Chapter 4
I twiddled my thumbs anxiously the next day as I waited for Edmonda, Jocelyn, and Yedda to leave for the market. Yedda glanced at me and gave me a secret smile before grabbing the purse Edmonda was searching for to help them leave sooner. I breathed a sigh of relief the moment their carriage left and in a flash Maida appeared.
"Let's go find you a dress," she announced with a playful grin. Letting out a giggle, I raced towards Jocelyn's room with Maida. We burst into her room and began to rummage though Jocelyn's wardrobe of dresses. After searching for a few minutes we came upon the perfect riding dress. It was a deep midnight blue with lighter blue brocades upon the bodice and skirt. Under the riding dress, went a simple, crisp white dress embroidered with some silver thread.
"You look beautiful," Maida whispered as she helped me plait my hair, before placing a silver, crown-like hair-ornament upon the top of my hair. Down from it hung a single diamond, no larger than tear. I ran my hands over my thighs anxiously, the soft fabric of the riding gown tickling my hands.
"What if he doesn't love me as much as he did the old me?" I asked nervously. Maida smiled kindly, smoothing my hair.
"He will love you as much or more, dear friend," she told me, squeezing me hand in assurance. I gave her a kind smile back, wrapping her in a warm hug. "Now go, Ella. Win your true love and become Queen." I laughed as I walked with her to the door.
"Oh Maida," I began with a giggle. "I am only going riding with him. He chooses his wife three days after the ball." Maida smiled as we walked to the gate that enclosed the manor.
"That may be true, my friend," she agreed. "But we both know he would be a fool not to choose you. He loves you Ella, I saw it when you both were but children. Death cannot stop a love like that." I glanced down the road and felt my heart flutter as I watched the Prince gallop towards us, leading a white horse alongside him. Hugging Maida one more time, I bid her go.
"Thank you," I whispered before she left. I felt a hand placed upon my back and turned to face my prince. He caressed my face, his eyes twinkling at the sight of me.
"Chantel," Eadric whispered, kissing me softly. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it before leading him towards the horses.
"Where have you decided to take me Your Majesty?" I inquired, mounting the horse he brought for me. He grabbed onto his own horse's saddle and followed suit.
"I, Milady, am taking you... somewhere," he gave me a playful grin and nudged his horse into a trot. I hurriedly nudged my horse after him, patting my horse as we went. I glanced down at my horse again and realized this was not the first time I had ridden the mare.
"Fleta!" I exclaimed, bending to pat the beautiful white horse's neck. Eadric turned in surprise, bringing his horse to a stop. I eyed him carefully; slowing Fleta as well as Eadric gave me a sharp look.
"How did you know that mare's name?" he demanded. My eyes widened at my careless mistake. 'Ella' had ridden Fleta before when I had gone riding with the prince, but never 'Chantel'. I opened my mouth to try to explain, but no sound would come out of my mouth. "Chantel?" I set a smile upon my mouth and urged Fleta into a slow walk.
"Ella told me about Fleta," called behind my back to Eadric. I heard his horse begin to trot after me and could not help but smile at my luck. He fell for my lies yet again. "She said that Fleta was the most beautiful mare she had ever seen. White as snow and as swift as the wind." Eadric trotted up past me and turned slightly into a thicket of trees. I quickly maneuvered Fleta to follow him and a smile began to creep onto my face when I recognized the area of the woods we were in.
"We are entering, Chantel, the most magical place on earth," Eadric whispered back to me as he slowed his horse down to a stop. I smiled lovingly, as we both slid off our horses and joined hands. "Welcome to the Tree Palace," he told me softly. It was as I remembered, only it seemed more magical, just as he said it was. Little beams of light shined through the canopy of leaves giving it a warm glow. A large spotlight seemed to fall upon one place though- the thrones.
"It's wonderful," I told him truthfully. "It's like heaven on earth." Eadric kissed my neck and led me to our seats.
"You are the angel Queen," he murmured. "I want you to be my real queen, Chantel. I'm going to announce it to everyone tomorrow at my ball." My eyes widened at his forwardness, but I could not help but smile.
"You'd marry me Eadric?" I asked, taking his hand in mine. He squeezed it playfully and kissed me softly but with more love than I thought you could show through a kiss.
"I thought I'd never love after Ella died," he whispered, small rays of light shining down onto his face making him seem angelic. "That is, until I met you." Smiling, I gave him a little kiss on his nose.
"You're so wonderful, Your Majesty," I whispered back. "Will you dance with me?" Eadric looked at me in surprise. I stood up and extended my hand for him to take. He grinned and took it, twirling me around and around. When we finally stopped spinning, my head continued to whirl and I had to steady myself on his arm.
"What stands the hour, Your Majesty?" Eadric glanced up and studied the sky for a few moments and then shrugged.
"I guess it to be about two in the afternoon," he guessed. I nodded with a smile and led him out of our palace.
"I should really be leaving, Eadric," I told him. He nodded in agreement and helped me up onto Fleta. We rode back to the manor in pleasant conversation. He delivered me at the gate, leaving me with a sweet kiss. The gift left me in quite a daze and I failed notice that Edmonda's carriage was back.
Humming, I waltzed up to my tower and changed into my normal clothes and took my hair out of its intricate style. Making my way back down the stairs, I noticed raised voices were coming from the sitting room. Curious, I went to investigate.
"Is she here yet?" I heard Edmonda screech, causing me to stop dead in my tracks. I saw a servant's head pop out of the doorway and look at me from in the room, before speaking.
