Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Ella. Her father doted on her, particularly after her mother died, leaving her father to care for her alone. Loneliness struck him, and with time, he remarried a cruel, conniving woman named Angela. This stepmother had two daughters, Claire and Dale, who she groomed to win husbands some day.

Unfortunately, as tragedy tends to strike, Ella’s father died shortly before she was old enough to begin her courtship. Without Ella’s father to stop her, the stepmother treated Ella as a maid, forcing her to cook and clean for her family. When Ella was forced to sleep in the fireplace among the cinders to stay warm, her step-sisters mocked her, calling her Cinderella.

Then, a day arrived when the prince of the land announced that he would hold a ball. The king and queen had despaired of ever finding a bride for Prince Brian. Thus, they announced a royal ball to which every eligible maiden in the land was invited. When Cinderella learned of the ball, she dreamed of marrying a prince and escaping her life of servitude.

On the night of the ball, Cinderella snuck out of her house wearing clothes she’d hidden away when her father had died. They’d once belonged to her mother, and Cinderella felt particularly beautiful in her white gown and glass shoes.

When Cinderella arrived at the ball, she and the prince spotted each other across the room, and practically fell into each other’s arms with love. Cinderella had to return home before midnight so that her stepmother and step-sisters, who had come to the ball without her, wouldn’t come home to find her missing and realize what had happened. When the bell chimed and Cinderella realized she’d lost all sense of time during her dream-like time with the prince, she fled the ball.

When her glass slipper slipped off her foot during her flight, Cinderella couldn’t even take the time to stop and pick it up. The prince found the slipper, and swore to his parents that the first woman he’d find whose feet could fit into the small, delicate slipper would become his wife.

Thus does Cinderella’s story begin.

………………………………...

On the night of the ball, Duchess Kimberly of Saveriene wore one of the most expensive dresses she’d ever owned. At her mother’s insistence, Duchess Kimberly sat still for three hours while maids fixed her hair in the latest fashion, perfected her make-up, and even painted her nails for her.

Kimberly didn’t tend to have patience for such prodding and beautifying. While she appreciated the vision she became once her black hair had been curled and twisted around fake birds, and while she was always stunned by the fine work of the duchy’s best tailors, Kimberly tended to consider her time best spent with her nose buried in a book. The duchess was such a fan of study, in fact, that when she’d been a child and her father had still lived, she’d begged for permission to join a convent when she was of age and to dedicate her life to quite study and contemplation. As the duke’s only child, however, Kimberly had been forbidden from doing anything that would cause the family’s lands to pass into her uncle’s hands.

Despite the fact that a royal marriage was out of the question, Kimberly was expected to attend the ball as a noble in order to support her prince. Thus, an entire day was wasted as her servants and beauty experts hired by her mother surrounded her and tried to make her into a beauty. By the time evening fell, Kimberly was ready to scream, and anxious to arrive at the ball where she could dance and move and end her weariness of sitting still.

The duchess was lucky, as her family estates were only a few hours’ ride from the ball. While the sun began to set and the sky became purple, she climbed into the carriage and set off. As she rode, Duchess Kimberly looked out the window and noted that the sky was darker than usual for this hour.

The cause of the darkness was soon apparent, as rain began to fall. The attendant who rode with Duchess Kimberly closed her windows, explaining, “Your dress is far too expensive to risk getting wet during the ride.”

Without the view, Duchess Kimberly soon grew bored, and dozed a bit in her seat. This was perhaps for the best, as she’d have been almost inconceivably frightened had she known what went on outside. As the rain poured, the dirt roads that wound through Saveriene became muddy. The horses trained to pull the carriage across now soft ruts, but the farther they traveled, the more difficult the journey began.

Finally, the carriage driver halted the ride and pulled open his mistress’s door, startling Kimberly awake. “My lady,” he gasped, bowing low and spraying the inside of the carriage with water. “I apologize, but we cannot reach the ball with the roads as they are. We must stop.”

A bit of fear rose in Kimberly’s chest as she gazed at the torrent outside. “We cannot spend the night here, on the road,” she protested. “There are bandits, and wolves!”

“We can unhitch the horses from the carriage and ride further for shelter,” Kimberly’s driver suggested. “Although the roads are too dangerous with the carriage, which could flip over, they are sure-footed and can bring us to shelter.”

