Cursed Beauty (A Fairy Retelling #1) (5 page)

“Forbidden love, such a common story for young people. I’ll be happy to help you meet him.”

“Well, thank you but, he’s not my...I mean, we’re not…” Adelaide wasn’t quite sure how to put it.

“Oh, you’re not in love with this young man?” the old woman said with a sly, knowing look. “Yet.”

“Actually, I need to go to the castle, so that I can meet the prince and tell him how sorry I am for my behavior. He invited me to the royal ball tonight, and I was, well...rude. I need to apologize.”

“I see. And what’s stopping you?”

“I’m locked in here. Even if I could escape, I’d have to steal one of my stepsister’s dresses, face my stepmother’s wrath, and make my way to the castle without a carriage. It’s impossible.”

“I live in the world of the impossible, my dear, and I think I have exactly what you need.” She waved her hand over the floor. Two perfectly formed glass slippers gradually materialized into existence. “I believe these will be just your size.”

The slippers shimmered in the candlelight, pulsing faintly with magical power.

“What do I do?”

The old woman smiled. “You simply put them on, my dear. They will help take care of every need you have while you’re wearing them.”

“How? I don’t understand.”

“You will in a moment. If you’re brave enough to put them on, that is.”

Adelaide paused. She truly did want to go to the ball, but she wasn’t sure if this was truly a safe option. After all, she’d never met this woman before, and what she had said was almost true good to be true. She knew that when something was too good to be true, it usually was.

Adelaide stood up. “Is it safe?” she asked the old woman.

“Is anything ever worth doing truly safe?”

Adelaide took a deep breath, and slipped her feet into the slippers. She expected the glass to be cold and hard against her feet, but instead, they immediately warmed and molded themselves to her soles, like soft kidskin.

The warmth of the magical shoes traveled up her legs, into the trunk of her body, and out to her extremities. Her skin began to glow and pulse in time with the shoes. A blinding light flashed from her feet, and when her eyes adjusted, Adelaide was changed.

Instead of the drab cotton dress she had worn to cook and clean in, she was now donning a beautifully embroidered, green silk gown. Jewel-encrusted gauzy skirts floated around her.

“Do you have a mirror, my dear? I think you’ll like what you see.”

There was a large mirror in the library that would be perfect for Adelaide to see all the changes the magic slippers had wrought. Adelaide put her hand on the doorknob, forgetting momentarily that it was still locked. She felt a warmth shoot up from the soles of her feet to her hands, and stared astonished as the handle rotated by itself in her hand. Adelaide turned to the old woman.

“They will take care of your
every
need,” she repeated.

Adelaide pushed the door open, took the candle from her dresser, and walked to the library. When she set the candle next to the mirror in the darkened library, she did not recognize the girl staring back at her through the glass.

Her long, red curly tresses were straightened, and pinned atop her head in an elegant knot. Long, white gloves adorned her hands, covering her arms to the elbows, and everywhere, jewels sparkled, catching the light of the candle and dancing it throughout the room. Although the changes were all very beautiful, they were nothing compared to the change of her face. Her birthmark had entirely disappeared.

Adelaide brought a trembling hand up to her cheek, and realized she could feel nothing through the fabric of the thick glove. She quickly removed it, and brought her fingers up to her face. She exhaled in a rush. The smooth, soft skin felt foreign to her fingertips. There were no more ridges, no dark splotches splayed across her visage like a map contouring her face. The absence of her birthmark rendered her unrecognizable. She could ask for no better mask.

“The glass slippers will take care of your every need,” the old woman said again as she walked up behind Adelaide.

Adelaide could not stop gazing at herself. She never imagined that she could look so normal, or that the absence of her birthmark would render her so beautiful. What a shame, she thought, that her mark had hidden her beauty for so long.

“I know it is mesmerizing to see yourself dressed so,” said the old woman, “but you’ll be wanting to leave soon. The magic will not last for long.”

“It won’t?” Adelaide said, clearly disappointed.

“No, my dear. It will fade completely at midnight. You will want to make sure that you are back home by the strike of the twelve. I’ll be here waiting for you when you return.”

“Midnight. So early?”

“I know, it seems like such a short time to fall in love, but I’m certain that the shoes will give you quite an advantage.”

“I told you, I’m not in love with the prince. I simply want to speak with him.”

“I know you think so, dear, but trust me. I’ve seen a thing or two in my time, and after the prince dances with you, he’ll be head over heels in love.”

“Is that part of the magic of the glass slippers?”

“Perhaps. Or maybe it’s just what happens to young men when they find themselves with a beautiful young woman at the end of their arm. But, what is more important, is how you feel about him. I’ll be eagerly awaiting to hear if you have found your heart turned to love.”

Adelaide doubted she would feel that way towards the prince. She’d been angry with him for so long, it was such a foreign thought to think of being in love with him.

“It’s time to go, now, dear,” the old woman reminded her.

“But, I still don’t have a way to get to the castle. It will take me hours to walk there in these shoes, and I don’t have a carriage to take me there.”

“Trust me. Just open the door and start walking.”

Adelaide opened the front door of the house, and stepped down the few stairs onto the ground. She took one step more, and found herself staring up the grand staircase just outside the castle, and into the eyes of a royal guardsman.

CHAPTER 5

“Do you have an invitation, my lady?” the guard asked her.

Adelaide didn’t answer. She was nonplussed by how she had arrived at the castle the moment she stepped from her father’s threshold. She stared at the guard.

“An invitation?” he inquired again.

Invitation? She did have an invitation, didn’t she? Of course, she did. Back home in her bedroom where she had left it.

