The girls came back with a dress bag on a hanger. I watched as they unzipped and pulled it carefully out of the bag. The top half was a jeweled bodice with a thousand diamonds clustered around the prettiest purple stones. The bodice tapered off in a V shape at the back to a long flowing skirt. The second girl presented me with a pair of matching shoes. They were simply the most stunning shoes I’d ever seen with heels that defied gravity.
“You let him order this?” I asked, thinking of the cost. The shoes alone must have been worth thousands.
“He paid for it himself.”
“He paid for this?”
Xavi smiled. “If you look closely, they aren’t real diamonds. It cost a pretty penny, but nowhere near what you are thinking. Now normally, I wouldn’t let you be seen dead in fake diamonds, but it is a pretty dress, and the poor boy was so insistent. I must insist that you wear these real diamond earrings to make up for it.”
She handed me a pair of pear drop diamond earrings. Alezis swept my hair back from my face so the diamonds would show and the make-up girls did wonders with my face. I looked so much more sultry than I had ever done before with the deep purple eyeshadow they’d picked. As I twirled around in front of the mirror, I felt more than a little naughty. If anyone saw me, they couldn’t say I wasn’t dressed in a proper fashion. The dress reached down to the floor after all, but there was something decadent and sexy about it. The fact that it was the color of the Magi didn’t get past me either. Xavi handed me a long purple cloak with a hood. “He said you might want to wear this too.”
I looked down at my watch and realized it was half past six already. I kissed Xavi and thanked the others before taking off awkwardly down the palace corridor.
At the bottom of the stairs was Luca. I suspected he’d been waiting for me for a while, desperate to know what I had in mind for my date with Cynder. His eyes nearly popped out of his head as he took in my sultry makeup. Thank goodness, I’d already put on the cloak, and he couldn’t see what was underneath. The crystals on the bodice part of the dress were sewn onto see-through material, and it was only the delicate positioning of the crystals that hid everything. This was not a dress you could wear a bra underneath.
“You look nice,” He managed to get out. I felt bad for him. I made a mental note to dress up for my date with him next week.
“I’m having dinner out. I’ll be back before midnight, I promise.” I kissed him on the cheek, leaving a perfect print of my lips in the dark shade.
He looked like he was about to say something but then a voice behind me startled the both of us.
It was Daniel. Inexplicably, he was carrying a pumpkin and a cage of mice.
“Could you come and help me with something please, Charmaine?”
I turned to Luca and shrugged. Giving him another kiss, I followed Daniel out of the main entrance to the corridor that would lead us to the back part of the palace.
“Be home by midnight!” I heard Luca call as the door shut behind us.
“What’s going on?” I asked as the pumpkin was thrust into my hands. “It’s not Halloween yet,” I pointed out.
“You’ll see,” said Daniel, taking me to the back door. This was the entrance the staff used to come in and out of the palace.
I glanced down at my watch again. It was a quarter to seven. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I’d like to help you, but it’s going to have to wait. I’m going out with Cynder, and I’m going to be late.”
“Could you put that pumpkin down just there at the bottom of the stairs?”
I looked down to where he was pointing. The long gravel driveway stretched right down to the bottom of the garden to the back entrance. The same entrance I’d sneaked out of so many times last year. I walked slowly down the steps, careful not to trip over my dress in my heels and put the pumpkin down.
Raising my eyebrow, I turned to Daniel.
“This ok?”
“Perfect!” He opened the cage and let the mice run free.
I was going to be late, but something about what he was doing fascinated me so much that I decided to hang around for a couple of more minutes to see what it was.
He pulled out a wand and pointed it at the mice. In a flash, they started to grow. The pumpkin, caught in the blast, did the same. Within a minute, in front of me stood a gleaming white carriage and six white horses. Daniel waved his wand again, and the horses became tethered to the carriage. Daniel held out his hand to help me up the step.
“This is for me?” I asked, astonished. Cynder had told me that Daniel was a Mage, but until now, he’d kept his powers to himself. It was strange to see him using them, especially in such a way.
“Milady, your carriage awaits.”
I grinned at his formality.
He helped me into the carriage, which had orange upholstery and smelled faintly of pumpkin. It clashed horribly with my purple dress, but anything was better than trying to navigate the gravel path in the shoes I was wearing. A slight movement of the carriage told me that Daniel had boarded the carriage at the front, and a moment later we were off. I marveled at the clippety-clop sound coming from the hooves of the horses or mice or whatever they were. Daniel had done an amazing job. There was no doubt in my mind that Cynder had put him up to this. Cynder had been planning this date ever since he got here, nearly a week before. He must have in order to have ordered the dress in time. Why was he doing this for me when he had a wife back home wherever that was?
The journey was a short one, leaving me little time to wonder where his wife was now. As far as I was aware, she wasn’t working at the Castle in Thalia. Maybe they had separated long ago which would explain why I’d never seen or heard of her. It didn’t explain why he’d not told me about her, though.
I couldn’t decide whether I was more sad or angry with Cynder, or whether I was mistaking either of those emotions for excitement. I hated myself for thinking it, but I was excited about our date, even though I knew it was going to end almost as soon as it had begun.
