After Cinderella Read online

  Cinderella didn't know what to say, so she settled on a reluctant, “I'm... sorry?”

  “You and your bags can go to the devil, Cinda!” Gaia slammed the door in Cinderella's face. A few seconds later, she reopened the door and slammed it a second time. “Get out of my sight! Out out out!”

  Wincing slightly, Cinderella shuffled away from Gaia's door. When she passed her stepmother's room, she stopped to peer inside. The cantankerous woman was in the middle of her afternoon nap. Even though she was leaving—quite possibly forever—Cinderella decided not to wake her.

  “Well, that was awful,” Terra said. “How did Mama sleep through Gaia's shrieking?”

  Cinda hitched a shoulder. “I have no idea.”

  “Believe it or not, Gaia is utterly unaware of her shrewish tendencies. No matter how cruel she is, she always feels like the victim. I'm so glad she's not coming.” As she watched Cinda struggle with the bags, Terra stuck out her lower lip. “I would help you carry those... if I could.”

  “I know.” Cinderella's arms were occupied, so when they reached the cottage's front door, she kicked it open.

  “I bet I could carry one!” Terra exclaimed. “Perhaps I could sling it over my shoulder? Or drag it behind me, or--”

  “No,” Cinderella stopped her. “I'll carry both.”

  “But they're huge! I didn't realize we packed so much.”

  When they reached the carriage, Sharman's knights took the valises from Cinderella's hands and stowed them on the vehicle's roof. As one knight secured the luggage, a second knight helped the ladies into the carriage.

  Terra's smile stretched across the entire length of her face. As she crashed into her seat, she asked, “Are you excited?”

  When Cinderella shook her head, her stepsister was shocked.

  “No...” Cinda corrected her. “I'm actually terrified.”

  Terra closed her book with a snap and a sigh. “Ugh!” she complained, “I cannot focus! All the bumps in the road are distracting me! Not to mention, the heat is stifling!” She tried to use her book's pages as a fan, but it was a poor defense against the droplets of sweat that clung to her face.

  “It is rather hot,” Cinderella agreed. “And I wouldn't even try to read. The carriage's swaying makes me ill.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt a timely tumble in her stomach. Her body was conspiring to prove her point.

  “Why are we going to the Winter Palace when it's so bloody hot?” Terra asked. “Am I a fool to hope it might be cooler there?”

  “It's possible. It is several miles away, after all.” Cinda's nose puckered at the thought. According to the two knights that accompanied them, they had another eight hours in the carriage—which meant another eight hours of illness for the prince's queasy fiance.

  Terra's finger's twirled her dark tresses into a braid as she leaned toward the carriage window. She peeled back the curtain and checked their surroundings. Her eyes were treated to an expanse of lush green grass, as well as the occasional wildflower. “There's nothing around,” she quietly reported. “I bet we're miles away from civilization... and I'm getting hungry.”

  “I'm sorry.” Her stepsister's apology was delivered with a pout. “We should have packed snacks.”

  “It's not your fault. We were in such a rush, after all. We barely... oh god.”

  “What?” The sudden dread in Terra's voice ignited a tingle on Cinderella's spine. “What is it, Terra? Do you see something?”

  “Y-yes...” Terra lifted the curtain as high as she could. “Have a look.”

  Cinderella heard the ominous flap of leather wings before she had her first glimpse of the beast. A massive dragon was drifting through the scorching sunset sky.

  “Oh god!” Cinda repeated her stepsister's exclamation. “A dragon? Really?”

  “It's not just any dragon. It's a Bronze Belcher.” Terra shuddered as she identified it. “It's one of the worst.”

  “Wh-what does that mean? Are we going to die?” Cinda raised a blonde eyebrow. “And how in the world can you identify types of dragons?”

  “I read a lot. A Bronze Belcher has the toughest skin of any dragon. It's almost as hard as iron, which makes them one of the most difficult to slay. If it decided to attack us, we'd be doomed. There's no way two measly knights could take it on.” Terra could feel her eyes swelling as she watched the drifting dragon. As it decreased its altitude, she held her breath. Was it coming after them?

  “We're never going to reach the Winter Palace... are we?” Cinderella panicked. Her gurgling stomach was suddenly the least of her concerns. “We'll be turned to bone and ash... won't we?”

