Cinderella: Ninja Warrior (38 page)
Read Cinderella: Ninja Warrior Online
Authors: Maureen McGowan
Tags: #Fairy Tales & Folklore, #Juvenile Fiction, #Adaptations, #Interactive Adventures
“My dearest sister,” Gwen said to Cinderella. “I’m so glad you’re safe and sound.”
“Thank you.” Cinderella pushed her lips tightly together to keep from snapping at Gwen. Her stepsister might not have any real magic powers, but her cruelty was as vast as the oceans.
“Consider me your humble servant.” Gwendolyn curtsied. “If you ever need me, say as a lady-in-waiting, I’m at your service.”
“Not now, Gwen, please.” Cinderella’s cheeks burned, embarrassed at the assumptions Gwendolyn was making about her and Ty, and furious that her stepsister would think she’d want her anywhere near her.“Leave me alone.”
“Certainly, certainly.” Gwendolyn backed away, nodding.
Finally, Cinderella was left alone with Ty.
Still holding her, he looked into her eyes and the world fell away. The warmth and love that came from Ty’s eyes was the best and most overpowering sensation she’d ever experienced. Joy and love spread through her as fast as fire through straw.
Not only had she found the magic inside her, not only had she gained the confidence to defeat her stepmother, she’d found love. Love of a magnitude she had never imagined possible. And Ty wasn’t just any boy. He was the prince and would one day be king.
Her heart pounded in her ears. Her, a princess? A wife? A queen one day? She wasn’t at all prepared for any of those roles.
And there’d be a trial. She’d have to tell people how she’d been treated, how her father had been murdered. She’d have to relive her past. And her stepsisters—what would happen to them? They hadn’t broken any laws, unless it was against the law to be mean.
She looked back at Agatha, whose head hung in shame. Always the follower, maybe Agatha could stand on her own two feet if she weren’t constantly under the influence of her mother and Gwendolyn. Maybe, with some work, they could actually be sisters to each other someday.
“You look sad, my love.” Ty ran his hand down her cheek. “ Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I’m just thinking about what will happen to my family.”
A soft, dimpled smile spread on his handsome face. Ty shook his head and then pressed a kiss into her forehead. “Imagine you thinking of them, after all they’ve done.” He kissed her lips in a way Cinderella felt in every part of her body. “Will do you me a favor?” he asked when their lips parted.
“Anything,” she said, and she meant it.
“Let’s not give black magic or trials another thought today. We’ve got so much to celebrate, and I can’t wait for you to meet my parents.”
Sitting in the palace library, books spread around her, Cinderella felt as if she’d become someone else, or had been living in a dream this past week. She pinched her arm to make sure. Nope, the only things affecting her now were happiness and love.
Even thoughts of her stepmother had barely invaded. The evil wizard’s trial for practicing black magic and murdering Cinderella’s father would be held in two weeks and Cinderella, Ty, and Max would be witnesses. Agatha had also agreed to testify.
Not wanting to ever go back to her house, Cinderella had given it to Max, and he’d hired Agatha and Gwendolyn as maids—to teach them a lesson, he said. She’d asked him to go easier on Agatha.
The past week had gone by in a whirlwind of happiness. But between parties and dress fittings and training sessions with the royal wizard, Cinderella had barely found time to see Ty, and they’d had no time alone. They were constantly chaperoned, and his duties kept him busy. She’d only seen him at meals with his parents, and during magic training sessions with the royal wizard.
Ty hadn’t mentioned a word about love or marriage since they’d defeated her stepmother, but she hoped it was only because they hadn’t had time alone. The way he looked at her hadn’t changed.
She grinned as warmth spread inside her. Not only was she living in a palace, she had access to this glorious room of books. She glanced around at the dizzying array displayed on the shelves that lined the walls from the floor to the ceiling, and then back to the twenty books she’d selected. If only she could read more quickly. If she had a thousand years, she’d never run out of books to read in this room. There were reference books on every topic imaginable, and almost better, she’d discovered a whole wall of books containing nothing but stories meant to entertain. Who knew such enjoyable books existed?
“Excuse me, Miss.” One of the maids entered the library.
Cinderella rose and started to tidy up the books from the plush rug. “I’m sorry about the mess.”
“Oh, it’s no worry at all, Miss,” the maid said. “I can straighten those up for you if you like, or perhaps take them up to your room to read there? Or if you prefer, you may leave them as they are now and return to them whenever you get the chance. No one will be bothered.”
“Really?” She exhaled, remembering her stepmother’s rules weren’t in effect here. Weren’t in effect
anywhere
anymore. “Thank you.”
anywhere
anymore. “Thank you.”
The maid curtsied. “The prince asked me to find you, Miss.”
Cinderella’s heart rate increased and she rushed forward a few steps, hopping over an open book. “He did?”
“Yes, Miss.” The maid averted her eyes coyly and a blush rose in her cheeks.“He’s asked me to bring you to him, out on the terrace, so he can have a private word.”
Could this be it? Was Ty finally going to ask her to marry him? If he didn’t, she’d take matters into her own hands and ask him. At that thought, nerves scrambled inside her and twisted her belly. Could she really be bold enough to do that?
But wait . . . what if he had bad news? He loved her, but what if his parents disapproved and were forcing him to marry one of the many young girls more educated in the ways of society and better able to represent the royal family? After all, they had forced him into that pick-a-bride-at-the-ball fiasco.