“Ride to the ball?” Kimberly repeated, aghast at the breach of etiquette but simultaneously thrilled at the aspect of an adventure.

“Absolutely not,” her attendant protested. “It would be completely improper, and the rain would disarray her hair and dress!”

“We can’t stay here!” Kimberly argued.

“You and I will ride home, where no one of importance can see your sorry state,” the attendant proclaimed. “Our rider can go onward to apologize to the prince for our absence.”

While Kimberly was nervous about leaving her driver to fend for himself on the road, but everyone involved agreed that there were little options. Thus, the driver set out for the castle to provide the proper apology and subservience to the prince. Duchess Kimberly and her attendant, meanwhile, rode together on a single horse to get home.

Thus does Kimberly’s story begin.

………………………………...

In the name of love, Prince Brian visited the household of every eligible maiden in the land and allowed her to try on the single glass slipper, which was all that remained of his dream girl. Likewise, every unmarried and unengaged woman of the proper age was required to try on the slipper, even if she denied her presence at the ball. The prince had promised to marry the first woman on whom the shoe fit, even if she was not his love.

Cinderella, although she was aware that many eligible women lived in the kingdom, had great hope that the slipper would reach her and she would have the opportunity to try it on. She knew that her feet were unusually small, and that the prince had announced that he would begin his search in the duchy of Saveriene, where she lived. She trusted that it was only a matter of time until all her dreams came true.

So trusting was Cinderella, in fact, that for the first time, she showed insolence to her cruel stepmother. While she would never want to hurt anyone, even her cruel stepmother, Cinderella knew that soon her entire step-family would be subservient to her as their queen, and finally, she refused to work for Angela, Claire, or Dale.

As a reward for her newfound confidence, Cinderella was severely beaten, and as she lay in the fireplace that evening crying, she assured herself that in a matter of a few more days, not only would everything be all right, but her life would be made perfect.

………………………………...

The prince began his search with the noble families of Saveriene. Thus, Duchess Kimberly was only the third woman he visited with his glass slipper. The duchess bowed low to the prince as all her attendants and courtiers assembled in the great hall, eager to catch a glimpse of the pomp and excitement associated with a visit from royalty.

“Your Highness,” Duchess Kimberly said formally as she rose. “It is with great pleasure that I invite you to our humble castle. Trust that anything you need or desire will be made available to you immediately upon your request.”

“And you can trust that I will not take advantage of your kind offer,” the prince responded kindly. “Fear not, dear duchess. I seek not to impede on your hospitality, but only to discover if your foot will fit this shoe.”

The prince waved his arm, and an attendant surged forward with a glass slipper on a pillow. Duchess Kimberly’s first thought was that the shoes were hopelessly impractical; she couldn’t imagine who would want to wear such things. Her next thought was that they were quite beautiful, and suited for a royal ball, if not for anything else.

For a moment, Kimberly froze. She supposed that in the name of all dignity and in order to avoid exposing her ankles by lifting her skirts, she’d need to sit. However, the prince still stood before her, having refused the offer of a seat earlier. Kimberly recognized that unfortunately, she’d never been instructed in the proper protocol for trying on shoes before royalty.

As the pause became awkward, the prince saved her, gesturing toward the throne where she usually sat when hearing supplications from her people. Nervously and feeling the heavy weight of her mother’s disapproving stare, Duchess Kimberly strode toward her throne and took a seat.

The attendant took Duchess Kimberly’s foot gingerly, apparently sensing her discomfort. Then, he took the glass slipper and slipped it onto her foot. It fit perfectly.

An audible gasp resonated through the courtroom. The prince, who seemed startled and almost disappointed stepped forward. Taking Duchess Kimberly’s hand, he swallowed a lump in his throat, and spoke loudly enough that everyone in the courtroom could hear. “Kimberly of Saveriene,” he called, “will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Stunned at the development, Kimberly responded under her breath so as not to be overheard. “I wasn’t there,” she whispered. “I’m not the woman you’re looking for.”

“I know,” the prince answered with the same volume and an almost painful intensity. “You look nothing like her, you don’t move like her. You’re not my love, but I made a promise to my parents.”

Pained, Kimberly noticed how much it seemed to hurt the prince to ask her. However, she also knew that one does not turn down a royal marriage proposal. “I do,” she answered.

