Roses and Black Glass: a dark Cinderella tale Read Online Free

beautiful, despite what he might have thought about their other traits. 
Instead, Cindy glared at him angrily and shook her head, as if she could not
believe he had dared.
    “Get out of
here,” she said lowly, and it was as harsh as anything she had said to him thus
far.  She turned away.  He had lost her.
    “Oh come on! 
What did I say?”
    “You are very egotistical, aren’t you?” she asked, whirling and crossing her arms,
despite the blood.  
    She was angry
now.  He would try to put out that fire.
    “Yes,
Cinderella,” he teased. “I am what you say, and I have every right to be.  I
mean, look at me.  But that aside, it seems you have a bit of an ego yourself. 
There's a bit of pride in you.”  He paused for a moment and smiled. “I do like
that.”
    She looked
back at him with glaring eyes.
    “And you make
me a nickname?  You act like you’ve known me forever, teasing me like this!”         
    “We can
pretend, can't we?”
    Christian was
curious to know what she might have said, but he didn't get the opportunity to
hear it.  Both of them paused as a voice was heard from the hallway above.  They
snapped to attention, though not removing their eyes from one another.  The
words were blank in their ears, but soon the doorway was opened and Cindy's
father leaned his head inside.  
    He looked on
at the two of them standing at the bottom of the stairs a moment before
venturing to speak.
    “Ah, there you
are.  Your carriage is ready to depart, young Mr. Charming,” he said.
    Christian
nodded.  “Thank you, sir,” he said cordially.
    Turning back
to the girl he’d just met, he opened his mouth to speak - but he heard the sound
of a closing door and found himself peering down the empty hallway.  She had
withdrawn herself deeper into the mortuary to escape him. 
    He smiled to
himself.  It was clever on her part.  What better way to show she had no
interest in him than to not even allow a closing to the meeting?  He nodded
knowingly.  It was a shame he couldn’t say goodbye to her personally though. 
Then again, perhaps it didn’t matter.  Perhaps he was destined to never see her
again.  There were other queens in his deck to choose from.
    Content with
what he’d seen here, Christian made his way up the stairs and exited toward the
parlor where his father was stepping out the door.  He made the motion to
follow, but was stopped abruptly by the two bothersome Van Burren maidens. 
Could they not give him a single moment’s peace?
    “Christian! 
Where did you go?” asked Charlotte. “We were looking all over for you!”
    The girl jumped
at a sharp pinch from Isabella.
    “Sorry you
couldn’t stay longer, Christian,” Isabella corrected. “Or perhaps, we are sorry
we missed you.”
    “Not to
worry,” he assured them. “I’m sure I’ll see you soon.  You’ll be at the church
tomorrow, won’t you?”
    “Of course,”
Isabella said.
    “Then I’ll see
you at the funeral,” Christian said, desperately trying to make his way to the
door.
    “Good day,
Christian,” said Charlotte with a curtsey and withdrew herself into the
parlor.  Isabella was not so ready to give up.  Christian was drawn back by a
rough grip on his arm.
    “Why must you
do this to me?” she demanded.
    “What are you
talking about?” he asked, blowing her off as he tried to leave again.
    “You know
exactly what I mean!” she insisted, cornering him. “I am one hundred times
more desirable than that pig!”
    Isabella
pointed after her sister.  Christian smiled.
    “Why do you
call her pig ?  I never thought she was fat,” he said dumbly.
    "She's a
rude mess,” Isabella said.  "But it doesn't matter.  Stop trying to
dodge!"
    “Isabella,
darling, relax,” he urged, putting his hands on her soft shoulders. “We both
know the truth.  You and I know that we’re the same.  Since you know that we’ll
probably wind up getting married anyway, will you let me leave now?”
    “You