The Real Cinderella by S. G. Ricketts (good short books txt) 📖

bids? C’mon, folks, the wee lass is worth at least another draka.” The man stepped closer and licked his lips. I tried to pull away from his gaze, but he held me. I couldn’t get away from him. My skin crawled.

“Five gold royes!” The crowd gasped and even the auctioneer was too stunned to keep me in my upright position. I stumbled from sheer relief at the shock that crossed my hunter’s face. I followed his look and saw a young man pushing through the crowd. In the darkness all I could see was his dark hair.

“Sold! Sold for five gold royes!” The auctioneer almost choked on his own words.
Stunned, I allowed myself to be led down the stairs to meet my new master. The hunter’s eyes bore into me, following me as I stopped at the young man’s side. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself and stayed still as my chains were undone. Money was exchanged for papers, and then he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the shadows of Cardeas.
Chapter 3

We’d gone only a block when he pulled me into a doorway, my back pressed painfully against the door. His hand muffled my shout and his beard brushed my ear. “Be quiet.”
Angrily, I pushed at his hand. Quiet? With you shoving splinters into my spine?

His hand was like steel though, crushing against my mouth. I couldn’t move it.
“Search the streets for them.” I froze. That voice matched his face, smooth and deadly. I could see it in my mind, watching me as I stood on the auction block. I pressed farther into the door, feeling the panic rising. My new master shifted, hiding me completely behind his huge frame. “Liam won’t fight you,” the man said, voice dripping with contempt. “Take the girl and bring her to me.”
Footsteps passed us and my master tensed, pressing closer. I bit hard into my lip, trying to keep my pain silent. His shirt scratched my nose and his belt dug into my hips. I bit back a gasp of pain as it hit my branding. The minutes crawled by. I could hear the other man’s boots clicking on the paving stones, pacing back and forth. Liam shifted the hand braced by my head slightly, his cloak slipping and brushing my cheek. I caught a whiff of pine and soap and faint sweat. The footsteps continued pacing, waiting. Part of me was surprised he couldn’t smell me, for all I reeked. I felt a moment of pity for my master, then dismissed it. He’d bought me, so he must have expected it. The thought sent tingles down my spine. Bought. I was bought. The thought vanished as Liam flinched, rapidly approaching footsteps echoing down the street.
“They’re nowhere, m’lord.” Behind Liam’s gloved hand, I blinked. M’lord? Was that monster a Royal?

“We searched all the way up to the gates with no sign of them.” The man cursed loudly, then muttered something to the pair. “Yes Lord Aaron.” The guards left and, after another moment of subdued curses, the mysterious Lord Aaron left as well.
Liam waited a few more moments before pulling away from me. He stepped back into the street, looking up and down. Dark as it was, I could just make out his profile. He had a high forehead and a long, almost straight nose. Near the middle was a bump, like it had once been broken. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. His fingers tightened momentarily on the sides of the doorway. Then, he stepped completely into the street, hands on hips as he slowly turned. The sudden lack of warmth startled me and I shivered. “We need to go now.”
I nodded, unable to stop shaking now that it had started. He motioned for me to join him and I tried. The wind blew through my tattered shift, needles against my skin. Again, I tried to step forward but my body refused to move. All the energy was drained from my limbs. The fear and the pain had left me pathetically weak. He stepped back into the shadow of the doorway, frowning down at me. “I c-can’t m-m-move.” My teeth chattered loudly in my skull and I snapped my mouth shut. The noise was deafening. Still frowning, he swept the cloak off his back and around my shoulders. I gasped as the heavy wool settled on my wounds, but the warmth was so much better.
Gently he toughed my forehead and I flinched back, bumping my head into the door. “You’re burning up.”
“I’m freezing,” I said dumbly. I pulled the cloak tighter, wincing at the pain. How could I be burning if I felt so cold? It’s a fever, little Kat. You know that.

I nodded dumbly, not at all surprised to hear Liza’s quiet words. My body felt like jelly and my head was beginning to swim. A fever. That would explain it.

Liam wrapped the cloak around me tighter, bending to look into my eyes. “I need you to walk for me. It’s not far. Do you think you can do that for me?” His hands burned through the cloak. I nodded, not at all sure if I could. He stepped into the street and I followed him, a wool-swaddled ghost. The fabric brushed my ankles and I absently thought about how tall my new owner was. Bare feet stumbled across rough paving stones, stubbing toes and slashing through freezing water. The street was quieter and I realized it was more of an alley. Compared to Builder’s Brooke this was a highway, but Cardeas was much more refined. Refined? It has murderers as lords.

