Chapter 12

Cinderella woke up early to make a nice breakfast for her stepmother and stepsisters. They hadn't been impressed when she returned home after dark. Thankfully, she'd found Jeanne's stationary in the cottage along with Isabel's bag. Charles had offered to escort Isabel home so Cinderella wasn't out as late as she might have been.

To Cinderella's surprise, the duchess was already up and dressed. She stood in the dining room, looking out on the flower garden.

"Ah, Cinderella. It's good to see you up and about so early."

"I thought I would make a nice breakfast today since I was gone so long yesterday."

"Excellent. I have some special news to share with the girls over breakfast. It concerns you as well, so you may join us today."

"Thank you, Mother." Cinderella headed to the kitchen and started work on some homemade cinnamon rolls. They were just coming out of the oven when the girls arrived at the table. Cinderella quickly frosted the rolls and carried them to the dining room.

Once everyone was served up, Cinderella sat down. Jeanne and Catherine sent her questioning looks, but before they could say anything, the duchess spoke.

"Duke Zaral sent a messenger to me early this morning. He needs three young ladies of noble upbringing at the castle and he has chosen you three. You have been invited to stay at the castle indefinitely."

"Oh Mother!" Catherine exclaimed.

Jeanne clapped. "We'll get to spend time with the Prince!"

"What will we be doing at the castle?" Cinderella asked.

"Duke Zaral didn't say anything specific, but I'm sure it will be a wonderful experience!" the duchess answered.

"Do we have to take Cinderella?" Catherine asked. "She looks so. . . like a servant."

"Duke Zaral was very particular that he needed all three of you. Once she gets cleaned up and into one of your old dresses, she won't look terrible. Besides, you can use her to set off your own beauty."

Cinderella tried not to let their words bother her. She had been invited to the castle, after all. It was sure to be a lovely experience, even if she wasn't dressed as well as she'd like.

By early afternoon, the girls were all packed. Cinderella wore an old dress of Jeanne's that, while in better condition than her own, was quite old and out of style. Still, the pink material and yellow trim were very cheerful, and it fit her well. She even took the time to put her hair up and put on her only pair of nice shoes. She had packed her other dresses, even if they looked like servant's clothes, just in case she needed them. Besides, she had nothing else to pack.

When the girls arrived at the castle in Zaral's carriage, they were taken to a back entrance. Inside, an older woman was waiting for them. Though dressed in the simple clothes of a maid, she exuded wisdom and authority.

"Well now, you ladies are not dressed properly at all to work as royal maids," she said. "We'll have clothes brought for you."

"Maids!?" Catherine and Jeanne exclaimed.

"Yes. You are the newest maids at the castle. Congratulations! As soon as you're dressed, I'll show you around."

She took them to the room they would all three share so they could change into the simple blue dresses and white aprons they were brought. Cinderella offered to change into her own work clothes, but the woman, Ms. Ernest, told her it wasn't necessary.

Once they dressed in the plain dark blue gowns and white aprons, Ms. Ernest showed them where the cleaning supplies were kept, then got them started scrubbing down the grand staircase.

"Dinner will be served in the room next to your bedroom when you're finished," she said before leaving them. Cinderella enjoyed the work. The castle was so lovely. She admired all the fine marble and the beautiful ballroom below them as she cleaned. She hummed quietly to herself to help tune out Catherine and Jeanne's constant stream of complaints.

Dinner was a simple affair, some fresh bread and butter and milk. Catherine and Jeanne weren't used to such boring food, but Cinderella enjoyed a meal that she didn't have to make by herself. After eating, they helped with some dishes, then retired early. Cinderella enjoyed the extra time to relax and reflect before going to sleep. Catherine and Jeanne were tired from their unusually strenuous afternoon, so they climbed right into bed. In spite of their exhaustion, they tossed and turned and continued to complain about the hard beds long after Cinderella fell asleep.

The next morning, Ms. Ernest set them some clothing that needed mending. As soon as she was gone, Catherine and Jeanne stood.

"Cinderella, you'll have to take care of ours," Catherine said.

"Yeah," Jeanne added. "Duke Zaral talked to us this morning. He wants us to follow Prince Charles around and let him know where the prince goes."

"Oh!" Before she could even agree, they were gone, leaving her with three times the work to do. She moved as quickly as she could. She had done a lot of mending since Papa left. Since it was so similar to the needlework she loved before, it wasn't difficult to pick up. She finished all three piles with two hours to spare.

As she looked out the window at the lovely gardens, she noticed a figure moving furtively through the flowers. It was the prince! She decided to follow him. Maybe she could find out where he was going. It didn't look like Catherine or Jeanne had found him.

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Charles crept carefully out of the castle and towards town. He hadn't been out of the castle, aside from his search for Isabel, in almost a week, so he felt it was time to go back. He wanted to check on Cinderella and see how she was doing after that kidnapping. He was worried her wrists and ankles might be sore from the ropes.

He waited until he was on the outskirts of town before ducking into a small abandoned shed that he often used to change. He quickly put on the clothes he'd taken from Alex and, after checking to make sure no one was in the small alley, strolled out to the street.

Turning towards town, he was surprised to see some familiar blonde curls peeking out from under a white head cloth. She was walking away from him. He jogged up to her.

"Cinderella," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She gasped in surprise and turned. "Oh! Charles! You frightened me! I didn't even hear you coming!"

