Cinderella Spell - Laurie Lee Page 0,37

before. Is he new?” Marissa asked. Even though she’d spread her skirts and twisted to the side, Marissa used the regular saddle Robert had procured for her.

Lady Grace, Elizabeth’s gray mare, shook her head. Elizabeth clicked her tongue, and the horse moved forward.

Marissa drew her horse alongside. “The air is fresh.” She took a deep breath. “Much better than the stuffy palace.”

“Find Robert. He usually entertains you on days like today.”

She grimaced. “He’s no fun. Sat and stared at the bloody shoe all day until they left with it. Now he looks like a sod who’s lost his prized dog.”

Elizabeth frowned at her. “Not the language a lady uses.”

“At least it is gone for a while. Do you think they will find her?”

“Oh, yes.” Elizabeth nodded. This has all been contrived for her purpose. The witch planned well. Her spell worked like threads of a web. When Cinderella returned to Monmoore, there would be no resistance to her plans. Elizabeth watched Marissa. Or so Cinderella thought. But two things now existed in Monmoore against the spell. Marissa loved the prince, even if the girl refused to admit her feelings. And a Guardian lived among them. Two, if the captain chose to reclaim his position.

Marissa’s horse brayed, stopping. Marissa held her seat. She pointed into the trees. “It’s that bird, again. Tried to get Soliloquy to drop me.”

Though Elizabeth could not see the creature, something menacing lurked among the branches. “We’ll keep to the open field. Perhaps the bird is protecting a nearby nest.” They turned onto the lane that led them around the keep to the upper field. The ancient ruin seemed more like a shadow in the overcast afternoon. Turning the corner, they heard the clash of sword on shield. The field was being used by Captain Standish and his men.

“Shall we watch?” Elizabeth asked, but Marissa was already stopping and didn’t bother to answer her.

She pointed to a skirmish taking place close to the rocks of the keep. “There’s Robert. Why let him fight when he’s distracted? Look, he isn’t even holding his shield in the proper form.”

They both winced as he took a hit to the shoulder. He fell. The other soldier reached a hand to help him to his feet.

Marissa pulled her horse around. “If this is love, I want nothing to do with it. Or him.” She spurred Soliloquy. Elizabeth pushed Lady Gray to follow.

19

Do something. Marissa tied the kerchief over her hair as she thanked the two maids for lighting torches in the attic. Memories of hide and seek with Robert tried to surface, but she pushed them away. “Not going to think about you. There are interesting pieces here and its time we made a list.” Marissa stepped around a pile of blankets. She remembered a hand-carved walnut table sitting beneath a window. She pushed a pair of glazed chairs out of the way and found what she sought. She pulled on a bronze handle to open the large drawer. The quill pen and parchment remained as she’d left them years before. Marissa reached into her pocket for the jar of fresh gal ink and set the supplies on the table. A mystical beast carved into one of the fluted columns of the table legs gazed up at her. She shook herself, ignoring the urge to throw a blanket across the feet as she had when she was younger.

In this attic, brightest of the three on this level of the palace, Robert had told her all he remembered of his mother. Six paintings of the beautiful queen leaned against the wall, near the back corner. Marissa had spent long hours copying the poses of the elegant woman. She made a notation on the parchment before walking to the back corner. A black chest with gold rivets was set near the paintings. Marissa knelt in front of it. There was no lock. She pulled the lid up. Hinges screeched at being forced to move, but the single item within caught her attention. The thin silver sword was too long to lay flat in the chest. It’s hilt, also silver, was wrapped with a leather cord. She traced a finger along delicate scrolls on the blade. “Why would someone leave you here?” Nothing in the chest gave clue to the identity of the owner. “Would be a shame to keep you in an abandoned chest.” She lifted the sword from the chest and stood. Light reflecting from the blade bounced on the papered wall of