The king smiled to himself thinking that he had to pay someone a visit. It was time and he couldn’t wait any longer. Either way she wasn’t going to marry Londis, because her heart belonged to him.
Two hours later, after leaving the castle and wandering around the forest, the king located the old cottage hidden in the deepest parts of the woodland. Many years ago, he promised himself that he would never again seek the help of the old witch again, but current circumstances forced him to look for her once more.
She was the one person from his past he knew could help him. He was turned by a sadistic vampire who only used him to survive. He didn’t tell Cindy the whole truth about his past. His maker nearly killed him when he was attempting to transform him into a vampire.
Caspian was dying when he escaped from the creature who drained his blood. He wandered around the forest for hours, before the old witch found him. She was skilled, and her magic was much more powerful than the magic of fairies. She nursed him back to health, and he owed her a favour. She never claimed it back, but told him that one day he would come seeking her help once again. Over the years, he’d forgotten about her, and she never sent for him even when he became a king.
Smoke rose out of the chimney and he sensed her inside. The old witch was much more powerful than him, but he never trusted her. He thought that she secretly took his blood when she attempted to heal him, that’s why he never came back. Then a split second later, the door opened and he saw her standing in the shadow, leaning over a long stick.
“I thought you had forgotten about me, vampire king,” the old woman said.
Caspian’s past flashed right in front of him, and his craving for blood burned his throat. He sensed magic circulating around him; her energy was still vital. Nothing had changed after twenty years, but he noticed that she’d aged.
“I need your help old witch, and your magic,” he said as he approached her. She was an old woman, with long grey hair and wrinkles marring most of her face. The king was surprised that she was still alive, although it seemed that her magic hadn’t diminished with age. Caspian remembered those green eyes that were now staring straight through him.
“You’re in love and you think that you’re about to lose her. Don’t worry, I can help you. There’s always a price that people are willing to pay for love,” she said, and then gestured for him to enter the cottage.
The king hesitated, but he knew that he had to sacrifice something for Cindy. He couldn’t lose her like he had his first wife, Catherine. The cottage had a low ceiling and was supported by old wooden beams. There was a table and chairs, and a large pot was boiling in a fireplace filled with logs. The cottage smelled of sage, thyme and blood. The witch must have slaughtered an animal there earlier, because the king could smell it everywhere.
“You know where she is and who she truly loves?” he asked. The old witch smiled, humming an unknown song to herself, and stirred a strange substance inside her huge pot.
“Yes, I possess all the knowledge you seek,” she replied after some time. “But you need to make a decision. Are you ready to give away your immortality in order to have her love?”
Caspian didn’t want to spend the rest of his life utterly alone. And he couldn’t lose her. The old witch could have asked for anything, and yet he didn’t expect her to demand his immortality.
“I’m willing to do anything to save her,” he finally said. He was ready, ready for anything to have a life with Cindy.
Chapter Seventeen
“Unbelievable, girl, that stepmother of yours is a real bitch,” Martha shouted, placing her hands on her hips.
Cindy smiled weakly, chewing her nails as the reality of what she had done was making her a bit queasy. It had been twenty-four hours since she ran away and headed back to Farrington Kingdom and her own wedding was supposed to start in six hours. She didn’t think that her stepmother cared about her safety, but she knew that Ida was most likely furious that Cindy had ruined her plans.
She was also afraid of Ida’s magical power, she had no idea what her stepmother was capable of in order to get what she wanted.
“She isn’t a very nice person that’s for sure, but everything that I’ve ever owned is in her hands, along with life as I know it,” Cindy said, sounding bitter. She hadn’t really thought about the consequences when she decided to escape, but now after a good night’s sleep she was in turmoil.
Last night she was paralysed, standing on the street alone in the dark. She had no idea what to do. She thought that she’d made some progress the night of the ball, but the fear still paralysed her. She could taste it in the back of her throat as her panic turned into reality.
But then she knew that she needed to find Martha. Cindy forced herself to conquer her weakness and keep going no matter what. She told herself that her fear of stepping into the darkness was silly, and she was a grown woman after all.
Her heart rate was up, sweat rolling down her face, but she continued to walk. She managed to locate the brothel after half an hour. Some drunken peasant finally led her in the right direction. She found Martha at the bar, and as usual the magical hooker was a bit drunk.
Martha’s loud burp brought her back to the present. Cindy couldn’t believe that she spent a night in the brothel. Luckily, no one had mistaken her for a hooker.
“I need to have a drink before my brain can function properly,” she told Cindy, and then pulled out a bottle of vodka from under the bed. “Oh that’s a pleasant surprise. I thought I finished this earlier on. Want some?”
“No, thank you,” Cindy muttered, feeling a bit nervous. She had to find a way to counter her stepmother’s spell and tell the king the truth. Currently Martha had no idea how to help her, and she never heard of that sort of magic.
She watched as Martha took a few generous gulps of vodka and felt a little sick. Today was her wedding day, and she wished that time moved faster. Cindy was very grateful for everything Martha had done for her, but she knew that she couldn’t hide in the brothel forever. She was considering seeing Red, but she knew that Ida most likely had already travelled back to Farrington. It was too soon to tell, but Cindy couldn’t risk being caught.