I’d only just popped my head out of the carriage’s window to tell the guards to let us pass when we were practically there. The door opened, and Daniel stood there to help me to the ground.
I took a few moments to look at the restaurant on the ground floor. I’d not really paid attention to it before now, but after hearing Cynder’s story about his parents, I couldn’t help but think back to how it must have been all those years ago. Of course, there was no hint of the fire that had once gutted it entirely. The current owners had done an excellent job of having it completely refurbished. I watched a couple in the window make a toast. They looked so happy and at ease. I envied them for a second, before realizing that for the first time, I’d be heading up to Cynder’s apartment without having to keep an eye out for police. The last time, I had sneaked out of the palace, and Cynder was a criminal on the run. How things had changed.
The steps that led to the apartments above the restaurant were covered in purple petals.
“Follow them!” urged Daniel. “I’ll be here to take you home. What time do you plan on leaving?”
I remembered what I’d promised Luca.
“I’ll be back down at ten to midnight,” I said, wondering if it was true. I should have questioned Cynder about his wife before now, but I’d not expected him to go so overboard for our date. If the date finished early which I suspected it would, I could easily walk home. I turned and followed the petals right into the building.
I already knew where I was going, but it was so wonderful to follow the purple blanket of violets, delphiniums and hundreds of other different types of flower. I wondered if he’d bought them or got them here by magic. The scent of lavender filled the air as I walked up the stairs. When I came to the top floor, the carpet of flowers stopped. Not at the doorway to the apartment, but at the window.
Ignoring it, I knocked on Cynder’s door, and when he didn’t answer, I tried to open it.
“I think you’ll find it’s locked!”
I turned, expecting to find Cynder but instead came face to face with his neighbor from downstairs, Mr. Frost. I’d met him last year when he’d gotten me out of a sticky situation.
“Hi, Sam.”
He was dressed smartly, just as Daniel had been. I guessed Cynder had something to do with that too.
“Your Highness,” He bowed deeply. I ignored the royal protocol and hugged him, taking him by surprise.
“I’m here to escort you out of the window,” Sam blustered, obviously embarrassed by my over-exuberance.
“The window?” I ran to it and opened it. In the distance, I could see the lights of the palace. I wondered if Luca was watching me right now. It was too far to see clearly without a telescope so I couldn’t be sure.
“The fire escape Your Highness.”
I looked down and saw that there was indeed, a small platform on which to stand. Metal stairs led both upwards and downwards. I climbed out, trying in vain not to get my dress snagged on anything and waited for Sam. The cool air was much keener at this height, so I pulled my cloak tighter. When I was sure Sam was fully out, I began to head down the steps, unsure of exactly where I was going.
“Not that way.”
I looked at Sam. He was pointing up. Turning around. I headed up the stairs, my shoes clanging on every step.
At the top, I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. A thousand fireflies lit up the roof which was covered in so many purple petals that I could barely see the floor of it. A string quartet played a slow melody, and there, next to a table set for two, was Cynder.
The Date with Cynder
Sam whispered goodbye and made his silent retreat, leaving us alone except for the musicians.
Cynder was dressed in an exceptionally smart suit which fitted him much better than the one he’d borrowed from Leo the week before. He saw my hesitation and walked over to me, taking my hand.
“I hope this is ok for you.”
The way he was looking at me, I could see that he really wanted me to be happy with the surprise. In any other situation, I would have been blown away. It was so romantic, but I was still seething inside. How could he do something so amazing for one woman when he was married to another?
“Did you do this for your wife too?”
I folded my arms and glared. No amount of flowers and music would make up for the biggest lie he’d been hiding from me.
He took on an expression of confusion which surprised me. Surely he wasn’t going to deny it.
“What are you talking about? I don’t have a wife.”
“Please, Cynder. I know about her.” I pulled out the photo Leo had given me from a small clutch bag and handed it to him. He took it and began to laugh. It was not the reaction I expected.
“Why is this funny?” I demanded. The musicians began to falter as they watched the scene unfold in front of them.
“I don’t know where you got your information, but I’m not married, and I’m certainly not married to Drusilla and Deirdre. They are my sisters.”
“You never mentioned sisters,” I replied unconvinced, pulling the photo back from him. They looked nothing like him. Like each other, sure, but they had nothing of the beauty Cynder possessed. There was no family resemblance at all.
“When my parents died, I told you, I ended up with a number of families. One of them was a countess called Anastasia Bloom. She asked that I call her stepmother. These two were my stepsisters although, they weren’t really. They were her two daughters. They treated me like garbage, making me do all the work while they spent their time gossiping about princes and spending all their money on ridiculous fashions.”
I didn’t stay long, but the short time I did, I was forced to take on their surname.
“Cynder Bloom?”
“Don’t remind me! I changed it back to York as soon as I left. Is that why you thought I was married to them? I’m only about fourteen in this picture.”
“Not both of them,” I said, feeling a mixture of relief and stupidity. I should have figured it out. I took the photo back and studied it. He did look young in it.
