Pricilla and Essie's gasps drowned Cinderella's. Pricilla snatched her hand behind her back and the glass crashed against the edge. No graceful set down this time as it shattered in pieces when it hit the floor.
"Good afternoon, ladies. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Prince smirked from the doorjamb his arms folded across his chest.
Cinderella could not have moved had someone set her feet afire. He moved to the windows and whipped the drapes aside, flooding his features with late afternoon sun. The effect accentuated chiseled cheek bones and streaks of dirt over shirt open at the neck. His hair was plastered against his head in an unsightly, quite un-princely manner. He reeked of rich soil and fresh air. He was the most beautiful sight she'd ever laid eyes on. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Please tell me you had nothing to do with the mayhem thundering the halls?" Amusement colored his tone.
Heat that flamed Cinderella's cheeks. Dear heavens, they were sunk. If Pricilla was able to keep the silver baton hidden, mayhap they could escape any real dire consequences. It took every ounce of restraint Cinderella could muster to not drop to her knees and beg for mercy.
She snuck a peek at Pricilla. But before Cinderella could screech out a warning, Pricilla whipped the cursed stick from behind and it slanted to the prince.
Her Prince. How could she!
Rendered immobile, Cinderella's life flashed before her eyes in a series of dark stone dungeons equipped with a stretching rack, or worse-The Wheel. Administered by an evil, mustached-man armed with a leather strap to snap across her bare back. Essie's cries would bounce off the dank walls she'd be manacled to. Rodents and other vile critters would pick over their broken bones. The pictured, so vivid, had her gasping for air.
Riveted and unmoving, except for a furious blinking that had the drapes fluttering with the shift in current, showed Essie suffered a similar vision.
Pricilla, however, was not to be deterred. Arm raised, she wore a vague smile on her lips. "My apologies, Sire," she said softly. She flicked her wrist.
Prince-her wonderful, beloved, Prince-slumped to the floor like a lump of coal. "How dare you…how dare you…" the words choked from Cinderella in a chant, even as the shocking scene before her unfolded. Cinderella couldn't seem to move. She wished herself dead.
Pricilla did not appear finished, She motioned the silver baton upward…lifting Prince in the process. Slowly, she guided his leaden body to the settee, arm shaking with her efforts. He dropped in an unceremonious heap on the settee.