A Different Cinderella

Elliot would have loved to put off returning home as much as possible, but he knew that the amount of time spent away would not calm his stepmother’s ire. It was probably adding to it and she would be a burning inferno when he stepped across the threshold. He’d already put it off as much he could with his decision to walk back to the village instead of taking a carriage and taking care of a few errands to the baker and a few farmers’ stalls for produce. He was running out of ways to delay his return. That is, until he noticed the dressmaker’s shop. He quickly changed his course.

The bell above the shop door brought everyone’s head up to see the new arrival, but Elliot was looking for one person in particular. He gave a respectful greeting to Mrs. Webber and Mary by the rows of fabric stored along the wall but made his way over to Freda’s corner in the back.

“You are never going to guess what happened this morning,” he said as he pulled a stool closer to her side.

She smiled and pinned up a ruffle in the green dress hanging in front of her. “Oh, I think I can give it a try.” She turned to face him fully and he noticed the sly twinkle in her eye. “I’m guessing that you’ve just been to the palace where you accepted Princess Thea’s proposal of courtship and presented her with your mother’s silver locket.”

“How-”

“I’ve just come back from a visit Thea and she was very excited to tell me what happened.” She pulled him in for a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you. It’s not everyday that you find Princess Charming.”

Elliot returned her embrace with a wide grin. He really couldn’t ask for a better friend than Freda. He pulled back and watched her return to her work. “It’s still a bit surreal. I never dreamed that I could be so happy. Or so quickly after meeting her. This kind of thing doesn’t just happen but it is.”

Freda pulled back and laughed. “Just wait until your wedding day. You’ll be so nervous, I bet you’ll drop the ring. You might even faint.”

He joined her a bit in laughter, but it faded as he remembered what was still to come. “We just have to get through the family meeting tomorrow. We’re to come over for tea.”

“That should be fun. Your stepmother will try to get in good with the queen while Marigold attempts to seduce the prince. I wonder if it will be as catastrophic as it sounds.”

“Probably will be.”

“Well, you could always disown your family,” Freda joked. “No family; no family meeting.”

Though it was an alluring thought, they both knew that he wasn’t that kind of person. He also couldn’t just leave Lottie like that; the only one that they both liked from that family. So he’d have to go through with the families meeting. He just hoped it wouldn’t be too painful. At least Thea would be there. Maybe he could arrange a distraction or something to escape his family for a while and just be alone with her.

“Are you always going to have the goofy grin on your face every time you think of the princess?”

Elliot snapped back to the present and playfully smacked Freda’s arm. “Like you didn’t have a similar look on your face when you danced with the prince.”

“Is that a backbone I’m seeing? One day and your princess has already brought out your courageous side. I approve.”

“Oh, well, thank you,” Elliot said sarcastically.

“You’re welcome.” Freda grinned back as she added a pin to the dress. “You hardly need your stepmother’s approval, you know. Lottie’s and mine are the only ones you need for family. And Lottie would agree with the match in a heartbeat.”

“If I could, I would just present the both of you as my family and then this part would be over already.” His smile fell. “I know she’ll agree to the match, but Stepmother is going to do everything she can to push Marigold onto the prince. I hope they don’t reject the match because of it.”

“The royals are used to this kind of behavior and know how to deal with it. But they know that you are not your stepfamily.” Freda caught his gaze and held it. “Just remember that the princess knew about your family and asked to court you anyway. You are so wonderful that you caught yourself an actual princess.” Freda pinned another section of fabric with a satisfactory smile. “Nothing your stepfamily could ever say can take that away from you.”

Elliot grinned and gave her a one armed hug. “You’re amazing. You know that?”

“I know.”

§∞§

“I hope you have a good reason why you’ve been absent all day.” Stepmother frowned down her nose at Elliot as he arrived home. “And what’s with that smile? You look like a fool.”

He closed the door, set the wrapped parcels from his errands on the table, and carefully hung up his coat. Finally, he turned to his stepmother and found Marigold looking down her nose at him like her mother. Lottie was just openly curious, though she stood a bit of distance behind the other women so they couldn’t see her.

“I’m happy,” Elliot said nonchalantly.

Stepmother continued to frown. “What about? Where have you been?”

“Maybe he’s been with that stitching girl Freda,” Marigold said.

“I stopped to see her, yes, but that’s not the only place I’ve been.”