………………………………...

News of the royal wedding spread through the countryside like wildfire, and while Cinderella’s household rarely heard news more than a few months after it took place, they heard of the engagement the very day after it was confirmed.

Devastated, Cinderella felt her world crash around her as she heard that the prince hadn’t come for her after all; instead, he was engaged to some duchess. Her step-mother expressed polite disapproval as she poured tea for the messenger, but Cinderella felt tears well up in her eyes.

Not wanting to be seen in her tearful shame, Cinderella fled upstairs. After thinking for a few minutes, she knew what she had to do.

Of course, Cinderella couldn’t prepare right away. Her step-mother, mortified at Cinderella’s flight from a polite conversation, beat her again, almost as savagely as she had the day Cinderella had refused to draw her bathwater. Cinderella cried the night away again, not only because of the physical pain on her back from the whip, but also because she recognized that she’d never be pulled from her life.

If she would never be rescued, however, Cinderella knew she’d have to take matters into her own hands and rescue herself. Thus, she waited until her step-mother and step-sister had left for a stroll around the lake, then she snuck upstairs to Claire’s bedroom.

Pulling out Claire’s biggest chest, Cinderella threw all the clothes and valuables that she could fit into it. Cinderella felt a momentary pang of guilt to know that she was stealing from her step-sister, but she feared to starve on city streets, and trusted that if she stole enough, she could pawn off her sister’s possessions to pay for a room and for food. Her family could replace the items and spare them more easily than Cinderella could.

When the bag was half-full, however, Cinderella was startled when she heard the door open. Terrified to be caught in her act of theft, Cinderella spun around and moved in front of the bag, as if she could hide it with her body. Claire stood in the entrance to her room.

“Cinderella,” Claire gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Cinderella blurted. “Cleaning out your closet. I thought you’d like to be surprised when I organized it for you, and I feel so bad about running out on that messenger yesterday. I wanted to make it up to you.”

Claire stepped past Cinderella to look over the half-packed bag. “You were running away, weren’t you?” she asked.

“Please, don’t tell Angela,” Cinderella begged. She often addressed her step-mother by first name when she wasn’t around; she’d never been able to stand calling the woman step-mother, or even worse, mother.

Claire looked at Cinderella with compassion in her eyes. “I won’t tell,” she offered. “Mom doesn’t know I’m here. I came back for a jacket.”

“And you don’t mind that I’m stealing from you?” Cinderella asked.

Claire indicated that Cinderella should take a seat, and put an arm around her step-sister as she sat. “Ella,” she began, dropping her cruel nickname, “I know you’ve had it tough. I know that Mom hasn’t treated you well, and Dale and I haven’t really made it easy for you, either.”

“Claire,” Cinderella began, but stopped. While she knew she should protest out of politeness, she couldn’t deny that what her step-sister said was true.

“I’m sorry,” Claire sighed. “I’m sorry I’ve picked on you so much. I know there’s not really an excuse, but I always teased you with Dale because I was afraid of what she and Mom would say. You don’t know what it’s like, always being expected to be polite and beautiful and to catch a wealthy husband. Sometimes, it was easier to make Mom angry at you than to live with her wrath.”

Too emotionally drained to truly listen to what Claire said, Cinderella muttered, “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?”

Obviously hurt by Cinderella’s words, Claire started back, then responded, “Well, I guess not. But I need you, Ella. I know it’s not fair to you, but when Mom is picking on you, she’s not picking on Dale or me. I don’t think you realize how bad it was for us before she married your dad. I thought of running away a lot of times myself, but I never did, because I couldn’t. We’re family, and we’re supposed to stick together.”

“I’m not really part of your family,” Cinderella complained.

Claire sighed, then said, “I guess I can’t make you do anything. If you’re set on running away, you’re going to run away, but I just want you to know that Dale and I see what you’re going through, and even though we don’t say or do anything, we appreciate it. We really do.”

“Thank you,” Cinderella muttered.

“If you stay, we’ll try to make things easier for you,” Claire continued. “If you promise not to let Mom know, I’ll let you wear my clothes when we’re out. And, I’ll bring you left-overs from our table so that you won’t need to go to bed early. Dale and I will even call you by your real name. You won’t have to be Cinderella any more.”