“Ah, there it is!” the guard said, pointing to one of her gloved hands. She knew she hadn’t retrieved it before leaving the house. The words of the old woman echoed in her mind.
They will provide for your every need.
Evidently, the magic of the glass slippers could even procure a royal invitation out of thin air.

Adelaide held it up for the guard to inspect. He took a perfunctory glance, and bowed low before her, allowing her admittance up the stairs and to the ball.

Walking into the enormous ballroom of the castle, her attention fixated solely on the splendor of the Elder Prince’s birthday celebration. Servants, bedecked in clothing far more elegant than anything she owned, walked through the throng of guests, offering up platters filled with tempting delicacies and sumptuous hor d'oeuvres. Wine and champagne flowed freely from bottles, to crystalline glasses, to thirsty mouths.

Everywhere she looked there were people. Men and women smiled at her as they passed by. In fact, they did more than just look at her, their gazes lingered on her like soft caresses. Adelaide knew what it was to be stared and gawked at, but these looks were of a different sort, full of admiration and longing. She felt the familiar blush rise in the cheeks, and was thankful she didn’t have to worry about her birthmark flaring crimson across her face. She lifted her chin, and continued walking through the multitude of guests, searching for Prince Julian.

“Excuse me, my lady. May I beg a dance?” a young gentleman asked her with a bow.

Adelaide wasn’t sure what she should answer. She was here only to speak with Prince Julian, but it would be such a wasted opportunity if she didn’t make the most of it. “I would love to.”

The young man led her towards the center of the ballroom. In a flash of horrific comprehension, Adelaide became acutely aware that she really didn’t know how to dance. Her father had danced with her in the library of their home when she was a young girl, and taught her the basics of how to waltz, but she never actually needed to use that skill, especially in the arms of a handsome young man. She hoped desperately that he would be a strong lead, and that she wouldn’t embarrass herself too much.

As the music started, he put his hand against the small of her back, and gathered her hand in his. Thankfully, it was a waltz, so Adelaide’s feet had some idea of what to do. As he twirled her around and led her through several complicated steps, she never faltered or misstepped. The magical glass slippers even seemed to help her coordination.

The music came to a close, and winded from the exertion and excitement, Adelaide thanked the young man. She turned to depart before he could ask her to join him for a second, and found herself face to face with her stepmother. Adelaide knew that shock was written all across her face, and was ready for the verbal assault Celeste was likely to unleash on her.

“Those are beautiful shoes. Wherever did you get them?” Celeste asked.

Breathless from the dance, as well as the shock of seeing her stepmother, Adelaide took a moment to catch her breath. “They were a gift,” she finally replied.

“I see. Quite extraordinary.”

Adelaide wasn’t sure how to respond.

“What is your name, my dear?” Celeste asked.

“My name?”

Celeste did not recognize her. Without her mark, Celeste didn’t know who she was. Adelaide decided to use a nickname her mother had given her, hoping it wasn’t close enough to her given name to cause suspicion.

“Leidy. My name is Leidy,” she answered.

Celeste opened her mouth to ask something more, but abruptly stopped as her gaze shifted to something just behind her. Celeste curtsied deeply, as Adelaide turned around.

The Elder Prince was holding his hand out to her. “It would be my greatest pleasure if you would dance with me, fair maiden,” he said softly.

Adelaide offered her hand, and he placed it in the crook of his arm, leading her once again to the dance floor. As they entered, other couples that had populated the floor dispersed. Everyone watched as Adelaide and the Elder Prince began to dance.

Fear of falling and humiliating herself grasped her heart, but once again the glass slippers wove their magic into the rhythm of her feet as Prince Leon led her around the room in intricate circles. The music swelled, and Adelaide’s gaze lifted to meet the prince’s. She had been too nervous to look him in the eyes, but when she finally did, she saw him smiling kindly at her.

The only time she had been this close to Prince Leon was when she was seven years old. He had grown into a very handsome man since then. His hair was long and dark, his smile broad. Dark lashes framed his light blue eyes. The contrast between the lightness of his eyes and the darkness of his hair was both unsettling and beautiful. Though his smile was genuine, his eyes stared at her intensely.

Adelaide wondered what he was thinking, but knew it wouldn’t be proper to speak before he initiated the conversation. They continued to dance in silence. Finally, the music came to a close, he spoke, still holding her in his strong embrace as if he were ready to dance once more.

“You must forgive me,” he said.

“Forgive you?”

“I am a terrible host, and not at all an engaging dance partner. I was concentrating so hard on not mistaking the steps that I forgot to speak.”

“Well, it didn’t help that everyone else stopped dancing and started watching us, did it,” she replied.

He smiled even more broadly.

“No, it didn’t. I hate when they do that. But, I have to confess, I was as much distracted by your beauty as I was by anything else.”

The music began again. Other dancers, noticing that the Elder Prince was not initiating another dance himself, began to trickle onto the floor and twirl around the couple.

“Thank you, Your Highness, for the dance. I enjoyed myself immensely,” Adelaide said when her senses came back to her.

“I would very much like to spend some more time with you, if I may,” he started, “but for now, I must attend to some of my father’s business and greet some of the other guests.”

“Of course. I would like that very much, myself.”

“I will find you, then.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Your Majesty.”

The prince squeezed her hands tightly in a quick embrace, and bowed.

“Later then, Lady…” he stopped, realizing he did not know her name, and looked inquisitively at her.

Adelaide laughed. “That is my name. Leidy.”

“Well, then, I shall see you again soon, Lady Leidy,” he teased.