Feeling a sudden rush of confidence he couldn't quite explain, Kayden walked to the courtyard. Wanting to get away from the interior entrance, he ended up encountering the last person he expected to see around.
It was Cindy, and she was lugging a basket stuffed with unimaginable amounts of clothes.
He didn't know whether to feel pity for the girl, who was nothing but a slave in her own house, or for the poor basket groaning under the weight of all those clothes. Hmm. It shouldn't concern him—at least she was marrying the prince.
"Who are you?" Cindy demanded, eyeing the stranger.
Kayden was suddenly offended. How dare she ask him that question? Just recently, she'd been trembling beside her stepmother, and now she suddenly had a mouth.
"Cindy, maybe you should go and finish your chores so you can run off to that ball you keep dreaming about, instead of poking your nose into things that don't concern you," Kayden fired back. He then eyed her dress, which was an absolute eyesore.
The fabric had unimaginable numbers of holes, and her shoes—oh, gods—even beggars had better footwear than the scraps of horsehair she was wearing in the name of shoes.
Cinderella blinked, taken aback by the stranger's words. Wasn't he the one trespassing? Instead of apologizing, here he was questioning her, a member of the household he was standing in.
"Oh my, before we proceed on this matter—don't you bathe? Oh dear, you stink like a skunk," Cinderella said, covering her nose in dismay.
Kayden's face reddened immediately. He realized he'd just come out of the stables and, worse, that he'd gotten up from a pile of poop, which must have left him reeking. Yet here he was, judging someone who actually smelled far more pleasant than he did, who was practically oozing like a corpse in comparison.
Feeling more embarrassed, he flashed her a smile, trying to correct himself.
"Hmm, before you judge…" Kayden began, struggling not to be hypocritical even though deep down he knew he would have judged her just as harshly. "I am the stable boy, and I was just looking for the powder room but got lost, so I was hoping to find any member of the house to show me the way."
Flashing the most perfect smile he could muster, he gave her a little wave.
Cinderella wasn't convinced. Something about this intruder felt off. Her eyes traveled over his hair, then his clothes, and finally, after several torturous seconds, she replied.
"We don't have a stable boy. There has never been one, so your story isn't convincing," Cinderella declared, still clutching the basket like those local market women terrified of thieves stealing their goods.
Remembering a woman who'd once been chased by a cow in a particular local market he'd visited, Kayden suddenly started giggling and laughing, completely forgetting he was in the middle of a conversation with Cinderella.
"Excuse me, what's so funny?" Cindy demanded, frowning. Was she dressed like a jester? Or was there something on her body? What, exactly, had prompted this sudden laughter?
Kayden, seeing the confused look on Cinderella's face, burst into even heavier laughter.
"Oh, don't mind me, girl. You just remind me so much of a cow I saw back in my village," Kayden stated bluntly, not realizing how deeply his words wounded the girl's pride.
After laughing for so long, he finally looked up and saw the girl glaring at him so fiercely that he immediately composed himself. Oh fuck. He'd lost it. What was the girl going to think now?
"Laugh all you want, boy, but I don't want to see you in here again. If you come onto these premises one more time, I won't hesitate to call the lady of this house—and trust me, you won't survive what she'll do to you." Cindy's cold words sliced through the air, making Kayden freeze.
But he'd just been kidding. She didn't have to take everything so seriously. Gosh, at this point, he was starting to feel pity for the prince because if he was going to end up with a girl who had zero sense of humor, then he was truly cooked.
"Cindy, I'm sorry. I didn't expect things to turn out like this. Forgive my insolence," Kayden apologized. He needed a place to stay, and being new here, she was the only person he even remotely knew.
Besides, he couldn't afford to go near that witch of a stepmother or anyone else around here. Being like this was trouble enough, and he couldn't guarantee he'd keep his head safe if he started blabbering about everything he saw.
Cinderella still wasn't convinced.
"Stop calling me Cindy. It annoys me so much. My name is Cinderella. Or Ella," she corrected.
Kayden just waved it away. "Oh, please. 'Cinderella' isn't your real name. Just because you're sitting in the cinders like a fool, they gave you that name, and now you're acting like you're entitled to it. Gosh, what a dense person," Kayden ended up blurting out. Before he realized his fatal mistake, Cinderella was burning with rage.
In the blink of an eye, Cinderella stormed into the house and locked the door, leaving him outside to his fate. She'd had enough of his insults and wasn't going to tolerate them a second longer.
Kayden stood outside, staring at the castle looming in front of him. Well, it was nice knowing her while it lasted—even though she was a bitch. Good thing she'd probably end up getting poisoned or killed off by the stepmother. At least then he wouldn't have to deal with her overbearing presence ever again.
Seeing that there was no room in the castle for him, he turned on his heel and went on his way, leaving through the main path lined with towering trees that formed a massive maze. And when he finally found the main castle gate, he let out a deep breath. Finally.
Then he began walking, not caring if he didn't know where he was going. Maybe—just maybe—he'd run into a good Samaritan. Unfortunately, he ended up stepping right into the path of an oncoming carriage that struck him and sent him tumbling violently into the middle of the road.
Kayden fell heavily, his head smashing against a big rock. He screamed, blood forming in his palms and instantly the carriage screeched to a halt. In the distance, he could hear a man's worried voice.
"Is he alive, John? How many times do I have to tell you to be careful when you're driving the carriage?" the man reprimanded.
John, who was the carriage driver, quickly apologized.
"I'm so sorry, my prince. It wasn't my intention." John bowed, and at the mention of "the prince," Kayden's eyes widened. He scrambled up immediately.
"The Crown Prince? No fucking way. Well, it's high time I see the superficial, pompous ass every girl is throwing herself at."
And slowly, a figure stepped out of the carriage, catching the rising sunlight.