“We don’t care about your social interactions,” Marigold huffed. “Just tell us.”

Elliot smiled slightly at her impatience. “I was at the palace this morning. I was talking with Princess Thea and she has asked us to tea tomorrow.”

That made them pause. “You’re lying,” Marigold said. “There is no way the Princess asked you to tea.”

“Why?” Stepmother’s hard gazed pierced Elliot’s happy mood slightly, but he tightened his hold.

“She offered me courtship last night in the garden and I accepted this morning. I gave her my mother’s locket. She would like it if you came tomorrow for the meeting of the families.”

Marigold snorted. “You’re delusional. A princess with the likes of you? It’s ridiculous. She could have anyone. Why would she want you?”

Elliot frowned at her. “She loves me.”

“She’s far too levelheaded and reasonable to believe in love at first sight.”

“You don’t know anything about her.”

“Then she must be playing a joke on you-”

“Enough!” Everyone turned to Stepmother. Her lips were pursed as she turned over her thoughts. “The princess has invited us to tea?” At Elliot’s nod, she turned to her daughters. “This is another opportunity for you to catch the prince. From now until tea, you will strive for perfection in everything. Face, smile, dress, hair, manners, everything must be perfect. Upstairs. Now!” Marigold whined and stamped her foot, but dragged her sister upstairs. Stepmother turned to Elliot. “Maybe there’s a use for you after all.” She turned with a swish of skirts and climbed the stairs.

Elliot collected his purchases and took it down to the kitchen. That had gone about as well as he expected but better than he thought. The yelling was surprising, as he didn’t usually talk back to his stepfamily. But Marigold knew nothing. She was just upset because he’d caught the attention of the princess and the prince had ignored her. Truthfully, he was enjoying his small victory. He had a feeling that it wouldn’t last long, though.

§∞§

The sun was bright, the sky was blue, and there wasn’t a pesky insect to be seen. But that hardly had a cheerful effect on the group having tea beneath a raised canopy. Thea was glad to have Elliot by her side but she couldn’t say the same for his family. Miss Lottie was keeping to herself with her tea and a few sandwiches, but Miss Marigold was trying to subtly seduce her brother from across the table while Mrs. McKinley’s theatrics were becoming rather tiresome. It was almost certain that not one single honest word had slipped from the woman’s mouth since they’d sat down half an hour ago.

Mrs. McKinley sniffed into her handkerchief. “My dear husband was a good man and I wish that I could have had more time with him, but he would have wanted to serve the king as best as he could. Knowing that he saved the king’s life helps ease the pain I feel at night without him by my side.” She dabbed at the corner of her eye and put on a watery smile, turning to Miss Marigold. “My children are my only reason for living most days. I just hope I can see them properly taken care of and settled with a family of their own before I leave this world.” Miss Marigold gently squeezed her mother’s hand in an obviously practiced gesture to display concern and love for a family member. Thea wondered how long they had practiced to make it convincing.

Queen Serena sipped her tea slowly, hiding her grimace behind the rim. “It is what every mother wishes for their children.”

“Oh, indeed.” Mrs. McKinley turned back to the queen. “I’m so glad that Elliot stepped up to the task of looking after our family. I don’t know what we would have done without him. His father would be so proud of him.”

Elliot set his cup down on his saucer a little too hard, the rattling catching Thea’s attention. She took in his tense jaw and the hand tightly curled on his knee. She shot a glare at his stepmother but she had moved on to adding more praise upon her oldest daughter and didn’t see. But Queen Serena had. She had a better handle on her expression than Thea at the moment, but she gave a slight nod to her daughter.

“Elliot, would you join me for a walk? There are a few flowers I’d like to show you just down the path.” She took his arm and led him away from the table. He followed her easily. Thea wrapped her arm around his as they continued away from the group. When they were far enough away, she looked up at his tense frown. “Tell me what you are feeling, Elliot.”

“That woman,” he practically growled, “continues to use my father’s death like a pawn in her twisted chess match. My father deserved better than her and he deserves better than this. I’ve tried to honor his memory and she’s used that on me for years to do what she wants. She would say things like ‘You don’t want to let your father down, do you?’ or ‘What would your father think of that?’.” He breathed in deeply and let it out, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Thea. I shouldn’t have snapped. I’m used to her antics but when she so casually tossed that line out just to make herself look good…” His knuckles turned white as he curled his fingers into his palm. Thea slid her hand over his and just let him silently work through his emotions. It seemed he had experience with this kind of thing and knew how to deal with it for the most part. Thea could only lend her presence as comfort. But she was developing a serious dislike for his stepmother. Thea would never forgive her for what she had done to Elliot.

