“Now you understand the consequences of crossing me, you stupid girl. The prince would have never looked at you anyway, because you are too poor and uninteresting,” her stepmother said, smiling viciously. “You stole all the materials from my daughters and that simply isn’t acceptable. I won’t tolerate thievery. Your wedding to Mr. Londis is going to happen whether you like it or not.”
Ida was dressed in a beautiful shiny blue dress. Teresa and Susan were standing behind her laughing at Cindy as the tears poured down her face.
“Yeah, you were never invited to the ball, so I have no idea what you were thinking. You’re just a maid,” Teresa added, tossing her curly red hair behind her, and they all walked away giggling.
Ida slammed her door shut and Cindy threw herself on the bed, sobbing even harder. She couldn’t believe that her stepmother could be so cruel—ruining her dress to make sure Cindy couldn’t go to the ball. What had she ever done to deserve such cruelty?
Cindy wasn’t ready to marry a man she didn’t love, just because her stepmother wanted to get rid of her. And she knew Londis would have her working twice as hard and just as long as she did there.
Cindy cried and cried until she had no more tears left. Eventually she got up and went to the window. She saw a bright, radiant light emanating from the castle in the distance and imagined herself dancing at the ball with Charles.
She wiped her nose and tried to calm down, thinking rationally about everything that had happened. Her thoughts started racing away and the tiny voice in her head told her that she couldn’t give up just yet. Cindy wasn’t ready to sit in her room and sulk all night while her stepsisters were dancing and having a good time. She had been dreaming about this kind of opportunity for far too long.
Minutes later, she got up, put the torn dress back into the wardrobe, and washed her face. After everything that she’d been through she wasn’t going to let Ida win or get away with selling her like she was a piece of chattel.
Cindy threw her coat on and went downstairs, feeling a little better. She located her invitation to the ball, hidden in her stepmother’s wardrobe. She pressed it to her heart and felt a bit braver. Then she went to the door and took a few deep breaths staring out into the darkness. Her heart started pounding in her chest. She remembered the moment when the coachman brought news about her father’s death. It was the middle of the night and she had just woken up from a real nightmare. When her stepmother broke the news, she was paralysed. Cindy couldn’t believe that her father wasn’t coming back. Since that night every time she tried to leave the house, her anxiety gripped her tightly. She felt suffocated and couldn’t breathe.
Tonight her pulse spiked as soon as she took a step outside the house and her breathing became laboured. For several moments, she tried to pull herself together, but it wasn’t easy. After about half an hour of mental anguish, she managed to get to the gate. She felt her heart jackhammering in her chest as old fears wrenched her stomach. The world around her began spinning like a merry-go-round, but she told herself that she could do this—she had to. If she wanted to go to the ball she had to keep going.
“Charles is waiting for you in his house,” she told herself. “Knowing Red, she went to the ball with someone else. It’s only a ten-minute walk from here.” But fear rose in the pit of her stomach, paralysing her further. The forest was dangerous, filled with wild animals, but Cindy had to keep walking. No one ever told her that this was going to be easy—she had to face her fears.
Small beads of sweat were dripping down her face. She had no idea how long she’d been walking, but she was taking one step at the time. When she looked up she saw dark clouds appearing in the sky and she felt that it might rain soon. It was getting colder, the temperature dropping down at an alarming rate. Charles’s home wasn’t too much further and she already knew what she was going to tell him.
Then she heard something in the bushes and fear rooted her to the spot. Seconds started to drag by and Cindy couldn’t move. A trickle of fear moved through her veins.
She shut her eyes and waited for the beast or a monster to attack. Just another reason why she hated going out in the night.
Five or ten minutes later she realised that she was still breathing—there was no monster. Her vision went slightly blurry, so she thought about happy times, mainly when her father was still alive, and managed to take a few more steps.
