Free A Grimm Curse: A Grimm Tales Novella (Volume 3) by Janna Jennings, Erica Crouch Page A

had never fit in well with the distant queen and her son.
    “Good people of Elorium!” the king began. “Rejoice with me! Crown Prince Wilhelm will soon be of age!” The king’s mood was infectious. The crowd let out a roar of approval.
    Cynthia swung her gaze to the prince who had an easy smile on his lips in the wake of the echoes of the crowd. He’d been only nine the last time she’d seen him. She had a vague memory of a dark-haired boy that seemed too long for his limbs.  He’d certainly outgrown that. The lanky arms and legs now had muscles that the expensive tux couldn’t hide and were perfectly proportioned with the rest of his tall frame. He held himself with an easy confidence that only made his dark eyes more attractive.
    “Now
,
I know you’re not here for the food,” the king continued. A ripple of laughter made its way through the crowd. “Or because this handsome lad is going to choose a bride in three days time.” King Ferdinand clapped Wilhelm on the arm and the woman in the mob tittered excitedly. “You must be here for the music, and later, the dancing!”
    The crowd cheered again, and a few eyes drifted to where Cynthia still sat, glued to her bench. Most of the audience kept their full attention on the royal family though, the young women on Wilhelm.
    Attendants escorted the royal family to small thrones that had been set up on the side of the ballroom. The people quieted in anticipation. Lady Wellington
stared
daggers into Cynthia’s skull. With just her eyes, she clearly communicated her vast displeasure at Cynthia and the fact that not even a perfect performance would tame her full wrath. Lord Smithson nodded at Cynthia.
    She turned to the ivory keys, clos
ed
her eyes and imag
ined
herself back at her own piano, her mother sitting on the sofa across the room. There might not be anything she could do about being stuck to the piano bench at the moment, but she wasn’t about to play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star .
    Cynthia poised herself over the massive grand piano, checked to make sure Portia was ready, and began to play.

 
     
    Chapter 9
     
    “
You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”
     
    CYNTHIA’S FINGERS FLEW OVER THE keys. The eyes of so many people on her felt like a physical weight, but she kept her focus on the music. She had to if she were to succeed.
    Music had always fit Cynthia like a second skin. She’d memorized Fantasie years ago. There were gaps in her memory of course, but they had filled in the first day of rehearsal after Lady Wellington had made her play the quarter hour piece for the twelfth or thirteenth time that day. She’d have much rather preformed with her sheet music in front of her—but she didn’t really need it.
    Cynthia lost herself in the music. The strings of Portia’s violin sang along with the notes echoing out of the piano. But Cynthia forgot about the audience, her furious stepmother, the royal family watching, and even being stuck to the bench. Remi remained in a corner of her mind. He was still as a rock on the bench with her, knowing something had gone wrong, but not sure what.
    She was beginning to recognize what it meant to have a friend. Rapunzel was so far away and had been for a long time. But that’s exactly what Remi had become. Someone she could talk to, ask for advice, someone who made her miserable days more endurable with just his company. She hadn’t realized the lengths she would go to for anyone else, but here she was—stuck in her own personal nightmare for him.
    The melancholy melody from the beginning of the piece repeated. Cynthia played the last few cords, the music ending with a quiet, unexpected resolution. She glanced at Portia, triumphant and apprehensive on the stage beside the piano. Cynthia looked out into the audience. Stunned was the collective reaction. A single person began to clap. It was the king, beaming at them from his throne.
    The audience joined in. Thunderous applause rolled over them.