Shut Up, Cinderella

One Big Family

It was almost time.

The letters from Gem had been getting shorter and more impatient, the messengers carrying them ever more hasty. Cinder had followed his return journey through the kingdom almost in real time. Last time he had heard from him, he had been a few towns away.

That had been yesterday.

Today he rose with the sun, opening the window to a bright, hopeful morning. It had not yet snowed, but winter was in the air, and it was crisp and clear under a spotless blue sky.

He inhaled it deeply, letting his eyes roam over the garden. His mother's apple tree had dropped most of its leaves, but earlier in fall it had been overflowing with apples, rich and red and deliciously crispy. He had already made a deal with Marigold to have her use them in her famed apple pies at the wedding. The herbs and roses Gem had sent had come to life, and Cinder had no worries that they would survive the winter. They were, after all, from the far north and used to the extreme cold.

He would miss this place, he thought. But it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to visit. And the new home he and Gem would live in soon was at least as beautiful as this house.

There were memories tied to this place, yes. But in their new home they would make even more memories, even happier ones, for years and years to come.

Cinder stepped away from the window.

Soon, he thought.

His family was already up. The maid was dressed in her best holiday clothes, fussing around them in nervous jitters. Izetta and Marietta were darting this way and that, alternating between standing on the lookout and making last-minute preparations. Hestia looked the calmest of them all, but even she was beaming with pride, beaming like a mother on her son's wedding day.

"Cinder!" the girls greeted him as soon as he came down the stairs, crowding in front of him. He took a step backward to regain his personal space, but he was no longer annoyed by their habit. Let them crowd him. They were excited, just like he himself was.

"Cinder," Marietta said, examining him from head to toe, "you can't greet your fiancé in this!" She motioned to his usual old clothes. "Go put on something better! And do something about your hair already!"

Cinder took another step back. "I'm fine as I—"

"No, no, no, she's right. You're marrying the prince, you can't keep walking around in those!" Izetta joined in.

Cinder tugged uncomfortably at his shirt. "I don't have anything better." Not counting Sugar Plum, he thought, but he'd rather not use magic today.

Marietta turned to call over her shoulder. "Mama, the gift!"

"Right!" came Hestia's answer. Cinder looked from one to the other in growing incomprehension.

"What," he said.

His sisters smiled meaningfully. Before he could pester them any more, Hestia appeared again, holding a complete, fresh, well-made set of clothes.

"Consider it my wedding present," she said. "I thought you could use them."

Once, not too long ago, Cinder would have reprimanded her for spending money without asking him, but that was in the past. They were no longer poor. Gem's coins would last them for years and years to come.

He cracked a smile.

"Thanks," he said, shortly before being ushered by his whole family to go put it on. It fit him perfectly, so much so that he had no idea how these three had managed to get it made behind his back.