Outside, Odette’s heart raced, and her cheeks became pink with the sudden stroll. She stared at the two moons and the stars and felt terrible for being sad with such a fantastic night on display. She was in a magical world with an elven prince. She should feel privileged.
They sat down and silently gazed at the sky.
When Odette felt better, she spoke. “I’m sorry for ruining your party.”
“I threw the party, hoping you’d show up. I’ve even hired acrobats to entertain you, but you seem too sad to be interested in that tonight.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry. Just …” He held her hands and looked at her. “Stay with me, and don’t return to your world. You’ll be happy here, and no one will dare to make you feel bad about yourself.”
Odette’s heart drummed, and her breathing went shallow.
He added, “We’ll party all day. I can show you my world, the huge mountains of snow in the Winter Court, and the most beautiful gardens in the Summer Court. The dancing silver fairies in the Black Forest of my kingdom. We also have flying griffins that carry us up into the skies and take us to the Bird People’s Kingdom. Then, there’s the magic that can dress you as beautifully as you want.”
“That sounds exciting.”
“And there’s me. I’m here to keep you company and take you to all of those places.”
“You are a kind friend.”
His hold on her hands tightened. With hooded eyes, he said, “Odette. My Odette, we need to talk.”
“We talk all the time when I’m here.”
“Yes, but I need to talk about something vital that concerns you and me.”
Odette leaned forward with widened eyes. “Prince, may I ask a favor of you?”
“Whatever you want.”
“Do you know how we can fix the magical slippers? If I could stop them from coming here, I could use them to have the most beautiful and old-fashioned dress to go to the Moonlight Ball.”
His voice became sad. “Stop them from coming here? Don’t you like visiting me?”
“I do, but … I also need Carl to notice me. Even if I don’t go to the ball with him, maybe he will fall in love if he notices me at the ball and asks me to dance with him. Just like Cinderella, when she goes to the ball, and the prince falls in love with her at first sight.”
He looked at their hands together. “Just like Cinderella. And you believe that Carl is your prince?”
“I fell in love with him at first sight.”
The prince clenched his jaw. “Little fairy, there’s something important I need to tell you, and you have to listen to me carefully. Understood?”
She sighed. “It’s okay if you can’t fix the slippers. I knew it was a difficult request.”
He cupped her face. “Odette, look at me and listen. Are you listening?”
She nodded, and the prince removed his hand.
“There’s something important you need to know about those slippers.” He paused and breathed deeply. His eyes fell on her lips. “Cinderella’s godmother wasn’t just any fairy. She also didn’t help Cinderella out of the kindness of her heart.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you think there’s no mention of the name of the kingdom where the fairy tales happen?”
“It’s part of a literary rule when telling fairy tales. The time and place are facultative and often unnamed.”
“That’s because it usually happens in other realms. Some beings can travel between kingdoms, and a few humans are fated to marry outside of their race. Prince Charming was a royal elf, and Cinderella was a human. Humans weren’t seen as more than slaves back then. It was after their marriage that the laws changed, and humans were treated with respect. But I’m rambling.” The prince brought her hands to his lap. “My mother, the Queen of the Dark Elves, made a deal with Cinderella. Magic doesn’t come without a price, and your ancestor was willing to pay for it as long as she married the one her heart desired.”
“What sort of deal?”
“Some elves are born without a companion among their race. I was my mother’s only son, and the Fates foretold that I was destined to spend my existence in solitude without being able to experience true love.”
“That’s a scary fate.”
The prince nodded. “I was a child and had no idea of what that meant. On the other hand, my mother decided to go against fate and play by her own rules.”
Odette leaned closer. “What did she do?”
“She studied all probable futures and discovered that my soul-mate would be born into the Charming bloodline. But once Cinderella married the elf prince, their descendants would be living on earth. Not to mention, powerful forces were against the marriage of an elf prince and a human. They weren’t fated to meet. Without discovering each other’s existence, they would never marry and have children. My mother intervened in return for a promise from your ancestor.”
Odette frowned and bit her lower lip. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”
“The magical slippers are connected to that promise.”
“Edrahil, what was that promise?”
“The Charming family was destined to give birth to my beloved but living in different realms would set us apart.”
Odette removed her hands from his.