I shivered within my coccoon. I stumbled again, feeling like I was walking on sleeping legs. His hand steadied me, guiding me somewhere. The exhaustion of the day hung on me. Visions of the slave pens and the auction block floated through my mind. Had I always walked like I was wading through mud? I stared at the pale flashes near the ground, enthralled. Were those my feet? They didn’t look muddy. Brown, yes, but not muddy...
I stumbled again, wrenching out of his grip and collapsing on the ground. The stones were cool against my cheek and I could feel his cloak soaking through near my hand. Suddenly I was off the ground and held tight in his arms. My knees and palms stung from where I’d fallen, but I no longer had to move. Exhausted, I rested my head against his chest. A button pressed against my ear and I could hear something beating against it. His heart.

I burrowed my face into his chest, trying to get away from the wind. Liam tucked the cloak around me, his voice rumbling against my forehead. “You need to stay warm. You’re going into shock.” His strides lengthened. “Try to keep it around you as much as you can. We’re almost there.” Obediently, I pulled it tighter around my chest. The smells were nice, and there was even a little citrus to it. I breathed it in deeply. So much better a smell than my own stink.
The world spun around me. Even in his arms, I felt like I was on the verge of falling. Was there an edge of the world, or was that in my mind? I didn’t remember Cardeas moving so quickly. The pain was gone and only my shaking remained. Even with his arms squeezing my back, I didn’t feel anything. I clenched my hands, trying to stop the shaking. His heart hammered against my head. Lord Aaron’s eyes burned into my mind, and then I heard that beautiful bid. But why? Why would he have bought me for so much? I closed my eyes and tried to breathe. It seemed like an incredibly important question. Did he realize I was damaged? I sighed, unable to focus my jumbled thoughts. At least I’d be dead soon. I felt slightly upset that I’d never know the answer to my questions, but death would be blissfully dark and warm and still. My jaw hurt from shivering. This was a much more pleasant way to die, spinning on a cloud. Poor Patty... He should have let the overseers whip him, too. Maybe they still would, and he could float on a cloud to die.
“Martha.” My body jolted as Liam kicked something. It sounded wooden. “Martha, open up. I know you’re home.”
I breathed deeply of the cloak, lost in my thoughts. Poor Patty... It was probably best, really, that he wasn’t whipped. A nice, quick death would be much more noble for him. He’d die facing his death. And the pain would go away when he died. Quick and easy. No need to heal. My head lolled against his arm too heavy for my neck. Whipping was definitely a criminal’s death, painful and festering, with a coward’s way out. Face death without pain. I grinned stupidly. Coward. Definitely a coward.

“Oy, man, wot ye brought in me house now?”
I giggled at the rasping voice. Kathryn, that is not polite.

I grinned wider, knowing Liza was right. But still. “Sounds like a witch, Liza,” I mumbled, giggling to myself. My mouth felt full of cotton.
Candlelight hit my eyes and I groaned, rolling away from it. Liam set me on something that felt like a bed, but the straw had turned to feathers. “Tha’s nice...” My voice was slurred and my tongue wouldn’t obey me.
“Shh, woman.” The witch leaned over me and I stared up at her. Did all witches have green eyes? Maybe that was why I was more cursed than Liza, my green eyes. They’re more blue than green, Kat. Stop hoping for a curse.

I ignored Liza.
Gentle hands poked my face, felt my forehead, and drifted down my body. She cleared her throat and I tried to focus on her. She cleared her throat again and propped fuzzy arms on her hips. “Well then.” She didn’t sound so witchy now. Could she change her voice? “Out.” She flapped at my master. “Or, at least go sit by the fire, will ye?”
I wouldn’t pass ye up, by the King’s balls if’n I cud look et ye.

I groaned and rolled my head. Patty and

Liza? They both needed to leave me alone. And Liam needed to stay by the fire. I wasn't so far gone that I wanted him looking at me.
Strong arms propped me up, pulling the cloak from under me. The air was cool against my damp back. “For the love of the Queen.” She swore under her breath and pulled me up more. My head flopped on my chest. “Ye’re a fool, m’lord. If she lives through th’ night, ye’ll be lucky. Waste of money, she is.” My shift tugged at something and I frowned. It was gentle enough, but those weren’t supposed to be-- Something popped.
I screamed. A cloth was shoved in my mouth but I screamed through it. Liam stared at me, wide-eyed, from the fire. The witch swore loudly. “Stop lookin’ like a fish and hold