Those waiting for an update in this story can thank my supervisor at work, as he was kind enough to give me the last 2 hours of my shift off the phone to do whatever I want, so I took that chance to finish writing this chapter. Hope you like it.

Cindered

Chapter 13

"I would have never thought thunder could shake the palace, of all places." Cinderella said as loud rumbles rolled throughout the halls and rain poured down hard outside. She was in the kitchen helping Constance prepare desserts for the Queen's tea party the following day. They had already made mini biscuits with bits of chocolate, mini lemon teacakes, more mini cakes flavored orange, and were now making tiny apple tarts. Everything at a tea party, she learned, was to be bite sized for quick and easy consumption.

They were rolling out the dough for the tarts when a girl walked in holding a basket full of apples—the ones they would need to finish the tarts—and removed a rain-soaked cloak. Bertolina, the large woman who ran the kitchen, glared at the girl and said, "I would hope you did not walk through the main hall of the palace dripping like a fish."

The girl hung the cloak on a hook by the door. "No, I came in the back way." She set down the basket onto the table next to the counter and took a seat next to Bertolina, pouring herself a cup of tea. "On my way back from the orchard I passed the stables. Sir Lawrence would like someone to bring him a pot of hot water. He says he's tending to some important matters and will need it. Cinderella should do it."

"The tarts will be fine with one attendant for now," Bertolina replied. "Cinderella, please take him a pot of hot water."

Cinderella wiped her flour-coated hands on her apron as she took it off and, after filling a small pot with hot water, put on a dry cloak that hung by the door, and left through the front way, which would be a faster route to the stables.

On her way toward the front exit of the main hall, she almost bumped into Prunella, as she was trying hard to concentrate on not spilling the hot water.

"Watch where you're going!" Prunella glared at her ex-servant, then looked at how she was dressed and what she was carrying. "Got you doing the grunt work, eh?" She laughed. "Serves you right for what you did to us."

"I haven't done anything to you," Cinderella answered.

"You would think that, wouldn't you? All you've ever cared about was yourself. I'm surprised the King doesn't see you for who you really are. But I guess he's just too stupid to see that all you are doing is just to advance your own standing." Prunella got uncomfortably close to her and lowered her voice to a dangerous tone. "But you will never get what you want. You will always be a lowly servant covered in dirt."

Cinderella stepped back. "If you'll excuse me, I need to deliver this water while it's still hot."

As she walked away, she heard Prunella laugh again and yell, "Enjoy the weather."

The air outside was warm but very muggy and thick from the downpour that was occurring. She thought to herself that she hoped the cool water from the rain wouldn't change the water she carried as she hurried to the stables. And she also wondered what he needed it for.

As Cinderella arrived in the stables, she pulled back the hood of her cloak and found Sir Lawrence talking to the same stable boy that had taken care of his horse the day before when he had left it on the front walk of the palace. Sir Lawrence noticed her and walked over to her. "Ah good! I see you brought my water! Fantastic! Girl, bring that over here." He pointed to the stall they were standing near.

Cinderella, ignoring the fact that he had seemingly not cared to remember her name, expected to maybe find a hurt horse or other animal in the stall that needed a wound cleaned or something of that nature. Instead she found an area that looked like it had never seen hay or horse droppings because it was completely cleared out and had a low table with a few small chairs around it. On the table sat a few ceramic cups and some lit candles for light next to some papers and a feather-pen for writing.

"Just set it on the ground there," Sir Lawrence said.

She did so, even though she did not think it was at all sanitary.

The stable boy, standing behind the royal scientist, looked annoyed and tired. "Can we get on with this please?"

Sir Lawrence looked insulted. "I need to have my tea to concentrate on such matters. This is a highly important matter!"

"I know that!" The stable boy growled. "Which is why we should be getting on with it. If you knew you needed tea, you should have come prepared."

Cinderella stepped away from the table as the two sat down. Pushing some papers aside to make room for his handbag, Sir Lawrence revealed that under the pile there was a small floor plan of the castle along with some notes. She was startled when he kindly said, "Please sit down as well."

The stable boy crossed his arms over his chest and jumped in, "Lawrence, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. The fewer people that know, the better—"

Sir Lawrence did not take his eyes off the water as he carefully poured it into his cup until it was only half full. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. This girl is quite lovely if you get to know her. She once offered to help me tidy up my study."