  “Please calm down. It's too early to panic!” As soon as she spoke, the Bronze Belcher unleashed a ground-shaking roar. It was so loud, Terra swore she felt it rattling her spine. “A-actually...” she amended herself, “panicking is a perfectly reasonable reaction.”

  “Hang on, ladies!” the driving knight shouted as he urged his horses into a faster speed. “We're going to try to outrun it!”

  “Outrun a dragon?” Terra repeated with a roll of her eyes. “Does he think we're naive? There's no way to outrun a dragon! Aaaah!”

  Terra had a good reason to scream. The Bronze Belcher spewed a ribbon of flame at their carriage. Their driver swerved, narrowly avoiding the shower of fire. The flames poured across the ground, incinerating the grass.

  “This is awful!” Cinderella gasped. “I would almost rather be back at home, washing the dishes and folding laundry!”

  “Don't say that. We'll be fine, I'm sure.” Though she tried to reassure her friend, Terra's palms were covered in slick, nervous sweat.

  When the dragon's plated tail suddenly collided with the side of their carriage, both girls screamed. The Belcher pounded them a second time, nearly overturning the vehicle.

  “Terra!” Cinda leapt into Terra's seat. Both of her arms flew around her stepsister's slender shoulders. “If we die... I want you to know I love you, and that you're my very best friend!”

  The dragon's tail bashed the carriage yet again, eliciting more screams from its horrified riders.

  As Cinda hugged her, Terra leaned toward the window. As she peered out, she saw the Belcher swoop down and scoop up one of their horses into its mouth. She watched through parted fingers as the horse was crushed by the dragon's absurdly powerful jaws.

  “My god...” Terra whispered. “It just ate one of our horses.”

  “What?” Cinda's arms fell away from her sister's shoulders. “Are you serious?”

  “I am. I watched the whole thing.” Terra's eyes followed the dragon as it drifted past their carriage. When it turned away from them, some of the tension left her body. With its hunger satiated, the beast had no reason to linger. “I think it might be retreating.”

  “Thank God!” A relieved sigh poured through Cinderella's lips as she returned to her seat. “That was... ever-so-slightly unnerving.”

  “Ever-so-slightly? I nearly had a heart attack!” Terra cried.

  “I was being sarcastic.” Cinda used the sleeve of her tatty dress to dab the perspiration from her forehead. “It was, of course, the absolute worst experience of my life!”

  When the dragon disappeared, the carriage halted. One of the knights popped open the carriage door and gave the girls an inappropriate smile.

  “I'm sorry about that, ladies,” the knight apologized. “I'm truly, terribly sorry. We thought we'd take a shortcut through dragon country, but, uh... we now realize what a terrible mistake that was.”

  “So it's your fault that we got attacked?” Terra shrieked.

  “N-no. Not entirely. You never know when and where a dragon might pop up,” the knight answered with a nervous chuckle. “Honestly, it can happen anywhere! Although, to be fair, we are traveling through a stretch of land where dragon sightings are quite common. Hence, the apology.”

  “The poor horse!” Cinda cried.

  “Indeed. The loss of the horse is... regrettable,
” the knight said. “Fortunately, we have three more horses, which is more than adequate for the rest of the journey. Derren and I will spend the next few minutes re-hitching them, and then we'll take another minute to answer nature's call. I suggest you do the same, since it will be at least two hours before we reach the next town.”

  “Lewis almost pissed himself!” the knight named Derren crudely reported as he hopped down from the driver's seat. His remark earned him disgusted glances from both girls.

  As the knights fussed with the horses, Terra sat back and crossed her arms. “This is ridiculous,” she complained. “This has been the worst ride ever.”

  “I'm so sorry,” Cinda apologized. “I convinced you to come with me... and then we almost died.”

  “You don't have to apologize, silly. It's that stupid knight's fault. And the dragon's, I suppose.” Terra smoothed her hands over her dress, wiping away wrinkles. “At least we'll have an interesting story for the prince when we finally reach the palace.”

  And the story was far from over.

  A moment later, the carriage door swung open again, and a strange man stuck his head in. His skin was deep olive, his hair was thick and wild, half of his face was painted white, and his grin was undeniably sinister.

