Cinderella and The Shape Shifting Mice

Chapter Twenty Six

THE PRINCE

I rubbed my eyes and looked up from my desk over mounds of paperwork at the grandfather clock ticking in the corner of the room. It had been two hours since I had parted from the girls and I was starting to think I needed a break. Standing, I stretched and walked into the hallway towards any random direction when I found myself in front of Ella's door.
I knocked and didn't receive an answer so I knocked again and I heard a bang and then the door flew open.

"Hello," Ella smiled at me, leaning on the doorway trying to act normal. She was still in her outfit from earlier, but her face was flushed and her eyes were bloodshot. And if I didn't know any better I would have said she was crying based on the mascara under her eyes.

"Are you alright? What was that bang?" I asked her trying to peer past her but I couldn't see anything.

She nodded and looked into the empty hallway. "Yep, fine. So about that library? I was just about to go find you," she squeezed out into the hallway and grabbed my hand as she closed the door and began leading me down the hallway.

I gave her a funny look as we walked and glanced down at my hand clasped in hers as we strolled. Her hand fit so nicely into mine... I looked up and saw Sam all the way at the end of the hallway peeking out from a door. Ella didn't see him but I gave a small head shake and he ducked back into the room so quietly you wouldn't have even known he was there.

When we got to the library, Ella let go of my hand and pushed open the door and paused for a moment before striding in.
"So Your Highness, what book do you think I would enjoy to read?" she asked, walking backwards and laughing.
I scratched my chin and started heading for the second floor. "We keep all the fiction books on the second story, don't ask me why. And I hope you're not looking for any recent bestsellers because, unfortunately, we don't have those in this room."
"Where are they?"
"My room," I answered with a chuckle. "I get an order every two weeks." I gave her a look, "I don't sleep a lot, so I read."
She snorted. "I wish I had that pleasure."
"Will you tell me about it?" I asked, pausing on the landing to the second floor.
"What?"
"Your life at home. I didn't actually see your sisters in much of a rush to help you with the drinks and food when we visited."
Ella barked out a harsh laugh and ran her hands on the rail, avoiding eye contact with me. "I'm not sure I really want to talk about it..."
I rubbed my hand on her back and she looked at me out of the corner of her eyes. "It's okay, I wont judge you."

She smiled. "Well if you really wan to know... I wake up around six every morning, and prepare breakfast. Then I do the chores like feeding the chickens, taking out the dog, all the outside chores. Then I come back inside and either grab the laundry to put away or fetch the laundry to wash, and I wake up my step-mother and step-sisters and give them their breakfast while I tend to the laundry. Then I clean the dishes and Mary, er, my step-mother gives me a list of chores to do ranging from housework to yard work and... Other stuff. So I do that, take a break to get them lunch, go back to the chores, make dinner, clean up dinner, finish the inside chores and prepare for the next day, then go to bed. Repeat."
I blinked at her impassive face as she looked out over the library. "Your father left you like that?" I asked, incredulous.

She shrugged. "Mary was nice when he was alive, for the most part. I didn't have to sleep in the attic and I had a seat at the dinner table. Now I just eat in my room because I don't want to be anywhere near them

I looked at her, her eyes that always gleamed with happiness and the easy smile that just appeared so naturally on her face. She never looked sad when I was around, and I began to wonder if that was an act. I mean, I had met her when she was working her ass off in the market just for a few extra dollars to spend because, as I had just found out, her step-mother provided her with nothing. Taking a deep breath I took her hand and she gave me a panicked look.
"I'm so sorry you've had to live like that," I squeezed her hand and she seemed to relax a little. "But lets go find something to keep your mind off of it okay?"
She nodded and that smile blossomed on her face and I pulled her towards the shelves.

ELLA

We walked through the stacks, Georgie pointing out random books when I pulled ahead of him a little and my eye landed on a worn blue book. Pulling it out I actually squealed.
"What?" Georgie asked, coming up besides me. I could feel his body heat radiating off of him and smell his cologne; pine trees and old leather.
"My mother used to read me this book all the time... Mary packed most of the books away and donated them and I haven't been able to find this book again..." I opened up the page and was greeted by the familiar script of "Grimm's Fairy Tales." All my favorite stories, all the good memories of my mother reading to me in bed, made me just beam.

"I slept with this book every night for months after my mother died," I gave a short laugh, "I would read all of the stories over and over and would dream about all the happy endings everyone always seemed to get. I wanted that, I always thought I would get it eventually if I just wanted it hard enough, you know? It gave me so much hope for the future..." I flipped through the pages and looked up at Georgie who was leaning against the bookshelves, arms crossed, watching me carefully.
"May I borrow it?" I whispered, clutching the book to my chest.
"Of course," he said with a smile. We meandered through the aisles when I found myself just flipping through one of Oscar Wilde's plays when I glanced up and saw Georgie just staring at me from the end of the row.
I laughed nervously, "why are you looking at me like that?"
He walked down towards me and stopped in front of me. My heartbeat quickened as he leaned closer and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. I backed up into the bookshelf and he stood in front of me, head dipped low towards mine.
"You shouldn't be doing this," I whispered so softly I wasn't sure he heard me.
"Probably not," he mumbled and twiddled with a lock of my hair. I made a split second decision and wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him into a hug. He froze for a split second before wrapping me into him and I took a deep breath. He smelled nice, and his shirt was soft. And what was crazy, as he pressed his cheek to the top of my head, was that I felt safe. I felt secure, and happy, and just okay. And that was breaking my heart because Mary's threats flooded my mind and the fact that I knew I could trust no one because I didn't know who was working for her. What if they were watching us now? If they were always watching me no matter who I was with? Did they hear me with Grace in my room? Was I in jeopardy?
"Why are you crying?" Georgie asked me softly, pulling me away from him to look at me. "I'm getting nervous that every time I seem to be around you start crying."
I chuckled nervously and wiped away a tear. "It's not you, I promise." I took a step back, clutching the book of fairy tales to my chest. "I won't be crying later for dinner though, okay?"
He gave me a slow nod, tucking back that same piece of hair that had fallen out of place. I smiled at him as I thanked him for letting me borrow the books and fled towards my room trying not to start bawling.

I was starting to like him; really, really like him. And I think he was starting to really like me too which was bad. So, so incredibly bad. I needed to stop it but at the same time I just didn't want it to. He was the first person in a very long time to make me genuinely happy and I wanted to be selfish, I wanted to take something for once in my life to make me happy, but as I opened the door to my room and saw Jack sitting in the chair by my bed, I knew it just wasn't going to happen.