Well, at least he could remember that. Cinderella thought to herself as she sat down between the two men.

"Please hand me my condensed tea oil." Sir Lawrence requested, holding out his right hand without looking at her.

Cinderella looked into his open handbag and pulled out the first vial she saw, setting it in the middle of his palm.

He opened it and right before he was about to pour it into his water, he pulled the vial away quickly and yelled. "Not this one! Are you trying to poison me?" He put the cap back onto the vial and grabbed a different vial from his bag instead.

"…Why do you carry around poison…?" Cinderella asked.

He grinned and winked at her, his eyes lowered and the candlelight throwing a mysterious mask over his face. "I have enemies."

The stable boy rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. "It's part of a mixture we use for killing weeds in the Queen's garden."

"Don't ruin my fun!"

"Could we please get down to business?" The stable boy asked again.

A moment passed while Sir Lawrence poured a bit of the oil into his cup and then finished by filling it the rest of the way with more hot water. "There we are. Now." He cleared his throat and pointed at the map of the castle. "The captain of the guard gave me all the key points where they will be setting watch during the wedding ceremony. These spots that I have marked in red," He pointed at several spots on the map, "are where they will have guards dressed in civilian clothing so as to be able to keep watch for intruders."

The stable boy leaned forward and pointed to one wing of the castle where most of the rooms for guests were, including Cinderella's. "Can you tell me why there are no guards stationed in this wing."

The royal magician turned the paper just a bit to get a better look. "The captain said it was because this wing will be completely empty just before and during the ceremony so there will be no need to keep men stationed there. I did raise the question myself when he told me about that wing… But he doesn't seem concerned, and the King seems to agree, as long as the rest of the palace is kept well guarded. There will also be several men stationed over the grounds, so there is no use in worrying about someone trying to get in from the outside of that wing, if that's what you're worrying about."

"It was…" The stable boy said.

Cinderella sat watching the back and forth between the two, thinking it interesting information, but not understanding why she would be invited to stay for it. Until Sir Lawrence turned to her. He looked as if he was going to speak, but a horse toward the entrance of the stables started to make a lot of noise. The stable boy shot out of his chair and ran off to see what was going on.

He came back less than a minute later, having calmed down the horse. "I think something scared it. I'm going to go take a quick walk around the outside of the stables and see if someone was here…" He left again just as quickly as he'd come.

Once alone together, Sir Lawrence turned back to Cinderella. "I was advised by the King that you and Prince Edmund have become friends."

Cinderella was surprised. With just that one statement, he had been able to make her feel more anxious than she had felt in quite a while. What had the King told him? Had she told him that the glass slipper really belonged to her? She couldn't think the King would betray her confidence about the slipper, not after he had told her he would let her decide on telling the Prince herself…

"The reason I requested you bring the water was because I have been told to assign you a task. The King said he would like to have you be the Prince's personal servant until at least the wedding." He reached into the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Opening it, he read what was written there. "His Majesty would like you to make sure this wedding is what the Prince really wants. A sort of undercover task, if you will." Sir Lawrence put the paper back in his pocket. "I don't know why the King would think the Prince does not want this wedding. He was the one that had that girl move into the palace." He was more talking to himself than he was to her.

Cinderella did not know what to say. Only a few days ago she joined the palace staff and now she was going to have a new job already as Prince Edmund's servant? Her heart fluttered into her throat at the thought of getting to spend so much time with him.

"You don't need to start until tomorrow, since it is already early afternoon today. Will you do this?" He asked.

She nodded just slightly. "If that is what his Majesty requests…"

"Good then. You can get back to what you were doing before I requested the water. Get some rest, Cinderella. The next few days will be extremely busy for you." Sir Lawrence said his goodbye as he remained seated.

She stood and nodded before walking away. So he does remember my name… Of course, how else could he have requested me? While walking out of the building, she passed the stable boy, who was wet from the rain but did not seem to mind. "Some things had fallen near the horse, but I could not see if anyone was here—are you leaving?" He looked confused now.

"Yes," She nodded again as she passed him. Normally she would have thanked him for letting her sit in on their meeting or even just for allowing her to warm up a little next to the candles, but she was too distracted. She did not know what to do next. As she walked back to the palace, she had to stop herself because she kept having little bursts of energy that made her skip a few steps forward. Every time she would have to remind herself to calm down, and then she muttered, "It will be impossible for me to sleep tonight."