Cinderella's Secret Witch Diaries Box Set: Lost, Stolen, Found

Chapter 9-2

She waved the attendant off and he ran quickly back the way he had come.

Jeremiah stood still and glanced over at me and I had no information to give to him. “Your Majesty, is there a matter that concerns you?” I remained standing before her and kept my head bowed, unsure of her temperament.

“I have received ill news.” She put her fingers on her lips and, for a moment, I thought I spied a world of trouble display itself in her expression. She stood from her chair and waved us toward her. “Follow me and I will show you.”

Two of the royal guards led her out of her private chamber and several others bade us follow them. In a far part of the castle, the queen stopped outside a door and we heard howling and crying coming from inside. The guards stood at attention beside the door and the queen turned back to me. “I will show you why I need your help. There will be nothing that I hide from you. Follow me in.”

Not allowing us to respond, the queen turned and an attendant opened the door to the room. We followed her inside and in the corner, we saw the king in bed crying and screaming. A physician tried to take his pulse, but the king shook him off and cried out. “My dear, dear Emily. What will I do if you are gone? Please, someone help save her.”

The queen rushed forward and held his hand and tried to console him. “She will be fine, my dear. All will be well. Do not trouble yourself with her.”

He rose up in bed and tried to grab her, but his vision was poor as he tried to find her with his arms and he missed. “Not trouble myself? Dr. Willis, my wife tells me not to worry when my dear Emily is sick once again. What am I to do?”

Dr. Willis went to the queen and motioned for her to come away. She did so and Jeremiah and I stood at the foot of the bed, unsure of what we should say or do. “Princess Amelia has had a setback and His Majesty is not taking kindly to the news.”

“I can see that for myself.” She turned back and looked at her husband, watching him cry and gnash his teeth. “Can you calm him?”

“I will do my best to do so, Your Majesty.” He bowed and then picked up a glass by a bedside table and offered it to the king, trying to get him to sip from it.

The king tried some of the liquid and then spit it out. “Damn you! Do you try to poison me with her infernal potions? Can I not rest in peace?” The king swung his arm at Dr. Willis and knocked the glass from his hand.

I moved forward to help but the king stopped and turned at me and pointed. “Get from me, you demon! I see you for who you are. You wear the bishop’s miter and pretend to be a man of such holiness and grace. Be gone from here!”

I froze in place and knew not what to say.

“Did you not hear me?” The king roused himself and threw a pillow at me, hitting me in the side. “Be gone or I will call forth the dragons and the might of the entire kingdom down on you. Leave me!”

I stepped back and Jeremiah took my arm, leading me out of the room. The queen followed and stood in the hallway, trying to hide her tears but I could still see them. When she saw us, she brushed away her tears and walked away down the hall. The royal guards moved us along and we were brought into a nearby stateroom that had not been used in some time.

The queen grabbed my hands in hers. “Please, will you help me? La petite Reine has set her minions against my family. My darling Amelia is sick once again and now my husband continues to be afflicted with insanity.”

With caution, I asked, “Your Majesty, how do you know it is la petite Reine who is behind this?”

Jeremiah answered for her. “The witches’ conclave in England have detected magic more powerful than they have ever detected before. And she has sent her messengers to confirm her intentions.”

“Messengers?” I did not understand any of what was being told to me.

“The spirits of War, Pestilence, and now Insanity have descended upon our house and all of England.” The queen snapped her fingers and a willing attendant came forward holding several letters. “Look at these.”

The attendant placed the letters down carefully on the table in front of me hesitantly, afraid to touch them for too long. Jeremiah pointed at them. “I have read and seen them. The magic within them and their signature prove that they are from la petite Reine.”

I picked up the letter and closed my eyes. I could sense the magic within them, but it was wild and untamed in a raw and masculine way. “My powers have not fully returned, but these letters are not from Queen Mab.”

The queen turned on me and nearly spit her words. “Do not use her name within these walls. She will be able to use your strength and cut through our defenses.”

I put the letters down and saw that Jeremiah was also upset. “I agree. Her powers are not to be underestimated. She can travel through the wind on the sound of her name if she is listening.”

