Early the next morning while the girls slept soundly, Wilhelm went outside to check on his horse. By the time he came back in, the girls were waking up.
“I’m afraid I have bad news. We will have to stay another night. The blacksmith has been so busy with the king’s horses, he has not yet gotten to mine…ours.” He corrected himself and smiled at Snow, wasting no time trying to make her feel like family. “He thinks it would be best for her to rest for another day, anyway. I have sent word to Dorothea with a rider heading that way, so she won’t be worried.”
“That’s okay,” said Samantha. “Now we get to stay for the party!”
“I don’t think we would be welcome at the party, little miss. It’s for nobility, and you three certainly aren’t of age to be looking to wed a prince.”
They blushed.
“Maybe we can watch from the forest by the castle.” Valerie laced her fingers together as if she were begging him.
“Maybe.” He tried to play tough, although he already knew that if the girls had their minds set, they would have their way. Their powers of persuasion were unstoppable.
“Wilhelm, we made a friend yesterday. Would it be okay if we went to visit her later?” Sam asked.
“Well, you girls sure work fast. I don’t suppose there is man or beast around that you three couldn’t charm. I don’t see the harm in it. I suppose I could try to sell what I didn’t sell yesterday at the market.”
After breakfast, they helped Wilhelm set up his cart. They wandered through the market to make sure they didn’t see Danielle there, then headed over to her home.
Once at the house, each one ran on a different direction in search of her. Snow searched the garden, Sam circled the fountain, and Val ran along the far side of the house. They met up again by the fountain. Val grasped an arm on each of them.
“Do you hear that? Someone is calling for help!”
It didn’t take long for them to recognize the voice. It was Danielle.
“Someone help me, please!”
“Danielle, it’s us. Where are you?” shouted Snow.
“Here, toward the back of the house. Hurry, before they come back!”
Running hard, they took the turn toward the back of the house and saw her waving her arm out a window covered with bars.
Flopping to her knees, Val asked, “Who did this to you?”
“My stepmother. Hurry, please, get me out of here.”
Snow and Sam rushed inside to the small storage room under the kitchen. The door was locked.
“How do we get you out? Where’s the key?” Snow shouted.
“On a hook, in the kitchen. Quickly, please! They’ll be back soon!”
“I’ll get it,” Valerie shouted as she took off for the kitchen. She found the key and rushed down the stairs. She almost fell, but caught herself, and handed it to Samantha. Sam had been anxiously picking at the lock on the door with a wire, trying to get it to open.
With a loud clank, the door finally opened. Danielle gave them each a quick hug. “We have to get out of here. They’ll be back from town any second.” She hurried them up the stairs, but stopped once they reached the kitchen. “Wait, I need something. Meet me outside by the fountain.”
She darted up the stairs and met them outside after what seemed like an eternity, even though it was no more than a minute. Danielle returned, holding a pile of material in her hands. Heading away, opposite of the direction of town, she said, “This way. Follow me.”
The group jogged for almost a mile. Valerie said, “Please, we have to stop. I can’t run anymore.”
“Just a little further.” Danielle pointed. “Look, up there toward the hill. There’s a cave behind those bushes. We can hide there.”
“But what are we hiding from? Is it your stepmother?” asked Samantha.
“Yes, and my two stepsisters.” Again Valerie and Samantha stopped dead in their tracks.
Snow didn’t notice their hesitation as she hurried to catch up with Danielle. “I can’t believe you have a stepmother who is not nice to you, either.”
“Really? You have a mean stepmother, too?”
“She would make yours look like a fairy godmother.”
“Oh, I doubt that. This isn’t a contest that either one of us wants to win, though.”
“That’s for sure,” Snow agreed as they entered the cave.
Back outside, Samantha whispered to Valerie. “Okay, miss ‘know it all fairy tales.’ Why is her name Danielle? Isn’t this Cinderella?”
“Think, Samantha. Cinderella wasn’t her name; that’s what everyone always called her to be mean. Remember, she had soot on her face from sleeping by the fireplace.”
“Oh, right.” She shook her head, still slightly confused at everything that was happening to them, as they walked into the cave together.
“So, are you gonna tell us why your step-monster locked you up,” Samantha asked Danielle.
“Samantha, that’s not nice,” Valerie scolded her.
“That’s okay, it’s the truth. She is more like a monster than a mother. She locked me up because she didn’t want me to go to the ball tonight. The prince is looking for a bride, and she doesn’t want me to be there…as if he would give me a second glance, especially like this.” She held up the mess of a dress, ripped nearly to shreds.
“What happened to it?” asked Snow.
“They ripped it up; ripped it right off me before they threw me into that dungeon of a storage room. The dress was my mother’s, and now it’s ruined. I can’t possibly repair this mess. I so wanted to go to the ball. I didn’t expect to meet the prince, but I wanted to go to a grand ball just once in my life. I was trying it on when my stepmother came into my room.”
“Maybe we can fix it,” said Val. “My mom and I sew a little.”
“I’ve done a little sewing myself,” added Samantha. “I want to be a famous fashion designer when I grow up. I can help, too.”
Otter had been a model pet up to this point, happy to be along for the adventure. Without warning, she bolted out of the cave.
Snow was the first to go running after her. She stopped to glance around to see where Otter went, and caught sight of her heading around the hill, out of sight. The other girls hurried after her to join the chase. Once around the hill, they stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the peddler woman they had gotten the clothing from at the last town. She was petting Otter and talking to her in her kind voice.
“I remember you, you sweet thing. Where are your girls?” She glanced up. “Well, hello there.”
“Hello to you, too,” Sam said. “We tried to thank you for the clothes, but you were already gone.”
“That’s quite all right, deary. Your friend thanked me plenty. I see the dresses are a good fit.”
“Yes, ma’am, they are.”
“I see you’ve added to your company. Who is the lovely teenager?”
“I’m Danielle. Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” she said with a curtsey and a stunning smile. “You seem to already know my friends.”
“Oh, yes. What fine young ladies they are. Say, my dear, would you happen to be going to the ball tonight?”
“Well, yes, well…at least I was. I don’t have a dress to wear now, though.”
“You don’t have one, you say? Well then, follow me, sweetheart.” She walked around to the back of the cart and pulled aside the curtain. “Here, now. This should be about your size.” She pulled out what had to be the most gorgeous gown in the entire kingdom. It was almost as fancy as a wedding gown, except it was light blue. It had small pearl beads sewn throughout it and down the long sleeves.
“It’s very beautiful, but I can’t pay you for it. I have no money.” Danielle hung her head low, and her smile faded.
“My dear, I did not ask for any money. A very spoiled young lady paid for it and never picked it up. She decided she had to have something more expensive, and went elsewhere. This is my gift to you. Fate must have brought us together, as I was just on m
y way back home and here you are.”
“Oh, my! Thank you! I don’t know how I can ever repay your kindness.”
“Don’t give it a second thought, my dear. You can repay me by having a wonderful time.” She took Danielle’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I really should be on my way. It was wonderful to see you all again.” She said goodbye to the girls and headed off down the road.
“I can’t believe our good fortune,” Danielle said as they walked back to the cave.
They were halfway there when the old woman call out to them.
“Wait! I almost forgot these.” Holding up a box, she gave it a little shake then placed it on the ground. “Can’t go barefoot now, can you?” She left the box and continued on her journey.
Valerie ran down the hill to get it. She picked it up, then looked for the woman, but she was gone. “How does she disappear so fast?”
Chapter 13