She and Londis weren’t married yet, so Ida decided that they should still have separate beds. Cindy was glad that she still had some time before she was expected to sleep with Londis.
When the sun set behind the horizon, she was lying in bed, thinking about her steamy encounter with the king. She had no idea how and when, but she had to find a way to see him one last time.
“I think it’s very simple and it will make you look humble, Cinderella, exactly the way a girl like you should look during the wedding,” Ida was saying while Cindy was standing on the stool wearing the ugliest wedding dress that she’d ever seen in her life. The dress was supposed to be white, but it was almost grey and it looked like the dressmaker had pulled it from the garbage bin. It was covered with yellow lace and she could barely breathe in it.
She couldn’t help recalling Martha and how she’d dressed her in the most stunning dress for the ball. They had been running all day long, trying to sort everything out for the wedding. Her stepmother was really determined and she was haggling over every cent.
Cindy didn’t know anyone in Gardland’s Kingdom, and she had no idea who her stepmother invited to the wedding party tomorrow. She expected to see Londis’s family, but everyone that Cindy knew was still in Farrington. She stood, staring at her ugly wedding dress, refusing to break in front of her stepmother. She didn’t want to give Ida another cause for celebration over her small victory.
“Yes, stunning. I bet your fiancé will fall in love with you all over again,” the obese dressmaker said, but Cindy thought she had a fake smile.
“Good. Cindy, take the dress off and let’s pack it all up. We also need to run to the baker and make sure they’re done with the cake,” Ida added sweetly.
Cindy stepped down from the stool and went to the back to change into her normal clothes. The tiny voice in her head reminded her that she still had time, that no one would know if she ran away. She quickly shook her head, took the dress off and looked at herself in the mirror.
Her complexion was sullen, and for some reason she looked ill. She told herself that she had to fight for her dreams. She couldn’t just give up.
“Cindy, hurry up, we haven’t got all day. I want you to run over to the tavern and tell my daughters to meet us at the bakery.” The squeaky voice of her stepmother interrupted her thoughts.
Cindy nodded and dressed quickly, considering all the pros and cons. She had no money on her, but she had to find a way to stop this stupid wedding. She left the dressmaker shop five minutes later and headed towards the north side of the town where her stepsisters were drinking in the tavern. They were most likely flirting with some locals, having the time of their lives, as usual.
Her breathing was laboured as she rushed through town. Cindy knew that this was her last chance to run away. She needed to get back to Farrington Kingdom somehow, to her home before Ida realised that she was gone. She knew where her stepmother kept a stash of money. Cindy could use it to get to the king. Maybe she could find a way to break Ida’s spell and tell him everything. Either way she had to try something. She was done being a doormat.
She saw the local tavern from the distance and stopped by the butcher to catch her breath. Her plan was crazy, she realised that, but she was desperate enough to try anything at that point.
“Have you heard? The King of the Farrington Kingdom is looking for a wife,” said a woman who just left the butcher’s shop. Cindy froze, thinking that they couldn’t have been talking about Caspian. He announced at the ball that he wanted to remarry, but he was only trying to punish her. Cindy didn’t expect him to go through with it.
“Oh my, so have you heard if he found the right woman?” the other girl asked, giggling to herself.
“Don’t know, but I heard that he lined up a few, and he’s meeting others too. I’m shocked that he’s not looking for someone with royal status, but then his own son picked some ugly duckling too,” the older woman added, and they both giggled.
Cindy’s head started spinning, but she should have known that the king wasn’t going to wait for her.
“King Caspian is so damn good looking, and he deserves to be happy. At the same time, I think he shouldn’t rush with such an important decision.”
“Yes, his future wife should have class. His dead wife was loved by his people and she had a heart of gold,” the younger one said.
The women left her, heading towards the square, still engaged in their conversation.
That was the last straw for Cindy. She needed to get away from there, from Londis and her stepmother. She was ready to scream at the top of her lungs that the king had chosen her, and she wanted him too. She glanced around in desperation, but she didn’t know anyone in that stupid town and didn’t want to bring any more attention to herself.
Before she could even think about what she was doing, she turned abruptly around and started running in the opposite direction. She was done taking orders from any member of her so-called “family” and needed to think about her future. Running away was the only option, and in a way she had a bit of an advantage. She knew that Ida would be pissed off that all of her preparations would be ruined, but Cindy didn’t give a flying monkey anymore. This was her life and she was desperate enough to disappear right under Ida’s nose.
By the time she reached the forest it had started raining. Cindy spent all day running after her stepmother and now it was getting dark. Her old fears were spiking her anxiety and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She hadn’t thought about her fears when she made a decision to go back to Farrington. Large bricks of nausea filled her stomach, and she was slowly feeling paralysed, unable to walk through the darkness. This happened the night of the ball, but somehow she’d forced herself to keep going. So she kept walking, not knowing if she was even heading in the right direction.
At some point, she must have reached the road because she heard horses galloping behind her. She was wet, hungry and scared. The coachman must have taken pity on her because he stopped the horses and asked, “Where are you going, girl? Need a ride?”
