Chapter 24

“… and then he picked her up and carried her the whole way to the gate!”

Ella awoke to Ingrid’s excited voice and the soft rocking of the ship. She wasn’t sure who she was regaling the tale of their escape from Malvina’s fortress, but hearing her enthusiasm for the way Nicholas carried her to the gate made her smile.

“Well, then, I’d say he’s a hero.” It was Gustav who replied with a smile in his voice.

“He is. Oh, she’s awake!”

The edge of her bed bounced as Ingrid perched on the side of it. Ella opened her eyes to the girl’s dirty but beaming face and was unable to stop the smile that erupted.

“Hi, Ella!”

My goodness, she was a ball of energy now that she was out of the fortress and in safe hands. She had deep brown eyes in a pixie face. Despite her beaming face, she had dark circles under her eyes. Even so, one day, she was going to be a stunning beauty.

Her long hair was plaited on each side of her head. Sprigs of hair sprouted from the braids. Her face was smeared with dirt. Her hands looked as though they had a good scrubbing, but there was still dirt under her fingernails. She still wore Nicholas’s cloak.

“Hi, Ingrid,” Ella said with a grin.

She took in her surroundings. She was in a spacious cabin that could only belong to the captain. Gustav sat in a chair on the far side of the room, his foot propped up on a table. He had a bandage around his other leg. Noella stood off to one side, her lovely face creased with concern and then relief when Ella opened her eyes. And, then, there was Nicholas. He perched in a small chair next to her bed and smiled when their eyes met. A knee-melting smile of relief that told her everything she needed to know.

“Let me see to the patient,” Nicholas said.

He gave the girl a gentle nudge. Reluctantly, she shifted down to the end of the bed. He lifted her hand, holding it. It was only then Ella realized her wrist had been bandaged. Both of them, actually. Her twisted ankle still throbbed, but it appeared to be nothing more serious. She still wore the slippers as she laid on top of the blankets in what appeared to be the captain’s quarters.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, concern lining his face.

“Better, I think.” When she recalled fainting in his arms, her cheeks flushed hot burning to the roots of her hair. “I-I’m sorry about—”

“Now, don’t you worry your pretty head about that.” Noella moved to stand behind Nicholas.

Her silvery hair was once again piled high on her head and she wore the most beautiful silver gown trimmed in white sparkling fur. Her blue eyes twinkled with mirth. Ella should have made the connection sooner, especially when she learned Nicholas was the crown prince of Rovenheim. But she hadn’t.

“Glad to see you’re awake.” She grinned.

“Me, too,” Ingrid added, still beaming.

Ella struggled to sit up. Nicholas helped her, fluffing pillows behind her back to give her some cushion. She got a good look at her surroundings and saw she was, in fact, in a spacious cabin on the ship.

“It seems Captain Bart took a liking to you,” Nicholas said. “Especially after you fainted.”

“This is his cabin?” she asked.

“It is.” He nodded.

“I will have to properly thank him for that.” She glanced down at the slippers still on her feet. “And I should return the slippers—”

“No need,” Noella said with a wave of dismissal.

“But—”

“They’re yours, dear.” She held her hand out to the girl bouncing at the foot of the bed. “Come, Ingrid, darling. Let’s let Ella get some rest. We should be docking soon. You, too, Gustav.”

Gustav unfolded his long body from the chair and limped toward the door. “Glad to see you awake, my lady.”

Ingrid bounced off the end of the bed and took hold of Noella’s hand. As they exited, Ingrid said, “Wasn’t that the best adventure?”

Nicholas chuckled. “The moment we were on the ship, she perked up. She couldn’t wait to tell anyone who listened about how we escaped the fortress.”

“And all that time she seemed so terrified,” Ella said.

“She seems happy to be going home. Honestly, I think my mother must have had something to do with her renewed state of mind.”

“How do you mean?” Ella asked.

“I think she helped her forget the worst of it.”

Ah, of course. Magic. Nicholas rose from the bed and walked across to a small table in the corner. He poured a steaming cup of tea and brought it to her. She took it, grateful.

