Cinder & the Prince of Midnight by Susan Ee

Author:Susan Ee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feral Dream LLC

Chapter 23

When the cage was unlocked, Cinder stepped back.

Lalyn paused as if unable to believe that the door was open. She slowly reached forward and crawled out.

The tall fairy unfolded out of the cage, looking long and lean. Her shape had shrunk to the shape of a skeleton, her once-beautiful dress tattered and colorless, her once-vibrant hair limp and lanky.

But her eyes were the same. Full of cunning and fire.

Cinder took another step back when she saw the eyes. They were not the eyes of a broken creature. Would the fairy want to exact revenge on Cinder for all the wrong that had been done to her by others?

“I should like a taste of meat.” Lalyn licked her dry lips. “And drink wine. Do you have any here, child?”

Cinder nodded.

“What would you have me do in exchange for them?”

Cinder cut a piece of pidgin pie from last night’s supper and put it on a plate.

“I would like you to accept gifts of food and drink from me for this one meal. If you agree to my bargain, you can have this pie and a glass of wine from my stepmother’s stores.”

The fairy hesitated. She did not look comfortable.

“That is a hard bargain you drive, child. Taking advantage of my starved state?” She nodded. “I approve. And agree. You’ll never catch me agreeing to such a humbling bargain again. You can be sure I will return the insult at some time in the future.”

But her voice was soft and her eyes were more for the food than for Cinder. So Cinder felt reassured enough to give Lalyn a generous amount of pie and a glass of wine.

The fairy seemed to forget about Cinder as she ate. She ate the cold pie as if it was a feast made by a famous chef. She did not gobble it up the way a normal starved person might. Instead, she savored every bite and tasted every sip of the wine.

The fairy did not thank Cinder when she was done. Instead, she picked a spot in the corner of the kitchen, curled up on the floor and fell asleep.

The floor was hard and cold, as Cinder knew all too well. So while Lalyn slept, Cinder gathered some blankets and draped it over the fairy.

Then she went upstairs to fetch the only other dress she owned. It was worn and patched, but it was clean and far better than what the fairy was wearing. The fairy’s dress would need to be thrown out.

Cinder let Lalyn sleep for hours while she did her chores. While she swept and cooked, her stepsisters were trying out different dresses to get an idea of what they would like to wear. Their plan was to get a basic outfit ready for the fairy to enhance. They wanted the most outrageous dresses and jewelry of the entire ball so that they could stand out.

Helene helped her girls, but during the lulls, she was trying on her own dresses and looking closely at her face.

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