Stories Before a Wedding, or The Happily Ever After of Cinderella

Cinderella had always dreamt of marrying a prince. She had dreamt of nothing else since she was a small girl. Now, however, as the Prince’s wife of three days, she had to admit that the reality was not as she had dreamt it to be.

Yes, the Prince was kind, and romantic, and chivalrous, and handsome, and polite, and – above all – charming, but he was also not quite what she had always dreamt of. She also still didn’t know his name. She thought it was James, or maybe Christopher. Rupert? Windermere? Karl? Alexander? Perhaps it was Charming? Everyone called him “Prince Charming,” but his mother also called him Christopher, and his father called him James at times. His most trusted friend – he said, Ella had not met him yet – called him by yet another of his many names. The Prince simply told Ella to ‘pick her favourite’ and call him that. He truly did not care what his own wife called him it would seem. Ella chose Charming to remind herself that he was not the prince she had dreamt for so long and so that she would know that ‘Charming’ is all he would be to her.

Perhaps Ella should have mourned that her prince and her Prince were two different men, but she was also free for the first time since she laid eyes on her step-mother. For that reason, Ella swore to herself that she would give up her dream prince and be a good wife to Prince Charming, no matter how kind, and romantic, and chivalrous, and handsome, and polite, and – above all – superficial he was with her. It was a better marriage than most, she knew from listening to the women’s Tales on her Bride’s Night, and it would go down in the Royal Legers as a successful one.

So Ella smiled, and laughed, and painted, and sewed shirts for the poor, and read the Royal Histories and accounting and politics with her tutors, and learned the popular dances and songs, and told everyone who would listen about how happy she was. At night, after her Prince left her to his own rooms – it was tradition after all, he said, so neither of them looked tired the next day – Ella slept, and she dreamed. She dreamed of a prince with dark hair to her husband’s gold; oddly, she remembered her dream prince once did have gold hair, and a gold sword and hunting horn, like her husband, but her dream prince now was dark. His skin – also unlike her husband – was pale and white, nearly bloodless, and it was clear he preferred their dream library to her husband’s hunting and tilting fields. In her dreams, she and the prince spoke at length about any topic that came to mind, and he often advised her on how to answer her tutors. At first, Ella was wary to use the answers given to her in a dream, but she tried one morning when she had no other to give and her tutor looked at her like her step-mother always had when she declared she was going to marry a prince someday.

Quickly, due to her dream prince’s advice on all save for dancing – for while he would watch her for hours on end, he did not ever give in to her wish to dance with her, claiming he had not the skill that Tiberius had upon the marble ballroom floors – Ella became known as a good Princess: a benefit to the Royal Family, despite her father being a simple Gentleman. To these whispers, Ella just smiled brighter; her husband also smiled and held her tighter on the dance floor, whispering how proud of her he was. It was only to her dream prince that Ella broke down, and he too held her. He, too, told her how proud he was of her.

As time passed, Prince Charming told Ella that he must leave the palace and journey to the North, to a forgotten tower where his dearest advisor lived. He would be gone a fortnight, and, while he hated to leave her alone – especially now that she was just starting to loosen her gowns – he had to. He had sworn he would visit his friend once a year to bring him supplies and ask if he was finally willing to return to court as Charming wished for with all his heart. This was especially true this year as it was his advisor that had told him to indulge his mother when she announced the Royal Balls and had told him to look for the girl with shoes of silver and gold – that she would be his true bride. Charming longed to introduce Ella to his friend and, he also told her, he longed for his dearest and most true advisor to meet their son.

Suddenly, Charming cut himself off with a blush, as though he feared hurting his wife’s heart with the knowledge that he called another “dearest friend” and “most trusted companion.” Ella, for her part, laughed her practiced laugh, for why should she be jealous? He had married her and, in his own distant way, loved her for being so amenable and kind, not to mention so soon pregnant. In this way, she knew she would always come before all other women in her Prince’s life, and she even felt a bit guilty herself that she had her dream prince that she loved as much as her Prince while he had only a friend and advisor that lived far enough away they only met once a year for less than a fortnight. With all her heart, Ella wished her Prince a safe and successful journey.

The days he was away were lonely, and Ella longed for night and when she could see her dream prince. She even took to taking naps in the hopes that she would not see an empty library and banked fire. If the Queen, her mother-by-the-laws was worried about her, she chalked it up to Ella’s child and told everyone to leave her alone to rest. Ella loved the Queen even more for her kindness now. So Ella slept and waited for her prince to appear. On the third day, she was lying on the low couch by the fire that had appeared in her dream once her stomach started to round; with a gentle flash and the smell of sharp incense preceding him, her dream prince appeared behind her. He was haggard and both paler and thinner than usual. His hair was also longer than it usually was, and he had even tied it in a neat tail at the back of his neck. He was surprised to see Ella, and he said as much, asking if it was, indeed, after the dinner hour and he had just missed it.