I needed to speak to Leo and tell him to stop snooping on Cynder. I could actually do with introducing them all properly. Cynder had met my family, but apart from the odd mealtime, he’d not spent much time in the palace.
“Is that why you’ve been ignoring me all week? I thought I’d done something wrong.” He took my hand, and the ice in my heart melted. “Do you like all this? I wasn’t sure what to do for you.”
I looked around. The musicians picked their instruments back up now that the drama was over and began to play again.
“Ok? It’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen. You went to so much trouble.”
“Most of it is magic,” he admitted, before guiding me to one of the seats.
He took the seat opposite and almost immediately, out of thin air, a waiter came and placed a plate in front of me. He served Cynder next, who thanked him. When I looked around, he’d completely gone again.
“Was he magic too?” I whispered, not wanting to cause offense.
“He’s a dog. The musicians are rats, and if Daniel brought you here, you already know that the horses were mice.”
I gazed at the musicians. The four of them played beautifully and looked so smart in their finery. If it weren’t for all of them having whiskers, I’d never have known, they weren’t always human.
I stifled a giggle at the thought of it.
“Don’t laugh, it’s complicated magic!” but Cynder grinned too. “It’s taken me ages to train Fido to bring the food up rather than eat it.”
I burst out laughing, unable to control myself.
It diffused what I’d feared would be a difficult situation.
“It is really good!” I replied, taking a bite out of the starter. It was some kind of fish dish, quite unlike anything I’d ever tasted before. “You made this yourself, didn’t you?”
“It’s the Queen of Thalia’s favorite. She lets me make it for her,” admitted Cynder.
With everything that had been going on, I’d not thought much about Luca’s parents. They’d lost a member of their staff because of me, and now I was out on a date with him instead of their son. I made a note to write to them the next day apologizing. They would have seen that it was Luca’s idea to bring Cynder here, but that didn’t stop me from feeling guilty about it.
When the first course was finished, we waited for Fido. The silence between us was palpable. Neither of us had said a word to each other throughout the whole course. As I was eating, I could pass this off as enjoying my meal too much to talk, but now that we had finished, the quietness stretched on too long. It had been so easy when I could hate him for lying to me about having a wife. Sure, I’d been upset, but it meant I could marry Luca without anything getting in my way. The fact that Cynder hadn’t kept this hidden from me made things messy again. Messy, because I still wasn’t sure that Luca was the man I wanted to marry. It wasn’t helping that Cynder had organized the most romantic night I’d ever had in my life. I fished around in my brain for something to say.
“Why did you come back Cynder?” I asked. “You know I’m marrying Luca and you know that this whole charade is only for the media. Why put yourself through it?”
“I came back because I needed to. I knew I could help here a lot more than making food in the kitchens of Thalia. I’ve been waiting a long time for the chance to turn things around. Thank you.”
“What for?” I asked.
“For giving me the opportunity.”
I nodded, grateful that he could not see what I was thinking. I’d wanted him to give me an answer like that. It made everything less awkward, but now that he had, my heart ached. The truth was, I’d wanted just a small part of him to come back to see me. No matter how complicated it made everything. I shouldn’t have wanted it, but right then, I knew I did.
‘It’s better this way!’ I thought to myself as Fido took away our plates and replaced them with clean
ones. A huge silver bowl was brought and laid between us, smelling delicious. Fido ladled the stew or whatever it was into my bowl. It was a spicy concoction with a creamy texture and quite unlike anything I’d tasted before.
Watching Cynder as he dipped a chunk of bread into the stew, I followed suit. It made me smile. There was no way he’d have gotten away with it at the palace. Jenny would have admonished him for not using the right cutlery. For some reason, it made the meal even more delicious.
After we’d finished, Cynder rose and took my hand.
“Let’s dance.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry.” It was clear that dancing was the reason he’d brought me up here in the first place. The whole of the rooftop was covered in petals, and I’d never seen a more romantic dance floor in my life, but that was the problem. If I danced with him, if we even spoke too much, or about the wrong things, I knew my heart wouldn’t be able to take it. I had to be strong. It wasn’t fair to Luca otherwise.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m scared. I’m scared that I’ll forget who I am or you will. I’m scared that I’ll do something to hurt Luca. I’m scared that if we start, I won’t ever want to stop.”
Cynder smiled down at me. “I’m not going to hurt you, Charm.”
“Just being here with you hurts. Don’t you know that? Why do you think I’ve avoided you this week? Because I fell in love with you a long time ago, and I don’t know how to turn that off. I didn’t want you to come back because I needed to get over you. When I thought you were married, it made things easier, but now…” I paused, unsure how to carry on. “How am I supposed to get over you when we have to go on dates like this? You have made this date the most perfect date I’ve ever been on. I may be a queen and used to such wonderful things, but you’ve still managed to make it more special than anything I could have imagined. I was just going to take you to the bowling alley in the palace. I never in my wildest dreams expected you’d do this for me. I love it, and I hate it all at the same time because as much as I want this date to be real, it can’t be. You and I can never be together. You know that, and yet you still went to all this trouble for me. The dress, the food, the carriage. My plan was to make this the least romantic, most boring date ever.”
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