The two of them walked for a little while longer down the rose path, letting the tension slowly seep out of Elliot until it was gone. The muscles under Thea’s hand were no longer stiff but gentle under her touch. “How do you feel now?” she asked.

He smiled down at her, though it was slightly tired. “Much better. Thank you.” She returned his smile. He sighed softly. “I don’t usually have a temper, Thea. I knew Stepmother would try something like this and had prepared myself for it, but I still couldn’t handle it.”

“It is completely reasonable for you to be angry at her. She’s doing a terrible thing. If she did the same thing to my father’s memory, I would be just as furious.” Thea raised her chin. “I would have reached across the table and shoved tea cakes down her throat. Maybe pour hot tea over her head as a finishing touch.”

Elliot blinked, shocked enough to stop walking the path. He stared at her for a moment and then burst into laughter. He laughed so hard he was doubling over and had to rest his hands on his knees. Thea was glad to see him so happy and joined his mirth with considerably more subdued laughter. They calmed down after a few moments and he straightened, lovingly smiling down at her. “You would instantly be my hero.”

“Well, I can’t do anything like that in real life, but I can do something I hope you will enjoy just as much.” Thea grinned as she pulled out a bundle of cloth from her pocket. “It took me all of yesterday to find, but I finally found a proper courting gift.”

“I’m not sure how you could improve upon what you gave me in place of the courting gift,” Elliot teased, gently taking the bundle from her hands. He unwrapped the cloth and stared. Thea lifted the wide silver wristband, turning it so he could see the parts she was explaining. “The crest on the outside is the royal crest to show your new status. On the inside is engraved the words ‘respect, love, support’.” She took his hand and fastened it onto his wrist. “I thought you’d want something simple and less flashy than what most would expect from royalty. But it has all of the same meaning. Nothing would make me happier than knowing you accept my courting gift, Elliot McKinley.”

The metal glinted in the sunlight as Elliot twisted his wrist to see it from all sides. He reached out and drew Thea close, planting a deep and thorough kiss to her lips. She gripped the front of his jacket as she took in everything about him from the sweet taste of his lips to the heady smell that could only be him. She would love nothing more than to stay in his arms, hidden among the roses and indulging herself in passion.

They parted for a moment, breath ragged as they stared into each other’s eyes. Elliot tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She leaned into his touch, his thumb brushing against her cheek.

“I accept.” His voice was gruff and low, running up her spine. “The gift and your love.”

“I’m glad.” Her voice sounded breathless even to her ears.

“Marry me.”

Thea blinked. “You’re not asking because of what your stepmother said, are you?”

Elliot never took his eyes off hers as he shook his head. “I love you, Thea. I’m not perfect and I’m sure I’ll do something to embarrass you or cause a problem at some point, but I promise to be there for you as you were here for me today. I know that this is all happening very quickly and I understand if you need time to-”

“Yes. I will marry you.”

He stared for a moment. “Really?”

“Really. I would love to be your wife.”

Elliot grinned and pulled her in for another kiss. Thea smiled, placing one more kiss on his lips before leaning back a bit to rest her forehead against his. She would enjoy the moment before they had to announce their engagement and become the focus of the entire kingdom. They wouldn’t be allowed alone together until their wedding.

“We don’t have to announce it right now.” Thea raised an eyebrow at his soft smile. “You were mumbling.”

“That seems to be a family trait. Caelen does it, too.” She sighed. “But it’s still true. Our courtship has caught people’s attention, but an engagement will bring everyone’s eyes on us. They’ll watch every move and word we make, waiting for a mistake or scandal. Propriety will have to be maintained and any time we spend together will be chaperoned. This will be our last time alone together.”

“Thea, I’m not looking forward to following all the rules of propriety, especially since we haven’t exactly been doing this whole thing as it should be done, but if you want to make the announcement, I will support you.”

“Well, I do like our time together…and we haven’t done this like we’re supposed to…” Thea smiled. “We’ll keep this quiet and enjoy our time alone while we can. We’ll announce later.”

Elliot nodded with a grin. “I like your plan.” He lowered his head and stole another kiss; one she gladly handed over.