Chapter six:
"It's just through here, look."
Kit lead me through the trees and brushed back a curtain of leaves and vines. I followed him through and stared in awe at what he had shown me. It was a waterfall, falling from the rocks above us and spraying glittering mist into a perfectly clear pool of water.
I gasped and voiced a small laugh when I saw the small fish jumping out of the water, only to land back in with a small splash.
"I've never seen this place before." I told Kit. "And I have practically grown up in these woods. How ever did you find it?"
"I have spent many hours in these woods as well, Ella. I found this when I was younger, and I imagine very few people know of it."
"It's beautiful." I sighed, my eyes moving to look up at the waterfall then back down to the fish and then around us at the green plants with small flowers.
Kit and I continued our comfortable conversation and laughter as we admired the waterfall and the bright flowers. We talked about anything and everything, and I found myself easily telling him about my father and my mother, my stepmother and my stepsisters, and even how they called me 'Cinderella', although I had only met Kit briefly before.
I found myself trusting him and I was unsure of whether or not that was good. I would have to ask Dulcy, she would know.
The sun was well on its way down by the time Kit told me he would have to leave soon. I was disappointed, but I knew I should have left hours before. My stepmother and the girls would return home soon and they would be furious to see that all my chores were unfinished. The last thing I needed was for my stepmother to grow suspicious of my behavior when they were gone.
We slowly walked back into the woods were our horses were grazing together in the short green grass that grew only around the trees.
"I have loved every bit of this day with you, Lady Ella." Kit smiled kindly. I still felt odd when he called me 'Lady', because I wasn't one at all. I had shyly told him when he said it for the first time, but he only laughed and told me that I was most certainly a Lady where he was concerned.
"Will I see you again soon?" Kit asked, pausing before mounting his horse. His blue eyes met mine and I could see how badly he wished to meet me again. I smiled and ducked my head down to look at my shoes.
"I do not know. My stepmother sometimes goes days without letting me out of the house, and I don't know when they will go to the Palace next."
Kit nodded understandingly and moved closer to me.
"Well until I see you again, Lady Ella." Kit took my hand and brushed his lips against it. I smiled and knew I was blushing because Kit's smile widened.
"Until I see you again, Mister Kit." I returned happily. Kit stepped back and swung onto his horse. He picked up the reins and was trotting away in only a few moments. He looked back once and I curtsied playfully. I heard his quiet laugh and it made my heart beat unevenly until he was out of sight.
Then I sighed and tipped my head back when he was gone.
"Oh, what am I going to do, Elspeth?" I asked my horse. She looked up from the grass when she heard her name and I smiled.
"Never mind, you wouldn't know. But let's go find someone who might. Want to go to the market?"
Elspeth, of course, didn't understand me, but I swung onto her anyway and took her mane in my hands. We set out towards the marketplace at a canter and I hoped that Dulcy would be there when I arrived.
I figured my stepmother and my stepsisters would be at the Palace for at least a few more hours, and if they did arrive when I was out I could just tell them I had been into town. It wouldn't be a complete lie after all.
We arrived at the market and I wasn't surprised to see it bustling with people doing the last of their shopping for the day. The market was always at its busiest during the early evening, and I didn't mind at all, although it would make finding Dulcy a little bit harder.
I tied Elspeth to a post and swung down, tossing her an apple before I left.
"Ella, Ella!"
I was surprised to see Dulcy running towards me, and she earned a few glances from the older women at her shouting. She didn't seem to notice, or to mind.
"Dulcy, I was looking for you too! What is it, why are you so excited?"
"Ella, I think I saw the Prince!"
I giggled at her excitement and felt happy for her.
"You went back to the Palace?" I asked in surprise. I hadn't thought she would be allowed to go back so often.
"No, I think I saw him here, just a few moments ago. Nobody was with him though, which seems odd don't you think?"
"Yes, very much so. How do you know it was him?" We began walking together through the marketplace, weaving in and out of people and shops, talking over the loud voices of vendors.
"I don't exactly know for sure that it was him, but he looked like him."
I laughed again and looked at my excited friend. "You have seen the Prince before?" I asked in confusion. Dulcy nodded.
"Yes, once a few years ago. And the Lady I work for has also told me what the Prince looks like. If she wasn't married I think she would also be competing for his hand in a few days."
At this I laughed, and Dulcy smiled at me. She didn't overlook the fact that I was so happy and she inquired about it once she was findings telling me her story about seeing the Prince.
"What's got you so happy, Ella? Whatever it is, it should happen more often. You're practically glowing."
I smiled and looked at my friend shyly.
"I saw Kit today, we met in the woods again."
