Wicked Cindy

Chapter 4

The Kingdom of Ashecá

After the eerie darkness of the night, the wintry sun rose like a withered flower coming back to life, bathing the kingdom of Ashecá with its glorious rosy glow.

Unlike the magnificent orange, pink and reds that stained the sky, a white blanket of snow covered the ground. The mountains loomed over the forest like a cone with frosting, bare trees dripping icicles, shivering saplings, and mosses being the most eye-catching subject.

The river flowed under the thinnest of ice, glittering with each budding ray. The smell of the damp pine trees made the air seem sweet and refreshing.

At the centre of all of this stood 12 narrow, round towers, which were both a defensive and aesthetic aspect of the elegant castle and were connected by massive golden stone walls. Wide windows were scattered around the walls in perfect symmetry, along with oval-shaped holes for archers and artillery. In front of that stood a huge gate with thick wooden doors, a draw bridge and a moat to allow or hinder easy entrance into the castle. A well-kept garden with a variation of fragrant flowers, proud trees and bushes decorated the outside of the castle. The castle looked marvellous.

Queen Cinderella awoke from the noisy selfish banter of the birds. She used to think that birds' singing was the most beautiful sound in the world, and she used to sing along with them every morning, but that was before. Now, all she could think of was how annoying and irritating the sounds were.

The gold-coloured curtains did little to keep the sunlight out. Her room was fully lit as she laid in bed, wide awake, touching the golden bangle she never removed from her wrist. After a moment, there was a light knock on her polished wooden door.

"Good morning, your majesty," a middle-aged woman said as she entered the room before she curtsied. "Did you have a nice sleep?" she asked solemnly. Pandora was one of Cinderella’s ten Ladies-in-waiting and the most loyal. She wore a red velvet tunic dress with gold coloured embroidery, and her black hair was neatly braided and tied up under a coif*.

The queen sat up before answering, "Yes, I did," and gracefully climbed out of bed.

Pandora was surprised but she showed no sign of it. She knew better. The queen rarely spoke to her servants or anyone below her status. She seemed to be in a good mood. For the sake of everyone she hoped it would last the whole day, but nonetheless, she was used to the queen's usual behaviour.

"Your bath is ready, your majesty. Shall we go now?" Pandora asked while gesturing with her hand out the door to the bathroom. Queen Cinderella put on her slippers before leaving the room without a word.

The bathroom was decorated with white walls, an imperial bathtub made of porphyry* were placed in the centre. An aloe vera pot plant was sitting by the window at the right corner of the room. Dieffenbachia, a plant that has alternate simple leaves with white flecks attached to straight stems were placed in the four corners of the room. Ivies were hanging off the ceiling above the bathtub. A pot of button ferns was sitting on the right side of the sink which was attached at the wall in the middle, and a spider plant sat on top of the ladder shelf where they kept the clean towels that were beside the sink.

Two more servants were in the bathroom with Pandora. Amarie, who was putting rose petals and slices of oranges and strawberries into the queen's milk bath. She wore a yellow sideless surcoat* laced up the front over a blue cotehardie* and her hair worn loose down her back. The other servant was named Cara, who was assisting the queen in removing her white cotton flannel nightgown with roomy sleeves and body, apart from her white underwear. Cara wore a black wool surcoat over a pleated chainse. Her blonde hair was also worn loose down her back.