Cinderella looked her step-sister in the face. While the gestures were undeniably small, they were the nicest thing anyone had done for her since her father had died. “Does it really mean that much to you?” she asked.

“Of course,” Claire answered. “Cinderella- I mean, Ella- you may not realize it, but you hold this family together.”

Cinderella sighed. “If it means that much to you, I’ll stay,” she muttered.

“Thank you!” Claire cried, throwing her arms around Cinderella’s neck in a tight hug. As she pulled away, she cringed a bit, then said, “Listen, I’ve got to get back outside. Mom’s going to wonder where I’ve been.”

“I’ll clean up my mess,” Cinderella answered, indicating the disarray of her stepsister’s closet. “Angela will never need to know what’s happened.”

“That sounds good,” said her step-sister. Claire was practically glowing with joy at Cinderella’s confirmation that she would remain with her family. Apparently still fearful of getting in trouble, Claire departed, forgetting the cloak she had come home to retrieve in the first place.

………………………………...

Kimberly hated to have a fuss made over her, but when she was to be married to a prince, she was certain to be the center of national attention.

Four seamstresses worked almost non-stop for one full week to have the most opulent dress Kimberly had ever seen completed for the wedding. In anticipation for the wedding, the king and queen had prepared most everything in advance, and all that needed to be finalized was the bride.

When the day arrived, Kimberly had only spoken to Prince Brian once since the proposal, and that had been to approve various plans for the wedding. Thus, as three attendants dressed her before the ceremony, Kimberly feared she would faint, as she felt so nervous. Not only was she about to swear her life away to a complete stranger, but she would do so with the eyes of the entire nation upon her.

During the long minutes that Kimberly sat alone in the atrium, waiting for the song to begin to play and usher her into the nave, she ran her hands over the decorative statues of saints. She longed to live her life studying art and history and everything else that waited to be studied, but instead, she was now committing herself to a man she didn’t know, and the life of a queen. While she’d sometimes engage in diplomatic exercises, most of her duties would include looking beautiful and standing by her husband’s side.

The wedding passed in a haze, as if it was a dream. Kimberly found herself reciting her vows, barely knowing what she was saying, simply reciting the words. Soon, all was finished, and she found herself alone in a bedroom with the stranger who was now her husband.

When all was finished, Kimberly lay awake and cried.

………………………………...

Ella seemed changed after her agreement with Claire, although her stepmother hardly noticed. The farmer who delivered eggs and milk to her household once a week did seem to notice, however, and a mere week after the royal wedding, appeared in the family’s kitchen to discuss the change.

Pouring him a cup of tea, Angela made polite conversation. “How has all at the farm gone?’ she asked. “Cream or sugar?”

“I’ll take it black, thanks,” the farmer replied. “I have to be honest, life has been difficult since Jenna died. Our child is barely six months old now, and I must leave my older children home to keep a watch on David. I can’t work the land myself; I need another wife to help me.”

“I sympathize, of course, Leo,” the step-mother replied. “But as you said yourself, Jenna died in childbirth merely six months ago. Surely, you cannot in good propriety seek to marry again so soon!”

“Propriety isn’t so easy to come by when you have a farm to run,” Leo replied. “You’re lucky in that your husband left you a hefty inheritance- no insult intended, of course.”

“And none taken,” Angela replied, but she pursed her lips in annoyance. She had worked hard to bring her daughters out as suitable maidens for high lords, not for a minor land-owner with no more to his name than a few skinny pigs and a few acres of land. “However, I’m afraid I cannot help you in that regard. Both my daughters are already in marriage negotiations.”

Leo seemed unperturbed by the lie. “No need to fear, Angela,” he announced. “It’s not your daughters that I came here to speak of.”

Surprised by the confession, Angela could only sputter in confusion for a few moments. “If not- then why?”

“I’ve spoken with Ella a few times while delivering milk and eggs here before,” Leo began. “She’s been most agreeable: polite, kind, and quite attractive. In addition, she’s seemed quick to perform her chores, and responsibility is especially important when taking care of children and trying to run a farm.”

“Cinder- that is, you want to marry Ella?” Angela gasped, unable to comprehend why anyone would be interested in the girl she’d always seen as a brat.