About half an hour later, she found herself outside the forest ranger’s home. There was a light shining in the windows and Cindy thought that she had been saved at last. She wanted to cry, knowing she had made huge progress tonight overcoming her fear of the dark, walking in the forest alone.
She was just about to leave her hiding place and knock on his door when she saw Charles. And he wasn’t alone. Red Riding Hood was with him and she looked absolutely beautiful, wearing a purple shiny dress with tiny diamonds scattered around the full length of the skirt. Charles was staring at her like he was in love, and something inside Cindy’s chest cracked. Her heart burst and she felt a little dizzy. She couldn’t believe that Charles hooked up with Pamela again. It wasn’t fair, especially not after what he had been telling her. They had met countless times and she was ready to give him his virtue.
Cindy might have an invitation, but she knew she looked like a maid, not a future princess. There was no way she could show up at the ball wearing her old dress. Charles wore a sharp military-style jacket and brown leather pants, and he looked really handsome.
Cindy watched how Charles smiled at Red Riding Hood, helping her to their carriage. They laughed at one another and held on to each other intimately. Moments later, the horses pulled the carriage away, leaving Cindy completely alone in the darkness.
She burst into tears and threw her invitation to the ball on the ground, knowing that she had to get back home. She had no idea what she was thinking. She couldn’t walk into the castle looking like a servant. Hot tears were streaming down her face and bitter disappointment filled her heart. Cindy had never been so miserable in her entire life. It looked like her dream was never going to be fulfilled. Not after Charles shattered her heart to a billion different pieces.
Chapter Four
Cindy was really worried. She was lost in the deep, dark forest, unable to find her way back to the house. Meanwhile, her stepmother and stepsisters were on their way to the ball. Cindy was trying to find a silver lining in the whole situation. She thought that being lost in the dark wasn’t the worst thing that ever happened to her. No, that would come in a few weeks when she would be marrying a man she didn’t love and she would be stuck with him for the rest of her life. Ida was selling her off like a cheap product she owned, and she hated it. Cindy was owned by no one—least of all her stepmother.
After taking a few deep breaths, she forced herself to continue walking. A chill in the air ruffled her hair and she swallowed hard, trying to overcome the absurd fear of darkness surrounding her. Several steps later, she tripped over something. Cindy went down, rolled on the ground, and ended up in spiky bushes. For a split second, her head was spinning, then she was certain she heard someone nearby.
“Auuu, my fucking head. I’m going to kill Eliza for that tequila.”
In any other circumstance she would have laughed, but she was still pretty freaked out. She managed to get up off the ground and slowly find her way out of the bushes. It was pitch black, but a few meters away from her, she saw a woman on the ground, who was trying to lift herself up but seemed to struggle a bit.
“Who are you?” Cindy asked, a little baffled but willing to keep an open mind. The woman finally sat up and pushed a mass of her curly red hair out of her eyes. Cindy thought that she was dressed a bit too provocatively, considering it was freezing cold outside. She was wearing a very low cut, corset-type dress, her boobs were practically popping out, and she had very intense makeup on.
The woman noticed her after a long moment. She rubbed her eyes and then burped loudly.
“Where the hell
am I?” she asked Cindy, then lifted a bottle of tequila and took a generous gulp. She pressed her eyes together, and Cindy realised that the alcohol most likely burned her throat. She shuddered with revulsion, remembering her father drinking it too, but only in small amounts.
“Wow, this shit is strong,” the woman muttered to herself, still ignoring Cindy.
“Don’t mind me, I’m just going to be on my way. No one cares if a wild animal eats me alive out here,” Cindy said as she got up and tried to take another step, but found that she couldn’t.
More tears streamed down her cheeks, and she felt frustrated with herself and her inability to even find the way home.
“Hey, where are you going and why the hell are you sobbing like a little child?” the woman asked Cindy, finally realising that she wasn’t alone. “Help me up, will you? My dress is so heavy.”
Cindy was planning to ignore her, but she thought better of it. She took a deep breath, walked back to the stranger, and helped her to stand back up.
