Cinderella Spell - Laurie Lee Page 0,6

napkin. “You’d think we ate in squalor. This is the king’s land.”

“Father was important. Did he know the king?”

The countess looked at her and shrugged. “I cannot say. I met His Majesty in Parsea, while we were on holiday.”

“May I ask if he knew father? Will I be allowed to talk with him? Will he want to know me?”

Mrs. Boyde drew Marissa’s chair back from the table. “Questions upon questions, Child.” Marissa bounced to her feet as Mrs. Boyde turned her attention to Mother. “They are ready for you to return to the carriage, my Lady.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Boyde. Were you able to clear dust from inside? I fear I will sneeze once we are settled if it has not been cleaned.”

“Yes, my Lady. The coach has been refreshed. We opened more windows. I hear the view of the castle is breathtaking.”

Marissa skipped to the horses, sneaking each of the matched pair a bit of carrot. Mrs. Boyde led her around to the door and ushered her inside. Silence reigned as they turned expectant eyes to the burgeoning view of the royal grounds.

Two hours later, Marissa gasped at the grand façade coming into view as the carriage rumbled along the paved course. Heavy oaks bent with age curved over the path, blocking her sight. She crawled onto the opposite seat, rising on her knees to lean through an opened window. Her mother didn’t try to stop her this time. Spindly towers reaching into the sky broke through the trees.

“It’s a castle,” she breathed with excitement. Her eyes danced and her smile grew wide as she looked over at her mother.

“Really, Marissa, where did you expect a king to live?”

“Are you going to be queen?” She flipped her attention between the colorful play of sunlight on the still-distant castle and her mother sitting with her hands clasped in her lap.

“No. I will be the king’s wife. “

Marissa scrunched her nose. “I don’t have to be a princess, do I?”

“Perhaps someday. The king does have a son.”

She made another face and shook her head. “Ugh. I won’t like him, not one bit.”

Her mother frowned. “Bite your tongue, child. It would be very good for you to marry the prince and become a princess. Someday that would make you queen.”

Marry a prince? “I don’t want to be queen.” Her voice emphasized her disgust.

“You are much too young to understand such matters. Trust your mother; I know what is best for you.”

Marissa rolled her eyes as the carriage continued along its path.

Monmoore Palace had been built within the curtain wall of an ancient keep. Gray stones from deep within the earth warmed under the spring sun. Marissa bounced on the cushioned seat as the large wood wheels of their carriage clanked across a wooden bridge leading into a lower open courtyard. Green grass spread up a hill to the base of a castle ruin. Against the age-warped pile of rocks, a palace had been built. The cream-colored stones appeared as sunlight to the darker rock’s shadow. Towers rose, creating the jagged elevation she’d viewed from a distance.

Marissa climbed across Mrs. Boyde’s lap to gape through the window on the other side of the carriage.

“Marissa.” Her mother’s stern voice carried a warning.

The young girl glanced at her mother before returning her attention to the view of weathered stone and well-worn courtyards. The stench of the still waters beneath the bridge wafted through the open window. Marissa jerked back, her nose wrinkled in dismay. “That is not the ocean.”

Lady DeGanne pressed a finger against her nose and frowned at her daughter. “It is different, I grant you, but ocean breezes were not always pleasant. You will grow to love it, I surmise.”

“Can my room be at the top of the tower? Will I be able to see outside the wall?” Marissa leaned her head back as far as she could to view the highest turret. “Have they fought battles? Will I be trained as a soldier? I could stand on the parapet with a bow and arrow. Just think, there will be ghosts, and dark creatures from a bygone era.” Excitement buzzed through her blood and her attention flew from her mother, to Mrs. Boyde, and back to the castle.

Mrs. Boyde laughed. “That’s all we need, you, running around in one of those towers. I suppose the family has rooms in the new palace wing. Plenty of people to keep an eye on you. Time you learned to behave as a young lady ought to behave.”

Lady