Chapter 8: Chapter 8
Charles was frustrated after his conversation with his parents. They hadn't believed that Duke Zaral could be involved in such a plot. It didn't help that, by the time the royal guards reached the cottage, the men he'd tied up had all been freed by someone and were gone. They'd left no evidence of their plot. Now the King and Queen thought Charles just had a colorful imagination, and perhaps too much freedom.
"You and I will just have to keep an eye on Zaral ourselves," Charles told Alex.
"Of course. But how?"
"We'll be watchful. We'll take turns following him when he leaves. And, above all, I will not play into his scheme to marry me off to his daughter."
"Does that mean you aren't going to Isabel's birthday party tomorrow? Zaral invited you as well as many of the noble families in the kingdom."
"I think it's a bad idea to show such favor to Isabel."
"I think it's rude to refuse to go."
"Then what should I do?"
"You should go, but leave early. And dance with many girls."
"Okay. I can do that. Thank you, my friend. You are coming too, right?"
"Yes. Someone has to make excuses for you when you run out before the end."
"You are a true friend."
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Cinderella was exhausted. She'd been up late doing chores the night before, and now she had to prepare her sisters' gowns and hats for a birthday party. Catherine kept changing her mind about the style of her hat. Cinderella had unpicked and resewn the decorations at least three times before midday. It was getting close to party time and she still had to help them finish dressing.
She sighed. She wouldn't even get to go to the party. She tried not to let Mother's unfair treatment bother her, but sometimes it got under her skin.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Catherine. "Cinderella! This hat won't do! I need you to remove the feathers and replace them with these flowers."
"Yes Catherine. But this is the last time. The party will start soon and I won't have time to fix it."
"I know, I know. Hurry up!"
Cinderella worked quickly, removing the white feathers and replacing them with the blue flowers. The blue did look nice against the gray of the hat, and the flowers would set off Catherine's blue and purple gown nicely.
Once the hat was done, she helped fasten it to Catherine's mass of dark curls and braids. It was a very becoming look.
As Cinderella was showing her stepmother and stepsisters out to the carriage, Catherine paused. "Mother, what if Cinderella comes with us?"
"Why Catherine, whatever for?"
"She can stay in the carriage, in case I need her to fix my hat again. Please Mother!"
"Alright, I suppose that's fine. But she'll have to ride on the seat with Pierre. There's no room for her to ride in the carriage with us. Cinderella, go clean up, quickly now!"
"Yes Mother!" Cinderella hurried to the kitchen where she splashed some water on her hands and face. She'd have liked to change, but she didn't have time. She dried her hands and took off her dirty apron. At least her gray dress was clean. She'd done laundry only yesterday. She pulled out a bit of purple ribbon she'd saved and tied it around her waist as a belt. It was simple, but it helped her feel a little more dressed up.
The women were waiting in the carriage when she came out front. Pierre helped her up onto the seat and they headed off. Cinderella looked back once and noticed Patch following. She didn't want him to get in trouble, so she didn't say anything.
The ride was quick. The birthday party was for Duke Zaral's daughter, and Duke Zaral lived on the same road as they did, just a bit closer to town. Pierre let Cinderella drive part of the way, something she'd never done before. It wasn't as fun as riding herself, but she enjoyed feeling connected to the horses, feeling the power surge through them as they pulled the carriage.
When they arrived at the party, the duchess, Jeane, and Catherine headed in. Cinderella stayed on the seat and chatted with Pierre for a while. Eventually, he said he needed to take the carriage back to the house so he could feed and water the horses. She grabbed her sewing kit and hopped down.
There was a lovely garden near the house, so she found a bench to sit on. Patch soon joined her. He'd been napping in the shade under the carriage until Pierre left.
Catherine didn't need her hat fixed, so Cinderella had nothing to do but watch the party through the large windows. After about an hour, the guests filtered out into a part of the garden near where she sat. She watched them eat a lovely dinner and delicious looking white cakes and tried to silence the grumbling in her stomach.
"Here," a voice said. She turned to find a musician in his white wig holding out a small plate with a cake on it.
"Oh! Thank you," she answered.
"I can't join the guests either, but at least I get to eat," he said with a friendly smile. "My name is Nicolas. It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Cinderella. It's nice to meet you too. What instrument do you play?" Cinderella asked.
"The violin."
"How lovely. The life of a musician must be so wonderful, to always be bringing music and joy to people!"
"I wish everyone thought so."
"What do you mean?"
"I am in love with a beautiful girl, but her parents won't let us marry. She is of noble blood and they don't feel that my income and lifestyle as a musician is good enough for their daughter."
