Everything I write seems to lead more to Cinderella. Even Danni's full name. Darn it! >:c( I don't mean for it to come out like this, but it is.
Oh well. This is a bit of a longer chapter and basically the ending to Part I and the beginningPart II. Woot! And a reappearance from an old friend.
A/N: A stone is a measurement in weight that is approx. 14 lbs. Just FYI.
naughty little munchkin::cD I'm glad we havesuch a connection. I'm excited to be on to the other parts of the story.I figured that would be the least confusing and most embarrassing way for Aiden to find out about Danni. Andyes, Theo is going to be a part ofthis. He's travelling to Castle Fer Drewery with them.
TrudiRose:Thank you. I'm so glad you like it. Idon't like things that take ahuge long time to be resolved, so I decided if I'm adding another layer of disguise, I can take one away.
Tiger Lily21:Okay!
lovin-life:They are as close as brothers, so it's good if it puts you in mind ofyour siblings.
UruvielTruviel: Some men can't control their blushes. Aiden just happens to be one of them. Mostly, his ears get hot. NOT THE AXE! ANYTHING BUT THE AXE! Ew... it smells like orc.
Glaze: I would tell you, but that's going to come out later in the story.;cD Call it a blantant urging to keep reading, but it's thetruth.Danni keeps her hair tied up quite nicely.
fell4adeadguy: Sorry. (ish.) Butmy days are just so free, when my sisterisn't playing her newcomputer game on the machine.
fairygypsy: Thank you very much.Aiden thought that Danni was a youngish boy, like, twelve maybe. (Aiden always wanted a little brother.) That's why they called him 'boy' more often than not.
Yay for all of you guys and your marvelous reviews!
I loves youses all!
-Lulai
Chapter Six: Escape
Danni went through her chores automatically. She didn't want to think about the day before. Her clothes were still smeared with the mud from their tussle. She had washed her face in the bucket of cold water out back before falling asleep.
"Cameron was leaving today anyway," Danni tried to explain to Princess. "And really, I never said that I was a boy, I just allowed him to think that."
Princess gave her a disbelieving look.
Danni sighed and plopped the hay in front of the horse and retrieved the brush.
"You're right, of course, Princess," Danni admitted, "but couldn't you have helped me feel better? I mean, Cameron was my only friend after my mother-" her voice choked.
Danni sniffed and tried to clear her throat. "He treated me so kindly," she said, Princess' mane becoming blurry in her vision, "like a person, rather than a stupid stable hand." She mopped up the tears streaming down her cheeks with a dirty sleeve.
"If I wasn't such a coward!" she sniffed. "I might have told him." She let out a breath, which sounded suspiciously like a sob. "But now I'll never see him again."
"Danni?"
Danni spun around and sure enough Cameron stood in the door, looking splendidly handsome in his blue velvet doublet. She quickly mopped up her tears with a sleeve and sniffed discretely.
"Cameron?" she responded, frowning when her voice shook a little.
He closed the distance between them. "I've come to say goodbye," he said sadly. Danni was torn between being anguished that he was leaving and being elated because he sounded sad about it. Perhaps, even after learning that she was female, he still valued their friendship.
"I'm sorry," Danni said, looking at her toes.
Cameron lifted her chin. "You have nothing to be sorry for." He paused a moment. "I want you to have these," he said, stepping back. He held out the chess board and the velvet pouch that held the pieces.
Danni took them, and she felt tears fill her eyes again. "Thank you, Cameron," she said softly, hugging the items to her chest.
"Good luck, Danni," Cameron said softly, lifting her chin again. His lips brushed over hers briefly. "Thank you for being my friend."
And then he was gone.
Danni's hand shook lightly as she touched her lips. She could still feel his kiss burning all the way to her toes. She took a deep breath and set the chess board and pieces over with her blanket.
"Life must go on," she whispered to herself encouragingly.
She grabbed the shovel and remembered when Cameron and her first met.
"Botheration!" she cursed. "Everything's going to remind you of him, you stupid girl. But you have to keep working. He's gone!" With that last exclamation, her eyes filled with tears again.
"Stop it," she hissed to herself. She took several deep breaths and began to muck out the stable.
"There ye are, Danni," Gorner slurred. He was drunker than usual.
"Aye, Gorner, I'm here," Danni said tiredly. She was worn out from crying and shovelling and more crying.
Gorner grabbed her sleeve and whipped her around to face him. He was a little taller than her and at least seven stone heavier. His grip on her arm was surprisingly strong for being so drunk.
"I saw ye with 'im," he slurred into her face. She almost gagged on the fumes on Gorner's breath.
"With who?" she asked, trying to free her arm.
"With tha' boy," he growled. "I donna want ta see ye with 'im again." He shook her roughly. "Ye're mine!" he roared.
"I'm not yours," Danni protested. She tried to free her arm in earnest. "Let go of me, you old goat!"
Gorner smiled evilly. "He kissed ye. I wanna kiss ye."