Dulcy seemed to remember me telling her a few days ago about our planned meeting today. She gasped and reached out to touch my arm.
"Oh Ella, that's lovely! How was it?"
"Wonderful." I gushed. "I wish my stepmother would keep my stepsisters at the Palace all the time so I could see him everyday."
Dulcy voiced a small 'aww' and seemed almost as happy for me as I was for myself.
"You will see him at the ball, don't forget."
"Yes I will. And I will find a way to go, no matter what my stepmother says."
"How very true, Ella."
The two of us strolled leisurely through the marketplace, laughing and talking about each other's fine day we had today. Dulcy was still very excited about seeing the Prince that I couldn't help but be happy for her as well.
When the sun began to touch the horizon, I told Dulcy that I needed to return home.
"Ella, must you?" She seemed disappointed and I hated to see the smile fall from her face. I nodded sadly.
"Yes, I do. If my stepmother gets back and sees me gone with all the chores undone, it will certainly get her angry. And after the day they had at the Palace, I don't want to be the reason she becomes upset."
Dulcy nodded understandingly and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Take care of yourself, and keep working on that dress." She whispered.
I smiled and promised her that I would do both.
As I walked back to Elspeth, I thought about the upcoming ball held at the Palace. It would arrive soon, in only four days to be exact. As the days grew closer my stepsisters grew more excited, and I did as well if I were to be completely honest with myself.
Like Kit had said, my stepmother had no reason to not let me go if I did not even wish to see the Prince. I would gladly let my stepsisters take up all of his attention, but my stepmother obviously did not want anything to go wrong or anyone to possibly stand in her daughters' way.
I mounted Elspeth and slowly rode back to the house and hoped that my stepsisters would be away for at least a few more hours.
When I returned, I started immediately on the chores I still had yet to do. As I worked I thought about the wonderful pair of shoes that Dulcy had bought for me at the Palace marketplace a day ago. What would become of them if I was unable to attend the ball?
Would my stepmother take them, along with the dress?
Sadly, I could imagine her doing so.
I sighed and carefully picked up a bronze figurine from the mantle, dusting underneath it.
Or perhaps my stepmother didn't want me to attend the ball because she was afraid that the Prince would notice me, was that it?
Perhaps that was the reason she refused to have four gowns made?
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
My father, before he died, always said that I thought about things too much. I smiled as I finished dusting the mantle and started on the picture frames. Part of the reason I wanted to attend this ball was for my mother and father. If they were alive they would be just overjoyed with the thought of me actually going to the Palace and dancing with the Lords and Ladies
Once the dusting was finished I started preparing supper, even though my stepmother and stepsisters had yet to arrive home. I couldn't believe what they were doing at the Palace for so long, they might have seen the Prince. In an odd sort of way I actually hoped they had seen him, even spoken to him perhaps. That would put them all in fine moods for days until the ball arrived. I wondered what the Prince was like as I slowly stirred the pot of soup on the stove.
Was he like Kit, kind and gentle and always smiling?
Or was he the opposite, cold and hard and never laughing?
I supposed my stepsisters wouldn't care either way. They only cared about his power, his money, the chance of them having power and money as well. They didn't care at all how he acted, at least none they had let on.
The sound of a carriage arriving outside caused me to look up from the half-prepared supper.
They had returned.
I hurried to the front door and opened it into the dusk. My stepsisters were just stepping out from the carriage and I smiled when I saw the looks on their faces. They were both flushed and had the widest smiles on, their hands were full of jewelry and shoes and lace and beads.
"How was it, then?" I asked casually, helping Anastasia with the three new pairs of shoes she had bought. At my question both my stepsisters practically screamed and they both began to giggle uncontrollably. My smile didn't fade, but I looked towards my stepmother for clarification.
The thin woman had just exited the carriage, which was now pulling away from the house. She too looked excited, something that caught me a little by surprise. I couldn't remember the last time she had looked excited. Happy, yes, but never excited.
"My daughters," she started, elegantly striding up the stairs to where Anastasia and Drusella stood next to me, "my beautiful daughters..." She paused and placed a hand around each of my stepsisters. I waited patiently for what she was going to say, but I didn't really care as long as it made them happy, which it certainly seemed to have. My stepsisters squealed and smiled proudly at my stepmother.
"...met the Prince!"
My stepmother flourished her hands in a elegant pose as my stepsisters went back to laughing and almost swooning.
I let out a small gasp and my hand flew to my mouth in surprise.
"The Prince? How wonderful, how truly wonderful!" I followed my stepmother inside where the smell of the supper was just beginning to waft into the parlor.
