Chapter Five
1180 Words
He was tall. Ella noticed that immediately. Although at the precise moment, he was bent over, busily digging up the vegetables she had planted. All she could see of him were filthy rags and matted hair.
“How dare you!” She stomped over to him. “Those are my carrots! Leave them be!”
He continued digging. “I need them.”
“But—but they do not belong to you!”
“How do I know they are yours, and did not grow here spontaneously?”
“Since when do carrots grow spontaneously here?” She snapped. “Of course they are mine!”
He straightened up. His face was obscured by enough mud to swallow up a river. “And you grow them, why?”
“I grow them for our pigs,” she lied. “Now, what reason could you possibly have for taking food out of my animals mouths?”
“What a coincidence.” His grin was a flash of white teeth she was not positive she saw. “My household, too, has animals which require vegetables.”
“Theft is a crime.” She dropped the basket containing the raw brains on the ground and crossed her arms. “I could call the king’s men and have you arrested.”
“Ah, but, my beauty, you are a thief as well as I. Are you not stealing the soil from the church grounds?”
She laughed. “Stealing dirt from an abandoned church is hardly a hanging offense.”
His gray eyes bored into her. “But you are stealing far more than dirt.”
She stared pointedly at the carrots lying on the ground in front of him. “I am not the thief today, and you look far guiltier than I.”
It was his turn to laugh and Ella found she rather enjoyed the sound. “Fair point,” he conceded. “Then perhaps, to keep us both out of the hangman’s noose, we could share the yield?”
“Share the yield?” She huffed. “Why should I share the yield of my endeavors? Choose your own plot and grow your own vegetables if you are so inclined.”
He held a handful of dirt out toward her. “But this garden has the best soil. Why should my animals suffer due to your unwillingness to share?”
Ella sighed. He was correct. She had chosen this garden for the very reason he stated. Worms burrowed their way through the dirt, leaving their castings behind to create an environment that grew any seed she placed in the ground. Looking around the small garden, she pointed to a far corner. “I do not plant over there. You are welcome to that soil.”
“How very magnanimous of you.” He bowed. “Might I have the pleasure of knowing the name of the woman who has gifted me with such bounty?”
“Do not push my generosity,” Ella retorted. “I could easily change my mind.”
“And hang beside me, no doubt.” His gaze was fearless.
“My mother taught me that, if something is being unused, then using it is not theft. It is common sense. I was merely exercising that common sense, whereas you, sir, were exercising bold faced theft.”
His mud caked eyebrows rose. “That is a fine distinction, but if you believe it will save you from the king’s men, so be it. Now, will you tell me your name, or not?”
“You—you are impossible! In fact,” her eyes narrowed. “I do not need your name. I shall simply call you Impossible.”
He bowed again, his shoulders shaking in laughter. “Prince Impossible, at your eternal service, my lady—”
“Cinder. If you must call me something, call me Cinder. And I am a Lady only if you are a true Prince.”
“Why, I am Prince of this vegetable garden, am I not? And you are my Lady of Cinders.”
And with that statement, Ella felt the faintest prickle of tears dust her eyes. “I am no Lady,” she whispered.
He ignored her. “My Lady Cinder, the very least I can do is share the largess you have so graciously allowed me to have.” He gestured to the carrots at his feet. “I would not wish for your pigs to starve. Please, take half.”
Ella stepped closer to him. “And will we split the vegetables just now coming ripe?”
His slate gray eyes widened in surprise. “You would do that?”
“It is only fair.” She smiled without showing her teeth. “After all, I cannot have your animals starving, either.”
“I am in your debt, Lady Cinder.” When she did not move to take the carrots, he bent down and gathered half of them up. “I look forward to our next meeting.”
“I…” She was caught by his gaze. “I am not sure when I will return.”
The right side of his mouth lifted in a smile. “The hope is that you will come back when the rest of the vegetables are ripe. By my eye, that should be early next week.”
“Impossible,” Ella muttered under her breath, but her heart was not quite in the reprimand. “Would you do me a considerable favor?”
And then her Prince Impossible opened his mouth and proved why she called him such. “For you I would steal a star from the sky itself to hang in your hair.”
She sniffed. “Nothing so prosaic, I fear. Indulge yourself in a bath. I would appreciate being able to see the face behind the theft of my vegetables.”
“Your wish is my command. My Lady.” Laughing, the irrepressible youth winked at her before vanishing out of the garden gate.
“Good grief!” Ella placed the remaining carrots into the basket containing the raw brains. Whoever the youth was, she wished him well and hoped she never had to see him again. It was one thing to share her garden with him. It was quite another to share the scant hours she was away from her step-family. Now that Prince Impossible was gone, she noticed the cooling air and glanced up at the sky to mark the position of the sun.
“Holy!” It was past time for lunch to have been served. More scars would be added to the collection on her back if she was delayed further, and there was nowhere for her to flee but home. Snatching up the basket with one hand, she raised her skirts with the other and ran. If luck was with her, they would not be hungry upon her arrival. It was only when the undead were ravenous that they were truly dangerous.
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