“These letters are not from la petite Reine.” I closed my eyes and concentrated. I relaxed and let go. “Wait, I sense something. I can see …”

I drifted through the letters and opened my mind to the magic. Little wisps of power came to me and the remains of the yellow clay faded. Still not at my full strength, I sensed a man’s presence. “A man wrote these letters and used magic to disguise them. I can see his hand and the care he put into the words. It was not a woman and I sense a different kind of faerie magic here.”

The queen took the letters back from me. “The best witches in the realm have said otherwise. They sensed fairy magic and detected that la petite Reine wrote these herself.”

I glanced through the letters and read the threats listed there. “Your Majesty, I am a Chronicler and can tell you that these were not written by her, but disguised as such.”

“But why?” Jeremiah wondered aloud. “Why would a man do that?”

“Maybe there is more to be seen here than what first appears to the eye. I would know more if I were to travel back.” The words escaped me before I could stop them.

The queen put the letters down and said, “All the evidence we have uncovered points to la petite Reine using Napoleon as a pawn in her little game. He is her general who has crushed much of Europe and longs to take England. And now, my precious Amelia and husband fight against the spirits of Pestilence and Insanity. The spirits both must be stopped.”

“I need time to think about what you ask me to do.”

“Let me be clear with you. I want you to kill Napoleon or, if you choose not to do that, then bring Jeremiah with you and he will do it. Either way, I wish him dead. Then we will crush la petite Reine so that my family will be free.” The queen remained seated and spoke to me in a direct manner. She would not be deterred.

“And what of my daughter and of my life?” I had long ago outgrown being a pawn.

Jeremiah shifted uncomfortably in his seat and asked the queen, “Your Majesty, would you like me to leave so that you could talk with Cinderella in private?”

“No, you must hear this as well.” The queen turned on me. “You were taken in by this house in rags and given riches beyond your imagination. And it is my husband’s gold that has kept you in good health while in America. We have supported you and made certain that you were given the freedom that you craved. Now I ask you to help not only this family, but millions of families throughout Europe. There have been five coalitions against Napoleon and still he resists defeat. We will not be able to withstand him much longer and neither can my daughter and husband. I need your help.”

“But why do you need me?” I looked over at Jeremiah. “Why not send Jeremiah or someone of his like to kill the emperor?”

Jeremiah spoke up and faced me. “Do be careful to not treat me like a lowly assassin. That is not who I am.”

The queen held up her hand and quieted us. “My dear girl, we have sent dozens of assassins against Napoleon and they have all failed. And on the battlefield, he has won victory after victory, defeating troops more numerous and skilled than his own. We cannot touch him.”

“And why do you think that I could?” I doubted her words and clearly expressed my concern.

“Because you are special. I believe you can do this. Use your power and go back to when he was a boy.” The queen let the words hang in the air and Jeremiah remained silent.

“You wish for me to travel back to Napoleon’s youth and then kill him?” I stood up and my disgust showed plainly on my face. “Never. I will never do such a thing.”

“Again, I have told you that you need not do anything. Let Jeremiah or one of a hundred willing such men go back with you. Or bring me. I would do it with my bare hands with what his reign has done to our people.”

“No, I will not do what you ask of me.”

“There is no other way. We have tried and failed. Soon our failures will be complete and all that we have fought for will be destroyed. France will rule England and my family will be destroyed. I cannot allow that to happen. I will not allow it.”

“I will not do this. There must be another way.”

“Jeremiah, leave us please.” The queen’s direct command came sudden and surprised both of us.

He glanced over at the queen and me and then took his leave, trying to keep his emotions under control with what he was hearing. After he left the room, the queen said, “It is time that we be frank with you.”

I knew her long enough to know that she was angry but understood the importance of respecting her wishes. She did not command me to sit. I sat back down across from her and folded my hands in my lap. I would not be swayed.

“Would you like to see Henri?” Her question surprised me and I did not know how to respond. When I did not reply, she asked again in a lowered voice. “Would you like to see him?”

I tried to hide my feelings but found it difficult to do so. “Yes, I would like to talk with him alone.”

“Henri was born of noble birth in France but lost all his wealth after the revolution. He would be a great ally to take with you on your journey. Together, the two of you could work together and save all of Europe.”