“I know what protests you’ll make,” Leo interjected. “I’m nearly twenty years older than she, but to be honest, Angela, I’m old enough not to look for some heady romance any more. I need a nice, reasonable marriage, and I think this is the best offer you’ll get for Ella. She’s much too small to bear too many children, but after burying two wives, I’ve had all the children I’ll need, thank you very much. Besides that, she hasn’t been seen in society much. I can’t imagine you’ll be able to make a noble marriage for her.”

Angela wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by the farmer’s insight or offended at the implied criticism of her parenting skills. “You’re quite sure of your position,” she observed.

“I’m not going to beg,” Leo countered. “I’m not desperate for a wife, I just think it would be. . .nice. I’m not going to bargain, however. I don’t need a dowry; you can agree to let me marry Ella, or I can leave right now. Your choice.”

Angela leaned forward and smiled. She’d always been impressed by men who knew how to take a stand for themselves.

………………………………...

Princess Kimberly’s days tended to run one into the other. Mornings, afternoons, evenings, and nights, she always did the same thing. She acted against different backdrops; sometimes, she knitted, sometimes, she rode or walked through the royal gardens, but always, she was surrounded by attendants who gossiped and giggled and bored her out of her mind.

Kimberly’s only escape was late at night, when she could claim weariness and retire to her bedchamber. There, by candlelight, she could read books she’d removed from the royal library and treat her mind to the feast it was denied during most of her waking hours.

On rare evenings, however, the respite was spoiled by a timid tap at her door, and a nervous attendant who would say, “The prince requests your presence in his bedchambers.” Then, Kimberly would leave the sanctity of her own room for the alien bed of the prince. She would perform her wifely duty, which wasn’t always unpleasant, but which was always followed by an awkwardness specific to a couple who are still basically strangers but who just made love.

This changed one night, when after he was finished, the prince rolled over and ran his hands through Kimberly’s black hair. “You know, you’re really quite beautiful,” he breathed.

“Thank you,” Kimberly replied.

She expected her husband to roll over and sleep, as he tended to, but instead, he continued to try and start a conversation with her, saying, “You don’t look anything like her, though. The woman I met at the ball. She was fair, and very skinny- almost too skinny, but she moved with such grace! You look very different, but still, you’re beautiful in your own way.”

Irritated, Kimberly lay in silence, wondering if he expected her to apologize for not being his true love.

“Kimberly, I think we got off to a bad start,” the prince observed. “We’re so distant. I know it’s a risk with arranged marriages, but my parents so clearly love one another. I wish we could be like that.”

“Your Highness?” Kimberly questioned.

“Please,” the prince replied. “You are my wife, and while decorum must be observed in public, when we’re together, like this, just call me Brian.”

“Very well, Brian,” Kimberly responded, uncertain how to tread on this new ground. “And you may call me Kim.”

Brian smiled and caressed her face in such a gentle way, Kim had to smile. “Kim,” he breathed. “I like that.”

………………………………...

Ella’s wedding was very small, with only her stepmothers and her husband’s oldest son serving as witnesses. The priest recited a short prayer and read the ceremony, and before Ella could blink or ask herself if this was really what she wanted, she was whisked away in a carriage down a rocky road toward the farm a few scant miles from her own home.

After a few short weeks living and working on the farm, Ella settled into an easy routine. Although she was treated far better than she ever had been while living with Angela and her step-sisters, Ella still dreamed of the easy live of leisure and joy she could have lived had she married the prince and become a princess.

Instead, her days were filled with rising early to cook breakfast for her husband and the field hands. Then, she would watch the children and care for them in the morning, until they fell into a nap and she had time to wash clothing, dishes, the kitchen table, and anything else that was soiled. Next, she’d mend her husband’s family’s clothes, which became more worn with each day as his children grew.

After lunch, she would begin preparing dinner for all on the farm, a task made all the more difficult by the children underfoot. Then Leo, his oldest children, and two or three other farmhands would return home after a long day of work smelling of sweat and pigs. If it was a Sunday, Ella was tasked with the chore of drawing everyone’s bath. Otherwise, all went to bed, where Ella would wrinkle her nose at her husband’s stench but crawl into bed with him nonetheless.

Often, the children fell asleep early, and Ella and Leo would sit awake together in the few dwindling hours before they’d go to bed. She’d balance the records for the farm, and he’d smoke his pipe in thoughtful contemplation. Sometimes, Ella would catch him staring at her with a gaze that seemed to ask, “What’s wrong?”

