To Foreshadow
It had been a long time since I had seen my family. It's a pity that everyone I was visiting isn't actually related to me. My last scrap of a family was my father, but well, he was found dead with far too much alcohol surrounding him. Anyone at this wedding would be a stepmother, a stepsister, or an ex-husband. So, why should I even come?
I had pondered that for awhile. I eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn't everyday that Patrick got to see his cousins, or Arthur his niece and nephew. I also decided that my dear Princeton should see that I remain well. He had told me once before that he would always love 'the maiden who ran away'. I believe this to be true no matter how happy he is with that little Aurora that he has now taken to wife.
If this was Princeton's wedding, I swear I would have no part in it! But Aurora and Princeton were married shortly after I moved in with Arthur. No, this particular wedding was for my stepmother, Drisella. With my father dead and no hope for her own daughters to wed a prince, she needed a way to remain in the lap of luxury. So, she chose to manipulate a man named Stewart. He is the prince's steward.
"Why Cinderella! That couldn't be you!"
"It just has to be her! I'd know that worn out voice anywhere!"
"It's lovely to see you again Florinda, Lucinda." I bowed my head and ignored their childish giggles and snide remarks. My stepsisters always were wretched to me, but I was always told to be good and nice.
"But I wonder, what are you doing all the way out here?" I said, "Surely your mother would have put you in the wedding!" I liked to have my fun sometimes.
They stopped chortling instantly and shot their heads in my direction. "Mother gave us the task of showing the guests to their seats." Lucinda announced.
"It's a very important job." chimed in Florinda.
"It sounds like a great job for two blind girls." Heather spoke as she stepped off the wagon, being helped down by Arthur.
"Heather, hold your tongue." I said, secretly happy with her.
"Yeah Heather!" Jack started, "I'm sure their mother was just afraid they would mess something up because they can't see where they're going."
My stepsisters turned red with fury and Arthur smacked Jack upside the head. Patrick was growing tired of all this chitchat. He tugged on his father's pant leg. "Father, I see Hansel and Gretel! May I go, pleeeeeeeease?"
Arthur looked up to see his niece and nephew. "All right, Patrick, but you have to sit with us during the ceremony." Patrick was running to his cousins before Arthur finished his sentence.
Florinda and Lucinda finished their scoffing and slowly led us to our seats. They then found their own, we must have been the last to arrive. I sat next to Arthur, who was holding Patrick in his lap, and on the other side of him was Heather, followed by Jack. I looked at the family sitting next to me and the 'family' scattered around the chapel. What was I doing here? I am not tied down to a single person in this room! In my panic I saw Princeton sneaking a glance at me. I felt my cheeks get hot.
I never really wanted to see him ever again, let alone with his new wife. I had made a terrible mistake. Suddenly, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was the kind of feeling you would get if you were trapped in a small, dark box. I had to get out. Not just out of the chapel...I needed to leave town.
( ~/\~ )
I stood at the end of the very long aisle with no one but the priest. I looked out into the crowd, but I could care less about them. All I wanted was to see my love walk towards me in a flowing, white gown. I thought that I would never get the chance to be married being a service man to the royal family, but that is what proves that Drisella and I were always meant to be together!
My heart skipped a beat when I heard the wedding march begin. We had no bridesmaids or groomsmen...or parents for that matter. So, Drisella would be the one and only to walk this aisle. I watched the door click open. There she was! My stunning bride walked slowly toward me, smiling as people called her 'lovely' as she passed by. As she got close I extended my hand out to her and pulled her up to me. "I love you." I said.
"I am so happy we are getting married." She answered back.
Then the wedding commenced.
( ~/\~ )
"I have never seen my steward happier." I admitted to my father after the ceremony. We were all filing out to the lawn where there was to be a beautiful, outdoor reception.
"Drisella did look lovely!" Snow enthused. My brother's wife had always been very enthusiastic.
"Who?" My wife, Aurora, questioned.
"Drisella...the bride." Snow answered.
"What a strange name." I said, "Do you not agree, brother?"
But Kingsly was silently staring away from the conversation. Our parents noticed he had been acting strange lately. Maybe today was to be the day I would question it.
"Brother?" I said again.
Kingsly snapped back into reality. "Yes, yes, a very strange name."