Worried, Ella sprang up and quickly ushered her prince onto the couch and sat beside him. No, she assured him, it was still afternoon; she was just napping since her husband was away on a trip to see a friend of his. She was worried though: was he not eating? No, the prince replied, but he was forced to be careful with his food, as he had not been sure if it would ration through the winter. At this, Ella nearly cried; to think her friend and love that she had dreamt of for most of her life was going hungry! She begged her prince to let her help him, but he merely smiled and shook his head. This was, after all, he said, a dream, but he was now sure that all would be well. In fact, he would even promise that in one or two more days’ time, she would see him well-fed and his eyes would be full of joy again – at least, for a time. With those reassurances, Ella allowed herself to smile and be led in a discussion of King Christopher’s – her husband’s great-great grandfather – rule.

Keeping to his word, for he hadn’t broken it yet, the dream prince was looking better each day Ella saw him – although he kept his hair long. Ella approved of this, and, a quiet voice murmured to her that her husband surely would appreciate the change as well, for he did love her long hair. That made Ella blush, for she tried not to think about her dream prince in the presence of her husband who danced with her and called her his “beloved gift,” nor did she feel truly comfortable thinking about her Prince Charming when her dream prince quizzed her on her lessons or watched her dancing or let her cry in his arms. In this way, Ella lived in two lives, and, in the secret moments just after waking or before sleeping when she was not yet a part of the dream but not still fully her husband’s, she wondered what it might be like if the worlds were one. It was a selfish want, she knew, so she kept it to the twilight moments, but she could not fully banish it.

A few nights later, and the same day she had received a letter from Prince Charming explaining he would be delayed a few days but that he had a gift to make it up to her, Ella’s dream prince was waiting for her as she laid down for a short nap just past noon. He looked manic, with his hair wild about his shoulders and an excited gleam in his eyes. Ella stared at him for a moment, hardly able to believe her calm and collected prince was this fevered man before her. She did not dislike the change. Finally, he glanced at her and called her over to him; he would be unable to join her in her dreams for some days, he explained, but it would not be for long. Ella was devastated. He had left her dreams before, and each time was like a knife in her heart. Seeing her pain, the prince knelt by her side and begged her not to cry; he would return to her, he promised, if she just had faith. She had believed him about the Ball, hadn’t she? The spell he had given her had transformed her shoes and dress and the rats and mice and pumpkin, hadn’t it? She had married the Prince, hadn’t she? Everything had happened exactly as he had said it would. She was a Prince’s wife, just as he had told her she would be.

If anything, the dream prince’s words made her cry even louder; yes, she had attended the Ball in golden and silver shoes and gowns and a carriage made from a pumpkin and she had danced with and married Prince Charming, but he was the wrong prince. He was golden and tan and kind, and romantic, and chivalrous, and handsome, and polite, and – above all – charming, but he was aloof and superficial and only cared about dancing with her, like she was a doll to him. He was the one who loved her. At this, the dream prince recoiled. How quickly he had pulled back hurt Ella even more, and she raised her hand to pinch herself awake. Before she could, the prince grasped her hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing her palm and promising that, when next they met, everything would be alright. His promise would see Ella through the next few long, dreamless days.

Finally, albeit nearly a week later, Ella awoke to the news that Prince Charming had been sighted by the farmers north of the Capital; he would be home tonight. Ella forced a smile that looked – at least to the maids – convincingly joyous and dressed in one of her more elaborate casual dresses, ready for her husband’s return. As she was brushing out her hair, the Queen asked permission to enter her rooms. The Queen, who also had at least four Royal Names, at least told her to call her by the second of them, Charlotte, if she could not bring herself to call her mother. Ella loved her for it. Charlotte dismissed Ella’s maids, and, for the first time, they were completely alone. Ella worried about what Charlotte needed to say in absolute silence to her; did she know that Ella mourned for a dream? Was she worried Ella could not eat? At least, for that one, Ella had a reasonable excuse, but other thoughts swirled through her.

