Edward’s face, and he drew back his fist to strike. Rush also drew back his fist, but when they swung, it was like they were hitting an invisible barrier that was in between them.
Rush cursed and drew back to strike again, but he couldn’t.
They both stepped back, breathing hard. Edward was the first to speak. “What was that?”
“You tell me!” Rush rubbed his fist.
“What kind of a weirdo are you?”
“No man, it’s all you. You’re the weirdo. I had nothing to do with whatever that was.”
They began backing away from each other.
“You stay away from Elle,” Edward warned.
“You can have her,” Rush said bitterly. “I’ve had enough of her to last me a lifetime.”
* * *
Huntsden backed into a classroom as Edward went by, so that he wouldn’t be seen. He’d known that the only way he could get to Edward and Rush was through Elle, but he hadn’t counted on the fight that had almost taken place between them. Interesting. He would have to ask his dad about that. It was as if there was some invisible obstacle that kept Edward and Rush from punching each other.
Obstacle or no obstacle, it would all come to a head tonight, and this little event would play into his plan perfectly. He would use the thing they loved the most to lure them into his trap, and then he would destroy them all.
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Glass Slipper
A hush fell over the ballroom as Cinderella came down the stairs. The music halted, and all eyes turned to see the glorious maiden in silver, gliding toward them. When she reached the bottom of the steps, Prince Edward stepped up to her and took her hand. “Thou art an angel,” he murmured into her ear.
“Thank you.”
The music began again, and couples resumed their dance. Edward led her across the floor to where his mother and father were standing. Queen Loreena turned. Her jaw dropped slightly when she saw Cinderella. She looked her over from head to toe. “That dress. ‘Tis unique. Where did you get it?”
“A friend gave it to me, Your Highness.”
“Well, thou art certainly beautiful. Now I see why Edward found you so hard to resist.”
“Thank you,” Cinderella uttered, even though she could tell from the tone of Loreena’s voice that it wasn’t a compliment.
Seraphina stepped up. She was wearing a green, velvet dress and was fanning herself vigorously. She gave Cinderella a tight embrace. “My lovely daughter. How delightful you look tonight,” she gushed. She looked over her shoulder. “Josselyn, come and congratulate thy sister on her engagement to the Prince.”
As Josselyn stepped forward, a look of shock registered on her face when she saw the gown, and Cinderella knew for sure then that she’d been the one who shredded the gowns.
“How dost thou like my gown, Josselyn?”
Color crept into Josselyn’s face. “‘Tis beautiful,” she muttered.
“Aye, ‘tis fortun
ate it was not destroyed along with my other gowns.”
Seraphina looked concerned. “What happened to thy gowns?”
Cinderella kept her eyes fixed on Josselyn. “‘Twas an unfortunate accident. One which I am certain will never happen again.” She kept staring at Josselyn until she finally nodded and looked away.
Seraphina gave Josselyn a questioning look. “Care to explain?”
“Nay.”
Seraphina looked to Cinderella for an explanation. Cinderella only smiled. “Come, and allow me to introduce thee to the other members of the court.”
Prince Edward caught her hand. “Nay, my Princess, thou must first dance with me.”
“Of course,” Seraphina said, smiling. “Dance and enjoy this happy occasion. There will be plenty of time for me to meet the members of the royal court.”
And so they danced. Edward held her in his arms, and they danced around the floor as if they were the only two there. Edward’s touch was gentle, yet protective. He looked at her with such adoration that her heart softened. Perhaps life with him would not be so terrible after all. She felt her mood lighten, and before long, she discovered that she was actually enjoying herself.
Shortly before the ringing of the midnight bell, the King motioned for the music to halt. He bade Edward and Cinderella to come forward. “Ladies and Gents of the Royal Court, it gives me great pleasure to announce the engagement of my son, Prince Edward to the maiden Cinderella. May they long live in joy and happiness.”
Banished: Book 1 of The Grimm Laws Page 31
