Chương 38: Horsy

Ugh, it's so hot. I peeled the blanket off, and yes, after all that time, I was still grimacing as the fabric clung to my sticky legs. I looked at my door expectantly. What would Cinderella be like today? Would she say,'I'm sorry if Your Highness objects to an early breakfast'? She didn't say it last time. But last time, she had read about my near-death experience in her journal and came in very worried about me. But now, there wasn't supposed to be anything to make her worry. And…

she had spent most of the last cycle alone, so she probably wrote many different things in her journal. Oh, I didn't really know which Cinderella I was going to get. I was making myself nervous all over again for some reason. The door opened slowly, and despite myself, a flash of the Mimic Many Tongues invaded my mind. Oh, no matter how Cinderella acted, as long as it was really her, I didn't care! Cinderella pushed the door open to a slit and peered cautiously through the gap. I smiled warmly at her.

She smiled back. She walked toward me, looking hesitant.

"I think… this may be very normal to you," she said slowly, "maybe even boring, as it happens so many times. Seeing me, you must be so used to it… so…"

"Not at all!" I beamed. I got up and hugged the confused Cinderella. I couldn't help myself. I had been through so much, and I missed her last cycle. I just wanted to hug her. She was stiff, and I knew the embrace was probably very weird for her, but I squeezed her anyway.

"Why, this is certainly a first for me!" she said with a surprised chuckle.

"But I truly don't mind," she added softly after a moment.

"I always wanted us... well, to be friends. Even before all this."

"I'd like that." I blubbered. For some reason, the smile just wouldn't leave my face this morning. I felt silly.

"It's just all so incredibly weird," she mused, her eyes drifting as she tried to process it all.

"I read amazing things in that journal—terrifying things, magical things too. And even though I wrote a lot, I still have many questions. I… want to talk about it. If that is okay with you? You've probably had to explain it many times already."

"I don't mind at all!" I said.

"We have all day; we can talk as much as you want."

"Thank you. I…" she hesitated suddenly.

"I think, despite it all, I still need to feed the animals…"

"Of course," I said.

"I will come and help."

"You will?" she sounded confused, then smiled again.

"Oh, how will I ever get used to this!"

"I will go fetch that wretched cat, Lucifer," I said.

"Meet you at the scullery."

"Yes… of course," she said. I walked down the hall, quietly opening the door to my mother's room. There was the fat cat, sleeping soundly on his plush, velvet-canopied pet bed.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," I whispered, so as not to wake my horrid mother.

"Come, kitty. Come on!" Lucifer yawned and stirred, only to do a half-turn and stubbornly lay his back to me again, completely ignoring my call. The audacity of the creature!

"Lucifer!" I whisper-shouted.

"Come here!" He gave me a lazy, accusatory glare, then trod slowly out to the corridor in the most sluggish way possible. I closed the door. Oh, this cat was the absolute worst! Even before you consider the fact that he was some kind of demon!

"I'm sorry if Your Highness objects to an early breakfast," I said Cinderella's usual line. I just felt like it needed saying! He followed me down to the scullery, where I found Cinderella apparently comforting our old dog, Bruno, over a bad dream he'd had. I didn't catch it all, but she was advising him to try liking cats so he wouldn't get in trouble with Lucifer. Lucifer then walked over to Bruno and deliberately dragged his tail across the dog's face, obviously taunting him.

"Liking Lucifer is easier said than done," I remarked.

"Let alone for a dog." Lucifer shot me an accusatory look.

"Don't worry, I still like you. I think," I said, giving his head a firm, vigorous rub. He hissed at me—he liked the rub. Then we walked outside and were immediately charged by an army of hungry chickens. I involuntarily took a step back, and Cinderella looked at me and started to laugh. I found myself laughing too. We grabbed handfuls of corn and tossed them out for the flock. It was fun, actually. I realized I probably hadn't fed the chickens even once since I was a little kid.

"Oh, we should get some corn for the mice, too," I remarked.

"The mice?" Cinderella asked.

"Yes," I said, remembering the time Gus told me all about it.

"If we didn't, they'd have to come outside for the corn and fight the chickens for it. And if that wasn't enough of a struggle, they'd still have to pass through the scullery with Lucifer waiting to hunt them down. Quite an ordeal!"

"Oh, I hadn't thought about it like that!" Cinderella looked genuinely shocked.

"Just take a decent amount of corn and shove it into one of the holes in the wall the mice uses," I suggested.

"That's a great idea! I will definitely do it, and write it in the journal so I won't forget!" After the chickens, we fed hay to the horse. I even fed him directly from my hand, chuckling like a child as he licked my palm. I remembered how all these things were "disgusting, dirty peasant activities" in my mind until just recently. Oh, I think I was just being silly my entire life. It really wasn't so bad! Were there more of Cinderella's chores that I could actually have fun doing? Cooking… maybe?