  “Hello, ladies!” the stranger greeted them with a wink. “It's a fine night, innit? My name's Rank. It's lovely to meet you. I just thought I'd let you know... I'm taking the carriage.”

  “Rank?” Terra repeated. “What sort of name is Rank?”

  “A bloody good one, I say!” Rank replied as he tipped his bright red bowler hat. His appearance was unusual, to say the least. With his half-painted face, checkered coat, and menacing smile, he looked like a mad jester. “I'll get your names later, ladies. For now, we're off to god-knows-where. Buh-bye!”

  Rank's face disappeared, and a few seconds later, the carriage was moving again. Cinderella heard a shout, so she turned her attention to the window. The prince's knights were trying to chase down the carriage. Lewis was so determined to reach them, he was running with his breeches around his ankles.

  “Oh dear...” Terra whispered when she saw the half-naked knight. “At least he's wearing knickers, eh?”

  “How are you not panicking right now?” Cinda shrilled. “We've just been kidnapped!”

  “I don't know. I should be panicking,” her stepsister agreed. “Perhaps... after you've survived a dragon, everything else tends to pale in comparison?”

  “But Rank could be a madman! He certainly looks like a madman!”

  “Indeed.” Terra couldn't argue. “He definitely does.”

  Unlike the knights, their abductor pushed the horses to their highest speed. When they hit a bump, the vehicle was airborne for a few seconds. Cinderella almost slipped from her seat when the carriage came down.

  “Goodness!” Cinda gasped. “Must he ride so quickly?”

  “He's trying to get away. It makes sense that he'd want to go fast.”

  Cinda's eyes narrowed into slits. “Are you trying to defend our kidnapper, Terra?”

  “No. I'm just stating the obvious.”

  They weren't riding for long. When they were barely a mile down the road, Rank brought the horses to an abrupt halt. The girls could hear him whistling as he climbed down from the driver's seat. Cinderella held her breath and listened to the crunch of his footsteps as he circled the carriage.

  “He's just walking around the carriage? He's not coming inside?” Terra whispered. “Why?”

  “I don't know. I wonder if he's toying with us?” Cinda scooted to the window, held her breath, and peeked outside. As soon as she did, a scream flew from her lips. Rank's grinning face was right on the other side of the window.

  “Hello again, ladies!” When the door was open, Rank slipped a single foot into the carriage's interior and leaned toward them. “Which one of you is Cinderella? No! Let me guess.” His arm swung forward, revealing a bandaged hand. As he flicked a finger at Cinda, he guessed. “Is it you?”

  She saw no reason to leave her name a mystery, so she quietly replied, “Yes.”

  “Do you want to know how I knew that?”

  “No.” Cinderella shook her head. “Not especially.”

  Rank gave her the explanation anyway. “It's 'cause the prince likes blondes, innit. That's the rumor, anyway. He wouldn't stop flirting with all the blonde maids that dump the chamber pots in his pretty little palace. They were so disgusted by him, they banded together to form a coalition against him. Blonde Maids Against Sharman's Lecherous Attempts to Bed Them. I think that's what they called it.”

  Cinderella's eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

  “No, love. I pulled that story out of my arse. It sounded good, though, eh?” Rank stuck a piece of straw in the corner of his mouth. As he chewed on the straw, his gaze snapped to Terra. “What's this one called?”

  “This one?” Terra repeated with a scowl. “That's what you're going to call me? This one?”

  “No. That's why I'm trying to learn your name, sweetheart... so I have something else to call you.” Rank chuckled. “Or did you want me to guess your name? Is it Mary? You look like a Mary.”

  “No. I'm not Mary.”

  “Sylvia?” he tried again.

  “No.”

  “Molly?”

  “No!” Terra answered with an exasperated sigh. “I'm Terra.”

  “It's lovely to meet you, Terra. Sort of.” Rank spat out the straw and thrust out a hand. When she didn't accept it, he shook hands with the air. “I'll be honest with you, love. We'll probably ditch you at some point. Cinderella's the one we want. I need the prince's fiance, not the prince's fiance's hanger-on.”

  “That's rude!” Terra gasped.

