Well, here we are. This is basically a bit of fluff to close out the story; hopefully you all will enjoy it! I thought it might be nice to get out of Max's brain, too, so here you'll be getting a fresh perspective. Of course, many, MANY thanks to the wonderful people who reviewed chapter 11: RileyStarr, RandomAngel123, Aspen's Whisper, Jimli, and Be Rose.
The magic tree mentioned in this chapter is part of the original Grimm brothers' story. It's weird, like the tar from several chapters ago, but I figured I'd keep it so I didn't have to come up with another explanation for how Elli got to the ball!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Epilogue:
A deep frown had settled upon Prince Maximilian's face. He scowled at Rolf, then at Gretel, then at Sir Dietrich. Now it was my turn. When his eyes fell upon me, however, his gaze softened. For the thousandth time since I had come to the palace, I wondered how on earth it was possible that such a man could love me. I gave him a small smile, and his handsome face lit up with even stronger affection. It never ceased to amaze me how transparently he showed his emotions. At times like this, he made me weak in the knees.
Still, he had to complete his business with the four of us. He had ordered us all to assemble in the throne room so that he could determine precisely how we had all manipulated and lied to him. I suppose he had been jerked around quite a lot. "Everyone who knew that Elli the maid was the woman I loved, raise your hand," he commanded us. Rolf, Gretel and I all raised our hands.
Max gave Sir Dietrich an approving pat on the back. "Good man, staying ignorant and not betraying your prince."
"My mother probably would have gouged my eyes out if I had told you," Gretel said without a hint of irony. How true. That bloodthirsty Therese would have strangled me as soon as she married into the family if my father hadn't limited her to mere enslavement.
"Your Highness, we weren't trying to keep you from happiness," Rolf explained. "Lady Elli had told me not to reveal her identity." He was clever, pinning this on someone the prince would never chastise. But I couldn't blame him. After all, he spoke the truth: I had told him to keep quiet.
But I couldn't stay lost in my thoughts. Max was now glaring at me, and however much he loved me, he was going to become angry unless I explained myself. Love hadn't quite made him blind. "I was too afraid of my family," I said simply.
He gave me his best but-I'm-the-prince look. I merely shrugged. "Fear isn't rational."
"But you didn't trust me to protect you," he said. He sounded rather hurt.
"Max, you must understand that when you first came to my father's manor, I knew you only as the rather energetic prince who had stalked me through the city after his ball and declared his undying love merely three days after meeting me." Perhaps this was a little harsh, but I knew Max preferred when people were blunt with him. Lord knows he's equally blunt with everyone else.
"So you didn't trust my…emotional stability?" Max asked. The hurt in his eyes had transformed to sympathy. After several long and serious conversations, he understood that I had become rather distrustful of human nature following my father's transformation under Therese's thumb. Upon witnessing that rather hideous metamorphosis, I had promised myself never to be yoked to a deceitful or weak man. After getting to know Max at my family's manor, I had realized the strength of his character. That realization had made it all too easy to fall in love with him.
I gave him another small grin and said, "But I trust and love you now."
He returned my smile. "I love you, too," he said, once again making my heart pound. "Even if your story about how you came to the ball is completely nonsensical," he added. For some reason, every time he says something touching, he feels the need to negate it with a less charming comment. But even that habit of his makes me love him more.
"If Therese hadn't forced my father to chop down the magic tree, I could prove my story," I sighed.
"Magic tree," Max repeated, skeptically raising his eyebrows.
"There was a magic tree," I insisted.
"There very well could have been a magic tree," his sister Ingrid's voice suddenly said. She entered the hall from a small door behind the throne. "Elli, you said the tree grew over your mother's grave?"
"It did," I said. "My father and I planted it there after her death." That was before my father married Therese, who had essentially charmed him with her money. Father had changed enormously since then; he was hardly recognizable as the same man.
Ingrid nodded in understanding. "Then perhaps your love for your mother gave power to the tree. Such things have happened before." Turning to the others, she announced, "I've come to stop the interrogation. Sir Dietrich, I believe the king wishes to speak with you."
"Of course," he said. Bowing, he turned and left.
"He must be an intelligence agent," Max murmured to no one in particular as he watched the dutiful captain walk away.
"Max, do you intend to release the others?" Ingrid asked, pointedly raising her eyebrows at him.
"Fine, fine, we'll stop," Max grudgingly agreed. "Rolf, Gretel, feel free to leave as well."
Rolf gave him a smirk, took Gretel's arm, and followed Dietrich out of the great hall. Ingrid was now looking at me and Max with a benevolent smile on her face. "Max," she said, "I think you should simply enjoy your happy ending, rather than trying to understand how it came about."
"After such a struggle to achieve joy, it feels wasteful to just wallow it," Max replied with a laugh. He drew near and took my hand.
"It can't be helped. Happiness makes pigs of us all," I remarked, squeezing his hand. He laughed again – he has a delightful, hearty laugh – and leaned in to kiss me.
Ingrid immediately interrupted, "Your wallowing will have to wait." We glanced guiltily at her, but she was smiling. "Elli, the seamstress is here for your first fitting."
"Fittings. Proof of the devil's existence," Max said, wrapping his arms around me in mock-protectiveness. "Don't succumb, Elli!"
I escaped his embrace, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and skipped to Ingrid's side. "What am I to do while you're being harassed by the seamstress?" Max called after me.
"Father wants to talk to you after he's finished with Sir Dietrich," Ingrid informed him.
I giggled as a look of horror spread across his face. He had explained to me his dread of facing the king while he sat behind his exceedingly manly desk. "About what?" he croaked.
"The wedding, of course. What else would you discuss?"
"Since my return, he's been easing me into the responsibilities of ruling," Max explained with a heavy sigh. "He seems to think my journeys have rendered me much wiser and more mature." He sounded as though he was complaining, but I knew he delighted in being given real responsibility. He would make a wonderful king when the time came. Even now, as he gazed up at the portraits of former kings which adorned the throne room, his eyes were lit with anticipation.
"Isn't the king right?" I asked, pulling him out of his reverie. "At the very least, you've outgrown your stalking habits."
"You, my dear, need to forget about that unfortunate night," Max said, pointing a finger of warning at me. "We can't begin our married life holding grudges." I loved the small smile that crept across his face whenever he spoke of our future marriage.
"It's a memory, not a grudge," I playfully replied.
Max looked as though he wanted to kiss the living daylights out of me, but he remembered his sister's presence and restrained himself. "I believe Ingrid's growing impatient," he remarked. "She may be a nun, but she's no saint. Let's not try her."
Laughing, Ingrid and I turned to leave. I glanced over my shoulder to see Max staring at me with an expression of adoration. "Heavens, I don't deserve you," he murmured. My heart nearly stopped.
Three months later, Prince Maximilian and I were married. He claims he loves me more with every passing day. I know for certain that I couldn't live without him. We've kept my golden slipper and given it a place of honor in the throne room, not because it has any value in itself, but because of what it means to us: that love is worth pursuing.
So there you have it. Thank you for reading, my friends!