“We’ll return to the castle for a day or so to clean up and rest, then head back to the village to return her to her parents,” he said.

“They must be so worried.”

She thought of Agnes and Lukas and wondered how they were faring with the news of their granddaughter in Malvina’s hands.

But she couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to her then. Once they had returned Ingrid and—hopefully—the Christmas Star was repaired, then what? Was she to return to her own home with her vile stepmother and stepsisters? The thought made her stomach clench in terror.

How could she tell Nicholas she didn’t want to go back? How could she tell him she wanted to stay here with him? And where would she live? What would she do?

She looked at him over the rim of her cup. He had a contemplative look on his handsome face, as though he had the same thoughts as she did. But he didn’t voice them. And neither did she.

“Once we get back to the village,” he said, “maybe you can help me repair the Christmas Star?”

Hope swelled deep inside her. “I would love that. But…how?”

He gave her a knee-melting smile. “We’ll figure that out when we get there. Now, I’ll let you rest and see if my mother can conjure you some proper footwear.”

“I guess she really wasn’t my fairy godmother,” Ella said. A twinge of sadness went through her. If she wasn’t her fairy godmother, though, why gift her with the slippers? And the gown and the ball?

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” he said.

“Why is that?”

He looked thoughtful for a long moment before he finally replied. “She saw something in you. Something magical and joyful and endearing. She wanted you to have those slippers. She picked you, Ella. If that doesn’t make her your fairy godmother, I don’t know what does.”

With that, he left her alone to contemplate his words.

Ella looked at the glass slippers, wondering if he was right. Wondering if Alice was right about the legend of the shoes. Indeed, she did feel a certain power while wearing them. As though for the first time in her life, she was in control.

She noticed a hairline fracture on the toe of the right slipper. She must have damaged it when she tripped and fell. She slipped it off, then held it closer for inspection. Yes, there was definitely a faint crack in the glass. A pang of sadness went through her.

She clutched the shoe to her chest, gripping it tight. How could she possibly return to her previous life when so much had changed for her? She dreaded the thought of going back to her life of drudgery serving those wretched women. Truthfully, they didn’t deserve her nor did she deserve a life of servitude to the three spoiled, unkind women who lived in her house.

Her house that was rightfully hers when her father passed. Not that she had any proof he was dead. Her gut, though, told her as much. He was never coming back. She doubted he would like to see her living in such a way. But what to do about it? She didn’t have the means to evict her stepmother and stepsisters. Nor did she have money to find a new place to live.

She was stuck.

A swift knock on the door sounded, breaking her out of her dismal thoughts.

“Come in,” she called.

Noella opened the door a crack and stuck in her head. “Ah, you’re still awake. Good.” She entered the room carrying a pair of boots. “Here you are, dear.”

Ella took them. She took her other foot out of the slipper. Placing them beside her on the bed, she pulled on the boots.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome, dear. You’ll want those when we dock,” she said. “When you feel up to it, come up on the deck.”

Noella turned to leave.

“Noella,” she called. The woman paused, giving her a questioning glance. Ella took a deep breath, then asked, “What happens now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…to me. What happens to me now?”

She seemed genuinely perplexed by the question, as though it had never crossed her mind. “What do you want to happen?”

Ella chewed her lower lip, unsure how to answer. “I suppose I should return home?” It was more of a question testing Noella’s reaction—to see if she would ask her to stay with them in Rovenheim.

A flash of disappointment went over her face before she managed to conceal it. “If that’s your wish then of course we’ll see to it. Whenever you’re ready, dear.”

Without waiting for a reply, she slipped out the door, closing it behind her. Though she had an answer, Ella frowned. What answer did she expect from Noella? That she would tell her to stay? Offer her a place in the castle?

Ella shrugged off the disappointment. There was no sense in wallowing in it. She would make the most of what time she had left with Nicholas and all the rest. She slid off the bed and headed to the deck, leaving the glass slippers behind.