"Were you looking for someone?" he asked, hoping she would say she was looking for him.

"Yes, actually. I was looking for Prince Charles."

"The prince?" Charles tried to squelch a sudden pang of fear as he took in her outfit. She was dressed as a royal servant. "Why were you looking for the prince?" he asked.

"I followed him to town. Walk with me and I'll tell you all about it," she invited. He nodded and they walked along. As she unfolded the story, she peeked down alleys and through windows. When she finished, he felt both relief and anger. Cinderella didn't recognize him. But Zaral had no right to enlist these innocent girls to spy on him! And how could he hide the truth from Cinderella if she kept working at the castle? She mentioned that she was going to be assigned to his wing, even.

"Well, I think I've lost him," she finally said in a resigned voice. "I'd better get back to the castle. It's almost lunchtime, and then I think we're going to be scrubbing the ballroom floors." She smiled. "The castle is so beautiful Charles! Especially the ballroom! I can just imagine dancing there! It would be magical!"

He smiled. She was enchanting, this girl. Someday, he hoped to make that dream come true. For now, he needed to figure out how to get Cinderella and her stepsisters removed as royal servants without getting Cinderella into any trouble.

The answer was handed to him when he arrived back at the castle. He found the statue outside his room shattered on the floor. Calling the head of housekeeping to him, he asked her how it happened.

"Well, Sire, we have some new girls on staff, Catherine and Jeanne. They skipped out on some work this morning, so I sent them up here to scrub the corridor. I'm not sure how it happened, but they must have broken it. I'll give them a good talking to and keep them away from such valuables in the future."

"I think it's best that they be dismissed."

"But Sire, Duke Zaral requested-"

"I'll deal with Zaral. Thank you for your time, Ms. Ernest. Let the girls go. We can hire new maids if need be. In the future, though, I would like to meet everyone you are considering for employment here."

"Of course, Your Highness."

Zaral was angry by Charles' decision, but he couldn't argue with the prince's logic. Satisfied that he had put the duke in his place and freed Cinderella and her sisters, Charles returned to his quarters to tell Alex what had happened.

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"I can't believe you were dismissed from the castle so quickly," the duchess said when the girls returned after only one day.

"Oh Mother, it's so hard doing housework all day! We're just not built for it the way Cinderella is."

"Yeah. And the beds were so uncomfortable. Besides, we never even saw the prince!"

Though she enjoyed her time at the castle, Cinderella was also happy to be home. She had missed Pierre and Patch. She had also missed her garden and even her drafty little attic room.

The next few days passed quickly. Cinderella was kept busy catching up on all the housework that had gone undone while she was away. One morning, while she was in town with the duchess and the girls, she noticed a carriage followed by a large crowd. Joining the crowd, she heard people exclaiming about the prince. She watched the carriage and saw the prince turn and wave out the back window.

Slowing down, she watched the crowd continue to chase the carriage. Jeanne and Catherine were in the group. She laughed as they ran around the corner and wondered where the duchess was.

Turning, she almost ran into Charles.

"Oh, Charles!" she exclaimed. "I almost ran into you again!"

"So I see. What's so funny?"

"Just that crowd following the prince."

"The prince?"

"Yeah. He just went by in his carriage! That's who everyone is chasing after."

"Are you sure it was the prince?"

"I saw him peek out and wave at everyone. It sure looked like him to me."

"Strange."

Cinderella and Charles walked back towards the center of town. She noticed the duchess standing next to the carriage and went to talk to her.

"Did you see the girls?" the duchess asked.

"Yes. They were running after the prince's carriage."

"Well, I hope they hurry back. We need to get home. I've left a few orders here, Cinderella. You'll need to pick up everything on this list and bring it home by dinnertime.

"Yes Mother." Cinderella took the list and tried to keep it out of Charles' view as she scanned it. Only three pairs of shoes and two gowns. She could probably manage that fine on her own. She tucked it into her apron pocket, but as soon as she and Charles were out of sight of the duchess, he reached into her pocket and pulled out the list.

"Hey! Give it back!" she cried, trying to snatch it from his hands. He grabbed both her wrists with one hand and held her in place as he quickly scanned over the list.

"They really expect you to carry all this home on your own?" he asked, handing the paper back and letting her go.

"I've carried more before. It's really not a big deal."

He just sighed. Just then, she caught sight of Yan sitting on the edge of the fountain.

"Yan!" she called, hurrying over to him. Charles followed close behind. When they reached their friend, Cinderella noticed that he looked very worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm worried about a good friend of mine. His name is Marcel. He's an actor. I lent him some money a few days ago and he just disappeared. I don't think he took my money. We've known each other too long. I'm worried that something happened to him. He said he had a new opportunity that was going to help us both!"

"Do you know what the opportunity was?" Charles asked.

"No. I wish I did."

"Do you have anything of his?" Cinderella asked.

"Yes. I have an old pair of gloves he left at my house a week ago."

"I bet Patch can track him. He's not with me today, but I'm sure I can get away tomorrow morning. Mother and the girls have tea with another family. What if I bring Patch and he can lead us to Marcel?"

"That sounds like a good plan," Yan said, brightening. "I'm sure Patch can find him."

"Will you come as well, Charles?"

He hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Wonderful. I'll see you both tomorrow morning. I'd better start picking up these orders."