Cindy no longer cared if it was safe to be picked up by some random stranger, but she couldn’t bear being in the dark any longer. Blood was rushing to her ears, and she just knew that she would be torn apart by some wild animal if she didn’t accept the coachman’s offer.
“Farrington Kingdom,” she mumbled, thinking about Martha and wondering if the hooker would be willing to help her again. The man had a long shaggy beard and kind eyes. Cindy knew better, she shouldn’t really trust him, but at that point there was no way she could turn around and go back to her stepmother.
“Hop in, I’m going that way. There’s a lady and a gentlemen in the carriage. Just sit with them and be quiet,” he said, and Cindy couldn’t believe her luck. Someone opened the door and she sat opposite a high class lady and a gentlemen who looked like he was sleeping. She tried to breathe in, to somehow pull herself together, because now she was away from the darkness. Still, her heart pounded in her chest like she was about to go into cardiac arrest. The carriage started moving and eventually she must have fallen asleep, exhausted.
The next thing she knew someone was shaking her slightly, saying, “We’re in Farrington, girl. I’m heading home to my wife. You can’t stay in the carriage. Do you have somewhere to go?” he asked her. It took her a moment to remember what had happened and where she was.
“Yes, yes. Thank you so much. I’ll be on my way,” she responded, stepping out onto the road. She recognised the building and saw the castle in the distance. Her heart warmed up a bit and her worries slipped away. Her king was there and she needed to see him, but not tonight. She had to get to her home first or find Martha. Either option sounded reasonable enough.
It was really late and Cindy knew that Ida wouldn’t travel back in the middle of the night. Besides, Ida knew about her fear of the darkness and most likely assumed that Cinderella wouldn’t have enough courage to go all the way back to Farrington. That should have boug
ht her some time, and at least she was filled with new hope.
Now she was standing in her kingdom, the place where she was born, and had no idea what to do. Gripping fear paralysed her again, but she was convinced she’d just made the best decision of her life. She was done with her stepmother for good. The moon was shining brightly and Cindy swallowed hard, telling herself that she was home. She didn’t have to be scared anymore, and she just had to conquer the fear dwelling inside of her.
If she really wanted to survive in this world and stop being weak, she needed to move. It was now or never. It was up to her to follow through with her crazy plan. No one could tell her what to do—it was her life and she had to fight for her happiness, even if it felt almost impossible.
Chapter Sixteen
Caspian was filled with optimism and new energy after returning to the castle late last night. He thought that his unexpected encounter in the forest with Red Riding Hood couldn’t have come at a better time.
He accompanied Red back to her cottage and they talked about his beloved Cinderella. The king didn’t want to ask too many questions, he wasn’t ready to reveal his true identity to Red. The more Red talked about Cindy’s arranged marriage, the more he was convinced that she was being used. He sensed that her stepmother didn’t have her best interests at heart. She must have manipulated Cindy into the marriage with the old farmer. The king believed that she was trying to make some sort of business deal with her naive, sweet stepdaughter none the wiser. The funny thing was that Caspian remembered Cindy’s father. Years ago, when his Catherine was still alive, he sold him a very well-made rug.
Red also took him to Cindy’s house, the estate that used to belong to Cindy’s father. The king had another problem. Red was convinced that Cindy was getting married tomorrow, and that only gave him a small window of time in which to act. He wasn’t sure what to do.
The castle was immersed in silence while he was pacing in his chamber. Then he spoke to a few advisors, asked them to spread some rumours around the kingdom that he was going through with his search for a new wife. Caspian needed to track her down, but had a feeling that he was already too late. He clenched his fists, knowing that she couldn’t marry that fool.
In a last resort he was ready to send his troops out in order to find her and bring her back to the castle.
That night he didn’t sleep, as a vampire he didn’t have to anyway. Sometimes he liked pretending that he was still a human, especially when Eric was growing up. At some point he must have drifted off, but his mind was still working overtime.
He was up again around six a.m., walking around the chamber, ready to jump back on his horse and travel to Gardland’s Kingdom that morning in order to find her. His son was getting married in a couple of weeks, and after the king’s announcement, Eric thought that Caspian was moving too fast. The king had been alone for over twenty years and Eric thought that his father was planning to steal his glory.
At seven a.m. his personal butler brought his breakfast in as usual. The king didn’t need to eat, but people needed to believe that he was just like them.
“Is there anything else that you need, my lord?” Rudolf asked, staring at him like he knew the king was concerned about something.
Caspian dragged his hand through his hair, thinking about his answer when someone barged inside his chamber. It was Jeremy, one of the assistants who worked in the kitchen; he couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old. His chest was rising and falling in rapid movements and it looked like he had been running all the way to king’s chamber.
“My lord…my lord. Sorry for intrusion, but Dominic sent me to speak to you. It’s early and I was afraid—”
“It’s all right, just start from the beginning. What’s going on?” Caspian asked, waving to the butler to leave them alone. The boy placed his hands on his thighs and took long pulls of air. People in the castle always respected him. They knew that he was fair and he looked after them well.
Jeremy nodded and king handed him a glass of water. The boy looked like he could do with a drink. After a few minutes he finally started making sense.