She never answered. She couldn’t bring herself to tell her husband that she was unhappy because she’d given her heart to their prince. She still hadn’t told anyone of her experiences that magical night of the ball.

Ella still kept her one remaining glass slipper. She hid it buried in the drawer where she kept her clothes, and late at night, while Leo slept, she would pull it out and stare at its gleaming surface, dreaming of a better life she’d never have.

………………………………...

Since the couple had given one another permission to address one another by name, Kim had taken to sleeping in Brian’s bed nearly every night. Sometimes, they did nothing more than sleep, but Kim found it comforting to rest in his strong arms and to know that even she was loved.

Despite the new developments in her personal life, however, Kim’s daytime life was still hellish. Brian seemed to notice, and one night, while they prepared for bed, he questioned her. “Kim,” he began as she set aside her hairbrush. “Are you happy?”

Although Kim wasn’t facing her husband, she knew he saw the reflection of her smile in the mirror as she replied, “Of course, my dear. Why do you ask?”

Brian stepped behind his wife and laid comforting hands on her shoulders. He began rubbing her neck as he explained, “I’m glad to hear that. I’ve tried so hard to make you happy. It’s just that during the day, when I see you with the ladies, you never seem to smile. It makes me wonder, sometimes.”

Despite her newfound trust in her husband, Kim still hadn’t told him of her frustrations concerning her position. Now that she was directly questioned concerning it, however, Kim felt she could hold her tongue no longer, and with an unexpected sob, she made her confession. “The life of a lady is so boring!” she cried. “I know it is my duty as princess and future queen to follow court intrigue, but I have no heart for it. I would much rather participate in men’s political talk.”

Concern crossed Brian’s face, and he knelt beside Kim so that he could look her in the eye. “Kim, you understand the importance of what you do, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Kim responded. “Every court will have intrigue, including the one where I grew up. The difference there was that when I was young, I always knew I was destined for something greater than the plotting and constant vying for power. Then, when my father died and I was named the next duchess, I was in charge. I could use my mind! Now, I’m among the ordinary ladies again, and this time I have no hope of escape. It’s aggravating beyond description!”

“You want a position where you can think,” Brian observed aloud. Kissing her on the temple and rising to his feet again, he announced, “It is your very unpredictability that causes me to love you all the more! I’ll see what I can do to get you more involved in politics.”

“Really?” Kim gasped as a small flutter of hope bloomed in her chest.

“Of course,” Brian answered. “There are few things I love more than making you happy.”

To underscore his words, he lifted her from her seat and carried her to bed.

………………………………...

Ella’s work was doubly hard when Leo’s eldest son, George, sprained his ankle feeding the chickens. Now she not only had to perform her ordinary chores, but she also found herself constantly checking on the ten-year-old boy, who was clearly bored lying down all day and seemed prone to get himself into trouble if Ella was not vigilant.

She was only pleased that she had no children of her own, despite her year and a half of married life. Sometimes, she wondered how she was able to put up with the creatures every day.

While fetching the boy a cup of warm milk, Ella managed to loose track of the two-year-old, and didn’t find her again until Ella strode up the stairs and found the toddler had decimated Ella’s bedroom. Her clothes and her few ornamentations were strewn throughout the room, and the child sucked on Ella’s dress, her one piece of fine clothing.

Worst of all, the shattered glass beneath the chest revealed that the child had shattered Ella’s glass slipper, and with it, her final connection to old dreams that had never come true.

Ever since her aborted attempt to escape her slave-like existence with her step-family, Ella had considered herself particularly prone to running away. The shattering of her slipper seemed almost like an omen to Ella, who decided then and there that she could not live this life another day.

Ella did not make the same mistake she had before in wasting her time packing bags. The only precaution she made was to bring the baby and the toddler to George and placed them before the bench where he lay. “I need to fetch some water from the well,” she announced. “Can you watch the children while I go out?”

“Sure,” George answered.

Mere minutes later, Ella rode from the farm on a horse she’d stolen from the stables. She didn’t know where she was headed, only that the world lay open before her, despite the rumbling grey sky that ominously growled before her. Soon, fat raindrops began to splatter in Ella’s face.

