Cinders: The True Legend

Copyright © 2011 Richard Mark Bacon

Smashwords Edition

This book is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters locations and incidents portrayed are all the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the author's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Cover and additional artwork by JP Louw aka 'ChirpyAphid'

Additional thanks to Victoria Jackman

Prologue

Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a kingdom, not too far away, still filled with secrets and magic, a child was born.

The child was the daughter of a Count and his beautiful wife.  The family was very happy and the child, named Ella, was loved so very much by her parents.  Her father built a beautiful chateau out in the countryside for the family to live in, and together they all lived there happily.

As a token of their love, Ella's parents gave her a locket when she was still very young.  It was made of gold with a strange crest on the front, a series of looping, swirling lines; in the middle of which was embedded a small crystal.  Inside the locket was a picture of Ella as a baby in her parent’s arms.  It became her most treasured possession in the entire world.

But tragedy befell the family.  Whilst Ella was still young; her mother was killed in a terrible accident.

One evening, just as dusk was falling, Ella's mother was travelling along a cliff-side road returning home from visiting friends.  She had travelled this way many times before, but this one evening, something inexplicably scared the horse pulling her cart.  It ran over the end of the cliff road, down into the valley below, pulling poor Ella's mother along with it.  She did not survive the fall.

In time, Ella's father, wishing for Ella to have a mother as she grew up, decided to marry again.

Ella's new stepmother already had two daughters, named Alecia and Henrietta, who all came to live at the chateau with Ella and her father.  Although Alicia and Henrietta did not seem to like her, and did not include her in their games, Ella was still a happy and contented child.  She spent many hours a day with her father.  He played with her and taught her many wondrous and exciting things.

But sadness came again to Ella's life, when her father died just a few years after her mother’s death.

After her father was gone, Ella's stepmother changed and began to show her true nature.  She doted on her own daughters whilst poor, young Ella was treated like a servant on the chateau; cooking, cleaning and wearing only the oldest hand-me downs from her stepsisters. 

In the following years, Ella carefully watched her stepmother, she would read old books and parchments filled with strange writing, and would often be found chanting or mixing strange potions, most of which had a foul, bad smell!  From what she saw Ella came to only one conclusion, her stepmother was in fact, a witch!

Whilst watching her stepmother, Ella also observed her searching all over the chateau and grounds.  She went through all her father’s papers and books but, when asked what she was looking for, she would grow angry and would never reveal what it was she was searching for.

And so for Ella, this life continued as her stepsisters were given everything they desired by their mother, whilst she scrubbed, cleaned and cooked for them.  Yet despite all the sadness and hardship, she remained cheerful and caring, with a belief in her heart that life would get better one day.

Unbeknownst to her, fate did indeed have plans for Ella.  Shortly after her eighteenth birthday, things would change forever in a way that would ripple across the land and affect everyone in the kingdom. 

But destiny does not always run exactly to plan.  It can be changed by our own actions, or those of others, into completely new paths and directions...

Chapter 1

Ella stood dressed in the finest gown anyone had ever seen.  All the other girls at the Royal Ball looked on with envy whilst queues of handsome men waited for the chance to dance with her.

As she looked around the ballroom within the grand castle, Ella's heart skipped a beat as the handsome Prince Christian, the Prince of Elanaria, came down the spiral staircase and into the ballroom.  He had long flowing brown hair, a moustache with ends twisting up at the ends and a small goatee beard.  But it was his eyes that captured Ella’s attention; they were an unusual deep green colour with just a hint of blue.  It was then that the Prince saw Ella, and he pushed his way gently through the crowd to get to her.

She blushed slightly at being caught staring, but then he was there, standing beside her and her heart sang.

Gently he took her hand as the Royal band began to play a tune, and together they moved to the middle of the dance floor.

They began to dance, with Ella's feet barely seeming to touch the ground. The Prince leaned closer towards her, his mouth moving towards her ear ready to speak.  Her mind whirled and her heart raced.  This was it, he was going to propose to her!  She listened intently for his words...

Ella! Get your lazy body out of bed and fetch me my BREAKFAST! he shouted.

Ella fell back from the Prince, the world seeming to swirl as she began to fall, down, down, down...

...Thunk! 

Ella’s eyes flew open as she fell from her bed to the wooden floor of her room with a thud.  The shout came again, but her stomach sank as she realised it was not the Prince calling.

Ella, you good for nothing layabout get me my breakfast, NOW!

It was the voice of her stepmother.  ‘Her cruel, mean and ugly stepmother,’ her mind corrected her.

She sighed; it had all been a dream.  This was her reality, looking after her stepmother and her two selfish brats of daughters.

Still, she had nowhere else to go.  This was her home after all, so she began to pull on her clothes and shouted back to her stepmother, still in bed herself of course.

Sorry, Esmira, she called.  She could never bring herself to refer to her stepmother as 'Mother', so she used her name instead.  I'll just be a few moments.

Well, hurry up. Esmira replied back.  I have a busy day ahead, and so do you.

Ella sighed as she made her way downstairs.  ‘When did she not have a busy day?’ she considered.

A little later, after all the breakfasts had been dutifully made, Ella was in the middle of her normal routine of cleaning and maintaining the chateau. 

The chateau was a shadow of its former glory; Esmira spent all their money on strange old books and papers, or dresses for herself and her daughters.  Ella tried her best to repair the peeling old paint on the window sills, or the wallpaper that would peel from the walls, as well as all the other hundreds of jobs and repairs that need doing.  However it was a large house, far too much for one person alone to maintain whilst still cleaning and cooking, as well as all the other jobs expected of her.

But today the normal routine was broken by a knock at the front door of the chateau.

Visitors were rare and generally discouraged by her stepmother, so Ella wondered who it might be. As was expected of her, Ella went to see who was calling at the chateau.

When the door to the chateau was opened it revealed a man wearing the uniform of the Royal Court, Ella was intrigued.  Why would a member of the Royal Court visit here?

The man cleared his throat before announcing, All eligible maidens are hereby invited by his majesty the King of Elanaria, to attend a ball in honour of his highness, Prince Christian.

Ella noticed the messenger eyeing her ragged work clothes whilst she considered his words and took the offered invitation card.  Could this be her dream actually coming true?

She thanked the man, although he had already turned away and mounted his horse, his saddlebag full of invitations, and he rode away down the chateaus driveway.

She read the card to confirm the details and she could not help but feel her heart beat a little faster.

Who is there dear? her stepmother’s voice asked politely.

A Royal messenger, he has delivered a message.  He’s gone now. she