SHINING STAR

-MichelleTheVampGirl

Chapter 10: Plotting and Goodbyes.

I felt the needle bite into my skin and let out a short, pained gasp. Opening my eyes, I saw the distraught look of my handmaid as she fussed over her slip-up. I kindly told her not to worry about it and closed my eyes again, trying to revert back to the daydream I was having about breaking free of this castle. It was no use. The pin in my skin was a sharp and obvious reminder of everything that was happening around me.

Looking in the mirror, I saw my short and ragged hair, still uncut under my vicious protests. However, my handmaid had once again attempted to style it to no effect. The thin brown wisps rejected the efforts to be tamed, and for that I was thankful. The dishevelled look appealed to me.

Next, my eyes were drawn to my face, sunken and sallow, the bags under my eyes reflected the sleepless nights I had endured. I refused to let myself think about him during the day when I could help it, but at night time, when all my walls came down, it was all I could see when I closed my eyes. The memory of his face was etched into my mind, his smile and light brown eyes, the little goatee, the defined jaw line. I had told my mother his face was beginning to fade in my mind, but how could I ever forget the first male face I had ever seen? Especially when, to this day, it remained the most handsome.

Thinking about him was too painful, so I tried to shut him out of my mind and focus on the present. I let my fingertips trail over the white silk that skimmed luxuriously over my skin, the soft material was edged in gossamer lace trim detailing, tiny little pearls adorning the pale pink sash tied around my waist. The dress was beautiful, and it was being fitted exactly to my lithe form. It was the sort of dress that girls dream about one day wearing, but never in a situation like this.

My handmaid put in the last pin and stepped back to admire how it sat on me. She frowned uneasily.

"You have lost a lot of weight, miss."

Her voice was light and soft, I hadn't noticed until that moment that the girl, and she was just a girl, was around the same age as me. Her small plain face was shadowed with self consciousness, and she ducked her head at her boldness.

"Forgive me, miss. 'Tis not my place."

She stood with her head bowed, her hands clasped in front of her. She was the vision of perfect reservation, her subdued nature both fitting for her position but infuriating.

"What's your name?" I asked her gently, and watched her blush furiously, obviously uncomfortable by my direct address.

"Valarie, miss"

I smiled kindly, and watched her return it with a timid twitch of her lips.

"Valarie, go tell my parents the dress is ready for the rehearsal, and thank you."

Valarie curtsied and left with a polite 'yes, miss'. Looking in the mirror at the dress, I noticed just how thin I had gotten. Wearing the purple dress I had made on my return to Corona had covered up the sudden weight loss I had undergone, but here, in this fitted white silk gown that clung to my body, showed the boniness of my limbs, the concave slope to my stomach.

I was miserable, stressed, tired, and my body and health was suffering. Poking a finger to my rib I shuddered at the uneasy feeling in my stomach at being so close to touching a bone. My heart fluttered weakly as I noticed all sorts of new things I had missed in my reflection, my lips were cracked, my neck so thin and brittle. Most horribly of all was the hollow look in my eyes.

Stumbling backwards I fell into a chair, pulling Mason's engagement ring from my finger. How could I marry a man who made me feel so miserable? I tossed the ring across the room and watched it bounce away from me. Without the weight on my finger, I relaxed partially. Trying to clear my head, I decided I had two options.

One, marry Mason and be miserable and probably get sicker until it consumed me.

Or two, leave the castle and escape living a loveless life in a shell of who I used to be.

Option two seemed like the best choice. So, with my shaking fingers, I placed Mason's ring back on my finger, feeling much better knowing it was only a temporary guise, and began to plot my escape, knowing it had to wait until the perfect moment when everyone would be distracted.

Like, say, my wedding day.

...

Alice assured me she would tell her parents everything once I had left, but that didn't feel right to me. How could I leave, knowing they had taken me in, without offering any explanation? I guess I was also making up for never explaining to Rapunzel's parents why I had left Corona. Things had changed now, and the world seemed much clearer. My perception of people, and what was right and wrong, was more distinct and defined. And what would be wrong, would be staying with a family who had gladly taken me in, lying to them about who I was, and then skipping out without a single explanation. That wasn't the guy I wanted to be. Not anymore.

I walked into the dining room, where Gerald the farmer and his wife sat comfortably side by side, engaged in very normal and domestic evening activities. Mrs Pine was knitting a blanket out of crimson wool from their own sheep mixed with homemade dye. Her husband was reading a book on the history of the Rieva Kingdom. They both looked up at my approach, their eyes latching onto my satchel at my side.

"Oh Dear, I knew this day would come soon." Mrs Pine put aside her knitting and stood up, embracing me in a tight squeeze. The farmer looked at me over the top of his book, his face frowning slightly.

"You sure you want to do this son?" I coughed over the emotion that rose in my throat at the casual use of his endearing fatherly term. I nodded quickly, adjusting the satchel strap over my shoulder to give my hands something to do, besides fidget uncomfortably by my side. I felt the sweat that built up in my palms, and realised how scared I was of how they would react to my confession. I couldn't take it if they were disgusted, if they looked at me like I was some kind of monster.

"Well," Mrs Pine dusted her hands off on her apron, and started filling a basket with pieces of bread in such a motherly fashion. She turned to me with the basket and pressed it into my hands, along with a light kiss on my cheek.

"I hope you find what you're looking for, Eugene."

Her eyes twinkled mischievously, and I stepped back, almost dropping the basket.

"You... you know?" My barely literate response resulted in her merry feminine giggle as she ran her hands through my hair, trying to tame the stray waves.

"Of course I figured it out! I had heard what Eugene Fitzherbert looked like, and seeing your response to the news of young Rapunzel's upcoming nuptials, just confirmed it for me. I take it you're going to try and stop the wedding?"

I couldn't help the feeling of relief that blossomed in my chest and left my entire body feeling warm and content. Maybe it was a blessing I was never adopted at the orphanage, the Pines were everything I could have ever wanted in a family, and the love they showered me with was overwhelming in the best possible way. I nodded in response to Mrs Pine's question, and she smiled tenderly at me, her eyes sparkling with pride.

"Good, that Prince Mason is a prick."

I absorbed the information that I had received. Rapunzel was marrying a Prince. A man who Mrs Pine thought was a 'prick'. Now, she accepted me into her home, and if she knew I was Eugene then she knew of my thieving past. So what did that have to say about Mason?

I felt rejuvenated with the fierceness of my determination. I refused to let Rapunzel marry someone worse than me, when I left her so she could do better. I would stop that wedding if it was the last thing I did.

Mr Pine sat up and clamped a hand on my shoulder.

"You love the girl?"

"I do."

"You ever guna leave her again?"

I shook my head vehemently

"Never."

The farmer nodded, beaming with approval and pulled me into a rough hug. Mrs Pine made a motherly noise that sounded like a mix of joy and also sadness, and pulled my from her husband's arms to place a kiss on my forehead. All of the affection was making me feel giddy.

"Be sure to come back to us at any time."

I smiled like an idiot, trying to soak in every ounce of parental affection I could before I left. But I knew it wouldn't be forever, and that level of love and support immediately made me feel like a better man. The kind of man who maybe did deserve to be with a Princess.

"I will"

Stepped across the room I pulled Alice into a fierce hug, and planted a soft kiss to the crown of her head.

"Thank you... for, everything."

Alice smirked up at me, and smoothed down her hair.

"Just get out of her, idiot, before it's too late!"

Laughing, I picked up my satchel, gave a final salute to the unexpected family I had become a part of, and dashed out the door, determined to run all the way back to Corona if I had to.

I had a royal wedding to crash.