  “I know. Sorry about that. Anyway...” His eyes wandered back to Cinda—or more specifically, to Cinda's chest. “Can someone explain why Princey's fiance looks like a beggar girl?”

  “My stepmother was cruel to me,” Cinderella tried to explain. “She left me in rags and forced me to clean her cottage.”

  “Sounds tragic.” Rank pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “But... at least she didn't toss you on the street, yeah? That's what my dad done to me. He got tired of my mouth, so he kicked me out and I never went back. Oh! Before I forget, I've got something for you, loves.”

  Rank disappeared for a few seconds. When he returned, he was twirling a walking stick. He blew on the end of the stick, rubbed it, kissed it, and tucked it under his arm.

  “What are you doing?” Terra asked.

  Rank didn't respond. He tapped the walking stick against his head, wiggled his fingers over it's gold tip, and shouted, “Ta-daaaah!”

  An entire bouquet of red roses suddenly exploded from the end of the stick.

  “For you, my lady,” Rank said, handing the flowers to Cinderella.

  Cinda was beyond puzzled, but she accepted his gift with a tremulous smile. “Thank... you?”

  “Don't think I've forgotten about you, Prince's Fiance's Hanger-on,” Rank said—then he went through the entire process again. He twirled his stick, blew it, rubbed it, kissed it, tapped it against his head, and waved his fingers. When the second bouquet popped out of the walking stick, he tossed the bundle to Terra.

  “Are you some kind of magician?” Cinda asked.

  “Nah. I'm a mage. A mage-in-training,” Rank replied. “I'm already a master swordsman. If I can master magic as well, I'll be the deadliest bloke around.”

  “Well, your flower trick was certainly impressive,” Cinderella said, which earned her a sneer from her stepsister.

  “Thanks, love. I think you earned another bouquet for saying that!” Rank twirled his stick, blew it, rubbed it, kissed it, tapped it against his head, and--

  “Is all of that really necessary?” Terra interrupted.

  “No,” Rank replied as he wiggled his fingers. This time, instead of red roses, blue irises appeared. “I just like to put on a good show.”

  Terra spoke again. “Yo
u know, I think you might be the strangest man I've ever met.”

  Rank raised his hat and scratched his messy hair. “Thanks,” he slurred.

  “And...” As she watched Cinderella's nose drift between her two bouquets, Terra was shaking her head. “Cinda is just as ridiculous. She's enjoying your gift a bit too much.”

  “Cinda? Is that what you call her?” Rank made another bouquet appear—this time, it was pink tulips. As he passed the flowers to Terra, he said, “I like that better. Cinderella's too much of a mouthful.”

  “How many bouquets do you intend to make?” Terra asked.

  “Oh, I could do this all day! Do you have any requests?” When a single lily slipped from his walking stick, he looked unsatisfied, and he pitched it over his shoulder.

  Both girls spoke at once.

  “No, we don't have any requests!”

  “I'd like some daisies.”

  It was Cinderella who asked for more flowers. Once again, Terra's head was shaking with disbelief.

  “One bundle of daisies, coming right up!” Rank announced as he twirled his stick. Before he could make them appear, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Prince Sharman's knights were charging down a hill, heading in their direction. As soon as he saw them, Rank whispered, “bloody hell...”

  “Oh my!” Cinda exclaimed. “They ran all the way here?”

  “It seems they did,” Rank replied, sounding a bit awed. “I admire that kind of persistence. Truly. Those blokes are really dedicated to the job. I applaud them. They've certainly got gusto!” A half-smirk slipped across Rank's lips as he slid his sword from its sheath. “Should I lop off their heads or spare them? What do you think, Princey's Fiance's Hanger-on?”

  “Will you please stop calling me that?” Terra begged. “And to answer your question... no! You should definitely not lop off their heads!”

  “Aww. That's a shame.” Rank shuffled away from the carriage as the knights drew near.

  Sharman's knights simultaneously raised their swords, but their coordinated attack didn't matter. In less time than Cinderella needed to draw a breath, Rank disarmed Derren. A single swipe of his sword was all he needed to knock the blade from Derren's fingers. Lewis tried to counterattack on behalf of his ally, but he failed. Rank ducked, popped back up, and slammed his elbow into the knight's nose. When he felt the cartilage crunch, Lewis staggered backward, whimpering.