Charlotte glanced at the full plate of fruit and asked her daughter-by-the-laws if she could finish the as-of-yet untouched meal. Ella paled even more but nodded, still fearful of why a mother would wish to speak privately with her. Charlotte smiled as she ate the simple food and remarked that she should order her maids to bring her simple foods more often. She did understand why Ella was not hungry these days, however, no matter the range of foods offered to her. Still, perhaps Ella might order a hot cereal or some bread and honey if it was more to her tastes? Charlotte’s smile turned weak as Ella just stammered a response; clearly, Ella’s maids would need replacing then, as she had suspected. Still, at least now Ella knew she could choose her own breakfast. Charlotte would have to work harder to erase the years Ella spent under her own stepmother before Ella could have the strength needed to be a queen. At least Charlotte knew Ella would be a great mother not in spite but because of her own childhood.

Finishing the melon – much to Ella’s relief as she did hate melon so – Charlotte offered to braid and pin Ella’s hair for her. As she did, Charlotte spoke quietly about how she happy she was that Ella was married to her son, that, since his dear friend left, her Christopher had been alone. She said how happy she was to see Ella make him smile again, even though his companion now returned with him. Ella gasped and startled, leading Charlotte to accidentally poke her with a hair pin. Charlotte asked if Ella had not been told that, and, at Ella’s quiet no, doubled her resolve to change her daughter-by-the-laws staff. Maybe she would also change Ella’s tutors while she was at it.

Yes, Prince Charming had been spotted that morning, and he was not alone. He and his companion would be at the palace in a few hours, but they would want to bathe and change before they met Ella and his family. Perhaps, Charlotte said, Ella should change into a more comfortable dress as Christopher would surely be more comfortable dining in private today. They could dine publicly tomorrow, and Charlotte and her husband would tonight to draw attention away from Ella and the Prince. The words, and their kind implications, made Ella tear up from Charlotte’s caring. When she saw this in the mirror, Charlotte smiled and quickly changed the subject to talk all about her son’s friend, who, surely, was the one that was riding with him now.

Hours later – and in a far more comfortable dress – Ella stood with the Royal Family on the front steps when the trumpets heralded the return of the Prince and the Royal Sorcerer. In the midst of this happy occasion, Ella, upon seeing her husband and his companion’s return, fainted into her father-by-the-laws, quick arms.

Even more hours later, Ella awakened in a cool, dimly lit room. She was unfamiliar with the room, but the murmur of voices – in particular her husband’s – told her she was in his room. She laid quietly, for just a moment, and she let the cadence of their tones wash over her. Finally, she sat up and moved to call out to the men. Before she could, her husband’s companion noticed her rising and touched the Prince’s shoulder; both men rose and made their way over to the bed. Ella saw a sight that she had only imagined with caught breath in the seconds before she fell asleep and the seconds after she awoke: her husband, her Prince Charming, and her dream prince stood side-by-side over her. Matching looks of worry clouded their features.

Ella smiled, and she offered her hands, one to each man, and they took her hands – one the left, one the right – and each kissed the back of the one he held. Then, each refusing to release the hand he held, the men sat on the bed, forming a triangle with Ella at the apex. Ella sat there cataloging the differences in the two men and watching the seeming relief fill her husband’s face. She was not the only one; the dream prince – the Royal Sorcerer apparently, and the man her husband called his ‘dearest companion’ – also watched the Prince. Finally, he laughed. Did he not – he asked the Prince – tell him everything would work out in the end if only he listened to his advice? Did he not find his friend the perfect wife? Were they not happy, at least, as happy as they could be? At his friend’s words, the Prince blushed and nodded. Yes, his truest advisor had found him the perfect wife, and yes, they were happy, but now… The Prince fell silent.

Suddenly, and with an instant and perfect clarity, Ella understood all, and, rather than being upset as her husband clearly expected, it was shock that had caused her initial reaction, not anger or, worse disgust at being led to marry a man who could not truly care for her. She had not, after all, dreamt of him, and her dream prince now held both their hands. She did have questions, however, and one burned hotter than any other. No, two: she asked her dream prince what both of their names were; he answered with a smile that his was Zacharias, and could she not guess the other? After all, he had told her, she just hadn’t realised to whom the name had belonged. Ella nodded then, for even as she loved her dream prince – and knew that he did love her in his way – she saw his eyes tear whenever she asked him to dance, mentioning that his Tiberius also loved dancing.

The night was a long one, but, by morning, all was arranged, and Ella would never be left alone in her room again save for by her own choice, Zacharias would have his own chambers above them both (with a secret connecting stair) for his soul – as he explained it – was bound to hers by fate, and his by true love, and Tiberius would dance with his wife every night he was able, secure in the knowledge that their soulmate watched them. And, while Prince Charming and Cinderella’s marriage would go down in the Royal Ledgers as one of the most successful in recorded history, the truth is that they did – in fact – all live Happily Ever After.