a lot of people have been drawn to my profile over the years because of my fantasy continuation of cinderella that i've so lovingly titled midnights princess. people who have been on my profile since the book first made its debut know that it is currently being heavily revised.

the prologue follows jonathon, as he tries to convince his father to let him search for the girl who dropped her glass slipper as the clock struck midnight. over the updates jonathon has only had a few chapters that focus solely on him and his journey to "happily ever after".

but the people want more.

i had originally planned for jonathon to have a great many chapters dedicated to him throughout the book but later decided it was best to leave the book following ella. i am debating making a part dedicated to his point of view (perhaps the second, as this book is three parts of around twenty chapters and the first part is already ella based) but until then, all of his chapters are being cut from the book.

people who read the book before the majority of it was taken down for editing know that jonathon and ella have not had the greatest relationship. they have had their ups and downs, mostly due to the fact that ella is not accepted by jonathon's father or anyone else with a high status.

they also know that in the book jonathon suggested they take a few days to spend apart and sort out their differences. in a deleted chapter following jonathon during that day, jonathon went to his cousin to voice his doubts.

this is that deleted chapter.

so without any more boring chatter from the author i present the unedited, unrevised, deleted chapter: the crowns doubt.

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Jonathon knocked swiftly on the golden door. He swayed impatiently from side to side outside the room waiting for a response. It was late in the evening and the majority of the staff had already retired for the night.

Hudson would be awake at this time of night. Ophelia hated the daylight, or so he claimed. They were no doubt canoodling in their bedsheets, ecstatic to have one night free of royal duties in their own castle.

"Someone's outside the door." Ophelia whispered. Jonathon could practically see her getting off on the idea that she was withholding her husband from his blood given career, she would bury her nails into his shoulder and run her lips up his neck leaving countless goosebumps in her wake.

"Hush, sweetness. They'll go away." Jonathon rolled his eyes and rapped his fist harder on the door. Ophelia giggled loudly, clearly already drunk as a sailor, and it wasn't even ten o'clock.

"I'm not going to go away Hudson." Jonathon spoke clearly. "I need to talk to you. It's urgent." He added.

There was shuffling behind the door as Hudson slowly got out of bed and gave Ophelia quick kisses as a sad goodbye. They had been married for five wholesome years. Betrothed but consumed by lust, they now claimed they always loved one another and it was by the grace of God they were promised to each other.

The door slowly opened, the worn hinges protested and Hudson smirked at his cousin, a silk navy blue robe loosely tied around his waist, a martini glass in his hand. He took a long sip from his glass and breathed out a moan of pleasure from the fiery sensation of the liquor free falling down his throat.

"Hello." He groaned at Jonathon. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Sarcasm dripped from his voice like venom. He wasn't drunk, tipsy perhaps but not yet completely consumed by the alcohol.

"I need to speak to you." Jonathon repeated, looking around the corridor for any activity like a paranoid child. "It's about Ella." He whispered.

Ophelia gasped loudly from the bed, grabbing her own glass and running to the door, taking the duvet from the bed to use as makeshift clothing. She pushed past her husband and stood eye to eye with her cousin-in-law.

"Trouble in paradise, huh?" She giggled and pushed the door open, Grabbing Jonathon's arm and pulling him into the room. "I love good gossip. The only thing I've had to follow lately is Selina's supposed pregnancy by her fathers right hand man." Jonathon's lips pulled back in a grimace as he watched her tip back her glass quickly.

"It's not gossip per say." He said slowly. Ophelia was known to gossip. Confessing his feelings to his cousin was going to be a bit harder than he originally planned with her looming about in the background.

"Oh boo!" She said, moving to sit on her husband's lap, her back to Jonathon. "Here you are, coming into my room to talk to my husband at an ungodly hour and you haven't even got anything good to say." She used her fingers to walk her hand up to her husband's hair, locking her fingers in and gently tugging on it.

"Why are you here, cousin?" Hudson asked, his voice strained as Ophelia continued to pull at his hair, something he clearly enjoyed.

"I'm not sure if I really want to marry Ella." Ophelia turned around in her partners lap, the sheets covering the lower half of her body as she pulled the robe off the floor to cover her breasts.

"You lie! You do have gossip!" She accused, Hudson's hands coming to rest loosely around her waist, her lips parting.

