The Kingdom of Ashecá

After the eerie darkness of the night, the wintry sun rose like a withered flower coming back to life, bathing the kingdom of Ashecá with its glorious rosy glow.

Unlike the magnificent orange, pink and reds that stained the sky, a white blanket of snow covered the ground. The mountains loomed over the forest like a cone with frosting, bare trees dripping icicles, shivering saplings, and mosses being the most eye-catching subject.

The river flowed under the thinnest of ice, glittering with each budding ray. The smell of the damp pine trees made the air seem sweet and refreshing.

At the centre of all of this stood 12 narrow, round towers, which were both a defensive and aesthetic aspect of the elegant castle and were connected by massive golden stone walls. Wide windows were scattered around the walls in perfect symmetry, along with oval-shaped holes for archers and artillery. In front of that stood a huge gate with thick wooden doors, a draw bridge and a moat to allow or hinder easy entrance into the castle. A well-kept garden with a variation of fragrant flowers, proud trees and bushes decorated the outside of the castle. The castle looked marvellous.

Queen Cinderella awoke from the noisy selfish banter of the birds. She used to think that birds' singing was the most beautiful sound in the world, and she used to sing along with them every morning, but that was before. Now, all she could think of was how annoying and irritating the sounds were.

The gold-coloured curtains did little to keep the sunlight out. Her room was fully lit as she laid in bed, wide awake, touching the golden bangle she never removed from her wrist. After a moment, there was a light knock on her polished wooden door.

"Good morning, your majesty," a middle-aged woman said as she entered the room before she curtsied. "Did you have a nice sleep?" she asked solemnly. Pandora was one of Cinderella’s ten Ladies-in-waiting and the most loyal. She wore a red velvet tunic dress with gold coloured embroidery, and her black hair was neatly braided and tied up under a coif*.

The queen sat up before answering, "Yes, I did," and gracefully climbed out of bed.

Pandora was surprised but she showed no sign of it. She knew better. The queen rarely spoke to her servants or anyone below her status. She seemed to be in a good mood. For the sake of everyone she hoped it would last the whole day, but nonetheless, she was used to the queen's usual behaviour.

"Your bath is ready, your majesty. Shall we go now?" Pandora asked while gesturing with her hand out the door to the bathroom. Queen Cinderella put on her slippers before leaving the room without a word.

The bathroom was decorated with white walls, an imperial bathtub made of porphyry* were placed in the centre. An aloe vera pot plant was sitting by the window at the right corner of the room. Dieffenbachia, a plant that has alternate simple leaves with white flecks attached to straight stems were placed in the four corners of the room. Ivies were hanging off the ceiling above the bathtub. A pot of button ferns was sitting on the right side of the sink which was attached at the wall in the middle, and a spider plant sat on top of the ladder shelf where they kept the clean towels that were beside the sink.

Two more servants were in the bathroom with Pandora. Amarie, who was putting rose petals and slices of oranges and strawberries into the queen's milk bath. She wore a yellow sideless surcoat* laced up the front over a blue cotehardie* and her hair worn loose down her back. The other servant was named Cara, who was assisting the queen in removing her white cotton flannel nightgown with roomy sleeves and body, apart from her white underwear. Cara wore a black wool surcoat over a pleated chainse. Her blonde hair was also worn loose down her back.

"You both can leave now," the queen said to Amarie and Cara in a flat tone. After the two exited the bathroom, she turned to Pandora and said, "Pandora, I have a task for you."

"What is it, my queen?" Pandora replied as the queen removed her remaining clothes and stepped into the tub.

"Maricel, my fairy godmother," Queen Cinderella said, smiling wickedly as she looked outside the window. "I want you to find that old hag and bring her to me! She's been hiding from me for more than a decade now!" she shouted, clearly pissed off.

Pandora was a little startled. "Can I ask why your majesty?" Pandora asked only for the sake of asking. She literally would have done anything for the queen. She owed her life to her. If it hadn’t been for Queen Cinderella she would have died years ago.

"Maricel, oh my sweet fairy godmother! She deceived me! Does she think I would just let go of the things that she's done?! It's unacceptable! I'm the queen but her loyalty does not lie with me! She disrespected me!" Cinderella said angrily and touched her bangle unconsciously. Pandora wished she had never asked.

"I will give you two months to find her, Pandora. If not, you know what I can do, and don't you ever tell anyone about this. Now, leave." Cinderella said with a dismissive hand and then closed her eyes, enjoying her fruity milk bath. Pandora quietly exited the bathroom.

Her heart was hammering in her chest. How could she possibly know where Maricel was hiding? How could she bring her to the queen in just two months? She was just a servant with no powers. Pandora pushed the fear to the back of her mind and hurried into the dining hall to help prepare the queen's breakfast.

After an hour, Queen Cinderella's servants appeared at the bathroom door to assist her with her wardrobe.

The queen's wardrobe was huge. There were hundreds of gowns, some in different colours but mostly blue with headdresses that matched, and shoes, assorted tiaras and a luxurious amount of jewellery.

The queen chose to wear a blue flowered robe à l'anglais*. She had her long, silky blonde hair put into a low chignon braided updo, and chose to wear a round-shaped tiara, studded with diamonds.

"Has the king already eaten?" Cinderella asked her servants without looking at them. She just looked at her reflection in the wide full-length mirror standing in front of her.

"He refused to eat your highness. He threw all of the food on the floor and is demanding your presence," Amarie replied with a frown while adjusting the queen's gown.

Cara stayed silent while she fixed the queen's hair. She didn't want to say that she had heard the king talking to himself earlier when she had passed by his room on the way to the queen's. 'Cinderella . . . Cinderella . . . When will you be back?' The king had been mumbling to himself and Cara hadn’t understood what he had meant. The queen hadn’t left but he had been asking when she would be back.

"Take me to the king right now." Queen Cinderella huffed. All of the servants’ eyes widened in surprise and Cara accidentally dropped the comb she was holding. The queen hadn’t visited the king in a very long time. They didn’t know the reason. All they knew was that the queen was angry with the king.

"What are you doing?! You stupid worthless churl!" Queen Cinderella shouted, and Cara looked like she was about to cry.

"Pardon me, your majesty," Cara begged, even though she knew the queen didn’t have mercy. Dropping a comb wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, but for the queen, it was like you had committed a crime. That's how mad she was.

"Get out of my sight now!" Cinderella ordered and Cara's eyes widened again. She couldn’t believe her luck. The queen wasn’t going to punish her. Cara left the room in a hurry, fearing Queen Cinderella might change her mind.

"Bring food to the King's private chamber and wait for me there," Queen Cinderella said to Amarie and her other servants.

"Yes, your majesty," her servants replied in unison and curtsied before heading down to the kitchen.

Queen Cinderella sat at the white velvet tufted fainting sofa which was positioned in the middle of the room, thoughts of seeing the king for the first time in a decade running through her mind.

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*coif - close-fitting cap that covers the top, sides and back of the head.

*porphyry - a rock consisting of feldspar crystals embedded in a compact dark red groundmass.

*surcoat - a long dress with exaggerated armhole openings.

*cotehardie - a floor-length dress with long, fitted sleeves and buttons up from the wrist to elbow.

*robe à l'anglais - a close-bodied gown with large cuffs and a lace collar.

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A/N :

I know this chapter isn't much and I haven't updated for a while but please bear with me. I wrote this chapter for a reason, okay?

Btw, what do you guys think about the story so far? Is it yay or nay? Comment down your thoughts!!