Cinderella vs. Happily Ever After

Chapter 5

             Isaac shot his arm out to grab Valerie’s shoulder. She had frozen, her eyes wide and her lips parted. “What?” she whispered, her mind spinning.

            “Like I said, not here. Now c’mon, we don’t want to run into one of the patrols!” Nateza said, reaching out to grab Isaac’s arm. So the three of them ghosted along the sidestreets and back alleys, hands linked together like train cars.

            They hadn’t gone far when Nateza held her hand up for them to stop. Isaac opened his mouth but the glare she sent him made him close it immediately. The girl closed her eyes for a moment, listening. Isaac strained his ears as well while Valerie continued to stare blankly ahead of her. The soft clop of leather boots just reached their ears. Nateza flapped her hands at them, herding them to a set of wide stone stairs that led to one of the left-side houses.

            Isaac shoved Valerie down against the stone then waved Nateza in beside her. Only then did he squeeze himself over the pair so that only his wide blue back could be seen from the side opposite where the noise was coming from. Isaac and Nateza continued to listen as the slapping noise of feet hitting the pavement continued getting louder and louder.

            Just when he thought they’d have to fight, the feet turned away, clumping down one of the other streets. The other two, Valerie was still nothing more than a living doll, stayed where they were for several minutes, waiting until they couldn’t hear even the echoes of the patrol’s footsteps.

            Leaning slowly away, Isaac met Nateza’s eyes. “Does that happen a lot?” he breathed.

            She nodded slowly, the edges of her eyes wet though the rest of her face spoke of nothing but fierce stubbornness. “They’re everywhere. Which is why we have to move like we’re wearing seven league boots.”

            He smiled at her, standing and offering her his hand. She accepted then she turned and helped him pull Valerie to her feet. Again, they oozed along the streets, eyes and ears alert for any sign of a patrol. Only once more did they have to take cover, this time in the surrounding doorways, but that patrol stayed the distant sound of footsteps.

            By the time they reached the narrow, much mended street that Nateza’s house was on, the light around them had darkened to crimson. Like the rest of the city, the lower windows on all the houses were shuttered tight, only the occasional burst of movement in the upper bits of the house proved their was life there.

            Nateza led them to one of the middle stone and wood houses, its walls needing a new coat of paint where the patches in the wood were visible, but overall it looked fairly sturdy. Far sturdier than some of its neighbours. Around the side, the stair that wound up looked less so but Isaac said nothing as the girl led them up the narrow, rickety steps.

            Following the wave of her hand, Isaac towed Valerie into the second floor door that Nateza held open for them. The room was done mostly in wood, the floor cracked in place with age but the signs of careful repairs were everywhere. The room held several chairs and some soft paintings hung in battered frames on two of the walls. The windows that faced the street were tightly shuttered but otherwise the room felt very cozy and lived in. Nateza nodded towards the chairs and Isaac shoved Val into one before dropping to his knees in front of her.

            He tilted her face so her unseeing eyes were on him. He sighed and said “This has gone on long enough dear. You need to snap out of it. Nateza’s going to tell us what happened. Maybe it’s not as bad as it sounded. If you don’t wake up I’ll be forced to take drastic measures.”

            “Is he alright?” the girl asked, peering around at the other woman’s face.

            “No. But she’s about to be,” he replied before leaning forward and holding his mouth so it was almost touch her ear. He took a deep breath then let out a bellow right in her ear.

            Valerie jerked backwards, knocking her chair over and falling in a heap. She scrambled to her feet, hand grabbing the hilt of her sword as her head whipped from side to side. “What?”

            “I told you. You need to stop letting every little thing send your emotions out of whack,” he told her, stretching his arms over his head as he stood.

            She glared at him, anger holding back the despair that her surprise had sent flying. “The palace has fallen. This whole sad business started because of me and you expect me to take news like that calmly?” She shrieked.

            “No, I expect you to act like a thinking adult and not some kind of hyper-emotional child. You are no use to anyone catatonic!” He snapped back.

            The made her freeze again. She’d only seen Isaac angry twice before and she really didn’t want to repeat the experience. Besides, she knew he was right. Her face flared red and her eyes sank to the floor. “Sorry,” she muttered.

            He harrumphed, his arms crossed over his chest. Then he stalked over and pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight. “I’m worried too, alright? If anything happens…well anyway freaking out isn’t going to help us save them.”

            Nateza, who’d been watching the entire exchange open-mouthed from in front of the door, finally managed to say, “Valerie?”

            She turned and smiled at the girl. “I’m surprised you recognize me in this get-up.” Then she saw the way Nateza’s body had tensed itself and she pushed away from Isaac, bracing herself.

           Like her sisters, the girl hurled herself at Val, making her rock back with the impact. Nateza buried her face in the thick padding of her shirt and began sobbing. “Oh no, sweetie,” Valerie said, putting her arms around the girl. “What’s the matter?”

            “I never thought I would see you again,” she sobbed, clinging harder.

            “C’mon now, you ought to know you can’t get rid of me. It’ll be alright, sweetie. Just try to stop crying, eh?”

            It was a couple of minutes before Nateza calmed down enough to talk. During that time, Valerie stroked her head and murmured what words of comfort she could think of. Isaac prowled around the room, poking his head in doorways and peering out through the shuttered windows. Finally, still sniffling, Nateza pulled away from Valerie.

            Val smiled and gently wiped at the last couple of tears on the girl’s face. “Alright then, can you tell us what happened?”

            She nodded. “I’ll tell you a bit but we should wait until my parents get home. My mom will know what’s going on. She works at one of the inn’s that’s still open and a lot of the invading officers like to drink there.”

            “When will they be home?” Isaac asked, gliding up behind her.

            She turned to face him, her face still streaked with tears. “Any time now.”

            “Then we’d best wait for them. No, don’t glare at me Val. It’s better that we get the whole story all at once rather than in bits. Waiting a little longer isn’t going to kill us.”

            “But it might kill someone else,” Valerie muttered, arms crossed over her chest. But she said it quietly enough that Isaac chose to ignore it.