A Grimm Legacy (Grimm Tales) (16 page)

Andi glanced toward the staircase the sisters disappeared up and their mother gave a delicate little laugh. Putting her arm around Andi’s shoulders, she steered her away from the stairs.

"No dear, you’ve always had your own special place in this house. Don't you remember?"

Opening a door Andi hadn't noticed before, she spotted damp stone steps leading down into the dark before being shoved from behind.

Shooting out a hand and scraping a knuckle on the stone wall, Andi barely avoided breaking her neck on the stairs. She stumbled and the woman reached out, snatching her bag from off her shoulder before slamming and locking the door. By the time Andi caught her balance, she was alone in the dark.

The woman’s voice, now back to its original nasty tone, was muffled behind the thick door. "You always did think too much of yourself, Cynthia. Oh, and I don't think anyone's been down there since you've been gone, so you might need to... tidy up a bit. But I'm sure you'll put it to rights soon enough."

Andi assumed that was the end of their conversation as her jailer’s heels click, click, clicked away from the door.

Venting her feelings with a word her mother would have grounded her for, Andi berated herself. How could she be so completely stupid! Even though she didn’t really buy into the nice act, it still caught her off guard. At least that’s what she told herself. She said a prayer the others were outside, ready to bail her out if she needed it.

With one hand on the wall she felt her way down the stairs. The stones under her feet were slimy with moss, or maybe mold, growing on them. As she wound deeper under the house, goosebumps raised on her arms and an involuntary shiver ran the length of her body. She bumped into something wooden. Patting the obstacle in front of her, she located a handle and gave it a turn.

A tiny rectangle of grimy light filtered into the small circular room. The floor was the same clammy stone of the stairs, and it looked like someone stored their collection of old junk down here. An abused table with a missing leg teetered against one wall while a hurricane lamp with a broken chimney served as a balance on a far corner. A neat pallet lay beside a cold fireplace, but when Andi inspected it closer, she saw the blankets had molded in the damp and disintegrated when she touched them. An empty coat rack missing two of its arms stood just inside the door. Everything was coated with decades of dust.

The only other things in the room were lined up along the mantle of the fireplace. Stepping closer to investigate, Andi found bits of ribbon, colorful bottle tops, feathers, broken jewelry, and photographs ripped from magazines. Each one contained a happy family: mom, dad, and one or two kids.

Running her fingers lightly over the dusty objects, Andi felt like she peeked into a secret part of her grandmother's soul, rotting here in a tiny corner of this world. Andi imagined her dreaming of a different life in this room that seemed to leach warmth from the air, but powerless to change the track her life was on. She turned in a slow circle, taking in the entire room and wondering how she had finally escaped.

A faint tap on the tiny window made her jump. A watery face peered at her through the dirt. Stretching to her full height, she quickly unhooked the latch and stepped back. The window squealed open with neglect and Andi saw Quinn's relieved face staring back at her, her cheek pressed to the ground outside.

"Quinn!” Andi said, desperately glad to know they hadn’t abandoned her after all.

"You didn't think we’d leave, did you?” Quinn shook her head in mock disappointment. “We’ve been peering into every window and doorway trying to find you. Stay put. I have to tell the boys.”

"Wait!" Andi called, but Quinn was already gone. She rubbed her arms, trying to get warm; it was at least ten degrees colder down here, the bite of fall all too noticeable.
Footsteps rapidly approached her window. Dylan, Fredrick, and Quinn all squeezed their faces in the tiny opening.

"Hang in there, we're working on getting you out," Fredrick said.

"I don’t want to get out." They looked at her, puzzled. "I mean," Andi wrinkled her nose at them, “I’m really glad to see you.”

"We wouldn’t leave you,” Dylan said, his voice sincere. Her stomach did a small flip. “You're our ticket home," he finished with one of his lazy grins.

“Yeah, there’s that,” Andi said, giving him an annoyed look. “But I want to stay here, search for some answers. I think I know what story I'm in.”

"Cinderella," Quinn said.

Andi gave her a perplexed look. "How did you..."

"Please, they kept calling you Cynthia, and if that wasn't an ugly stepsister answering the door, I don't know what is." Quinn shifted around, trying to find a more comfortable position flat on her stomach.

Dylan sniggered, amused. “That’s true.”

“I met the other sister and the evil stepmother to boot," Andi said. "Mr. Jackson sent us here for a reason… They’re far from cooperative, but they knew Cynthia. Someone here might know how she disappeared.”

“What are you saying?” Quinn asked.

She pushed her curls out of her face and glanced around the room. "I think I might ride it out in here for awhile.” Andi raised an eyebrow at them. “As long as you promise to pull me out at the first sign of cleaning and scrubbing.”

"Okay," Fredrick said in his slow drawl. "We know the basic story of Cinderella, but we'll need details. What does the book say, Andi?"

"They took it." She scowled, unable to properly vent her anger at the people responsible. "They took the book, the cloak, and her shoes. We have to get them back."

Fredrick nodded. "We’ll get on that.”

"We can't leave her in here for long,” Quinn pointed out. "Look at this place."

"It's not exactly the Hilton,” Dylan agreed.

"You know, I bet we can make it livable." Quinn shoved Dylan over to get a better look at the room.

"We can?" He looked doubtful.

"Yeah." Quinn measured the window with her hands. "We've got 12 inches to work with. Let's see what we can find."

"Find?" Andi looked around the tiny room. "Where?"

"There are a few shops in town, and you know how much money Mr. Jackson gave us. Besides, I'm pretty sure Fredrick is dying to go shopping." Quinn and Andi exchanged a grin. Andi saw Fredrick roll his eyes, which was so uncharacteristic it made her laugh.

"Okay, but you better bring some firewood back. It’s already freezing in here,” Andi told them.