"No!" Danni cried, wrenching herself out of his grasp. "You are an evil smelling, disgusting man with the manners of an ill-bred pig!"
Gorner's fist flew too fast for her to see, much less avoid. One second she was gloating about finally saying what she wanted to say to him, then next, she was laying on the floor, pain exploding along her jaw line.
"Ye're a little slut, just like yer mama," Gorner sneered drunkenly.
Danni's vision went red.
"How dare you speak of my mother that way!" she cried, standing up. "No doubt your own mother was a cow. That would explain not only the foul smell, but your giant belly!"
Gorner let out a howl and leapt towards her. Danni brought the shovel around that she had been holding in her hand, smashing it into Gorner's face.
He dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Danni instantly dropped the shovel and went over to check on him. She hated his guts, but that didn't mean she wanted him dead. She placed her hand over his mouth and felt his breath on her fingers. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
She felt her cheek. Her jaw had already started to swell and the pain seemed to radiate up into her eye. She would have quite the shiner later.
She had to get out of that stable. She gathered her three possessions, and fled into the field. She ran and ran, the pain in her chest distracting her from the pain in her face. She slowed down only a little when she entered the woods.
Finally, she came to rest, her chest heaving, in a small clearing. She climbed the small hill to fall to her knees before a small wooden plaque bearing the name 'Ella'. She set her blanket and chess set beside it.
"Mother," Danni whispered, fingering the rough wood. Tears began to gather in her eyes and her jaw was aching horribly.
"Excuse me."
This new voice cause Danni to break. She began to cry in earnest.
"Oh, drat it, not again," the voice said irritably.
"I'm sorry," Danni said, wiping her tears away. She was surprised she still had tears left.
"No worries," the voice said jovially. "I can see you've had a rough day. I can kind of agree. I've had a bit of a wicked bad day myself."
Danni stood up. "Where are you?" she said, sniffling.
"Over to your left a little."
Danni followed the man's vocal directions until she came to a man caught in a nasty looking trap. There were at least ten ropes tethering him to the ground. There were also little barbs on the ropes which were cutting into the man's skin.
Danni looked at him curiously. The man was not bleeding normal blood. Instead of the red liquid that came out of her wounds, his blood was white.
"There is a knife in my boot," the man said with a tight grin, "if you'd be so kind to cut my bonds."
Danni nodded. She found the knife easily, and sliced up the ropes holding him down.
The blond man sat up stretching.
"Thank you kindly, young miss," he said, stretching his neck. "I've been in there almost an entire day." As Danni watched, all the little cuts on his skin began to heal up.
"Who are you?" she whispered. "And what were you doing tied to the ground."
He stood up, looking none worse for the wear. He gave her a courtly bow.
"Lark, at your service," he said. "And that," he pointed at the left over bonds, "is a Faerie trap. Nasty little device it is. Blocks all magic."
"Does that mean that you're…" Danni trailed off.
"A Fey?" Lark raised an eyebrow at her. "You are quite correct."
Danni fell on her rump in shock.
"Now," Lark said, lacing his fingers together and stretching them in front of him. "You did save me, and I would like to repay you in some way."
"It is alright," she said, not looking at him.
"No, I insist," Lark said. "There must be something I can help with. I mean, you were crying just a few minutes ago. Surely…"
"I was just overwhelmed," Danni protested, embarrassed.
"You can tell me," Lark said, pulling her back over to the hill and sitting them both down.
So, Danni told him everything. When she was done (and she didn't really even know she was done, she just sort of ran out of words and trailed off into silence), it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted right off her shoulders.
"So," Lark said, "this Cameron fellow, you'd like to meet him again?"
"Yes," Danni admitted with a blush. "I would really like to meet someone familiar. But he's back at Castle Fer Drewery and I have no idea how to even get there, much less meet him."
A small frown tugged at the corners of Lark's mouth. "I believe that there is something happening there now. Now, what is on the corner of my mind?"
Danni was silent as Lark thought.
"Perfect!" he exclaimed suddenly, causing Danni to jump.
"Perfect?" Danni questioned cautiously.
"Castle Fer Drewery is having a party for Prince Aiden," Lark said. "I can disguise you as a princess and you can go into the party, find your man, and ride off into the sunset and your happily-ever-after."
"He's not my man," she said, her face on fire. "And I have no idea how to be a princess."
"Nonsense," he said. "I'll help you." His brows drew together. "I'm going there anyway to try and find out who set that trap."
His face cleared into a wide grin and pulled Danni to her feet.
"Let's see what we have to work with," he said. Danni looked at the ground shyly.
"First of all, Danni," he said, lifting her chin, "a princess is never shy. Don't be afraid to speak your mind and to order people about."
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that," she said softly.
"Only for a little while," Lark said. "Now, let's see what's under this cap of yours." He pulled off Danni's dark brimmed cap and gave her a mock angry look. "A handkerchief."
A ghost of a smile fluttered over Danni's lips.