Cleaning, not a chance. Washing dirty dishes covered in other people's food? Ewww! That will always be disgusting! When we were done, my hair was a mess, and I had straw, corn dust, and even feathers everywhere. I simply brushed myself off with my hands; I cared not. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. When we were back at the scullery, those silly bells started ringing, accompanied by the "CINDERELLA!" wails of the madwomen upstairs.

I casually walked over to the ringing bells, yanked on them until they ripped free from the cord, and slammed them onto the table.

"It's.. about breakfast.." Cinderella murmured.

"No need to worry about silly things like mother and sister," I said, pulling Cinderella by the hand.

"We need to head out to town. I need to get my gold and pistols and... oh, but I do believe fruit tarts are in order!"

"Why, if you say so," Cinderella sounded confused, but she looked happy enough to comply. We got to the bakery and sat down to eat the fruit tarts. I liked to look at Cinderella when she tasted a fruit tart for the first time in a cycle. She wasn't always moved straight to tears, but she always looked… well, blissful. And it always made me happy to watch. She put the first spoonful in her mouth and smiled warmly at me.

"I write about the fruit tarts a lot," she said, her eyes closing in pure, unadulterated pleasure, "but still. I can never capture this exact feeling with words alone."

"In the last cycle," I said, "we will do exactly that. And then, you will have the memory forever."

"Yes," she said, "I'm looking forward to it. And the ball, and the prince—oh, I read all about it! So many wonderful things could happen. I just don't feel like, well, I truly deserve it."

"Deserve?" I looked at her funny.

"Oh, I don't know about that. You are pretty and nice, and you tend to draw princes like moths to a flame. You should use everything life gives you to your advantage. That's what I think."

"Yes, maybe," she said, "and also follow your heart."

"Oh yes, that too." When we finished eating, we went to a safe house Juliette called Christoff's house. It wasn't far from the bakery and was easy enough to find. According to the list I had memorized, it was supposed to stash enough gold and weapons.

"Wait… is it okay for us…" Cinderella hesitated at the door.

"This house…"

"It belongs to the Thomas Thomas faction," I explained, "and since I'm a member, I can use it too. We can take everything we want from here."

"Even taking things… well, if your time-looper friends purchased it, then I suppose it's perfectly acceptable for us to enter," Cinderella reasoned, justifying our intrusion.

"Yes, of course," I said. They probably just checked houses to see which ones were empty during the loop. But I wasn't going to correct her. Once inside, I surveyed the large bookcase, looking for a large red book… there! I dragged a heavy wooden chair over, stepped up onto it, and reached my arm all the way behind the dusty top shelf. Yes! A box. And inside, 100 gold Louis coins, just like there were supposed to be.

There were two more gold boxes hidden around the house, but 100 coins was enough for me, and honestly, the gold was heavy to carry as it was. Then I went to the master bedroom. Inside a small dressing closet was a large chest. I shoved it out into the room and opened it. Pistols. Lots of pistols. I took them all out and laid them in a neat, orderly row across the bedspread.

"So many sizes!" Cinderella called from behind me.

"They're shiny and pretty, like jewelry!"

"Yes," I said, picking up a large cavalry pistol and testing its balance in my hand.

"And they give us power. With a pistol and a steady hand, the strongest man in the world is absolutely no match for you."

"Why, if you are kind to those around you, you won't need any form of violence," Cinderella preached.

"What if a dear friend, or a lover, is in danger?" I asked.

"Being attacked by highwaymen and ruffians. Wouldn't violence be needed to save them?"

"Well, I believe that with kindness, all sorts of matters can be resolved peacefully," she said resolutely. I smiled. I wasn't going to argue with Cinderella about kindness.

"Pick one," I said, trying a different approach.

"It's really fun and exciting to shoot them; I'll teach you."

"If it's fun…" Cinderella looked over the collection.

"I like that one." She picked a small one, but certainly large enough to blow a sizable hole in a ruffian, and it looked well-made.

"That's a good choice," I remarked, while taking a large cavalry pistol similar to Bastian's Model IX for myself.

"Yours looks really big!" Cinderella said.

"I like them like that," I smiled, checking the piece's heavy weight and sighting down the barrel to test my aim. A massive pistol was an impractical, heavy choice for a lady. It was difficult to steady, and the recoil would be bone-jarring. Yet, I liked it. I truly did. It possessed a frightening, raw power. Even when just aiming it at someone, it struck a level of absolute terror into their hearts that a small gun couldn't match. This pistol didn't simply shoot; it completely blew things to pieces.