Dylan rolled away from the window and stared up at the sky. "There's not much daylight left. We'll be back in an hour."

Andi leaned against the wall to wait, which only made her cold. She tried sitting on the floor, which also made her cold. She considered the moldy, crumbling blankets, wondering if she was that desperate, when someone knocked on the door.

Wedging it open a crack, Andi peered past the door at an unfamiliar older woman on the other side. She possessed a substantial build and white hair that strayed from under a mobcap, which seemed to indicate staff in this world. She held a tray in her hands and carried a coarse gray dress over her arm.

"Yes?" Andi asked, confused.

"Well if you don't let me in soon, I'm liable to take your supper back up those infernal stairs,” the woman said with a sniff.

"Oh, sorry," was all Andi could think to say in response before obediently opening the door.

The woman strode in with an air of someone who knew what she was about, set the tray on the three-legged table with a practiced hand, turned to Andi and said, "You sure set Lady Wellington in a foul mood. You’re Andi, right?”

"How do you know who I am?" Andi asked, irritated that, for the second time in three days, a complete stranger knew her name.

She pushed her mobcap farther up her brow. “I’m Ann. I ran into Fredrick again when he was poking around looking for you. Told him I’d help you how I could and keep an eye on you.”

“You know Fredrick?”

Shifting her substantial bulk, a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Ann’s mouth. “I know him. He didn’t have a clue who I was until I reminded him where we met.”

“Which was?” Andi asked, still at a loss.

“That hag’s castle. I sat around eating seeds and listening to those other woman peep at each other for a year before that boy showed up and disenchanted me.” Ann frowned at the memory. “Do you know how filling seeds are?”

Andi shook her head silently, wondering what kind of bird she had been.

Ann gave another snort. “Not very. I don’t blame him for not remembering me—there must have been almost a thousand of us milling around—but he was sure polite just now. Real quiet, but polite.”

There was that odd little half smile again. It looked like Fredrick had an admirer.

“So what’re you doing here?"

“Cynthia was my grandmother,” Andi explained.

"Humph. Thought so.”

“Lady Wellington and her daughters seemed to think I was Cynthia,” Andi pointed out.

"You look a lot like her, I’ll admit, but only a fool wouldn't know the difference," she said, with a pointed look at the ceiling. “Where’s Cindy?”

"She died, years ago. I actually don't remember her,” Andi said, feeling she ought to apologize.

Ann cast around for a place to sit. Finding none, she sighed and faced Andi. "Well, I can't say I'm glad, but I can't really say I'm sad either. I envy her a bit. There's something wrong about living and living with no end in sight."

"How old are you?" Andi asked.

"Aren't you an impertinent one? To tell you the truth, I don't have an accurate count. 'Bout two hundred, I imagine.”

"Two hundred," Andi said. Noticing her mouth slightly gaping, she closed it with a snap. "You can't be."

"I have never seen the likes of you. Do you insult everyone you come across?” she asked with a dissatisfied sniff. “Cindy was never happy here. I’m glad she escaped.”

"Escaped how? Where?" Andi pressed, anxious for answers.

"Don't know how. As to where, all I can give you is a guess. But my guesses are usually right. Know what I mean, girl?" Ann tapped the side her nose with a smile. "She came back from that feast, all excited, saying she found something. A way out, she called it." The old cook shuffled her feet. "Next evening was the second night of the feast. She flew out of here like she had wings on her feet, and I haven't seen her since. Last place she was seen was the castle. If you’re looking for how she disappeared…"

Letting the implication hang in the air, Ann waited for some kind of reaction, but Andi barely noticed; she was deep in thought.

Ann gave a shrug and held out the dress hanging over her arm. "I dug this out of storage. Figure you'll be needing it tomorrow. It was Cindy’s, so I 'spect it'll fit you."

Andi took the worn dress and rubbed the cheap fabric between her fingers. It had taken on a softness from hundreds of washings and wearings. "Thank you. For the food, too. After the reception I got, I didn't think they were going to feed me at all,” she admitted.

Ann opened the door and paused at the stairs. "They weren't, but I never could stand someone going hungry. You tell Fredrick not to be a stranger now.” She shut the door and Andi could hear her heaving herself back up the stairs.

Uncovering the tray on her rickety table, she found a thick slice of roast beef, roasted potatoes, carrots, and a slice of bread, still warm from the oven. As the aromas drifted off the tray and hit Andi, her stomach gurgled audibly. The lunch they’d eaten on the train seemed days ago instead of hours.

It was awkward eating, standing next to a table threatening to spill any moment, but Andi was never one to mess around with her food. She was just chewing the last of her bread when she heard another tap on the window.

Dylan, Fredrick, and Quinn had to lie on their bellies for Andi to see anything but their shins, but they were surrounded by bags and boxes.

"We come bearing gifts!" Dylan said. “Fire first.”

They passed her firewood, one piece at a time, but pretty soon she had a good stack in the fireplace. Fredrick handed her a book of matches.

"You’ll be able to light it?" Fredrick asked.

She shook her head in mock offense at the three of them. "Please, I might not be the tree climbing superwoman Quinn is, but I was a girl scout, once upon a time."

A few minutes of work produced a small flame Andi was confident wouldn't wane and die on her. She turned back to the window to find the others tossing bund
les in a heap under her window.

“What did you get?” Andi asked, digging through the packages.

“Just what you need,” Quinn said, glancing over her shoulder at the muffled voices coming closer. "We've gotta go. Some of the servants are prowling around, but we'll be in the barn if you need us. See you in the morning."

Andi stared at the empty window for a minute, then closed and latched it. The fire burned well and she began making herself at home by burning every single item in the room, save for her grandmother's keepsakes on the mantle.

“Shaving them bald in the middle of the night will take the wind out of their sails.”