"Be quiet my love, let the man speak." Jonathon smiled tightly, focusing on the painting of a vase of roses above the bed. He did not want to see the attention they were giving each other as if he were not there.

"My father does not approve," He begins. "The court mocks her like she is some sort of circus performer sent for our entertainment." Jonathon had never felt for someone the way he felt for Ella but he was not sure if his feelings for her were that of love, or that of pity. It was as if the only reason he really took her out of that house was to save her.

But he didn't just save Ella that day, he saved himself. When Jonathon looked into her eyes he saw a kind of purity he had never seen in the castle before. Ella brought with her a different perspective to the castle. One that was not common among the court.

"She seems obedient." Hudson deadpanned. "She's too afraid to say what she really thinks. Your bride to be does not want to ruin your reputation. When I met her she wouldn't even meet my eyes!"

Jonathon knew he couldn't fault her for that. She had been raised as a lowly servant, not the princess she would one day become. Not to mention the fact that Hudson and his wife were terrifying at first meeting.

"I say marry the girl. Your word will be law without anyone willing to second guess you if your own queen won't do it." His cousin advised. "Petite's are always a nice roll in the hay anyways." Ophelia bit his earlobe.

"I don't want to marry her for her obedience. I want to marry her because I love her." Jonathon said firmly. "I want sparks of romance in my life." He told him, thoughtfully.

"Marry Selina then. She's got a bit of spunk." Hudson said, winking.

"He wants a spark, not a flame so big it will burn down a building, sweetheart." Ophelia said, planting kisses along his neck, sucking tenderly on a spot near his collarbone. "If you love the girl, marry her." She suggested.

Jonathon looked out the window at the moon lighting up the starry night sky. It was the same moon that illuminated his princess rushing down the steps, when she left the clue that would lead him to her and intertwine their fates forever.

"I'm not even sure that I love her." He said, sadly. He didn't want to force himself to love her, if he were to do that he would do just as well marrying Selina who othe court actually approved of. "I'm not sure if I'm marrying her for the right reasons." He confessed.

"I want to marry Ella because she's different. She's unexpected and new. The court doesn't approve of her because they've never encountered something like her before. I want to be the king that changed everything, the king that sets this kingdom straight. I want to marry for love instead of blood, a happy marriage is what this kingdom needs, not another monarch with emotional baggage because of what happens at dinnertime between him and the queen he does not love."

Though the room was dark Ophelia stared into her husband's eyes and kissed his cheek slowly. "When you sit on the throne you give up everything you are. You will not longer be Jonathon, you will be the king. It is the most important job in all the land so the right person has to be chosen for it." She looked at Jonathon, waiting for him to get the hint. "I fear, with someone as emotional as your blushing bride that the kingdom will fall. She does not have the right mindset to run a kingdom."

"Do you think I'm making a mistake?" Jonathon swallowed harshly, trying his best to remain composed in front of his closest friends.

"From the standpoint of a queen, I do." Ophelia looked at Hudson, wrapping her arms around his neck as his head dipped low to capture her skin in his teeth. "But as a wife, and a lover, I understand. You cannot be yourself without the right person beside you."

Jonathon nodded slowly, standing up off the bed and gripping the doorknob. The lovebirds were getting frisky and he did not want to see it. "I think I'll sleep on it." He said. "Thank you for your input." Jonathon turned away and walked down the hallway.

Ophelia hummed to herself in her lover's arms, licking his lips with her tongue. "Do you think he'll go through with the wedding?" She asked, letting her head fall back as her husband leaned into her body in a somewhat innocent embrace.

"Yes, I do." He said, running his fingers through her hair, allowing her to close her eyes and relax. "Shall we go?"

"Of course. As the monarchs of a neighboring kingdom and Jonathon's relatives it is our duty to support him at the most important day of his life." She paused, pressing her nose to her husbands and peeking up at him through her lashes as she smirked. "I think it will be funny to watch the day the kingdom officially falls." She laughed.

"You're so bad." Hudson sighed, lacing their fingers and laying back on the pillows, pulling her to him.

"Wait until Selina hears about this." Ophelia tells her husband. Although his eyes were now closed and his head rested on the pillows she knew he was still listening, he always was. "She'll have a field day with it."

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thank you for reading! if you liked this don't forget to head on over to my profile to check out midnights princess and the rest of my works, or even just say hi (i love making new friends)!

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