“You let that leech get away with treating you like a slave for too long. We need to head to the castle right away,” Martha said, and then threw another pretty dress at her. This one was cream and had a small corset around the waist.
“Yes, I need to let Caspian know what she has planned, but I’m sure that my stepmother’s spell will prevent me from saying anything at all,” Cindy said, and Martha frown like she wanted to agree with germ but instead she said.
“We’ll figure something out there and then. I said that I would get you to the ball and I did. Stop worrying about it now and put that dress on. You must look presentable. The king is hot and we need him on our side. If I had been in your position I would have been upfront about Charles and Landis from the very beginning.”
Cindy was confused, but she didn’t have any other ideas. She knew she would have never met Caspian if it weren’t for Martha.
She stripped and changed into the beautiful dress quickly enough. She tossed her old clothes into the bin, put some makeup on, and instantly felt better. Caspian was looking for a wife, and she had to talk to him before he had a chance to meet anyone. She couldn’t bear to see him with someone else—she had to stop him and tell him how she truly felt.
Last night all the girls in the brothel were very busy. Despite the reputation of the place, Cindy noticed that the bar was full of men, all looking to pay for sex. She recognised a few from the market, but didn’t judge the girls. She had enough on her plate as it was with Ida stupid plan to ruin her reputation by calling her a prostitute.
The girls were thrilled to see her again and they all asked her what happened with the prince once she got to the ball. She took turns telling them about the king and Londis. The girls were sympathetic and told her that she made a good decision to run away.
“D
arling, please remember us when you become queen. We would love to visit you some day,” Melanie said, and then slapped one of the customers who was attempting to grab her boobs. “Not now, Ricky, you still owe me cash for a blow job from two nights ago.”
Cindy giggled, thinking that Melanie was getting a bit ahead of herself. “Queen? I don’t think I’m ready for that. I’m only going to the castle to speak to him.”
Heat rushed through her body at the thought of seeing him. She missed Caspian and could no longer deny her feelings.
“He’s going to fuck her once he sees her. I’m telling ya, they can’t keep their hands away from each other,” Martha chuckled, appearing by the bar, wearing a black cloak.
“I don’t know, he’s determined to find a wife. I need to figure this out myself,” she told Martha who already looked a little tipsy.
“Maybe you should or maybe you shouldn’t,” Martha snapped, sounding annoyed that Cindy wasn’t listening. “I always thought that Caspian was good looking, and the sex… You shouldn’t have run away from the man like that. We’ll go to the castle and ask to speak to him. And then once he sees you, he will change his mind right away. From what you’ve told me, you two have a real connection, right?”
Cindy rolled her eyes, knowing that there was no point in arguing with Martha. The hooker knew better, and she wanted her to be happy again. All the girls wished her good luck and then she and Martha left for the castle. It was midday and Cindy had been up for hours, but all the girls had worked all night, so most of them slept until late. The market was open today, so the roads were much busier than usual. Martha knew a lot of people in town, especially men, but Cindy didn’t think that women liked her very much. A lot of them were shooting her infuriating stares when she passed. And one of them even spit in front of her as they both walked by.
“I don’t think you’re liked very much by the ladies around here,” Cindy pointed out when Martha smiled to some older peasant standing by his horse.
“Yes, that’s because I’ve slept with most of those women’s husbands, and they can’t stand it,” she said, and then giggled. “Come on, I want to stop in the tavern first. The barman there owes me a drink.”
Cindy should have suspected that Martha wasn’t planning to head to the castle straight away. She couldn’t argue with her, so she followed her in, wondering how Caspian would react if he saw her now.
The castle could be seen from the distance, and the view made Cindy a little uneasy. She ruined her stepmother’s plans, but what if she was too late? Maybe the king was over her being so indecisive. If he only knew that she was under a spell and couldn’t tell him the truth, she could make him understand; she just hoped it wasn’t too late.
Cindy was surprised that the tavern was filled with customers at this time of day, and almost everyone in there knew Martha. The hooker went up to the bar, smiling and hugging all the men. Cindy stayed behind, not knowing what to do with herself.
“Hey, Cindy, I haven’t seen you in ages. Can I buy you a drink?” someone shouted from the other side of the tavern.
Cindy was shocked to see Charles walking up to her and she was even more surprised that he saw her in the tavern. He was smiling and before she knew it he was standing beside her table.
Cindy was confused that he approached her in the first place, after he chose to take Red to the ball instead. Deep down, Cindy hoped that he and Red would get back together. It looked like Martha wasn’t going to stop with only one drink, and Cindy wanted to talk to Charles about Red. She thought that the least she could do was try to tell him that he needed to stop messing around with her and finally commit.
“Yes, that would be good,” she replied.
