He asked shamelessly without even a tinney bit of hesitatation forcing me to stare at him in bafflement, blankly for a few awkward seconds.
And..
"....."
"....."
*
*
*
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh??!?! "
Soon,.. I exploded with embarrassment!
"Waaaaahhh, are you crazy!? Stupid!? Freak! Lewd! P-P-pervert??!"
"Wow, that's a strong reaction.." He raised his eyesbrows and chuckled lightly.." You are too cute, Lady Rottenstein!.. "
He grinned in amusement at the response of the so-called cold hearted villainess as though he was enjoying a comedy show.
I felt my face burn and words stumble while my hazelnut irises trembled, with little tears surging on it's corners, unable to make a clear eye contact with him.
"Whaaaaattt is w-wrong with y-you?!"
I cried instantaneously with my palm cupping my face as my cheeks including my ears dyed with a thick blush. I abruptly moved to the corner of the dungeon wall and hugged my knees burying my face into them.
I-Is that a.. P-P-Pro-Proposal!??
My heart raced rapidly and enormous drops of sweat rolled down my forehead.
And..•~Kyaaa! ..He called a "me" the ugly step sister as, c-cuute!...
My cheeks burned bright red and ears turned warm almost like they were on fire. I tried laboring inhalation and exhalation again which did prove to be a little effective if it wasn't broken by the hearty laughter of the young prince.
"Shut. Up!" I yelled frantically.
"Haha..Sorry.. Sorry" he apologized. "It's just that.. Pfft.. You are exactly as I thought...You're. Pfft.. way too.. Pfft.. interesting.. "
"You mongrel! You are just playing me, aren't you?" I snapped.
"No, I am serious, though. " he held my hand and looked deeply into my hazelnut eyes again. "I really want to marry you..."
I blushed again unable to meet his eyes and closed my eyes tightly.
Agggh, this is so embarrassing! T-This has never happened to me before!!
"But, before that.. We need to get you out of here first. I just wish you could have a powerful magic to escape on your own. I can't help you cause I am a prince." He said thoughtfully resting his palms over his chin in thinking.
"But, you can escape here if you want". He flashed his cheesy smile at me again. "I will cover for you."
I looked away and met his eyes again. "Why.. Why are you so earnest in helping me..?"
"I already told you I wanna..marry.. "
"The truth. I'd feel more obliged and grateful to His Majesty, if he were to utter the truth."
I said as softly as I can, exactly the way a nobel must converse being properly educated with the moral etiquettes by my mother, since the time I was young.
It's exactly, as I said before. It's not that I was brought up badly by my mother. It's just that, I refuse to show my good side before fake people who pretend to be diligent before me.
The startling expression that was screened in the prince's face probably surprised by my polite request was soon turned into a cheeky smirk.
"I just knew it. That you aren't the true culprit. Well, it's because of my manly instincts, you can call it.." he said winking at me
I raised my eyebrows.
"Hahaha, just kidding. I know, you are not the real culprit because I know, no true sister would ever do that to her own family."
My eyes flickered in understanding. But, refused to accept it, of course.
"Well, Cinderella isn't my family, though. She's just a step sister"
"Doesn't matter."
"And, I absolutely despise her."
"But, not enough to kidnap her. Correct me if, I am wrong?" He asked me leaning closer.
I sat quietly unable to utter more. How does he always manage to keep my mouth shut. Is he chanting a silent spell? I looked at his thin cute lips and immediately felt my cheeks burning.
Lewd! My consciousnes pricked me.
It's not him, who is lewd? It's me! I am the real lewd. Aggghhh, why am I like this today? What is wrong with me? Is it the dungeon? Am I getting a fever? Or worse! Am I caught by his hypnotic spell? I touched my head abruptly when his fingers caught mine without a single hesitatation again.
"Are you alright.. ? Lady Rottenstein.. You don't look that well.. " he blinked his giant sapphire blue eyes, a cute guesture. "Or.. Don't tell me you are falling for me already?.. I know, I am handsome too.. ".
As though, the lad already knew what I was thinking, he cast his charming smile at me again as my cheeks burned on fire.
F-Fall for him..?
M-Me.. Me!
Hell no!
Though he is extremely handsome...
Augh.. No, no, no, no. Wrong Anastasia!
The person in front of you is a man. A Charming to be specific. And, as a side character of the main story, falling in love with a charming will only bring you heart breaks.
You do not need a man in your life!
"S-Shut up! Baka! Don't be f-full of y-yourself!..I-I.. "
I started briefly in a stammer suppressing all my thoughts.
"I swear, I am not a Cinderella. And, I don't need a prince Charming to save me!" I blabbered subconsciously, loud in my embarrassment.
The prince blinked for a few seconds in bafflement at my strange words, but soon burst into laughter.
I pouted. I really feel like he is making a joke out of me.