Lark chuckled. "A smile at last, my lady. I was beginning to wonder about you. Here."
Lark snapped his fingers and before her stood a floor length mirror. She looked at her reflection and winced. Her face was dirty and had little tracks through it where her tears had washed some of the grime away. The entire left side of her face was swollen and a sickly shade of purple.
Lark appeared behind her. "Forget this, Danni. For when I'm done with you, you won't even recognize yourself." He took her shoulder and spun her to face him, away from the mirror.
He undid her kerchief and undid her hair. She felt her hair hit her shoulders and fall behind her back. Lark broke into a huge smile.
"This is going to be easier than I thought," he said sincerely. Danni felt hope and gratitude rise in her chest until it felt as though she was going to explode. She couldn't stop the smile that crept over her face.
"First, we'll heal this," Lark said, running his fingers over her bruise. She closed her eyes as a warm glow seemed to flow through her face and stop the ache that permeated her jaw. All her tiredness seemed to wash away.
"Then, maybe a wash?" he said. He snapped his fingers and beside her appeared a wash tub and screen.
"A genuine Faerie tub," he said a touch proudly. "The water will never get dirty or cold." He held out a small stick of some white substance.
Danni almost couldn't believe it. She had never had a real bath before. She took the small bar and looked at it curiously.
"Soap," Lark said. "Go on, wash. I'll keep guard over you."
Danni nodded her thanks and stepped behind the screen. It instantly closed all around her so that she had complete privacy. She quickly stripped out of all her clothes and threw them up on the top of the screen.
Danni had never felt so light-hearted in all her life. She sat down in the bath (of perfect temperature of course) and began to scrub vigorously with the slippery white bar. True to Lark's word, the water never became dirty or cold, even though she became pleasantly pink.
She dipped her hair in the water and began to wash it with the white bar. Her hair went from the dirty blonde that she was accustom to, to the white blonde that she knew she had. She scrubbed under her fingernails, under her toenails, behind her ears, until everything felt cleaner than clean. Just for good measure, she washed her hair again.
She stepped out of the tub. She reached for her clothes, feeling a little disparagingly about putting on such dirty garments when she felt so wondrously clean, but her clothes were gone.
"Lark," she called out nervously, suddenly feeling vulnerable, being naked in the forest with only a screen between her and the world, "where are my clothes?"
"Those rags?" Lark snorted from behind the screen. "Not worth your salt, your highness."
"Highness?" Danni was wishing for something, anything to appear, or else she was going back into the tub.
"You'll have to get used to being called that, as you are going to pretend to be a princess," Lark said happily. "Here you go." A robe was flung over the screen.
Danni put it on, stroking the soft feel of the cotton against her skin. She tied the sash double tight, just to make sure it didn't fall off.
"I'm decent now," she said, and the screen opened. She stepped out.
"Lovely, highness," Lark beamed. He snapped his fingers and the tub and screen disappeared to be replaced by a chair and a desk. He motioned for her to sit in the chair.
Danni held the top of the robe closed and sat down. A brush appeared in Lark's hand.
"Now, highness," he said as he brushed out Danni's wet curls. "I think I know who you should impersonate, the princess of Tolaro. She was invited, but is declining to go because she hates to travel by sea."
"Sea?" Danni said, wincing as Lark pulled on a particularly nasty snarl.
"Tolaro is an island in the Great West Sea," Lark explained. "Basic exports: fish and copper. Basic import: everything else. They aren't overly rich but they aren't paupers either."
He pulled some of her hair back and seemed to evaluate the look, but then let it go again. "Your parents are King Reginald and Queen Mary. No one knows very much about them, so if you lie through your teeth, no one will be the wiser."
Danni gulped. This was a lot of information for one night. Lark was pinning strands of her hair into some sort of intricate design. She wished she was by the mirror so she could see it.
"Your name will be Princess-"
"Daniela," Danni said firmly. "I already have enough on my plate without adding a fake name to it as well."
Lark nodded. "Fine. Princess Daniela Fer Tolaro."
Lark looked at her and seemed to be satisfied with her look.
"Now, for a dress," Lark stood her up. "Light blue maybe?" he mused.
Snapping his fingers, Danni felt her robe being replaced by a dress. She looked down and ran her fingers over the intricate train. Flowing light blue sleeves were cut open to reveal a darker blue sleeve that encased her arm tightly. A dark blue ribbon ran around the top of her dress and she felt the pearls that sat heavily upon her neck.
"This will never stay on!" Danni protested, holding up the strapless bodice with one hand.
"Of course it will," Lark said, examining his handiwork. "It's the latest fashion."
Danni scowled until Lark lead her over to the mirror. Her jaw dropped.
"Who is that?" Danni asked, reaching her fingers towards the mirror. The woman in the mirror was more than pretty, she was almost… beautiful.
"You, my lady," Lark said chuckling. "If your Cameron does not ride off with you now, he's not worth it."