"Brother, you have been rather quiet."
"I do not mean to be, brother."
"And yet you still have!" Our mother scolded.
"May I talk to you in private, brother?" I asked once we had made it outside. It was a wonderfully sunny day, a perfect day for a party to celebrate love.
"Yes, of course."
We walked away from any other guests and leaned against a shady tree. "Now brother, you know you can hide nothing from me. I pray, what is bothering you?"
Kingsly lowered his voice so as not to be heard. "Brother, watch my wife in comparison to your own."
I did as he said. His wife, Snow, was playing silly games with her two stepchildren and their poor cousin. She was loud and playful, picking up any messes that the children left behind them. My wife, Aurora, sat calmly in a chair sipping tea with my mother.
"I see what you are saying, brother." I nodded. "Snow is not acting very much like a princess at all. But who is to say that is not just because she has stepchildren to play with? Maybe if I gave Aurora children she would be making a spectacle of herself too."
"But it isn't just when my children are around, brother." Kingsly looked worried. "She cleans all the time and never speaks of things that a princess should speak about."
"Are you having second thoughts of your choice in a wife?"
"I'm afraid I might be. Snow is no Rapunzel...before she went crazy that is."
There was a loud crash of breaking glass followed by a chorus of small children apologizing. The maids rushed to the scene with the proper tools to clean up the mess, but Snow beat them all. She was already on her hands and knees picking up broken glass and cutting herself in the process.
Our parents walked over to our shady tree in a huff. "Kingsly!" Our mother whispered angrily. "Your wife has been making a fool of herself in front of all these people! What are we going to do? We cannot have the kingdom thinking we are just like them! We are royalty, we are important!"
Our father cut in. "I'm afraid that what your mother is trying to say, Kingsly, is that we no longer approve of Snow being a princess of our land."
Kingsly thought long and hard before answering. "I completely agree, father."
"Princeton, would you leave us alone with your brother?" My mother ordered.
I nodded and moved toward my wife who was now sitting alone. I kissed her atop the head. "How are things, my beloved?"
Aurora lifted her beautiful blue eyes to me and moved her long blonde hair away from her face. "Things are just fine, my dear." She smiled her innocent little smile and patted the seat next to her for me to sit down.
I sat down and smiled at her as well. "What were you and my mother discussing just a while ago?"
She took a sip of her tea. "Children."
I decided to choose my next words carefully. "Who's children?"
"Our children, dear."
"We don't have children...my love."
"But your mother expects them." She set down her tea.
"But I do not intend to have them." I said sternly.
Aurora was quiet for a minute. "None at all?"
"No, my love! Have you seen my brother's children terrorizing our home? They are nothing but a handful! Why, when I came across Cinderella in the woods holding a baby I nearly had a heart att-"
"Cinderella?"
"Oh...I-I am sorry, Aurora. I love you, you know that."
She sighed. "The baby she was holding was not yours was it?"
"No! It was a baby of a friend of her's."
Aurora went back to her tea. "And I am really never to have children?"
"I'm afraid not, darling."
She drank her tea quietly. I had a feeling she wouldn't be talking to me for the rest of the day.
( ~/\~ )
"They sure do look happy, Heather!" Jack said to me with a smile.
"Married people often are I'm told." I rolled my eyes.
"They look as happy as I was when I learned Milky White was alive!"
Did this man ever shut up? "Uh-huh, sure thing, Jack."
"Heather?" He turned to me quickly. "I want to be married!"
I blushed. "You better not be talking about me."
"Well..."
"Jack, I'm not marrying you."
"Why not? It could be fun!"
"It would be plenty of fun if I actually enjoyed listening to you talk."
"Oh...well...I'll just have to find some one who does!"
Jack walked away happily. I assumed he would not rest until he found some one at this party who didn't think he was stupid. That could take awhile.
"Heather, are you being nice to Jack?" Cinderella crept up on me.
"Yes, Cindy, I am."
She muffled her anger of me calling her 'Cindy' and stayed quiet. I did feel kind of bad. This had probably been a really long day for her. I looked over, she was practically sleeping she was so worn down.
"How are you holding up?" I asked patting her shoulder.
"I'll be fine."
"We could leave early, you know."
"No it's ok, every one seems to be having a good time."