"Haha, Man! Well, I swear, I have never had this much fun my entire life" He laughed and my heart melted. "Ah, but that's too bad. Then, am I rejected already?" He asked me flirtatiously as I moved my head pretending to be annoyed while my face was actually fuming as though it was caught on fire.
He chuckled again at my expressions.
Oh my gosh, what the fu** am I doing!
I promised myself long before I had even entered my teens that, 'I will not fall for a man'. But, desperately got infatuated by the main male protagonist of the story and now, his brother...?
I mentally placed my palms on my red cheeks still shooting a mean glare at him.
I am such a despicable human being. Though I must admit that the love story of the unseen side characters like Prince Charming the second and Anastasia the first step daughter of Cinderella is often un-noted especially when we are 'off the stage' of our storybooks.
--Which means they do not fall in the line of sticking to the story's script. The happily ever after for these characters are numerous.
But, the thing is, I felt a strong feeling of thrust hurt my chest.
Happily ever after. Is it even possible for me...? I thought glumly.
No.
You are a villaness. You cannot deny your destiny that easily. So, now.. Get ahead of yourself Anasta!
I mentally patted my blushen cheeks when the enormous heavy metallic door of the prison thrust open.
"So.. Um..Lady Rottenstein, You really don't remember me.. Do you..? "
The prince suddenly asked me, out in the blue.
"Excuse me?" I couldn't exactly comprehend his question.
"A-Ah, it's nothing..That's just great! I guess.."
He said abruptly averting his eyes as tiny red specks of hardly visible blush circled his cheeks.
"Mmmn.. "
I mussed softly when our conversation was instantly interuppted by a fellow guard who had rushed into my prison ward calling for the prince.
"Your highness, it's almost time for investigating the enchanted forest. We have a few complains that the seven dwarfs have started troubling the residents of Arendelle, again" announced the high post guard from outside.
The prince held my unburnt hand and placed them on his soft lips. I flinched at the contact of his touch still blushing.
Why must he be such a gentleman?
"I must get going, princess"
"It's Anastasia De Rottenstein!"
"Lady Rottenstein." he exited the dungeon.
I let out a deep breath I never knew I was holding in.
"All done. I guess, that took a lot of time. The flirty prince." I blushed at the remembrance of him all over again and shook my head abruptly.
Stupid! He had completely distracted my true motives.
"Now, all I have to do is dug the prison mud a little" I mussed to myself and smiled, happy that my struggles and efforts bearing in this sickening dungeon this long, are properly rewarded.
"Hey, young lady." moved the shadow in the darkness of the other prison.
The sound of jingling metalic handcuffs and rattling prison chains echoed on my ears. The tattered red jacket, feathered red hat and the single hand that had now been replaced by a hook after his great failure in capturing his long nemesis, Peter Pan signified his character entered my line of sight.
"That's a nice tunnel you have dug there, kid." said the stranger from the pitch darkness in a deep hourse voice.
A tiny smirk twisted on my lips as I looked at my little thread mine-dolls digging a more deeper tunnel that had now successfully reached far outside the prison yard.
"Pay heed, To Thy Command, Cords of creation. Twist and recreate to form thee, another me"
I chanted ignoring whatever the other prisoner had just said. And, my palms glows with power.
The strings of red thread, my original magic (that I had inherited from my recarnated-villaness mother) escaped abruptly from each of my fingers until they twisted, twirled and created another clone that looked exactly like me.
I blew my air into the form's nose and the cloth-stitched form breathed to life.
I dusted my hands and caught hold of it again in pain from the burnt wrist. The messily knitted band-aid came to my sight. I chuckled. He is such a show-off. Its funny how for a prince, he doesn't even know how to tie a band-aid.
"Oh, a Creation Magic.. That's a powerful spell you have cast there, young lassy."
"Ah..thanks.. I guess.. " I muttered unsure how else to respond.
The prisoner suddenly surprised me by moving a little closer to where I was standing. And, a rustling sound emitted out as he dragged his legs with his rusty chains as his face touched, my side of the prison bar.
In the midst of the pale yellow sunshine that escaped through tall high window of the dungeon, I noticed a mischievous smirk hanging at the corner of his lips. His imperfect crooked teeth revealed itself when he shot flashy grin back at me.
"Have you ever heard out the term, comrades, little girl? "
His voice sounded cranky and abruptly irritated me much, that for a moment I felt like I wanted to strangle him with my thread magic, but I decided to let that one slide knowing, I owe him one.
Since, He neither really offended me in any manner like the Royal Page and the Royal Counseller and now that I think about it, even though the man (whose presence I hadn't noticed until now) clearly did know, what I was planning he had still not reported me, yet.
I responded his cheeky smirk with a devilish chuckle. A sly expression formed on my face as I pushed my long red hair.
"Well, I know, I don't have em and don't need them. So..So long, captain do-nothin-to escape..." I mocked and jump into the pitch dark tunnel that now stood wide before me.
............