Two towers over, and ten floors up, Cinders was in a considerably less chipper mood than the prince. They had arrived at the palace very, very late the night before and the king had sent everyone straight to bed. Even since she’d woken, she’d had a very funny feeling in the pit of her stomach – a feeling that, for the first time, wasn’t just a craving for pancakes.

Cinders was homesick.

Somehow, all her old clothes had got lost on their way from the carriage to her new chambers, and yet her closets were full to overflowing. Her new wardrobe was bigger than her old bedroom and her new bedroom was bigger than her entire house and, when she opened up the heavy oak doors, she saw a rainbow of gorgeous gowns and silky skirts, billowing blouses and frock upon frock upon frock upon frock. It was Elly and Aggy’s dream wardrobe, and Cinders’s worst nightmare. Even though everything was beautiful, she couldn’t see anything she would have chosen for herself; it was all big skirts and tiny corsets, clothes made for sitting and standing rather than running and playing.

And it wasn’t just her clothes. Nothing Cinders had brought from the little pink cottage had found its way into her new room. None of her books, none of her trinkets, not even her one-of-a-kind, home-made hula hoop. Everything in her room was shiny and new. Lovely, in a way, but it just didn’t feel like home.

The other strange thing was how quiet it was at the palace. There were literally hundreds of servants in the castle, but not a single one made a single sound. Even when Cinders was alone in the night, lying in her huge four-poster bed, she was afraid to make so much as a squeak. The only sound she heard all night was the gruffle and growl of Sparks’s sleepy snores.

‘Anyone would think you’d be more grateful after I rescued you from the kennels,’ she muttered, shaking her head at Sparks, still fast asleep. It turned out the king was allergic to dogs and had insisted Sparks live outside with the other royal hounds, but one quick mission under the cover of darkness later and he was safely sleeping under Cinders’s bed. Mouse the horse was in the stables because, even though her rooms were pretty huge, even Cinders couldn’t hide a fully grown horse behind the settee.

The royal grooms had looked pretty surprised when Cinders said he only ate cheese, though.

‘Something tells me I shouldn’t be making many wishes while I’m in the palace,’ she said to herself, walking across the room and counting her extra-long steps. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Ten steps from the bed to the window. ‘I do hope Brian will be able to find me here.’

‘I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,’ Sparks said, yawning as he clambered out from underneath the bed. ‘They don’t like dogs, they don’t like hula hoops – I really don’t think they’re going to be that keen on fairy godmothers.’

‘Maybe you’re right,’ Cinders replied, staring out of the window. ‘Sparks, do you think we’ve made a terrible mistake?’

‘I think you should call down to the kitchen for breakfast,’ he said. ‘I’ll let you know after I’ve eaten.’

The view from the palace really was glorious. Cinders had never been up so high and, from her room, she could see all the way from the ocean in the east to the mountains in the west. The sea was magical – a sweeping, sparkling stretch of blue that went on as far as the eye could see – but the mountains were another story altogether. Three tall peaks reaching so high into the sky that they could almost have blocked out the sun. Cinders had seen other mountains in her storybooks at home, magnificent mountains with beautiful snowy peaks, but these were as black as night from top to bottom. Cinders thought they looked like teeth, biting into the kingdom.

And yet … there was something about them that almost seemed to … draw her to them. A part of her that wanted to head up into those heights, through the snow … explore the valleys and peaks and what lay on the other side.

But she hated hiking. It was a good way to ruin being outside, as far as she was concerned.

‘Sparks?’

‘Cinders?’

‘Do you know what’s beyond the mountains?’ she asked her furry friend. She simply couldn’t stop staring at them.

‘Nothing you need worry about.’ Sparks stretched out his long front legs. ‘Now how are you getting on with that breakfast?’

Before she could answer, there was a loud knock on her bedroom door.

‘Just a second!’ Cinders yelped, pushing Sparks back beneath the bed. ‘I’m coming!’

She opened the door to see five young women in what she recognised as servants’ uniforms, waiting patiently.

‘Good morning, miss,’ said the first with a low curtsey.

‘Good morning,’ Cinders said, awkwardly curtseying back.

‘Good morning,’ said the second with a low curtsey.

‘Good morning,’ Cinders said, wobbling down again.

‘Good morning,’ said the third with a low curtsey.

‘Good morn— Oh, no!’ Cinders yelped as she fell face first on to the floor. She looked up to see all five women looking down at her.

‘Good morning, miss,’ said the fourth with a low curtsey.

‘Okay, enough of that,’ Cinders replied, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. ‘How can I help you?’

The five women looked confused.

‘We’re here to help you,’ the first said. ‘We’re your ladies-in-waiting. We’re here to tend to your every need. Is there anything we can get you right now?’

‘Breakfast,’ Sparks coughed from underneath the bed.

‘Breakfast,’ Cinders repeated quickly. ‘I’d love some breakfast. Sausages preferably.’

‘Oh.’ The first girl looked at the second. ‘Princesses don’t usually eat sausages for breakfast.’

‘This one does,’ Cinders replied. ‘More importantly, you haven’t told me your names. What should I call you?’

The second girl looked at the third, the fourth girl looked to the fifth and the first looked straight back at Cinders.

‘None of the royal family have ever asked our names before,’ she whispered. ‘They just ring a bell when they need us.’

‘Well, that’s very rude,’ Cinders said, surprised. She had assumed everyone in the royal family had impeccable manners. ‘I’d really rather know your names if we’re going to be friends.’

‘I’m Andy,’ said the first girl with a smile. ‘And these are my sisters, Candy, Sandy, Mandy and Tandy.’

‘Oh,’ said Cinders. ‘Yeah, I’ll admit that might take me a while. Still, it’s very nice to meet you all.’

‘And it’s very nice to meet you,’ Andy replied. Or possibly Tandy. ‘The king asked his butler to tell a page to tell the housekeeper to tell us that he and Prince Joderick will be in diplomatic negotiations all day long so you are to amuse yourself until dinnertime.’

‘Oh.’ Cinders felt the smile fall from her face. ‘Doesn’t matter, I suppose. I’m good at taking care of myself.’

‘Let’s get your day started,’ the servant girl said. ‘Candy will get your breakfast, Sandy will draw your bath, Mandy will prepare your outfit, Tandy will make your bed and I will let the housekeeper know she can tell the page to tell the butler to tell the king that you’ll see him at dinner.’

Cinders ticked off the names on her fingers. Yes. It was definitely Andy who was speaking.

‘And what will I do?’ Cinders asked as the sisters began to busy themselves around her rooms.

‘Whatever you like!’ Andy replied. ‘You’re practically a princess.’

‘Practically a princess,’ Cinders repeated. ‘With absolutely nothing to do.’

She watched as the sisters set to work and wondered, just for a moment, what her own stepsisters might be doing. Who would wash the dishes if she wasn’t there to do it? Who would chop the wood and feed the pigs?

With nothing else to do, she sat quietly in a chair and gazed out of the window while the sisters got on with their chores. There had to be something beyond the mountains, she thought to herself.