Unfortunately, despite her time on the farm, Ella knew little about horses, and didn’t recognize the danger until her horse twisted his hoof in a muddy puddle and fell. Ella screamed and managed to avoid hurting herself, although the horse didn’t get up right away. She was vaguely aware that she should kill the horse to put it out of its misery, but had no tool to do so. She left it suffering and continued on foot.

As the evening became night, however, and Ella continued in her rain-soaked clothes, she felt herself beginning to shiver. Fearing that she was going to become feverish, Ella stumbled forward, feeling more sickly with each passing moment.

While the silvery moon finally broke from behind its cloud cover and bathed the forest in pale light, Ella collapsed, feverish, beside a towering oak tree.

………………………………...

Kim found her widening girth harder to maneuver with each passing month. While Brian claimed that she was never more beautiful than when she carried his son, Kim found herself struggling to get around, and awaited the date five months hence when her child would leave her body and enter her arms.

Rarely was Kim so frustrated as when she had to be somewhere in something of a hurry, like now. The ailing king wasn’t expected to recover or survive more than a few more days, and inexplicably, he’d called not for one of his family members to come to his deathbed, but his son’s wife. Thus, Kim abandoned the weaving with the other women with a sigh of relief, and headed for the king’s bedchambers.

When she entered the room, she smelt the sour stench of illness. Setting her chin so as not to retch at the scent, Kim stepped forward, pushing past the bewildered doctors. Kneeling beside the bed, Kim asked, “You sent for me, Your Highness?”

The king looked to Kim, his eyes glazed. “Kimberly,” he breathed. “Right? My son’s wife.”

Wondering if the royal majesty’s mind was going with death’s on-set, Kimberly chose her words carefully. “Yes, Your Majesty,” she said. “It is I.”

The king looked Kim up and down, taking in her belly, swollen with pregnancy. “You’ll take good care of my son, right?” he sputtered, his voice growing raspy. “You won’t steal his heart and then run away, like the woman at the ball, right?”

“I’ll never walk out on him,” Kim promised, taking the king’s hand in her own to underscore the sacred bond they shared.

“Good,” the king breathed. “You must. . .” Whatever His Highness found so important that Kim “must” do it, for with a rattle in his throat, the king stirred. Doctors rushed forward to see if their worst suspicions were confirmed that the king had died, and Kim’s tears trickled down her cheeks.

………………………………...

When Ella awoke, she felt a pang of remorse when she saw that she was back where she’d started; in Leo’s farmhouse. She moaned with self-pity, but the noise was apparently mistaken for a groan of pain, as her husband rushed to her side.

Love was apparent in his eyes as Leo sponged her face. “Shhh,” he murmured, his voice touchingly gentle in a way Ella had never heard before. “Everything’s going to be all right. The fever should break soon, my dear, and you’ll be all right.”

Ella passed out in fury as she recognized that her husband probably only knew he’d be all right because he’d recognized similar ailments in his animals. When she woke again, the windows were dark as in the dead of night, and firelight danced over Leo’s face. Ella saw how weary he looked, and wondered how long he had sat awake at her bedside.

“Leo,” she breathed.

“I’m here,” Leo replied, rushing to her side. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed that she was awake. Ella felt oddly touched that she’d been taken care of so well.

“Who’s watching the farm?” she demanded as she recognized that although now was the night, Leo must have sat by her side all day.

“Don’t worry about that,” Leo replied. “You just worry about getting better.”

Ella passed out again. She had a strange dream, in which she once more was attired like a princess, and danced across a polished floor in her glittering gown and glass slippers. The prince held her tenderly in her arms, but he was no longer the prince. Ella barely remembered what he looked like. Instead, she danced with Leo.

“I could take you away to my castle with me,” the prince Leo promised, pulling her closer while courtiers and noblewomen watched in jealousy. “You’ll never have to work again. Haven’t you always dreamed of a life of luxury?”

Ella surprised herself by answering, “Luxury? No. That sounds so very boring, and what is life without love? I love you.”

Leo seemed startled, and his well-oiled hair and crown faded as Ella slowly awoke to find herself under the watchful gaze of the true Leo. “Ella,” she breathed as she blinked awake. “The fever’s broken. You‘re going to be all right”

Ella smiled, but didn’t tell Leo what she knew. She’d actually died during her fever, but not entirely. She’d killed the most selfish part of herself, and now she was free to be happy in her humble life. “Leo,” she breathed, and the passion in her voice said all that needed said.