The prince continued, “The deal was that when any of the Charming females came of age, they would try the slippers on and see if they fit. If they did, then the chosen one would be teleported to my kingdom, where we would meet, fall in love, and get engaged. That’s the reason why the slippers are still in your family’s possession. They have been waiting for you to be born.”
Odette’s mind spun out of control, and she tried to understand the extent of Edrahil’s words fully.
The prince moved closer. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long, Odette. I’ve been throwing parties since you’ve come of age. The news that a female was born into your lineage filled me with hope. But I couldn’t go to you and change fate. I had to wait for you to come here.”
“My parents would never agree to marry me off as if I was a thing and not a person,” Odette claimed, jumping to her feet. She looked at the slippers. “These slippers haven’t been used for ages. As far as I know, they can fit any other woman who is truly destined to be with you.”
“Why not you?”
“I’m in love with someone else. You know that.”
“Then why does my heart …” He got up. “Do you care so little about me after I’ve told you what will happen if I don’t find my beloved?”
A chill ran down her spine. “I thought you were my friend and cared about my feelings. Trying to trap me here with you isn’t caring.”
“Do you believe that I’m trying to trick you and that my story isn’t true?”
“You are a dark elf,” Odette accused.
He touched his heart. “I’ve been nothing but kind to you. Every time you come here, we treat you with respect and love. Your presence has given me hope that my existence can be saved, and I might be the kind and happy king that my subjects need to rule them. Yet, your words now … hurt me deeply and have stripped me of hope. How can you be so indifferent?”
She gasped, taken aback by his accusation. “Edrahil, how can you be okay with what our ancestors did?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay with meeting my soulmate? If my mother didn’t do this, we would have been fated to be born and die without meeting. How was that fair?”
Odette stepped away from him. “Will you really die if you don’t find your queen?”
“I’ve lived too long on my own. The prophecy was the only thing giving me hope.”
Did elves lure people with magical objects to make bargains that affected others down the line? Putting on these slippers didn’t make Odette ready for marriage by a long shot.
She waved her hands as panic set in. “This is all a huge misunderstanding. I’m not the one you’ve been waiting for. My arrival here was a mistake, and these slippers are probably broken and could fit any woman with my last name. Our ancestors were selfish and mean. I can’t be your wife when I’m in love with someone else.”
“You believe you are in love with someone who doesn’t even acknowledge your existence,” the prince retorted. “In my kingdom, you will want for nothing. I will see to your happiness every day and night.”
Odette only felt worse after hearing that. She had to nip this in the bud. “Edrahil, you know I love Carl. I wish this deal didn’t exist. My arrival here was an accident, not the fulfillment of some old prophecy.”
“As a human, you are confused by how deals work in my realm.” Prince Edrahil spoke with a stern expression that made her remember he was royalty and much older than he looked. “Your ancestor, Cinderella, made a deal with my mother long ago. The price for her happiness was a promise that one of her descendants would marry me. A pact that can’t be broken once made. I am meant to be with a descendant of her bloodline. It is fate, and nothing can change that. The slippers were left with your family, so they would bring me my bride and save my heart from withering. That woman is you, Odette, and if you accept your destiny, we can be together.”
Odette was appalled by his insistence. “Are you saying that I don’t have any other choice than to accept being your queen, even if I don’t love you?”
“No. The slippers show who has been chosen. It’s still your decision,” Edrahil retorted.
“Well, I need to go. This is too much to process right now.” Odette turned to leave. “I came to unwind and be around someone I believed to be my friend. Now you are telling me that I’m here because your mother set in motion a plan where one of my relatives needs to marry you. That’s just sick.”
The stroke of midnight cut her outburst short. It was a bittersweet ending to their conversation but also a relief.
“Goodbye, Prince Edrahil. I’m not sure when I will return.”
“Wait.” Edrahil followed her. “Please let me explain things better.”
Odette ignored him and searched for her way out. He never lost stride with her, not even when she started running.
“I’m sorry,” Odette said and entered the portal to return to her world.
The prince, however, grabbed her hand. “Promise me you’ll come back.”
As she pulled and fell back, one of the slippers came off her foot, landing on the ground. Before she could do anything, the portal took her home.
The look of horror on the prince’s face mirrored her own as his world disappeared from her sight.