“Thank you, pretty girl. My name is Martha,” the woman said, giving her a bright smile as she lifted her boobs up. Cindy liked Martha’s long dress and the silly gloves that she wore. What she didn’t like was the odour of alcohol that wafted from her—it was toxic. “What has you so upset that you’re in the forest alone, sobbing like that?”
“The darkness always scares me to the point of unbridled fear, but I forced myself to go out tonight. I walked all the way to the forest ranger’s home, hoping that he would take me to the ball at the castle,” Cindy explained, telling herself to get it together. She wasn’t alone anymore, so there was no point freaking out.
“The ball…fuck, my head is killing me. I shouldn’t have trusted that stupid locksmith. I knew he would run away without paying me first. What a moron,” Martha said, trying to smooth her red hair. “The ball? What ball are you talking about?”
Cindy frowned, wondering where the hell Martha had been in the past two weeks. Everyone in the Farrington Kingdom was aware that King Caspian was throwing a ball for his son. People at the market and on the street hadn’t talked about anything else. Posters were everywhere, and Cindy wondered if maybe Martha had travelled from another kingdom tonight.
“King Caspian organised a ball in order to find a suitable wife for his son, Eric. I had an inv…”
Cindy didn’t finish what she meant to say. She went down on her knees to find the invitation that she threw away earlier. Luckily, it was by the tree, but it was so dark when she handed it to Martha, she could barely read what was written on it.
“Oh yeah, that stupid thing. And that’s why you’re crying, because some loser took another girl to the ball?” Martha asked, and took another sip of her drink, then closed her eyes really hard and burped again. Cindy nodded her head. She felt a bit silly when Martha put it that way.
“I live with my stepmother and stepsisters. My father was a very rich…”
She didn’t really want to tell Martha what had been going on with her lately, but once she started talking the words started pouring out of her. She talked about her father’s passing, then about her stepmother, her dreams, and ended her story when she tripped over Martha’s foot. Cindy had no idea if Martha was even interested in her life, but she kept talking, feeling better about herself by the minute. At least she didn’t have to bury all those feelings inside any longer. It felt good to finally tell someone.
Once she was done, she realised that she wasn’t scared or even sad anymore. For some reason she was ready to head home on her own.
“What’s your name?” Martha asked after a moment of silence.
“Cindy.”
“Well, Cindy, I tell you what, you sound like a nice and reasonable young woman. That stepmother of yours is an arsehole and those stepsisters…well, they are just whores. Plain and simple. I worked in the local brothel, so I’m not exactly a shining example of someone who knows what she’s talking about, but come with me. My mother was real fairy and I do have magic running through my veins. Maybe we can figure something out together. But first things first, I need to find a cure for this awful hangover,” Martha explained and drank a bit more of what Cindy guessed was most likely tequila.
Cindy had no idea what to think or do, but she knew for sure that she didn’t want to just give up and return to her house. It was probably late and the ball had already started, but she could still go. She realised Martha was a hooker, but Cindy didn’t care—she wanted to meet the prince.
“Go where? I don’t understand any of it, besides I have nothing to wear. Look at me,” she said, ready to burst into tears again. Martha laughed, and her huge boobs bounced up and down. Cindy didn’t think it was funny at all. Her misery was her own doing.
“Come on, I’ll sort you out; my magic is whispering that I should help you,” Martha stated, grabbed Cindy by her elbow, and started dragging her across the forest, far away from the forest ranger’s home. Cindy was apprehensive, knowing that she needed transportation to the ball as well. The disappointment of seeing Charles with Red was still drilling holes in her gut, but Cindy couldn’t just give up like that.
Cindy thought that her father would turn in his grave if he saw her like this, lost and miserable. “I can’t believe that your stepmother would want to marry you off to some toothless, fat loser. She’s a right bitch, but I have no idea why you keep letting her treat you like a slave. You should’ve stood up to her a long time ago.”
