Just then she saw her precious girls and Nanny Pinch approaching in the carriage. Her girls were waving frantically, smiling, and eager to bolt out of the carriage. The moment it pulled to a stop, they climbed over Nanny Pinch and bolted from the carriage, running straight into Lady Tremaine’s arms.

“Oh, Mama, we missed you so much!” cried Anastasia.

“We promise to be good from now on!” said Drizella, squeezing her mother tightly.

Lady Tremaine was so happy to see her daughters. Seeing them made everything seem more real to her. They were the center of her universe, and she felt untethered without them.

“Hello, my darlings! I am so happy to see you,” she said, giving them both kisses. “And thank you, Nanny Pinch. You have no idea how much I appreciate you agreeing to come along with us to the Many Kingdoms.”

“I’m sorry I won’t be able to stay with you longer than the first fortnight to see the girls settled,” Nanny Pinch said, “but Lady Hackle explained everything, and I couldn’t let you and the girls travel alone all the way to the Many Kingdoms.”

Lady Tremaine gave the young woman a smile. “Oh, but we won’t be entirely alone. Rebecca will also be traveling with us. She is my new lady’s maid. You will meet her on the ship. She is in our rooms making sure everything is satisfactory.” Lady Tremaine reached for her daughters. “Come, Anastasia and Drizella,” she said. “Take my hands. We are about to embark on a marvelous adventure.”

Lady Tremaine and her daughters sat together in a little sitting area in her stateroom, while Rebecca and Nanny Pinch unpacked their things in the adjoining room they would share with Drizella and Anastasia. The girls were on either side of her, as close as they could manage. She could tell they had missed her, and she, too, had missed them terribly.

“My angels, what did Nanny Pinch tell you about our journey?”

Anastasia spoke first. “She said we were going to a magical land with princes and princesses.”

Drizella scoffed. “We have princesses in England; I don’t see how that’s magical,” she said.

Lady Tremaine laughed. “That’s true, my dear, but it seems the Many Kingdoms has far more royalty than London. I am told we are moving to a kingdom with a very jolly king and his son, the young prince who is about your age. Who knows, maybe one day one of you will marry him,” she teased.

“But what of Shrimpy and Dicky? I thought we were to marry them!” said Anastasia.