Page 20 of Once Upon a Midnight Clear

No magical whirlwind transported her away from this place. And, anyway, Agnes was right. She couldn’t walk around in those slippers if she was to figure out a way out of here.

Shoving aside the thoughts of the slippers, she picked up the stack of clothes Agnes gave her which included a pair of thick socks. She was grateful for their warmth when she pulled them on. Then she removed the tattered servant’s dress and cast it aside. The tunic was buttery soft and some of the finest material she had ever seen. She pulled it on, loving the feel of it against her skin. Last was the wool overdress. She smoothed her hands down the rough material. Despite that, the material was warm and toasty. Then she pulled on the boots to see if they would fit. Sure enough, they slipped on with ease.

Ella neatly folded her old dress and placed it on top of the trunk. She placed the glass slippers on top on that and stood back, thinking. Even in the half-light of the room, they sparkled. There appeared to be a shining aura around them, something she didn’t understand or could explain. She was almost certain the shoes had something to do with the strange happenings as she left the palace gates and the clock struck midnight. It had to be her fairy godmother’s doing. But why?

A swift knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. Agnes poked her head in a second later.

“Ah, you look much warmer. How about that stew?”

“Yes, please.”

She followed the woman from the room to the kitchen where she took a seat at the old table. Agnes was all too happy to place a bowl of thick beef stew in front of her with a side of crusty bread. Lukas was busy stoking the fire and adding more wood, humming a soft tune that seemed familiar. It took Ella a moment to realize it was one of her favorite Christmas carols. One her mother used to sing.

“Lukas, come before your stew gets cold,” Agnes scolded.

He placed one more piece of wood on the fire and then joined them at the table.

“It’s going to be a long cold night, my wife,” Lukas said. “Don’t want the fire to go out.”

Ella sat there, holding her spoon, as she watched the two of them interact with an abundance of love and kindness. They had both welcomed her into their home without questions, offered her warm clothes and a place to sleep. Even something to eat. It was more than her stepmother had ever done for her. It struck her then, how she had never seen it in her own household since her father disappeared from her life.

“Ella, dear, is something wrong?” Agnes asked as she spooned a bit of the stew.

Ella shook her head. “No. Everything is just as it should be.”

With a smile, she dug her spoon into the stew.

Chapter 8

Nicholasarrivedlatethatnight in Rovenheim. But even so, the village was still alive with the ongoing boisterous celebration of the coming Christmas season. Tonight was the bonfire night, where villagers gathered around the great bonfire in the center of town, roasting marshmallows, drinking ale, singing carols, and having a merry time. Even the falling snow could not keep the most merriest away. He hoped the concealment spell his mother cast on him would keep the villagers from seeing who he truly was. There was no time to explain why he was visiting the village.

One end of the village was the enormous Christmas tree rising up into the night sky lit up with hundreds of twinkle lights. Gold garland wrapped around it from top to bottom. The Rovenheim Christmas Star sat atop it. It was the same star that had been on the tree since the first celebration hundreds of years ago.

Legend said it was placed on top of the tree by a Christmas angel and that magic made it glow with its mysterious inner light, bringing peace and harmony to a land ravaged by war and death and destruction. From that season on, things had changed. Peace reigned. The Star brought joy and happiness to all those who lived in the village. It had been a part of their celebrations for generations. He simply couldn’t remember a time the Sar didn’t sit atop the giant tree.

He paused a moment, scanning the crowd for Ella, but she was nowhere to be found. He decided to walk through the crowd in the hopes he would spot her. Would she still be wearing the red ballgown? If she was, she’d stand out from everyone else.

He wove in and out of people as they ate and drank and sang. His eyes flickered over every face looking for the quiet beauty with dark hair and doleful eyes. Only when they were dancing did he see a spark of life deep within her. A spark he liked to think he put there. He saw it again when he tried to kiss her under the mistletoe in the greenhouse. The mistletoe that had mysteriously appeared when he wasn’t looking.

As he made his way around the far end of the village, thunder boomed overhead. Many people stopped singing to glance upward. Another boom but this time a bright red cloud followed it. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a woman clad in all black standing there. She had bright green eyes, hair the color of coal that hung in waves down her shoulders and back. She wore a tight-fitting black gown that splayed around her. It had a plunging neckline and the shoulders hosted what appeared to be black feathers. She surveyed the crowd with narrowed eyes, her dark red lips curled in a snarl. Those nearest her scurried backward to get away from her.

Nicholas knew exactly who she was.

Malvina, the self-proclaimed Queen of Darkness and Shadow in the land to the north of Rovenheim. Her dark fortress sat atop the Grimbrande Mountains. She’d been banished long ago for using her dark magic.

“Well, well,” she said, her deep voice echoing through the now silent village. “It appears I was not invited to your little party.”

The mayor of the village stepped forward. “We want no trouble here.”

Malvina moved toward the mayor, peering down her nose at him. “Oh, but there is trouble brewing, isn’t there?”

A few of the villagers exchanged worried glances. Nicholas shifted from one foot to the other. The mayor remained silent as he peered up at the dark queen.

She lowered her voice. “Where is she?”

The mayor shook his head, extending his hands as if in surrender. “Where is who?”

A tingling sensation went through Nicholas. The dark queen took a slow stroll, looking for someone. He suspected he knew who. She paused at the first young woman she came to.

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