So This is Love (Disney Twisted Tales) - Elizabeth Lim Page 0,97
the bush. I need you to promise me something.”
The prince held his breath. He knew he wasn’t going to like whatever his father was about to ask him, and yet he heard himself say, “Yes, Father. Anything.”
“You are the future of Aurelais, Charles. Consider the duke’s proposal and meet with the princesses. Secure peace for our country by choosing one to marry.”
Softly, Charles replied, “What about love, Father? Didn’t you say it was your love for my mother that made you a better ruler?”
A shadow fell over the king’s face, and he grimaced. “Perhaps I was wrong,” he said tightly. “Perhaps times were simpler then.” He inhaled. “At least consider it, my son. For the good of the country.”
Charles warmed his father’s hand with his own. A hard lump formed in his throat, and each word crawled out of his chest, hurting more than the last. “Yes, Father.”
Blinking away the moisture in his eyes, Charles slowly rose and kissed his father’s forehead. “Rest well, Papa. I will come see you again soon.”
George pulled on Charles’s collar, drawing him close. He reached behind his pillow, pushing a scroll into Charles’s arms. “You are king now,” he rasped.
“What?”
His father coughed, his hands trembling as he let go of Charles. “I wanted to wait until you were married, but it was always the plan for you to take over. I’d only hoped I would live longer.”
Charles wouldn’t hear it. “You are not dying.”
His father leaned back. “I certainly feel like it.” His voice drifted. “You’re young, Charles, but not as young as I was when I assumed the throne. You will be a good king. Ferdinand . . . Ferdinand will help you.”
“Father?”
A soft wheeze escaped his father’s lips, settling into a snore. After confirming that his father had fallen asleep, Charles sighed. He would try again later.
“Be well, Father,” he said softly before exiting the king’s bedchamber.
“Your Highness, are you . . . are you all right?” asked the royal chamberlain outside the door.
The prince drew a deep breath. What could he say to that? His father’s health was rapidly deteriorating, and the only person he wanted to talk to about it—the only person left in the world whom he loved and who could possibly have made him feel better—had vanished without so much as a goodbye.
How could he be all right?
Yet he mustered the barest of nods. “Yes, thank you for your concern, Sir Chamberlain. Please see to it that I am not disturbed for the rest of the day.”
“Yes, Your Highness . . . I mean, Your Majesty.”
The words Your Majesty rang in Charles’s ears. Without another word, he turned on his heel, feeling more lost and alone than he could remember ever feeling.
Heavy strokes of pink brushed the dawn. Pink, like the ballet slippers worn by the dancers Charles had taken her to see only two evenings ago. A lifetime ago.
Chimes from the clock tower rattled Cinderella’s nerves. Six o’clock. Just yesterday, she’d been in the duchess’s chamber, preparing for her first introduction to the king and his court. Funny how much could change in half a day.
The clock tower went silent, and she wondered if that had been the last time she would ever hear its bells. Whether it would be the last time she ever saw Aurelais again.
She pressed her cheek against her cell’s lone window, staring at the palace. How near it was, so near she could make out the colors of the curtains drawn against each window, but so far no one would hear her if she shouted for help.
“After I escaped Mr. Laverre, I’d promised I’d never feel so helpless again.” Her fists clenched. “But what can I do?”
She’d tried everything: pleading with the guards outside, pulling at the bars on her window, kicking at the door—all to no avail. Her fairy godmother couldn’t help her escape a locked cell, and calling for her would only incriminate Cinderella further. The only person who could do anything was Charles, but if he’d gotten the duke’s falsified letter from her and believed it . . .
No. He wouldn’t believe it. Cinderella clung to the hope that he was looking for her. He had to be.
But would he find her before the Grand Duke sent her away?
All night she’d dreaded the duke’s return, feared being sent so far from Aurelais that Charles would never find her. Unable to sleep, she’d curled against the wall, squeezing the bars of her window as she waited for the outside world