The Fairytale Keeper: Avenging the Queen Read Online Free Page B

bit my tongue instead so I could watch them suffer like they’d made me suffer.
    “Gisla tried to convince her that a toe was worthless, that she’d be rich and noble and have land if she could fit into that shoe, but Ebba cried. And while Ebba’s head was in her hands, Gisla raised the knife and chopped off her toe.
    “Ebba bit into her knuckle to keep from screaming. Blood squirted straight from the end of her foot and her face went white. She fell back in a faint and Dorthe caught her. Gisla wrapped the foot while Dorthe fetched the shoe.
    “Dorthe jammed the shoe on Ebba’s foot which must have hurt terribly. She woke screaming and Dorthe put a hand over her mouth to silence her.
    “Gisla’s eyes were as wild as a madwoman’s when she saw that the shoe fit. She forced Ebba to stand and told her to walk. Ebba limped and Gisla slapped her and told her that if she couldn’t walk like a lady then she had lost a toe for nothing.
    “Ebba walked the best she could and the little man was fooled at first. But when he approached her to take back the shoe, she quickly pulled her foot away. Gisla argued that the shoe belonged to Ebba and it was hers to keep, but the half man said it would be returned to her in time.
    “He reached for the shoe again, but he wouldn’t have to remove it to discover the trickery for blood had begun to soak through the shoe. The little man pulled it from Ebba’s foot to reveal a bleeding wound where her toe should have been.
    “He was very angry, but Gisla swore it was an old wound that had reopened and so the little man said if she was truly the owner of the shoe then she would know the Count’s real name. Ebba guessed his name was Roger or Edward and the little man ordered Ebba and Gisla to be arrested.
    “Gisla, as slippery as a snake, asked the man if it wasn’t enough that Ebba had lost a toe due to her undying love for the handsome Count. He conceded and even granted Dorthe her chance to try on the shoe. Gisla took Dorthe to the back to try on the shoe, but her heel was too wide so Gisla ordered her to slice off the edges of her foot.
    “Dorthe refused, but Ebba held Dorthe down and placed a hand over her mouth to muffle the screams. Gisla grabbed the knife and shaved the skin off each side of her foot. Dorthe’s eyes widened from the shock of the pain and screamed into Ebba’s hand. Tears welled in her eyes. Blood flowed from the wounds so Gisla wrapped the injury in linen. Gisla placed the shoe on Dorthe’s foot and forced her to enter the hall.
    “The little man’s eyebrow rose suspiciously. Dorthe stood so he could not take the shoe from her foot, but he asked why her ankle was wrapped in linen. But before Gisla could reply, Dorthe fainted. The shoe fell from her foot and the wound was revealed.
    “I ran toward the shoe and grabbed it. I placed it on my foot and, though I was in rags, I could see recognition wash over the little man’s face. ‘The Count of Bitsch’s name is Ulrich and I am the maiden for whom he seeks. My father is a merchant and I his true daughter. These women make me a slave in my father’s home as he travels and have deceived you with trickery,’ I said.
    “The little man snapped his fingers and two large guards entered the house again. He ordered the arrest of all three women, and asked me to gather my belongings and join him in the carriage. I packed my gown, shoe, cloak, and jewels. This left no doubt in the little man’s mind that he had found the Ulirch’s true bride.
    “Gisla, Ebba, and Dorthe were forced to walk the entire route from Xanten to the castle at Nancy. When the Duke heard of their treachery and cruelty, he stripped them of their freedom and made them serfs at another of his castles. He also ordered that Gisla be stripped of a toe and the skin of her heel.
    “Ulrich and I were officially betrothed and the little man, whose name was Derk, was sent on one last mission: to find my father. Derk was successful and happy to be