"But love is so much better than a wealthy lifestyle!"
"I agree. So does Variel, but she also loves her parents, and wants their approval."
"What a sad situation!"
"Yes. She's here today, right over there." Nicolas pointed to a beautiful girl with long, light brown hair and sad eyes. She stood at the edge of the party by herself.
"Her parents hope she will marry the prince. I know she's beautiful enough and sweet enough. She would make a wonderful queen. Sometimes I wonder if I am just selfish to want to keep her to myself."
"But you love her! And she loves you, right?"
"Yes."
"Then it's not selfish at all. She wouldn't be happy without you anymore than you would be happy without her."
Nicolas sighed. "You're right. But since her parents will not allow us to marry, we will probably just both be unhappy. Oh, they are calling the musicians back inside. I must go. Goodbye Cinderella!"
"Goodbye Nicolas!"
Cinderella watched through the windows as the sun set. Bushes hid her from the main house, but allowed her a decent view of the party still. The prince was very handsome. He danced with many girls, but never Catherine or Jeanne. He only danced once with the birthday girl, a tall, slender redhead. The lovely music filtered out into the night and Cinderella began dancing around the small side garden.
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Charles left the party as planned shortly after night fell. He had done his duty and danced with Isabel, but he had also danced with many other girls. He saw Cinderella's stepsisters and was careful to avoid them.
After he left, he changed into the commoner's clothes he'd brought in the carriage and tousled his hair. He wanted to pay a visit to Cinderella. Since her stepmother and stepsisters were here, he assumed she was home alone, or maybe with Pierre. He was creeping through the gardens past the party when he saw a figure swaying in the mixture of moonlight and light from the windows. He watched for a moment before he recognized her.
"Cinderella," he said, stepping into the small side garden surrounded by tall bushes.
She stopped dancing and turned, smiling. "Charles! What are you doing here?"
"I heard the music and came to see what was happening," he lied. "What about you?"
"I came with Mother, Catherine, and Jeanne. Catherine wanted me here in case she needed her hat altered quickly." Cinderella laughed, but Charles didn't find it so funny.
He changed the subject. "You were dancing."
She blushed. "I don't get to dance very often anymore. I enjoy it, though."
"Would you like to dance with a partner?" Charles held out his hand. Cinderella took it with a shy smile and he pulled her into a slow waltz. She was an excellent dancer, one of the best partners he'd ever had (including his dance instructors at the castle).
"You're a wonderful dancer," she said, startling him from his thoughts.
"Thank you. So are you. How is your shoulder?"
"It's healing. It wasn't very deep."
Charles looked at her more carefully. Her hair was pulled back with the blue head scarf she always wore, but she wasn't wearing her usual apron tonight. Instead, she had a pretty purple ribbon around her slender waist. He smiled, wondering what she would look like in a gown more befitting her station.
They danced in silence for a while, then sat together on a bench facing the windows. The seat gave them a great view of the party.
"Oh! The prince is gone," Cinderella said after they'd been sitting for a few minutes.
"Is he?"
"Yes. He was there when I started dancing. That's odd. I wonder why he didn't stay longer."
"Maybe he got bored."
"Bored of dancing? And the music is so lovely. Oh Charles, I met one of the musicians earlier, that violinist there." She pointed out one of the men in the orchestra. "His name is Nicolas and he's in love with a girl named Variel." She pointed out a lovely girl Charles had noticed a few times in the party.
"Why does she look so sad?" he asked.
"Her parents won't let her marry Nicolas. They think his income is below the lifestyle she deserves. And they hope she will marry the prince."
"That is sad. But I'm sure their love will find a way. True love can overcome anything."
"I agree. I want to help them, but I don't know how."
"I don't know either."
They sat in silence until the guests began to leave. "I should go. Pierre will be here soon with the carriage," Cinderella said.
"Thank you for dancing with me," Charles said.
"Thank you! Oh, Mother is sending me to town for the day tomorrow, if you're not busy."
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then." He waved and watched as she bounced from the garden. He hurried to the royal carriage, hiding in the bushes and keeping to the shadows. Climbing in, he sat on the floor so no one could see him. He was waiting when Alex jumped in the carriage.
"How did it go?" Charles asked.
"Oh, everyone was worried about you, as usual. You did a good job of faking a headache, though. No one was angry. Except Zaral, and maybe Isabel. She seemed pretty put out that you only danced one dance with her."
"Well, perhaps now she'll give up on trying to catch me."
"Just be careful, Charles. I worry that Zaral might do something to coerce you into marriage."
"I'm certain he'll try, but I'll be ready for him."
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