"Well, we might get thrown out if Jack keeps this up." I said pointing in the distance.
Jack had been going up to every woman he could find and telling them about his epiphany to be married. And almost every woman had slapped him. Cinderella laughed quietly.
"He really isn't that bright, is he?"
"Not at all!" I answered. "I think men are getting less bright with every generation. I mean look at Princeton. He gave up some one as beautiful as you, Cindy!"
She looked down.
"I'm sorry...it was supposed to be some sort of compliment."
"It's ok, Heather. I know what you meant. Thank you." She smiled wearily.
The moment got too quiet so I had to speak up. "I mean, the only man with an sense lately seems to be Arthur."
Cinderella turned her head to me quickly. "Arthur?"
"Well...yeah...he's not in a hurry to get remarried. And he didn't take liberties with other woman either. He has a nice, stable business and he took us all in out of the goodness of his heart."
"Arthur is a very nice man." Cinderella agreed.
"When I was younger I always thought you and Arthur would get together." I confessed under my breath.
Cinderella looked kind of shocked. "I used to think so too, Heather."
"But?"
"But...you remember how much he and Margret would fight before she passed away. I guess I just always found that quality unattractive in him."
I looked down. "I never really thought I'd mind that."
"Mind what?" Arthur joined us.
I lifted my head suddenly and turned red. "Uh-uh..."
"Remarrying." Cinderella saved me. She looked at me through narrow eyes.
"Remarrying?" Arthur asked.
"Yes!" I said possibly a little too loudly. "Cindy...er...Cinderella was talking about how she doesn't know if she feels comfortable with remarrying since she and Princeton left things on such odd terms. Me on the other hand, well I don't think I would mind it."
"I see." Arthur said. "Well, to me you should only remarry if you truly fall in love again. I have never felt anything for a woman that Margret didn't make me feel stronger. Besides, how could I do that to Patrick?"
"Hansel and Gretel seem to be doing fine with a stepmother." I said quietly.
"I suppose that's true. Maybe one day I will fall in love and remarry." Arthur walked away, clearly not wanting to bring up Margret any more.
I let out a sigh. It seemed like I was holding my breath through that entire conversation. When I turned back to Cinderella, her eyes were still narrowed. Oh no...she knew.
( ~/\~ )
"Isn't it exciting, Florinda? We get to stay in the castle!" My sister squealed.
"Yes, Lucinda." I rolled my eyes under my dark glasses. "But not until mother and Stewart come back from their honeymoon."
"Oh that's right." She pouted.
"Hello, ladies!" a voice called.
"Is it that stupid man?" Lucinda asked.
"My name is Jack." He answered.
"What do you want, Jack?" I just wish he would leave.
"I want a wife!"
My sister and I laughed uncontrollably. "A wife? A wife! Who would marry you?"
"Well, I thought maybe one of you would. I mean, you are both very beautiful...but blind. I mean, who else is going to marry you? You're mother has already been married three times and you haven't been married once."
Lucinda stomped her foot and ran off in some direction that I couldn't see. "Now look what you did!" I ran in the direction of her shrieks.
"Lucinda? It's just me, where did you go?" I called.
"Florinda?" She spoke. She was actually much closer to me than I had thought.
"Sister, you know he is just a fool who doesn't know what he is saying."
"But it's true! Mother has been married three times, and we haven't been married once! I say we run away...let's go to the hidden kingdom that mother got lost on her way to last time!"
"What good would that do?"
"Maybe all we need is fresh meat! There are bound to be plenty new beaus in the hidden kingdom!"
I thought about it for a moment. We never had gotten anywhere close to being proposed to...why not?
"Let's do it!" I decided. We joined hands and felt our way into the woods. We felt trees and bugs and mud and other filthy things, but it would all be worth it. We made a point to stay in the same direction so we wouldn't end up back where we started.
A few hours later my sister's hand jerked away from my own. "Lucinda? Are you all right?"
"Yes! I just tripped! Florinda...come feel this..."
I stumbled over to her. "Feel what?"
"This rock that I used to stand up with...feel it."
I felt the rock. "It...almost feels like...scal—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUN! What happened? Well, you'll find out eventually! Sorry the narration thing is still a little goofed up. I tried to make it easier. Comment?
èpo