"I was thinking," I said, "we can find a clear spot on our way to the camp and practice our marksmanship."

"On the way to the camp?" Cinderella asked.

"What do you mean?" Oh, shoot! I was already so set in my mind on Cinderella joining me that I forgot to actually ask her in the first place.

"Listen," I said, suddenly serious, looking her in the eyes.

"It is known only to a few, but someone is trying to kill our emperor!"

"Is it the English?" asked Cinderella, not in as much shock as I had expected.

"Yes!" I said.

"But not like killing him in general. They want to assassinate him, tomorrow! When he goes to watch a navy battle on the shore!"

"But… we are in a time loop," Cinderella pointed out logically.

"What is the point of it? If he isn't a time looper, he will just come back. Wait, is he a time looper?"

"Well, no," I said, "but…" Oh, I wanted it to sound more dramatic!

"But it's a matter of national pride! Time loop or not, to have our emperor assassinated would be a stain on all of France. And my current mission in the army is to protect His Majesty and stop such an attempt!"

"Why, that sounds…" Cinderella smiled at me, "rather important."

"Yes! It is!" I insisted fervently.

"And so, I want you to come with me."

"Oh, Drizella, what can I possibly do in the army?"

"A lot of things." I said.

"You are smart and have great ideas. And there is the soldiers' morale to consider. No one can lift morale better than you, I'd wager!" And you could use your seduction techniques to neutralize any time-looper assassin.

"And I would love to have you with me," I added with a warm smile.

"Well, if that is so," she smiled to herself, "I'll be happy to join."

"Yes!" I beamed.

"You will see, it will be so much fun!"

"Fun? In the army?"

"Oh yes! The army is a lot of fun," I explained.

"There is music, and good food. We read stories by the campfire. And, well, it will be even more fun when you are around."

"Is this… really how it is?" Cinderella tilted her head.

"Definitely!" I said, all excited now.

"And we will get there riding a horsy!"

"Why, I like horses!" Cinderella smiled.

"My father used to teach me riding, though it was a long time ago…" I knew it!

"But… should I bring my journal with me?" asked Cinderella.

"Are we to return here?" That's right, Cinderella needed to write the amazing time we were going to have in her journal, or else she wouldn't know it happened. But if she took the journal and stayed in the camp until the end of the second day, the journal would just stay there. And she would start the cycle without any knowledge of the time loop altogether.

"It's better to leave the journal in your room," I said.

"It's too high of a risk to lose it. We will arrange an evening carriage to take you home tomorrow, so you can write the day's adventures in the journal."

"Yes," she nodded.

"That is probably the best option." We then headed back to the chateau. I wanted to bring all my Fifi books collection with me, and Cinderella wanted to depart from her rodent friends properly. She made sure to provide extra heaps of food for all the animals so they would be perfectly sustained for tomorrow, too. After packing, we marched down to the town's livery stable to rent ourselves a fine saddle horse.

The stableman had quite an impressive selection, and Cinderella made absolutely sure to stop at every single stall to thoroughly pet each animal.

"Oh, this one has quite taken my fancy," Cinderella giggled as a large, brown, and relatively ugly horse relentlessly licked her hand. She turned to the stable master.

"What is his name?"

"A name, miss?" he scratched his head in confusion.

"Well… it's a horse."

"We'll call him Marc-Antoine!" Cinderella decided. I sighed and turned to the stable master.

"Well, how much for… Marc-Antoine?"

"3 francs a day," he said, "but I will need a 40-franc deposit." For this ugly thing? Well, Cinderella seemed to like him. I handed him the money. The stable master nodded, swiftly unlatched the stall door, and led the large beast out by its halter, handing the leather reins over to us. Cinderella moved with grace. She caught the stirrup with her boot and hauled herself up, gripping the pommel as she swung into the saddle. She looked down at me from her high perch, her face lit with a bright smile.

I think she expected me to join her. I blinked at her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's just that... in the grand art of horsemanship," I managed, "one's expertise in the field may be… what I mean is…"

"Drizella, if you haven't ridden before, you should have just said so." She slid down from the horse, and held my hand firmly.

"Grip the pommel here," she instructed, guiding my hands.

"Now put your left foot in the stirrup and pull yourself up while I support your waist."

"Oh, that is indeed high!" I couldn't stop a terrified gasp as I clambered up.

"This horse is definitely too tall! If I happen to fall..."

"You are funny," Cinderella laughed.

"You will do just fine." Cinderella jumped onto the horse in front of me, and with a gentle tap of her heels against the beast's flanks, it started moving. But not only forward, as one might expect, but also bouncing up and down. I looked down again and shrieked. I wrapped my arms around Cinderella's waist, holding onto her as tightly as I could, clinging on for dear life. This…. This was a mistake!