………………………………...

The ambassador had let his guard down while standing near the queen, thinking that because she was a woman, she was only in the court as a decoration. Thus, while her husband had played his game of politics, Kim had an opportunity to examine the ambassador’s body language.

When the hearing was over, Kim and Brian departed the courtroom, claiming a mutual need to visit their baby in the nursery. Thinking that nothing important would take place while the couple cared for their child, the courtiers left them in peace while Kim and Brian strolled and spoke in silence.

“What did you make of Ambassador Williams?” Brian asked.

“He said the treaty would be casual, but his body language betrayed that he desires it too much,” Kim answered. “In addition, he was too careful not to mention his country’s tensions with Gemma. I believe he has an unstated interest.”

“My court lawyers read over the first draft of his treaty,” Brian added. “While the wording is specific, the country grants itself the right to march their soldiers through our lands as a shortcut to Gemma.”

“And along the way, their mercenaries will rob our fields and rape our women,” Kim suggested.

“You’re probably right,” said Brian, who rarely disagreed with his wife. “The question posed, then, is who do we gracefully refuse the trading agreement without offending the ambassador?”

Kim considered for a moment, then offered her answer, pleased to be able to contribute to the international politics.

………………………………...

“I know why you ran off.” The voice startled Ella, who had expected Leo to already be asleep as she turned to her bed after a late night scrubbing out the washing bin.

“I didn’t run off,” she lied automatically, sticking to the lie she’d held close to her heart since her fever had broken. “George told you. I went for a ride before I stopped by the well, but the horse broke his foot, and I got lost in the woods.”

“For the sake of the children, I’ll pretend to believe that during the day,” Leo answered. As moonlight peeked into the room, Ella made out her husband’s outline sitting up in bed in the dark. “I saw what the children did to your room while you were gone. I cleaned and hid it all so the older ones couldn’t guess the truth, but I know what the broken shoe and the dress meant. You were destined to be queen.”

“Evidently, it was not my destiny, as I am here,” Ella countered. Kneeling beside her husband, she allowed passion to color her voice as she added, “with you.”

“You could have had so much more,” Leo said, pained.

Ella made her way across the room and took Leo’s hands in her own. “I might have gained a title, but I would have lost so much more,” she countered. “Leo, I was a fool when we married. I was too slow to appreciate the house of love you have here- the love you hold for me, and your children, and the land. . . I fought the love, but I will no longer. I see what value I have now, Leo, and I speak honestly when I say I love you.”

“You do?” Leo questioned, and the wonder and surprise in his voice broke Ella’s heart.

“Indeed, I do,” she answered, her eyes tearing as they embraced.

………………………………...

While Kim was no fan of knitting with the other women, she liked having something to do with her hands while she and the king sat awake at night together. Often, these evenings were silent, but the silence was a companionable one as he read, she sewed, and their baby slept in her carriage not too far away.

Thus, she was startled when he broke her reverie to step to her side and place his hand on her belly. Kim mimed his movement, patting the swell to say, “The child is not going anywhere. You act as if you are afraid it will run off during the night.”

“Not afraid, no,” Brian countered. “Simply unspeakably happy.”

A moment later, he was kissing her, and pulling her away from her work toward their bed. They kissed, and held each other, and did much else besides as an expression of their pure love. Afterward, they smiled at one another in momentary happiness, but the happiness was more than momentary as they lived happily ever after.

………………………………...

Ella stared at the shredded dress for a long minute before Leo announced, “You’re too big for the dress now, anyway. Now that you’re no longer starving to death, you need real clothes.”

“I do miss a single night of beauty, however,” Ella sighed.

“Ella,” Leo countered. “You are always beautiful. Any man who cannot appreciate you, even with your hair pulled back and flour smeared on your face,” he brushed a smudge from her cheek, “is unworthy of you.”

Ella smiled shyly. “You flatter me,” she complained.

“I speak truth, my love,” Leo replied. Placing a companionable hand on her shoulder, he suggested, “Let’s go up to bed.”

Ella agreed, and blew the candle out as she headed upstairs. She smiled as she ascended the stairs, guessing rightly that she and her family would have many blessings in the years ahead, for they would all live happily ever after.

The end.