Ella Tremaine's Arc

Chapter 6 of 9

Ella climbed the road of thorns and pearls until it flattened before her. The path ended at a low garden wall. She stopped, breathing hard, and looked out. The palace stood far off, its windows bright. Between her and those windows lay a long stretch of dark. The glowing road had brought her this far. It would carry her no farther on foot. "You will not walk it," a voice said behind her. Agathe stood among the hedges of the garden. She held her wand loose at her side. "The distance is too great. Midnight comes fast." Ella turned. "Then how do I reach the doors?" Agathe walked past her to a flower bed. A pumpkin sat there, rotting in the dirt. Its skin had softened and split. Green mold crept along the cracks. Agathe looked at it the way she looked at everything, without warmth. "That," Ella said. "It is ruined." "It will do." Agathe raised the wand. The star at its tip flared white. She swept it once toward the pumpkin. The rot fell away. The skin firmed and swelled and rose off the ground. Gold trim curled along its ribs. Windows opened in its sides, hung with soft curtains. Four wheels spun into shape beneath it. A tiny crown formed at its peak. The thing stood taller than Ella, a carriage grown from a dying gourd. Ella pressed a hand to her mouth. "That was a pumpkin." "It was." Agathe lowered the wand. "Now it carries you. Get in." Ella stepped toward the carriage. The glass slippers clicked on the stone. She reached for the small gold handle and pulled the door open. Inside, the seat was pale and soft. She gathered her wide blue skirt in both arms and climbed up. The layers of the gown spread across the seat and filled the space. She leaned out the open window. "You are not coming." "No." Agathe stepped back from the wheels. "This is your night, not mine." "Say it back to me," Ella said. "So I do not forget." Something moved in Agathe's face. Not quite a smile. "At midnight the gown is rags. The carriage is a pumpkin again. You will be as you were." "I know." Ella sat back against the cushion. "I will not stay past the hour." Agathe touched the wand to the front of the carriage. The wheels turned on their own. The whole thing lurched forward and rolled toward the palace, smooth and silent. Ella gripped the window frame and watched the garden shrink behind her. Agathe did not wave. She stood still and watched until the hedges hid her. The carriage carried Ella across the dark. Ahead, the palace grew larger. Light spilled from every window. She could see figures moving inside, a whole crowd of them. Music reached her faintly. The wheels slowed. The doors stood open, and no one had told her to leave.