Five minutes later, Charles returned with some wine, looking very cheerful. They started talking about the ball and his work for the king. Charles didn’t even mention their dates together and it was like he didn’t even acknowledge it ever happened. Cindy didn’t know what to think, so she sipped her drink, trying to relax a little. Martha was surrounded by men who kept buying her shots. She was laughing and joking with them, and Cindy wondered how long she was planning to stay there.
Charles finally admitted to her that he still loved Red and he wouldn’t be able to find a girl like her anywhere else. Cindy smiled, satisfied with the outcome, then got up and went to the restroom, suddenly feeling a little dizzy. The world around her started spinning, but luckily someone caught her before she fell down.
“Don’t worry, beautiful, I got you,” said a voice that Cindy instantly recognised as Charles. Her limbs were tingling and she felt like she was going to pass out. She wanted to call Martha, but then realised that she couldn’t speak.
Seconds later, darkness swallowed her and she drifted off, still thinking about her vampire king.
“You want to take away my immortality. What about the fact that I need to feed on humans?” the king asked, thinking about his other vampire abilities. The old witch had saved his life twenty years ago, and now she wanted him to grow old and die.
“I’m taking away what you don’t need any more if you want to love this girl. If you won’t make a decision now, you will lose her forever,” she said, smiling. The king noticed that the old witch was missing her teeth.
“You need to give me proof that you know where she is first,” he told her.
“That was necessary,” he told himself, realising that he was back in the castle, in his chamber. He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. What happened with the witch earlier on was unexpected.
“What was that, my lord?” Constant, his advisor, asked, and when the king glanced at him. He should have remembered that he wasn’t alone.
He needed to calm down; otherwise he would drive himself crazy. He couldn’t change what had already happened. Constant came in to tell him that Jeremy was coming to see him. Apparently, the boy had some news.
“Come closer…come…come and I will show you where she is,” he heard the witch’s voice in his head again.
He remembered approaching the large pot filled with crystal clear water, smelling blood everywhere, as the craving for Cindy’s blood was making him uncomfortable. The witch gestured at him to lean over the pot, and for a second, the king wasn’t seeing anything.
Then the water began bubbling and he saw his Cindy. She was carried out of the local tavern by a man who wore the forest ranger uniform. Two girls were waiting for him at the edge of the forest. He smiled at them and they pointed for him to place Cindy in the carriage.
They exchanged some money and then the image started to fade away.
Someone’s voice in the chamber reminded him that he needed to focus on the present. He had given the old witch his most precious gift in exchange for Cindy’s location and their future together. Time was precious for the king and he didn’t want to waste another minute of it waiting around.
“Tell me right away what you found out,” he asked Jeremy when he barged into his chamber a second later.
The boy took a few deep breaths and started talking.
“I followed them like you asked me, keeping a safe distance for a little while, and you were right, my lord. Cinderella’s stepmother is forcing her into marriage with that Londis farmer. I hid in the bushes and listened to them when they were just about to leave for the Gardland’s Kingdom. Cindy’s father had left her stepmother Ida in charge of the whole estate, but he put some sort of clause in the will that only gave Ida full ownership in the case of Cindy’s death,” Jeremy said, pausing for a second to catch his breath. The king thought that the boy had done well to get this information for him. Now Caspian was glad that he went with his gut. Cindy was being forced into marriage. He was angry that she didn’t tell him about it when they met at the second ball. “Her stepmother had help, and she managed to track Cindy down a few hours ago. She announced that Cindy is going to be punished for running away. Londis is planning to flog her and Ida approved it, but that’s not all. This marriage is just a b
usiness transaction for her stepmother. Apparently earlier on she was blackmailing Cindy. She told her if she wouldn’t obey her, she would spread the rumour around that Cindy was a hooker, working in the local brothel. The girl was seen with other hookers the night of the first ball and Ida has a witness. I’ve been hanging around these people all day and heard bits and bobs from her stepsisters too. Ida had someone to create a document that listed Cindy’s name on the lease of the brothel. Her stepmother knew that once Cindy reputation was in tatters you wouldn’t want to marry her anymore, so she made this story up in order to force her to marry Londis, that way she can legally take over her father’s estate with the forged will.”
The king clenched his fists, shaking his head as anger flew through his veins. He picked up his cloak, ready to kill someone.
“My lord, my lord, where are—”
“Not now, Constant. I have a wedding to crash. The sooner someone confronts that evil woman the better. It’s a complete disgrace,” the king roared, already running through the corridors, with Constant right behind him. He shouldn’t have wasted his time with the old witch. Now he wasn’t even sure if he was going to make it back to Gardland’s Kingdom in time to stop that false wedding. It was a few hours ride to the other kingdom. This looked like a set-up from the very beginning. The old witch had given him until sundown to find his love and then he would be a mortal vampire.
He got to the stables and jumped straight away to his white horse. Cindy was unlucky, and her father should have known that Ida couldn’t be trusted. That woman only cared about her own interests and she was never planning to tell Cindy the truth.
“My lord…wait, who is that woman?” Constant asked. He was red-faced and holding his chest like he was struggling to keep his balance.
“She’s the love of my life. Prepare the castle and pray for me, because I hope that I can get to the other kingdom to stop that damn ceremony.”