Cindy didn’t answer, but she knew that Martha was right. Ida was living in her house, eating her food, and spending her father’s money. She knew that her father put some sort of clause in the will that allowed Ida to manage the estate, but Cindy had never actually been allowed to see the paperwork. She was thirteen when her father passed away and trusted her stepmother. Ida used the time when Cindy was lost in her grief to take full control of everything.
They kept going through the forest and now and again Martha would take sips from her bottle, telling Cindy to hurry up.
When they found their way back to the road, Cindy noticed that her heart wasn’t pounding in her chest anymore. She was much calmer now, and able to walk just fine. Maybe it was because she was with Martha, she had no idea, but at that point she was glad her fears had dissipated. As they walked, Cindy found out that Martha was one of seven children to a peasant couple who lived in another kingdom. Her family was poor and Martha decided to leave their farm as soon as she was old enough to work. Later on, Martha learned that the peasant couple weren’t her real parents at all. She was a changeling, the child of a fairy that had been left in place of a human child. Apparently, she found out about her parentage years later when her magical abilities started to manifest and get her into a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, she never found her real parents. Cindy thought that it was a bizarre story, but she decided not to voice her opinion. She didn’t really believe in magic, but her father had told her that there were many other creatures on earth besides humans. Martha wanted to help her and she didn’t want to offend her in any way, so she just went with it.
“Well, I had to earn a living somehow. The brothel in town was the only place that didn’t stink and paid more than any job that I could’ve ever done, so here I am.” She ended her story with a smile.
Cindy nodded with understanding and wasn’t ready to judge her. She had enough on her plate as it was to worry about the fact that people in town might see her walking around with a hooker.
“I always wanted to fall in love, find a prince, and I’ve been planning my wedding ever since I was a little girl,” Cindy explained as they finally reached town. The roads were empty and Cindy realised that it was most likely very late.
Martha snorted with laughter and patted Cindy on her back.
“A prince? Seriously, love, you need to get back to the real world. No one ever gets a prince. Just focus on getting a hot guy who has money and the rest will come,” she said, shaking her head “All right, we’re here. The girls will be so excited to
meet you. I bet they’re bored as hell because all the men are at the ball, accompanying the women from town.”
Cindy smiled and told herself not to get her hopes up, because Martha couldn’t really help her do anything. It was too late for her to get to the ball, and she still didn’t have anything to wear.
They stopped in front of a wonky red building and walked inside. There was a small bar downstairs and at least five ladies were behind it, looking bored. They were all dressed in provocative dresses, and one of them was wearing only her underwear, almost falling asleep on the table. The strong smell of perfume wafted through the air, mixed with alcohol. Cindy could hardly believe she was actually in a brothel.
“Ladies, Martha’s back and I have a job for y’all. This is Cindy and she needs our help to look fabulous this evening, so all of you move your sexy arses and take her upstairs. Cindy’s going to the ball and planning to seduce the prince, so we need to make sure that he won’t be able to take his eyes off her,” Martha shouted, whistling loudly, and Cindy felt a little embarrassed. She wasn’t planning to actually dance with the prince tonight. She was hoping to attend the ball with Charles.
All the girls jumped off their seats and started dragging Cindy upstairs, each of them talking at the same time. A few of them told Cindy that she had a great figure and a lot of men would go crazy over her huge boobs. She was trying to listen to all of them at the same time, but instead she just nodded, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Before she could even explain what she wanted, the girls started pulling out beautiful dresses and removing her clothes. Cindy found herself in a large open room filled with colourful furnishings, cushions made up of various colours, small puffy chairs, and a table filled with all sorts of bottles. She was trying to protest, but in a matter of minutes she was standing in the middle of the room in only her underwear, while Giselle, one of the long-legged blondes started asking her which one of the five dresses she liked the most.
Vampire King: Cinderella Page 4