"Yes it was wonderful!" Drusella said after finally pulling herself together.
"We looked at each other and our hearts met, even it was just for an instant, I imagine he'll be searching for me at the ball!"
I laughed pleasantly and set Anastasia's shoes down by Drusell's jewelry and my stepmother's parasol.
"But you didn't see him look at me!" Anastasia interrupted her sister.
"I could have sworn he did a double take when our eyes met, and he even smiled at me! No, dear sister, he will not be looking for you but for me!"
Anastasia said the words 'dear sister' with an almost tangible amount of sarcasm and Drusella frowned.
"No, I imagine not. I am the prettiest after all-"
"That's not so! The Prince certainly looked at me the longest, just ask mother! Mother!"
I slipped out of the parlor as my stepsisters were arguing and continued making supper. My heart was racing from the excitement, even though I had no part of it and did not experience what my stepsisters had.
The supper was ready shortly and my stepsisters hungrily ate it all up. My stepmother didn't even bother to remind them about their manners, as they had recently been practicing how to eat meals as if they were royalty.
They both made me stay as they ate and they proceeded to take much joy in re-telling the whole story of how they met the Prince to me.
I leaned up against the table and listened gladly to my stepsisters for once. After all, I did want to know.
"We were just shopping for a broach because mine was too small, you see." Drusella started out, waving her hands around as she spoke.
"And all of a sudden there's a commotion behind us in the street. People start getting loud and talking excitedly. So we turn around, and there he is on a horse!"
"Yes, his horse ran right up to where we were standing and stopped right in front of us!" Anastasia said dramatically, dropping her spoon in the process.
"Everyone curtsied and bowed of course, but he didn't even notice. He just looked at all of us and demanded to know where the Captain of the Guard was."
"The Captain of the Guard?" I asked Anastasia, thinking of the man who was helping the Grand Duke find Kit that one day, and the secret we had shared between the two of us about Kit's whereabouts.
"Yes, and don't interrupt, Cinderella. Anyways, we conveniently had see the Grand Duke with the Royal Guard not five minutes before, but we had thought nothing of it at the time. So I step up to his horse and curtesy and say 'Your Grace, I believe the Grand Duke was just here. Where he has gone, I cannot say.'"
"Yes, and while she was talking, the Prince was looking at me the whole time!" Drusella said loudly, holding her spoon in the air. Anastasia hurried to finish her side of the story.
"I don't believe so, but when I had told him that, he looked at me and smiled! His smile was so kind, I wanted to melt into a puddle on the street!"
I voiced a small laugh and politely covered my mouth with my hand. Anastasia's story had reminded me of Kit, and I found it funny how the Prince acted just like him.
"Then the Prince said 'Thank you, my Lady' and then he rode away to find the Captain of the Guard. Can you believe that, he called me his lady!"
Anastasia was obviously getting more excited about this as she told the story and I was pretty sure she would faint if she got any more worked up.
I smiled kindly at both my stepsisters's good moods and leaned forward towards the table.
"What did he look like?" I asked curiously, mostly to distract them from the fact that I had chores I still had to do. Drusella gasped placed a hand to her heart.
"He was as handsome as any man could have possibly been!"
I laughed again and raised an eyebrow.
"Really? How so?"
"Well he had the most beautiful smile that could make any girl swoon, and he wasn't even trying! And his hair was dark brown, like chocolate! And you should have seen his eyes, they were hypnotizing!"
I smiled at Drusella's choice of words. Their story again reminded me of Kit, and when Drusela mentioned the Prince's eyes, Kit's bright blue ones immediately popped into my head.
"Where they blue?" I asked before I could stop myself. Drusella gasped again and dramatically closed her eyes. Anastasia gladly answered for her sister.
"They were like the sky and the ocean and the rain and everything else blue all at once!"
I sighed and let a small smile form on my face. I was no longer imagining a Prince in my head, I was thinking about Kit and how I had thought the same thing s when I first met him. But, unlike my stepsisters, I had a much better ability to keep my emotions to myself and not come home blushing and giggling.
"That sounds wonderful." I whispered to Anastasia. The girl nodded sincerely and once again began the conversation with Drusella over who the Prince liked more.
As they started another argument, I slipped out of the kitchen and went downstairs to the dresses that needed to be washed.
All I wanted was a chance to be as happy as my stepsisters were just now, even hours after meeting the Prince. I was glad they were so happy because it would keep them from yelling at me and giving me extra work, and if my stepmother kept her good mood she might even allow me to join them to the ball.
All I did for the rest of the night was think about Kit and how I had been reminded of him when my stepsisters described the Prince.