The Substitute Cinderella

Chapter 3 "Sunlight Sonata"

By the time the Solar eclipse has ended he came into the bookstore and he instantly knew something was wrong.

The inside of the store seemed like thunder had happened right before he got in. Thousands of books that had been on the wooden shelves once were thrown in the ground, laying in weird angles, some were torn apart.

But there was one book that stood out.

The golden book was widely open on the ground. The pages were glowing like fire, no longer worn out.

He knew the meaning. The story was being rewritten.

The blue sphere, the lock that kept everything inside, the gatekeeper of the border between two worlds was nowhere to be seen.

And that meant... Somebody who didn't belong there was inside. But how could they get in?

The sphere was designed to keep everyone in, or in this case out. Now that it left the outer world, the person who was vacuumed inside was in the mercy of the sphere. If they are lucky enough to still have it after the long fall.

He should have never left store, he punched the counter. He had to find a way to get the person out.

He had to find a way to break the spell he created in a way so that it could never be broken no matter what.

He took off his long light brown coat off and rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt.

Now with the energy of the Solar eclipse it was time to practice some magic.

The hell would break loose.

***

Ella's POV

'It's so good to be able to sleep without the sound of the alarm clock. And the silky sheets, so soft against my skin...' I thought as the haziness of my sleepy conscience slowly lifted.

The golden rays were penetrating the thin white curtains but didn't even bother me, the room was so huge that the light had lost its effect before it could reach me.

'Wait though. This is not my apartment in Paris. This bedroom is 10 times bigger than mine . Where am I?' I straightened up with a sudden rush of fear and surprise.

Did I drink too much and left with a stranger or something? I scratched my head so that maybe it could help me remember what happened last night, no yesterday. I had no memory of yesterday. Why was I missing time?

There were only a couple of blurry pictures in my mind, I wasn't even sure they were moments that had really happened.

Blue eyes on a face I couldn't clearly see but it was the only vivid thing in my mind.

I quickly got out of the king sized bed and jolted towards the window that was supposed to lead to a huge balcony.

I opened the curtains and reached at the golden door handle but the door was locked. And although it wouldn't open that didn't mean I couldn't see the outside.

There was a wide road under and there were thick and tall trees on both sides. Birds flying high, Sun shining brightly on the everblue sky with almost no clouds...

It seemed beautiful, tranquil and simplistic in a natural way but something was off. Although I couldn't name it I could feel in my gut.

Wait, a golden door handle? There were also hints o golden shine inside the material of the ground under my bare feet. Unfortunately I had a bigger problem than to stop and think about who could be rich enough that they would nonchalantly spend their money on having a golden everything.

And there I thought about it without the stopping part.

"You are awake." A deep voice called to me, bringing me back to my senses. I quickly turned around.

Same blue orbs were looking back at me in a relieved kind of way. Did I know him? The blue eyes belonged to  him then. And this time I could clearly see him.

He was a little bit taller than me, had a cleanly shaved face and a slightly curly hair. He looked confident, his posture kinglike yet was still hesitant to take an action.

And suddenly I wanted to be close to him and... so badly.

'You don't even know him. You don't even know where you are. Pull yourself together!' my brained screamed in alarm.

"Uhm, you..." he was trying to tell me, well sign me, something and I suddenly felt self aware. Only then I realized that I was only wearing a thin light blue nightgown. I halted towards the bed and quickly pulled the comforter to cover myself.

He seemed startled for a moment but I could see the slight joy in his eyes.

"Where am I? Who are you, why are you still here? And just for the records, if there is anything funny here it's not me looking vulnerable it's your outfit and ridiculously golden everything in this room." I said quickly with an overflow of emotion.

Shut your mouth, what if he gets all angry now?

"Well, since you can talk now I can be rest assured that you are no longer injured. You seem like you've healed."

Healing? What was he talking about?

"What are you talking about? I wasn't injured." I asked demanding an immediate answer this time. He stepped closer to me to sit at the edge of the bed. I pulled my legs closer to me and tugged on the comforter as if it could protect me.

I mean this ridiculously handsome guy had a sword. Who the heck carries a sword unless it's Halloween? And it wasn't.

"Yes you were, it's normal you don't remember. You've been sleeping for 4 days. At one moment the doctors of the palace thought you would die."

Die? How could I not remember an accident that injured me so dangerously? And I didn't even have scars that  could prove it. Since I had no memory yhough, I decided to go with it.

"Well I'm glad didn't. So, we are in a 'palace'. And does that mean you are the prince or something with that costume and that.. sword?" I asked sarcastically.

Why am I being like this? I was saying things that I didn't want to say out loud.

"No, I'm actually the king. And it's nice to finally see you conscious, being all sarcastic. By the way you can tell the maids if you need anything." And he left. I suddenly so speechless that I couldn't even stop him to ask his name.

He didn't have the right to make me feel this way.

***
Note: Hi my dear readers! So our main characters have finally met!! And you can see the mysterious owner of the bookstore on the banner . This is close to how I imagine him but of course you are free to imagine however you like. :)

The story is unfolding <3
Thank you so much for reading don't forget to comment or vote.  :):)

XOXO