Chapter 10

Cinderella was very tired the next morning, but she managed to drag herself through her chores. In the afternoon, an invitation arrived from the castle, sending the whole house into a whirl.

"Girls! The Prince is having a ball!" the duchess exclaimed. "It is in two days, over lunch. Quick Catherine! Jeanne! Choose your best gowns to air out!"

By evening, Cinderella was dead on her feet after a busy day of laundry, mending, cooking, cleaning, and other ball preparations and chores. She fell into bed that night and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The duchess had to wake her up the next morning.

"Are you ill?" she asked.

"No," Cinderella answered groggily. "I'm just very tired."

"Well, we need our breakfast! And then we're heading into town. The Prince is holding a luncheon tomorrow and all the noble families have been invited. Catherine and Jeanne need new dresses for the occasion."

"Yes Mother." Cinderella dragged herself out of bed and changed out of her nightgown. She made a quick breakfast and shortly thereafter was riding into town on the back of the carriage. The duchess and her daughters went right to the nicest dress shop in town, which was already quite full of other young ladies.

Cinderella was waiting outside when she saw a familiar face down the street. "Charles!" she called.

He turned toward her with a smile and began heading in her direction.

"Hello Cinderella! What brings you into town today?"

"Mother brought the girls to get new dresses for the prince's luncheon."

"Oh. Are you going to the luncheon?"

"I doubt Mother plans on taking me. Besides, I haven't anything to wear that's fit for a luncheon at the castle."

"But aren't you of the nobility too?"

Cinderella nodded and shrugged. She had given up worrying about her social standing. At this point, she was more concerned with getting all her chores done today so she could get a full night's rest.

Charles dropped the subject and began talking instead about Nicolas and Variel. He and Yan had returned the wagon and horses, and had stopped by to see the happy couple after. They were married and planning to travel abroad for a few months. They hoped that, in their absence, Variel's parents would warm up to their new son-in-law.

She was happy to hear that their plan had been successful. So happy that she didn't mind when the duchess and the girls came out of the shop with a large armful of boxes for her to carry.

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Charles wanted to yell at the duchess. Cinderella looked so pale and exhausted. She clearly needed a break, but instead, here she was, carrying packages for her spoiled stepsisters. He helped as much as she would let him, fuming the whole way back to the carriage.

"There's no room for you Cinderella. You'll just have to walk. Be quick, though. We'll need lunch once you get home, and then I have a few more chores for you to finish before dinner."

Cinderella bid Charles a tired goodbye and trudged off after the carriage. He had to get home for his afternoon fencing lesson or he would have walked home with her.

When Charles reached the castle, he quickly changed for his lesson. It went by quickly. After, as he was changing back into his usual princely attire, a servant came to tell him that Duke Zaral had requested an audience. Charles followed the servant to the large library where the duke was waiting.

"Ah, your highness," Zaral said. "I had hoped we might talk about your future."

"Okay. What about it?"

"As you may know, your parents have tasked me with finding you a suitable bride. They feel that it is time you settle down and begin taking responsibility."

"I have heard."

"Well, I think you should consider Isabel."

"Your daughter?"

"She is well suited in manners and station. And she is quite fond of you, sire. I believe she would make an excellent match."

"Isabel is a lovely girl, but I do not have any interest in marrying her."

"I think your highness should reconsider."

"The answer is no, Zaral."

Zaral looked at Charles for a moment. "Well then, I may have to let slip to your parents that you sneak away from the castle every day between lessons. I'm sure they would want to know such information."

Charles flinched. If his parents knew, they would put an end to his escapes into town in a heartbeat. Then he'd be trapped. Of course, would marriage to Isabel be any better? Perhaps he should accept the engagement, then break it off before the wedding. But that wouldn't be fair to Isabel.

"I shall just take it upon myself to announce the happy news tomorrow at the luncheon, then," Zaral said. Charles winced as the man fairly pranced out of the room.

Deciding to consult Alex, Charles returned to his quarters, where he found his friend in the midst of studying.

"Alex, I have a problem."

"That's not an encouraging way to start a conversation."

"Zaral is planning to announce my engagement to Isabel tomorrow at the luncheon."

"What?" Alex looked up with surprise. "I thought you didn't want to marry her."