"She's right outside Milady," he told her quietly, obviously ashamed to turn me in. It was silent for a few moments until finally Edmonda spoke.
"Come in here, dear Step-daughter," her voice beckoned, oozing with false tenderness. I tried not to listen but in the end could not will myself to go against her wishes. Slowly I walked into the room to find Edmonda and Jocelyn sitting in comfortable chairs by the fire while Yedda stood beside them, giving me a look of pure pity. When I stood there in silence, as if I did not know what I could have done wrong, Edmonda's face wrinkled in anger and burst up from her seat.
"Where have you been?" she cried. My eyes widened in shock out of her cry, but I knew it also passed as innocence which made her anger flare more than ever. "Where have you been Ella?" I opened my mouth to reply but could not bring myself come up with a tale.
"Mother," Yedda cut in, her voice thick with sympathy for me. Edmonda turned to her, her movement sharp and her eyes bitter.
"Stay out of this, you little traitor!" Edmonda shot. "Leave it to you to give in to Ella's lies and false charms. She's nothing but a rat." I flinched at her harsh words and willed myself not to cry.
"Step-mother," I cut in. "I-I was picking wild flowers. I must have left a few minutes before you returned." Edmonda gave me a triumphant look, her eyes glinting with an evil light.
"Your dear friend, Maida, told me otherwise," she replied. "She told me that you went to pick more apples for desert pie." She motioned to the servant who had turned me in and dutifully he pulled back the door and revealed Maida had stood behind it. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and it took all my strength not to run and hug her, as I too cried. My strength stood firm though and no tears flowed down my cheeks as I stood where I was.
"I was going to," I shot back, not missing a beat. "Most of the apples were bruised and I would not have enough to make a pie so I decided to pick flowers." Edmonda continued to glare at me and wave her hand to show she did not care what I said.
"You're lying," she replied. "I know you are. As punishment, you shall most definitely not be coming with us to the prince's ball and to make sure I am locking you in the cellar until further notice." I realized by the time she finished her sentence I was crying freely, and hard. Edmonda turned to all the servants that were in the room, a fierce look set upon her face. "If any of you help her out of the cellar I will personally kick you out onto the street." With that she motioned for Jocelyn and Yedda to follow her and glided out of the room triumphantly. Jocelyn followed her but Yedda stayed back a few seconds and gave me a quick hug before hurrying out.
I glanced around the room at the rest of the servants, my distressed stares falling upon lowered heads and looks of pity. Lowering my own head, I let my tears fall, watching them hit my shoes causing rivers of my tears and dirt to stream to the ground. Four strong hands clasped around my arms and began to pull me to the door causing me let out a cry of protest, even though I knew it was in vain. My friends, men I had known since I was but a child were forced to lock me away from the life I was born to live. I felt more sympathy for them, and also Maida, than for myself. My knees hit the cold dirt that served as the ground in the cellar just as the door slammed shut. I cringed at the sound of the keys turning and sealing my fate. Shaking, I lowered myself to the ground and curled up in the dirt to sleep, so for a few hours I could be in a better place. I closed my eyes and did not open them until late the next day as my stepfamily prepared for the ball.
From the moment I woke up I sat in the corner of the cellar, hugging my knees as I thought. I thought of many things throughout the day. I thought long about my mother and what she was like according to my father's descriptions, I thought about Eadric and my relationship with him as Ella and with him as Chantel. The day flow by and it seemed almost surreal that I was imprisoned as a servant in my family's own cellar when only a few years ago I was the noble daughter of a count and a lovely countess.
My father told me many times that I was much like my mother. She was said to be stunningly beautiful and caught and held the eyes of many men. He admitted he fell under her spell as well but she told him many times that she knew he loved her for her mind as much as her beauty and that's why she loved him too. I was told that she had a wild, adventurous spirit that I too shared. It pleased me so much when I was young to be compared to her. As I sat in the cellar, all I could think about was how wonderful it would be to hear my father speak of her again.
Just shortly after the sun disappeared over the hills the sound of a carriage rattled up to the manor. The swishing of many skirts made it's way to my ears and I knew my stepsisters and stepmother were leaving. I listened silently until the sound of their departure no longer filled my ears.
"Milady!" I heard Maida cry from outside the cellar, knocking me back into my senses. "Milady, come quick!" Struggling, I pulled myself to my feet and scurried over to the door.
"Maida what is it?" I asked through the small cracks in the door. I could tell by the sound that she was making that she was jumping up and down, rather excited.
"Oh Milady," she cried from the other side. "Bless the brown-haired daughter. Bless the dear!" I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion as Maida continued to 'oh'.
"Maida!" I said again to get her to keep going.
"Sorry Milady," she apologized before explaining. "The brown-haired daughter of Lady Beldon. Yedda's her name. She slipped the key to the cellar into my hand before she left. She told me to tell you that your mother came to her as she slept and told her where Edmonda kept it and that she must set you free. Oh Ella, bless her!" I smiled for the first time that day and all hopes began to shine as I heard the key turn to give me my freedom. Seeing Maida as the door opened was the most wonderful site in the world. I wrapped her in a hug and my tears soaked her shoulder. Maida wiped at her own eyes before holding out her hand.
"Now," she said with a playful smile, her voice still shaking from tears. "Let's go find you a dress." I did not let her pull me to Jocelyn's room however. Instead, I led her to my mother's room- and her dress.