Bridging the Gap

Chapter 4

Cinderella couldn't help but smile as she entered her castle and was greeted by her husband. Kit had left Parents' Day earlier to make sure Alexandria had one parent at home, in case she needed anything. The nanny had contacted them and informed them that their youngest daughter had come down with a nasty cold. Privately Cinderella believed that Alexandria had had the cold for a few days but didn't want to let them know. The poor dear would rather suffer in silence and for the life of her, Cinderella had no idea where she got that from.

"How is she?" Cinderella asked, breaking from the embrace and looking up at her husband. Kit, for once, seemed a little disheveled; as if he had been running around like a chicken with his head cut off. He also seemed a bit confused as to why he was now damp but pressed on like a champion. Four kids made one less sensitive to clothing mishaps.

"Her fever's gone down and she's sleeping right now," Kit told her, keeping his voice relatively low. Despite the distance from the bedrooms, the hallways still echoed and Cinderella assumed he didn't want to risk waking up their daughter. "Kitty texted me the good news. We're hosting Drizella's daughter?"

Cinderella froze, not caring for how her husband had phrased that. "Kit?"

"Look, I love Dizzy as much as I can for knowing her only a few hours and I would be more than happy to host her," Kit said, backpedaling. "But we just got hit with a huge bomb with Chad's behavior. Can we trust him around Dizzy? We won't be here most of the time with royal duties."

Cinderella sighed, the good feeling she had left Auradon Prep with slowly deteriorating. "As much as it pains me to say it, I don't know. Belle asked me the same thing when I petitioned her for guardianship of Dizzy earlier. But the winter holidays are coming up soon and Kitty and Lucy both love her as their own sister. However, with Alexandria still sick, it might be better if we set up a room next to the twins rather than have Dizzy share with Alex."

"Why?" Kit asked as they walked to one of the spare rooms Cinderella had in mind. Cinderella sighed once more and looked at her husband.

"Kit, I just found out that almost none of the clothes we collected for the children of the Isle are getting to them," Cinderella said, the tears that she refused to show at the school now welling in the corners of her eyes as she thought of the kids wearing the same kind of outfits she used to wear. Tattered clothes covered in patches in an attempt to make them look new—or at least usable. "Evie admitted to designing a dress out of safety pins and duct tape. Mal said that clothes were harder to find than food since we didn't throw clothes out as often. Dizzy thought I would be mad at her because she got her clothes wet, simply because Drizella used to do it too. If they're not getting the clothing or the food, then chances are—"

"They're not getting the medication we've been arraigning either," Kit sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Dizzy probably has a much weakened immune system than our kids do."

"We don't know that," Cinderella told him, dabbing the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief in case Alexandria saw them. "They'd have to fight off the diseases they did get so they'd be used to them. But they're in a new world now, with possibly new germs. I don't know about Dizzy or Hadie but someone should warn the other kids about getting sick soon."

Kit nodded and remained silent as Cinderella walked toward the guest bedrooms and went through the remaining rooms, growing more and more frustrated with each one.

"Dear, why not let Dizzy pick her room?" Kit suggested and Cinderella paused. "Unless you're not just looking for a room for Dizzy?"

Cinderella sighed and faced her husband. "I asked Belle if I could petition Ben to bring Anastasia and her kids to Auradon. She said I could make my case next Thursday after the coronation."