Cinderella reread the prince's letter out loud. She was reading to Terra, who was sitting at the end of her straw mattress. Her stepmother and stepsisters had silk blankets, soft beds and puffy pillows—while Cinderella was stuck with a bed of straw. It was her stepmother's fault. According to her, Cinderella “didn't deserve to have fancy things.”
Dearest Cinderella,
I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. Unfortunately, I had to rush back to the Winter Palace to see to an urgent matter. A curse has been placed upon my sister, and I must see to her health. I will explain more at a later date.
That small cottage is not an acceptable residence for a future princess and queen. I want to get you out of that terrible place with haste, so I'm sending a carriage to fetch you. Your transportation should arrive in the early hours of the evening. While I would have loved to travel with you, I couldn't waste the precious minutes to make the journey to your home. I deeply apologize, but I believe we shall be reunited soon.
It's quite a distance to the Winter Palace, but I'm sure you will love it there. It's much larger than the Summer Palace, where the ball was held. I cannot wait until its hallways are brightened by your gentle spirit.
I am entirely devoted to you. I would move mountains to see a smile on those lovely lips of yours. My heart aches because I cannot be with you at this very moment. I want to gaze into your sea blue eyes. I want to watch in awe as your honey blonde hair is caressed by fingers of the wind. I look forward to the day when I can hold you in my arms and we can watch every sunrise together. I've always dreamt of finding a woman as beautiful as you. Now that you're in my life, every day will undoubtedly be a joy.
Yours forever,
Prince Sharman
As soon as Cinderella reached the letter's end, Terra snatched the paper from her hand.
“I want to watch in awe as your honey blonde hair is caressed by fingers of the wind?” Terra's nose wrinkled as she reread every word. “That... is honestly one of the worst things I've ever read in my life.”
Cinderella—or Cinda, as her stepsister called her—defended her beau. “Awww! At least he's trying! I thought it was romantic.”
“It is. Maybe. Sort of...” Terra struggled to accept that it was anything more than hogswallop. “I don't know, Cinda. His entire courtship feels a bit... superficial to me.”
Cinderella's fingers smoothed a wrinkle from her patch-covered gingham dress. Her lips dipped into a frown as she listened to her stepsister's scathing opinions of her future husband. “What do you mean?”
“His interest in you is based solely on the fact that you're beautiful,” Terra said. “And you are beautiful. Inside and out, you're the loveliest girl I've ever known. But he doesn't know that. He should take time to get to know you as a person, don't you think?”
“W-well... we'll get to know each other at the Winter Palace, won't we?”
“I suppose.”
“You sound sad,” Cinderella noted as she drifted around the room, collecting articles of clothing and keepsakes for her valise. Most of her dresses were frayed and holey. If she was going to be a palace guest, she needed better clothes. “You don't think I should marry Sharman?”
“No. I'm not saying that,” Terra corrected her. “I just want to see you happy, Cinda. You deserve a man who loves you for you.”
“And maybe Prince Sharman will be that... someday?” Cinda hopefully suggested. “I couldn't turn down a prince's offer of marriage, Terra! I would have to be mad! Besides, look at my alternative!” She ran to the corner of the room and picked up her broom. “Either I can be my stepmother's slave, or I can live in a palace!”
“No, I think you made the right choice,” her stepsister assured her. “Maybe I'm just... sad. Because I'll miss you.”
Cinda threw down the broom and rushed back to Terra's side. “Then come with me!” she exclaimed. “I can help you pack your things. I'm sure the prince wouldn't mind another guest.”
Terra's head somberly shook. “You don't know that...”
“No. But he claims to care about me and my happiness... and nothing would make me happier than to have you with me.”
“But I'd be a burden to you.” Terra sheepishly lifted one of her crutches.
“Are you serious? You're never a burden to me! How could you say such a thing?” Cinderella slid an arm around her stepsister's shoulders, capturing her in a partial embrace. “Please come with me, Terra. I want you there. I'd rather not be alone.”
“But... would Mama allow it?”
“Do you really care what that wicked woman thinks?” Cinda sprang to her feet, went to the door, and waited for Terra to follow. “We're both eighteen now. You're nearly nineteen. We can do as we please.”
Terra used her crutches to lift off from the bed. As she followed Cinda from the room, she asked, “You really think your prince will let me stay in the palace?”
“Yes. I'm sure of it!” As soon as they entered Terra's room, Cinderella grabbed another bag and proceeded to stuff it with Terra's belongings. She hadn't actually agreed to come—but Cinda wasn't giving her a choice. She needed Terra at her side.
“But how can you be sure? You barely know the man!” Terra reminded her. “For all you know, he could be a complete and total arse.”
“I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.” When she found one of her stepsister's brassieres, Cinda plucked it from the drawer and let it dangle from her finger.
“Why are you collecting my unmentionables?” Terra asked. “I'm quite capable of packing my own things, you know.”
“I'm trying to help. The carriage could arrive at any moment!”
Cinderella was right to make haste. A few seconds later, Gaia bellowed from the adjacent room, “The prince's carriage is here... not that I care!”
“Oh no!” Cinda gasped as she hurried around the room. Why did her fiance give her no time to prepare? In her mind, she directed a few unladylike curses at him. “What do we need? Tell me quickly!”
They packed the barest essentials, and when they were finally ready, Cinderella popped her head into Gaia's room and asked, “Will you help me carry one of our bags?”
“Our bags?” Gaia repeated with a disgusted click of her tongue. “Is Terra going with you?”
“Umm... yes. She is.”
Gaia sprang to her feet and stomped to the door. “You invited her and not me?”
“I'm sorry, Gaia. I didn't think you'd want to go. You were so upset about the prince's proposal, after all, and--”
“Of course I'd want to go!” Gaia screamed at the top of her lungs. “Are you stupid? You don't invite me, and now you want me to carry your bags?”
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.”