As she walked down the long hallway toward the terrace, her belly buzzed and flipped and twirled. She brushed her hands down the pale pink bodice of the simple but beautiful dress she’d chosen to wear this evening. It was the color of the apple blossoms in the royal orchard. Days ago, Ty had promised to take her for a walk there, but had been called into an important meeting, so she’d gone on her own. Strolling among those trees, she’d felt so happy and free.
She started to skip. Ty loved her. She loved him. And with everything they’d gone through to be together, surely their union was meant to be. Whatever happened, even if they couldn’t get married, she had to count her many blessings. She’d spent most of her life enslaved by an evil wizard and now she was free and would be trained by the royal wizard. She had so many things for which to be grateful.
She stepped out onto the terrace, and the cool night air feathered through her hair and brushed over her skin. She raised a hand to her chest. She wasn’t used to dresses cut below her collarbone, and the air on her exposed skin made her feel slightly vulnerable. She inhaled deeply and the night air carried the scent of pine forests and, closer by, night jasmine that grew in pots arranged around the perimeter of the terrace. The fresh scents soothed her nerves.
Ty stepped out from a shadow, and her heart bounced and bounded. He held out his hands and she stepped forward to take them.
“Thank you for meeting me here,” he said. His eyes brightened and his smile lit up the night. He was so handsome. His curls were loose under his crown.
“Of course, Your Highness,” she said as she curtsied, but then she shot him a mischievous smile. She expected Ty to laugh at her formal tone and demeanor, but he didn’t. Instead, he looked down at his feet. His hands started to feel damp in hers, and his lips twitched as if he wasn’t sure what to say. He was nervous.
Even though she’d been thinking he might deliver bad news, she still found it hard to believe that would transpire. But why would he be nervous if his news was good? He knew she loved him; she’d already told him and had fought so hard to be with him. He couldn’t possibly question that.
No, the news was bad. It was the only explanation she could think of for his nerves. Her heart squeezed, but she refused to show her pain. She needed to make this easier for him. “ Ty,” she said softly, “no matter what, I’ll always love you. I’ll always be your friend.”
“My friend?” He looked into her eyes with an expression of pain and fear. “You only want to be my friend?”
She wanted to leap into his arms, to wipe away his apprehension while calming her own nerves. But she couldn’t; she had to stay strong—for both of them.
“Cinderella”—he cleared his throat—“I have something very serious and important to discuss with you.”
At his formal words and tone, her belly tightened, but she used her ninja calming techniques to hide her distress.
“I know I deceived you when we first met.” He dropped one of her hands and ran his fingers over his hair. “I know I hid who I was.”
“I understand why. No need to apologize.”
He lifted his head. “Apologize?”
She started.“Oh.” What was going on? The butterflies in her stomach came back. So much for her ninja emotion-control techniques.
He dropped her other hand and rubbed his on the velvet of his trousers, then looked down at her sheepishly. Color had risen in his cheeks, but it only made him more handsome. “I’m not sorry about the deception,” he said.“Not really, because if I hadn’t done it, we’d never have met.”
She forced herself to smile. “Yes, I understand. We don’t exactly run in the same circles, it seems.” Until recently, the only circle she’d run in had been her cat’s.
“What I’m trying to say is”—Ty chewed on his lower lip—“as a member of the royal family, I have certain obligations.”
Here it came. “I understand.”
“You’ve seen this past week how busy my duties sometimes keep me, and that will increase in the future, when I become king.”
She nodded, still confused about where this was going. Surely he hadn’t decided never to marry at all.
“My wife will have duties, too. Some will be rewarding.” He smiled, but his nerves shook his lips. “But other duties will be horribly tedious. Balls, teas, ceremonies, learning traditions and protocols, and teaching these traditions to any princes and princesses who might be born.” His flush grew deeper.
“Yes, I know.” She took his hand and rubbed her finger on his palm. “Where are you going with all this?” If he was going to dump her, she wanted it over with.
Ty cleared his throat and sucked in his cheeks. “Well, you’ve made your feelings about formal events pretty clear. You’d hate royal life.”
She stepped back and pulled her hand from his. “I’m getting used to it.”
He took off his crown, tossed it onto a padded settee, and ran his fingers through his hair again, releasing some of his curls. “But I want your life to be wonderful, everything you’ve ever wanted or imagined. I don’t want your life to be something you have to get
used
to.”
used
to.”
She looked down to the irregular stone pattern of the terrace floor. “No life is perfect. Everyone has to get used to some things.” Annoyance had started to rise up in her chest. She looked up at him. “So you plan to make this decision for me?” Was he refusing to ask her to marry him because he thought she didn’t want to be a queen one day? “It’s true I never imagined life as a royal, not for a moment.”
“Sometimes I hate that I’m a prince.”
“It’s not your fault you were born into this family, Ty.” No more than it was her fault her mother had died and her father had made a poor choice with his second wife.
Ty looked as though his heart was breaking. So was hers. And she no longer felt like asking him to marry her. If making her decisions, making assumptions about how she’d feel without asking was his way, then perhaps she’d be better off without him.
Her throat tightened and she could barely breathe. It was over—over before it had even begun.
He went down on one knee and reached for her hand again. It was a very strange way for him to bid her good-bye.
“Get up,” she said. Her fingers trembled under his touch and her heart slammed against her ribs. In this gown with its scooped neck, she felt sure he could see her heart beating.
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