“There’s a man in the courtyard with a lady. They’re both demanding to speak to you, my lord. Constant doesn’t want to let them in and keeps telling them that they should come back at more appropriate time, but they are refusing to leave,” Jeremy explained and the king frowned. He wasn’t expecting anyone and wasn’t in the mood to resolve some kind of conflict between two peasants.
“Constant is competent enough to deal with them,” Caspian snapped. He was wasting time this morning, and Cindy was somewhere out there, probably already getting ready for her wedding day.
“He has tried to reason with her, but that woman insists that you know something about this girl who’s gone missing. She isn’t prepared to speak to anyone but you, my lord,” Jeremy explained.
“A girl’s gone missing?” Caspian repeated.
“Yes, the woman insists that you know something about her.”
Caspian shifted in his chair, then got up and headed to the door, forgetting about his breakfast.
“All right, let me speak to them,” he muttered more to himself. He was heading towards the direction of the stables anyway and needed to see what this peasant woman wanted from him.
He didn’t think that this issue had anything to do with Cindy, but it was a possibility. Her stepmother had found out that he spent a night with her. And he sent his advisors around the kingdom several days ago to find her, using the only other item of clothing that he had left—her lace knickers. Jeremy followed behind him.
Ten minutes later, Caspian walked through the main hall and new hope flickered through him. In the distance, he saw Cindy’s stepmother and her future husband. They were arguing with Constant who looked like he was just about to lose his temper. A few other guards gathered around them too.
“What is the meaning of this?” Caspian asked, approaching the group. He remembered Cindy’s stepmother from the ball, and he instantly took a dislike to her.
“My lord, my lord. Please allow us a few minutes with you. My stepdaughter, Cindy, has gone missing,” the woman said, rushing to him. She looked upset, but the king wasn’t sure if she was concerned for her safety or the fact that her carefully prepared plan was suddenly falling apart.
“Yes, it’s our wedding day today and she vanished last night. We were in Gardland’s Kingdom. I don’t understand why, but Ida believes that this stupid girl might have come back to Farrington,” the man named Londis said, shaking his head. None of this made any sense to Caspian. First of all, her stepmother mentioned that Cindy went missing, but their story made him believe that she simply decided to run away. Maybe she realised that she couldn’t live without him, so she came back to Farrington. Either way, the wedding wasn’t happening and he needed to find her.
“It’s all right, Constant. Let’s move to the conference chamber where we won’t be disturbed,” the king said, and then showed Ida and Londis the best place where they could talk.
It looked like Cindy wasn’t going to listen to anyone and he liked that about her. She wasn’t as weak as he thought. Caspian’s expression remained neutral, but in his mind, he was already imagining having her in his arms again. Once they moved to the conference room, Ida started telling him that the whole wedding had been arranged—the venue, the musicians and church. Gardland’s Kingdom was a few hours horse ride away.
“She must have been kidnapped or taken against her will. We were doing the last fittings for her dress and then I sent her away to tell my other daughters to meet us at the bakery, and she vanished,” Ida said, and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks “We thought that maybe you, my lord, might have heard something. You were so fond of her at the ball.”
“Yes, I must ask for your assistance, my lord, as a proud resident of Gardland’s Kingdom. The wedding plans have been put on hold and I have so many relatives who are travelling from all parts of the country to celebrate with us. Cindy
must be found soon,” Londis said, and Caspian was angry, furious that this man was treating his precious Cindy like livestock. It seemed to him that no one asked Cindy if she truly wanted to marry this man.
“I’m afraid that Cindy hasn’t come to see me if that’s what you’re asking, but I will send out a search party right away,” he assured them. “But I have to ask—maybe Cindy was unhappy perhaps and she simply ran away to avoid being married. Of course it’s not my intention to disrespect anyone here.”
Ida paled and glanced at Londis who still had a stupid expression on his face. Caspian was playing a game with them, and he was glad that Ida and that fool came to see him. Now he could track Cindy down on his own terms.
“No, of course not, my lord. It was love at first sight between her and Mr. Londis. They were so happy together and now we’re all concerned about her safety,” Ida replied quickly, but the king sensed that she was lying to him. Cindy couldn’t love that fool, Londis.
“Yes, she was looking forward to her new life on the farm,” Londis said, stroking his fat jaw. “Her living situation in Farrington was a bit more comfortable, but that doesn’t change the fact that we were perfectly matched.”
Caspian didn’t want to hear anymore. Ida must have made some sort of deal with Londis, and the king needed to get to the bottom of it. She married Cindy’s father for a reason, and then he left her everything? None of it made any sense.
“Please leave this to me. We will find her,” he said simply, indicating that was the end of the conversation. He walked to the door, and Ida continued to thank him, still crying and saying that she was really concerned about her stepdaughter’s safety.
As soon as they were gone, he called Jeremy back into the room. “Follow them. I need to find out what their intentions are towards Cinderella. I have a feeling that she’s being forced into marrying that foolish man.”
Jeremy looked a little surprised, but quickly assured Caspian that he would find out as much as he could.