His Cinderella

The search

The prince’s search team made sure they left no stone unturned to find Mary. They went house to house and even the abandoned buildings. But the more they searched, the lesser the hopes of finding her alive became. They even asked the young children who were playing in the streets for leads to no avail. The prince became anxious, and he made all the efforts to beef up the team with more security, incase Mary was in danger. Even the soldiers and law enforcement officers were there to monitor the search campaign.

Mary’s stepmother had already spread the speculation that Mary had eloped with another man. She did this to divert the attention of the prince so that he could lose interest in marrying her. Instead of being diverted, the prince was more determined to find his fiancee. There was something that told him there was more to Mary’s disappearance than people were assuming. He had the terrible dream before Mary disappeared. He and Mary were in a boat on they were enjoying themselves for a lifetime. They were feeding each other with scrumptious delicacies and all of a sudden a big snake with the head of a woman who seemed to be Mary’s stepmother emerged from the deep waters. It dragged Mary under the water to drown her. He was trying with all his might to pull Mary from the snake’s grip, but it was fiercer. The more he pulled, the more the snake became violent. Suddenly, one of his bodyguards emerged from behind the snake with a sword. He cut its head and the water turned into blood. They swam across the pool of blood and Mary’s stepsister was waiting for them on the other side of the river. She was smiling at him and took his hand, but he woke up before the dream came to an end.

Mary’s stepmother, on the other hand, was preparing for her daughter to visit the prince so that she could lure him into marrying her instead of searching for Mary. She went out of her way to get new clothes for her daughter and had her hair done in a stylish design. She ardoned her with an expensive piece of jewellery that she found in Mary’s closet. The necklace belonged to Mary’s mother, who got it from her own mother. Apparently, she was presented with it the day she was getting married. Before she died, she took it from its safe keeping and gave it to Mary as her last gift. She told her to keep it until it was time to get married. Mary was too young to understand back then, but since that day she has never let loose of that necklace. Her father used to remind her to treasure it as it was a precious legacy. Her grandmother bought it for a pound and five shillings and that was about three months’ wages back then. She kept it in a jewelry box and hid it inside a small trunk in her closet. To her, it was a precious jewel. It was an array of sparkling pearls adorned with pieces of diamonds in between them. It also had matching earrings.

One was a Sunday evening and the prince was reclining in his comfy, exquisite armchair sipping a good wine while he was waiting for supper to be served. He was reading a newspaper hoping to see any news that would connect him to finding Mary. He was perturbed as he came to the realization that Mary might be in danger, given the time she was last seen. It was almost two weeks after she vanished. The fact that she was with another man, as rumors were roaming, did not sink into his mind. He knew very well that Mary was a high-moral young woman who would do anything not to compromise her reputation. The way she was ill-treated by her stepmother taught her to be a strong woman and stay true to herself. She would not do anything that would put her name to shame now that she was engaged to be married to the man of her dreams. He was quite a catch and every woman dreamed of being his happy ever after. How could Mary jeopardize that? It was not making any sense. She had not seen any man before, but after she got engaged she disappeared and was rumored to be with another man. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was something fishy there.

He was still In deep thoughts when a messenger came to tell him that someone wanted to see him. He was a bit surprised since he was not expecting any guests and, besides, it was already in the evening. He hesitantly ordered the messenger to usher the guest in. To his surprise, the guest was an unfamiliar figure with the same posture as Mary. The necklace and the earrings were dazzling as this woman was throwing her figure side by side as she was approaching him. He was still trying to recall something in his mind. “Wait, I have seen those earrings and that necklace before.

The woman came closer and was given a chair to sit opposite him. He was still studying her when she burst out with a sharp, deep voice. “I’m Nancy, Mary’s sister. She stretched her hand to shake his. “Oh! Ummh, I see”, he replied. Now he remembered that necklace and earrings belonged to Mary. He remembered how he used to complement her when she wore them. She would tell him how she got them. She would smile and cry at the same time when she told him about the passing of her mother. He would embrace her and hold her close to him brushing her ears gently. Mary would wrap her arms around his waist while sleeping in his arms. He remembered that day clearly. They were sitting in a boat after they were cruising happily the whole afternoon. They felt asleep in each other’s arms.

That is when he dreamed about the snake that had her stepmother’s head. That dream was replaying in his mind like if it was real. Now, there was this young woman who was wearing Mary’s jewellery. Those thoughts were disturbing him while he was speaking with his guest. After they shook hands, he felt something unusual happening to him. He could not figure out what was really happening but he was feeling different. The lady continued to talk about how they were devastated about Mary’s disappearance. She apologized for Mary’s behavior. “How could she do this to you? To us, huh? I mean how could she make a stupid decision to elope with someone else while she is engaged to you? She reached out for her handbag and pulled out a tissue. She wiped her eyes while she was secretly looking at the reaction of the prince. The prince was sitting still without saying a word. He was still trying to put the dots together. He was determined to allow the woman to pour out her chest to him. He was minding every word she was saying. “ Let me see if this woman will not cough out something that might help me in my investigation”, he thought to himself. He ordered his messenger to bring a glass for her so that she got some wine. They drank wine and some more wine.