"I don't!"

"Then why is Zaral announcing your engagement?"

"Because. He threatened to tell my parents that I sneak off between lessons. If he tells them, I'll lose all my freedom!"

"And you won't if you marry Isabel?"

"I'm hoping to find another solution."

"What can he really tell your parents? Does he have any proof? Will they just take him at his word?"

"I don't know. They don't listen to me, but they tend to listen to him."

Alex and Charles spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out what to do about the situation. By evening, they still hadn't come up with any good ideas. They decided to sleep on it. The last image in Charles' mind before he fell asleep was Cinderella, pale and drawn and tired, but still as beautiful as ever.

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Getting Catherine and Jeanne ready for the Prince's luncheon was a long, exhausting process. Thankfully, Cinderella had gotten to bed earlier the previous night, so she was feeling much better. She helped her stepsisters dress, do their hair, and put on finishing touches before seeing them off in the carriage.

Once they were gone, she got busy on her chores. Because she had been so busy yesterday, she didn't have much to do. She was done after only about an hour of work. She thought about how to spend her afternoon. She could read in the library, or catch up on side projects. But her mind kept drifting to the castle and the prince's luncheon. She was nobility after all, so the invitation technically included her. She had an old dress Catherine had thrown out that she had been fixing up. With a few finishing touches, it would be presentable enough.

Cinderella quickly got the dress ready and changes. She felt very pretty in the lavender gown with the cream lace trim. It was a little out of style, since Catherine got it a few years ago, but it fit well. She put on the nice shoes she managed to keep (since they were far too small for Jeanne or Catherine) and let down her curls. She didn't have a hat, so she gathered some purple flowers from the garden and made herself a flower crown.

The walk would have taken over an hour. Thankfully, she managed to catch a ride on a wagon of fresh produce, so she arrived only two hours after her stepmother and stepsisters had left. She rode through the main gate on the wagon, then hopped off and began looking for the courtyard.

As she made her way through a garden, she saw a familiar figure. Alex, the prince's page, was standing on a walkway near the garden. He was talking to another person. The other person had their back to her, but she recognized the rich clothing and dark hair. It was the prince! She started backing away, but their words caught her attention.

"I'm afraid I have no choice but to accept the engagement."

"But you don't love her."

"What else can I do? If I don't marry her, you know what will happen."

"We'll figure something else out."

"I'm sorry, my friend. I don't think I have any choice."

Though she knew it wasn't her place, Cinderella couldn't help speaking out. She hated the idea of anyone, even the prince, being forced into a marriage without love.

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Charles didn't know how she'd ended up in the gardens, but he recognized Cinderella's voice the moment she spoke.

"Don't do it, your highness! A marriage without love is like a summer without sunshine!"

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked. "Get out of here before I call the guards!"

Charles listened to the sound of Cinderella moving through the gardens. "Is she gone?" he asked. Alex nodded. "She's right. I can't do this. I know! I'll stick around the castle for the next week or two. Maybe I'll hide in trees or something. That way I can claim that I'm always around, but sometimes I'm hard to find."

"That's a great idea! Let's get to the luncheon and stop Zaral!"

When Charles and Alex arrived at the luncheon, Zaral was calling everyone to attention for an announcement. Charles hurried up to the stage.

"Thank you Zaral. Friends, we thank you for joining us. I am happy to announce to all of you that Duke Zaral will be assisting me in finding a wife. My parents feel that it is time I settle down. I have not yet become engaged, but hope to be so within the year."

After his announcement, the crowd cheered. Charles glanced back at Zaral, whose face displayed his anger, and smiled.

Looking around the crowd, Charles caught sight of Cinderella in the very back. She was smiling and cheering with everyone else. She wore a purple gown he hadn't seen her in before. It was very becoming. He wished he could go talk to her, but he knew he needed to keep his distance from her if he wanted to spare them both: himself from being found out for who he really was and her from being noticed by her stepmother and stepsisters.

He did not have to worry. As soon as the dancing began, Cinderella disappeared. Charles was every part the gracious host, dancing with every girl who wanted to dance (which was all of them), even Catherine and Jeanne. By the time everyone left, he felt tired but satisfied that he had made the right choice, even if it meant sticking around the castle for a while.