The Next Cinderella

Chapter 20--Special Guest Appearance

Myrielle's thoughts floated in a haze as she stood in the royal hall. The latest lily ceremony was underway, following each girl's private chat with the prince. Myrielle already knew she was through to the next round after winning the corset-removing test, so she wound up feeling a whole lotta nothing when the prince gave her the lily and made his snarky remarks.

"Thank you," she said, faking a smile for Gianni's notes but incapable of anything more.

As he moved on to the bottom three and the requisite spectacle of drama, Myrielle freed her mind to play out all the possible scenarios. She wondered what would happen if the prince accidentally died; maybe he'd be trampled by pigs, and then what? The king didn't have any other children, so would they find a replacement prince? A younger brother from the Enchanted Kingdom named Prince Charming The Second? Or maybe the king would adopt someone in-house...Her wandering gaze locked in on Fredrick who dutifully held the tray of lilies. What if the king adopted Fredrick and made him the prince instead? Wasn't he already like a surrogate son?

"Fredrick!" the king cried out from his throne. Fredrick put down the tray of lilies and rushed over to address the emergency.

The king pointed to his throne's left armrest in disdain. "Do you see that?" he said, forcing Fredrick to eye-level with the armrest. "Those are greasy fingerprints." The king had never glared at Fredrick so intensely before this moment. "Fingerprints on my throne that's meant to be pristine!"

Fredrick examined the fingerprints, followed by a careful assessment of the king's pudgy sausage fingers. "Your highness...those fingerprints were only just formed...by your own hand...and the grease is the residue from the Cornish hens at dinner."

The king stared long and hard at his oily fingers. He was puzzled by the armrest ugliness of his own making, and reacted the only way he knew how. "Fetch a cloth and wipe it clean then!" He shooed away Fredrick angrily and leaned towards the queen. "Never trust a servant..." He scoffed. "Am I right or am I right?"

The queen stared straight ahead. "Napkins aren't just food bibs, dear; remember that for next time."

He brushed her off and gestured to the prince to carry on.

As Myrielle watched Fredrick race back to the king with a fresh cloth, she realized he probably wasn't surrogate son material after all. She clutched her lily tight and sighed, accepting that the horrid prince was the only hope she had to change her life...

***

A simple rectangular room had been Fredrick's home for years, with a single bed, a stack of books piled neatly on the floor, and a desk for writing letters to his family.

He had just returned after another seemingly endless day, and the first thing he did was pull off his servant's coat. He could've tossed it onto the ground but he hung it neatly behind the door, an influence of the day job no doubt. The thin cotton shirt he wore underneath his coat revealed a lean upper body you could rely on for a solid cuddle. It seemed that Fredrick had been holding out on the world, hiding his runner's frame and muscular arms. Having spent so little time around women in the castle, he was barely aware of his seven-percent body fat delights. He also didn't have a mirror in his room.

He sat at his desk and finished the last few lines of a letter to his family. Once he was done he sealed it and put it in a box that was already filled with candied fruit and every coin he'd saved in the last three weeks.

He left the box on the desk and collapsed onto the bed, remembering his stolen moments in the garden with Myrielle. He touched his cheek where she'd kissed him and felt a mixture of amazement and defeat. He wanted nothing more than for her to lose the contest, and if she did maybe he would get the courage to leave the servant world. Maybe then they could run away together and start a whole new life, except...what would his family do without his help? He glanced at the box and knew he had to stay, at least until the kingdom's fortunes turned around.