Cinderella: The Cinder from the Ash

Chapter Eighteen

The queen seated herself at the long wooden table, next to the king. "You look lovely. Please, sit down. We do not stand on ceremony here. Not anymore."

Ella nodded. "Thank you." She smoothed down the plain purple frock she wore before she took the seat next to Grey. Without the undead makeup, and the copious amounts of mud, he was quite handsome, with curly black hair, slate-gray eyes, and skin nearly as pale as hers. His parents were a matched set. Looking at the king, it was easy to see where Grey got his curly locks from, although the face was sterner and more careworn. Alyeria looked like an older version of the woman in the stained glass, with long blond hair plaited down to her waist. "The stained glass...that's you, right?"

Alyeria smiled. "Yes, in much younger times. Your father presented it to us around twenty-five years ago, I would venture."

"It's beautiful," Ella said.

"As are you, dear." The queen smiled, and tiny crows' feet appeared at the corners of her cornflower blue eyes.

Ella blushed. "I—thank you for the gowns. I don't—I haven't worn anything but black since Papa vanished."

"Then that shall be remedied after we have dealt with your stepmother and stepsisters."

Blanching, Ella shrank back in her chair. "They're here?"

"We had them, along with the undead who helped you, brought to the castle earlier today," Leopold said.

"What are you going to do?"

The king leaned forward. "That is not your concern, young lady. As much as you may be personally invested, you are not involved in these proceedings. This is a matter of King's Law, no matter what your feelings towards your stepmother may be. It's machinations like these that must be stopped. If we do not, then the law itself becomes pointless."

"But Eva..." Ella protested.

"Evangeline Beaumont shall be rewarded, as will Alain, and the rest," Alyeria reassured. "We will not forget their kindness toward you when you needed it most."

Grey reached under the table and squeezed her hand. "Everyone will get exactly what they deserve, Ella. Did I not promise you that?"

She smiled. "Yes, you did."

The queen rang a bell sitting at her elbow. "Let us have some breakfast. I am quite hungry, and I am sure you are the same."

Am I really going to be able to eat openly? Hopefully it's something more than carrots, potatoes, and radishes! Her stomach rumbled and she blushed, sure everyone at the table heard it.

The first course nearly took her breath away: a platter full of nothing but bread was set in the middle of the table, followed swiftly by one of fresh fruits and vegetables. Strawberries the size of her thumb nestled among thinly sliced cucumbers and beds of lettuce. It was largess past her wildest imaginings. Leaning toward Grey, Ella whispered, "Do you eat like this every day?"

He whispered back, "There's also meat, look."

"I—I don't eat brains," she stuttered.

Grey laughed, shaking his head. "I am not laughing at you, Ella. No, not brains. Meat. We do not consume large quantities of it, but it does grace our table from time to time."

"I've never tried it," she confessed.

"What, never?" The queen asked. "Oh, you must, but only a tiny portion or it will make you quite ill. Abigail, give Ms. Ella a bit of everything, please. Andrina, serve everyone else, if you would not mind."