Ashes and Roses, by Carma Lynn Park, 5/5
Most of us are living very happily.
Since the prince was The Prince, we had a gala wedding. Stepmother thought I should wear a wedding dress of gold tissue covered with jewels. But the queen kissed me and called me daughter and gave me the dress she had been married in. It rustled with heavy white silk, and the only ornament was the row of pearls that held the veil. The palace was packed with guests for days, and they kept arriving and bringing gifts that had to be displayed. The palace was decorated with every type of flower that would bloom; not one more stem could possibly have been squeezed in. The air was so perfumed I couldn’t draw a deep breath. At last I walked down the aisle, with trumpets sounding. The bouquet of white roses in my hands gradually stopped trembling. After the ceremony, doves were released with a clapping of wings to flutter into the heavens, and I tossed the bouquet to Lavvy, who smiled and blushed.
Lavvy and Jack had a simple ceremony in the church, but their joy was so great their faces outshone the candles. She comes to visit quite often, bringing her little boy.
Priscilla married her duke, who turned out to be the man in red and gold, and his crossness doesn’t bother her at all. Servants dress and undress her and bring her anything she has a fancy for. She’s getting a bit plump.
Stepmother stayed in the old house because none of her sons-in-law would have her live with them. Her friends are beginning to tire of hearing about her daughter-the-princess and her daughter-the-duchess, and they make excuses to leave when she greets them at market.
I brought the rose bush to the castle garden myself, not trusting it to the gardeners. Often I sit by it sewing and tell it my dreams for the baby. Somehow I’m sure she will be a girl. And the prince agrees we will call her Gabriella.
Carma Lynn Park has been reading and writing science fiction and fantasy for (mumble, mumble) years. Much of her time is spent hunched over a computer keyboard for the inevitable day job as well as for creative work, with breaks for ballet class. She wants to thank her writing group for their advice and support. You can visit their website at breakthruwriting.com.
On Ashes and Roses: "Cinderella" is one of my favorite fairy tales. One day I was wondering why Cinderella didn't leave the stepmother and stepsisters to seek work elsewhere, and it occurred to me that she was shy. From there on, my writing of the story unfolded easily.