I failed to hide my excitement and she read me like a book.

“Would you like that? To go back alone with Henri and the two of you could find and stop Napoleon before he became a great leader under the control of la petite Reine?” The queen wondered aloud. “What a great story and how much time the two of you would be together to discuss the past.”

“He is married and happily.”

“Please, do not joke with me. Clarissa stole Henri from your arms and you have hated her ever since. Now she has a child with him and you are all alone with raising Phoebe. How does that make you feel?”

“Stop this. I did not come here to be treated this way.”

“But you continually go back to relive that moment, do you not?”

A rush of blood surged up within me and my neck became flushed with color as well as my cheeks. “What are you saying?”

“Your powers are not as weak as you pretend. You went to visit him early this morning, did you not?”

I refused to answer.

The queen leaned closer to me and spoke softly. “You traveled back in time this morning to visit your dearest Henri as you have many times over the years.” She saw my shocked response register across my face. “Do you deny it?”

“How?” I could not think of what other word to say.

She seemed bemused. “How do I know? I have my means. But what I wonder is if you have ever taken another lover since then.”

“That is none of your business.” I stood up to leave. I had heard enough.

“But the past gets old, does it not? Reliving the same moments again and again. You have tried to change the past, but have found it more difficult than you expected. Yet here in the present, you could go alone on this mission for me with him. You could go back and spend time with Henri. He might warm to you and what you do in the past is not of the present.” The queen stood up and came close to me. “I can help you obtain what you have always longed for. Clarissa and he are not as happy as they appear. Watch them and you will see for yourself.”

Abruptly she stood and spoke in a commanding tone. “I will call on you in three days for your decision. Let us say no more now. Think about what I ask of you and what I offer. Think about the choice you have.”

She turned from me and left me alone in the room. As in the past, my time with the queen always left me more befuddled and confused. She saw in shades of gray and not in black and white. How she had seen through me and into my private affairs, I did not know. When I left the drawing chamber, Jeremiah waited for me outside. His arms were crossed and he leaned against the wall, waiting.

“Please, just leave me be. I am tired of talking.”

He rushed up to me and stuck his finger in my face. “How dare you treat me with such disdain in front of the queen? I am not a thug who goes around killing for some gold coins.”

“No, you are the mercenary who travels at the beck and call of the queen to bring back her most precious pawn into the game. What did she promise you for your woes? It is not gold or silver. Tell me, what did she offer you?”

He backed away and was caught off guard by my venomous attitude. “It is of no concern of yours what I have been offered.”

“You need not tell me, I can read it on your face. You want revenge.” I took a step back and looked him over. “You want to kill la petite Reine with your own hand. That is what she promised you.”

“My personal arrangements with the queen are private.”

Yet he did not deny what I had said. “Of course, just as mine are.”

“Yours are not private. Anyone with a little intelligence can see how you fawn over your dear Henri.”

“Be quiet! I’ll not be spoken to in such a way by the likes of you.” I went to leave him but he blocked my path.

“You have never let him go and you still long for him no matter that he has left you, been with Clarissa, and is now married to her. Still you cling to the hope of your love desperately and all this is for naught. Your fragile little world is made of powdered sugar. With a flick of a finger, it will crumble and fall down.”

“And why do you care? It is all I have. I have been on my own raising my daughter for ten years.”

“I care because I have need of your power. I do want my revenge on la petite Reine. Over the years, I have seen you when you go back. You cling to that bright ray of hope, traveling back to him again and again. But each time, you come back to the present and do not learn. You still hope that one night he will change his mind and choose to be with you over her.”

Realization washed over me. “You are the one who has been spying on me and given this information to the queen.”

“I do not deny it. I am a witch hunter and can see what you do.”

I pushed him out of my way. “You disgust me. You and she looking at my most intimate moments. Get out of my way!”

He moved but called after me. “He will never love you. Never. Let him go. You owe it to yourself.”

“Do not try to tell me what to do.” I stormed off but still he tried to call after me and I ignored him. The hurt welled up and I could not stop my tears. I ran off to hide and be alone. I needed time to think, time to hide, for I did not know what I would do. Too much was at stake and I needed to find some time to think everything through. I had three days and hoped that would be enough.