***JAKE'S POV***
After I walked Ashenella to her room, I returned to my study. There wasn't much work that a prince like me needed to do. Nothing that I couldn't handle anyway. I was just glad that I was going to be out of this story before I could become the king. Then, I would have way more work than I do now.
Since I had the free time on my hands, I decided that I was going to preemptively plan my wedding to Ashenella. And was it bad that I was actually looking forward to it? I had never really thought about getting married in my previous life. There wasn't anyone that I dated seriously enough to think about it. Alex, though, she was someone that I could imagine a future with. If only she would acknowledge my existence. And you know, if she even believed in marriage. She was not an overly girly type of person and might not want to get married. That was fine. Right now, all I wanted was for her to agree to go out with me. We would see where things went from there.
Let's see. This is a royal wedding that we need to plan. And after reading the books that are related to the subject, there are a few things that we need to make sure that are part of the whole thing. There will be a specific pattern and routine of it all, complete with gifts from the king and doves that fly around the entire ceremony. There needs to be flowers, ice sculptures, and the feast that the entire kingdom is invited to. That is way more people than I would have wanted to have at my wedding, but I don't have much of a choice. A royal affair like this needs to follow tradition.
Thinking about it, this is completely unlike a royal wedding in the real world. They would never invite the entire country to the reception. They would be too worried that there would be a criminal in their midst. I hope that we don't need to worry about that at all. It would truly suck.
While I was making a list of things that we needed to include, the door to my study opened. I hoped that it was Ashenella, but I wasn't that lucky. Instead, it was my friend and guard, Stephen.
"You seem to be working hard on something." He smiled but I slid the paper aside. I didn't need him to see what it was that I was working on.
"Yes. I had something that required my attention." I was being evasive, but not overtly.
"Well, at least you are working. You've been sitting around for days on end without doing anything. This girl is already ruining you." He didn't know that I wasn't the actual prince that he grew up with, so he thought that the girl was what had changed me.
"Do not worry, Stephen. I have not been ruined or changed at all. I am still the same person that I have been." He just didn't know that I was referring to the man that I was in my real life and not this story.
Stephen started to give me a report about the prisoners after that. The sisters were being trained by the harshest of all the maids in the castle. The maid was perfect to the royal family and their visitors, but she was so strict with those that she trained that she broke them almost instantly. He said that they were certain that the twins would make the finest maids possible after a little more training.
The father and the brother had been set up in the side wing. It was still officially part of the castle, but it was away from the main building. To reach it, one needed to follow a long corridor that was much like a bridge between the two different structures. They apparently seemed to be depressed about all that had happened to the mother and sisters, but they knew that it was the way that things needed to be. Gilly, the brother, was recovering slowly from the mental abuse that he had endured. I told Stephen that the boy was to be wed to someone that would treat him right. I had a feeling that Ashenella, when she learned of the sisters' fate, would give them a time limit on their servitude. After that, they would be married off to men that would treat them right, but that would never have much power within the kingdom. They would be humbled but still well taken care of.
The stepmother was not going to get out of the fate that I gave her. She was an evil and sadistic person that was going to be executed. Hell, in one of the original stories of Cinderella, the main character herself killed her stepmother. And the sisters were either killed or blinded. In the stories that they survived, they did end up as servants in the castle or married off. I was just combining the two of them for their fates.
Oddly enough, there was no brother in the versions of Cinderella that I was familiar with. I guess that was just a difference that this book decided to give to us. It made no difference to me right now. Things here were nearly over.
After Stephen told me what he needed to, he bowed and excused himself. It was time for him to get back to doing whatever it was that he needed to. He was a lot more busy than anyone that I had ever met. In this story or in my real life. I didn't know how he managed to get it all done without collapsing.
I was just about to get back to preparing the wedding plans, the food this time, when something seemed to jump out at me. Earlier, in the infirmary, Ashenella said that she wanted a burger. To be exact she said that she wanted 'a fucking burger and fries'. That was not at all like someone that I thought would be in this world. I wonder if my desire for food that was like my home was showing up here. Was the Keeper letting some of my own thoughts and experiences influence this story? Or was that girl really Alex? Could she be the Cinderella of this story? Could she be trapped here with me? Was that even possible? I didn't know for certain, but I guess it was a possibility.
I pushed that thought out of my mind for a moment. I went back to thinking about the future wedding. There was so much that needed to be done. And that was when another thought hit me.
The keeper said that I needed to find my counterpart. However, it didn't say that my counterpart was Cinderella. He said that I would know my counterpart because of the mark that matched my own. I..I didn't check that Cinderella for the mark. What if I was wrong here? What if she wasn't the one that I needed to have here with me?
DAMMIT! Now I was all nervous. Now I was worried that I had messed up. But, I mean, her name was Cinderella. That was how she introduced herself at the party. That was the story that I was in. And on top of that, she looks just like a girl that I like in the real world. It all just made sense. But maybe, just maybe, it made too much sense.
There was dread and unease beginning to fill me at that moment. I needed to figure this out. I needed to make sure that I wasn't going to end up stuck here forever. And for God's sake, I needed to make sure that she was my counterpart.
Speak of the devil and he shall answer. That old saying jumped into my head the moment that I heard a knock coming at the door. I just knew that this was going to be Ashenella. She was here to talk to me like I had asked her to.
For a moment I was nervous. For a moment I was scared to open the door and let her in. And for a moment, I wish that I had a servant in here that could just turn her away. However,I had told the servants not to bother me when I was working in my study. And that meant that I never actually had someone in here with me unless they visited for whatever reason. Like Stephen had done just recently.
I hesitate. Just a moment, but I did. It was long enough for the person at the door to knock again. OK, well, I just need to steel my resolve and get this over with. There was nothing that was going to change what had already been done. And with any luck, this girl would actually be the one that I am looking for and I could, temporarily, live happily ever after.
"Come in." I called out after way too long. I could always just tell them that I was busy writing something on my list and that I was momentarily distracted. That was the only thing that I could pass it off with at the moment.
"My prince, I bring the Miss to see you now." This was not Ophie from the infirmary, but rather it was Fria from the kitchens. She was probably the one to respond to Ashenella's bell. So, she had no choice but to obey her request.
"Bring her in at once." I called out, once again hiding my list. No need for me to scare her off right now. I was a tad excited and she didn't need to see it. That was why I was also quickly composing myself.