My Prince Charming

Chapter 1: Accident

My name is Candice Watson, and I'm eighteen years old. Like Cinderella or Snow White, I have a pretty stepmother, Lynn. She's a psychologist, and being my father's therapist after my mother's tragic accident, Lynn helplessly fell in love with him.

For unknown reason Lynn never has a child of her own. Fortunately, she truly loves me; she read bedtime stories to me when I was little, took me to schools and shed tears with me when I cried. We love each other, but she insists that I use her first name. She once said, "Candy has one mom only."

Yet sometimes I can't help wondering what it would be like if my birth mother had been alive. My father has said something like "Candy, you have your mother's round emerald eyes" or "Your hair is just as blond and curly as your mother's". Whenever he does that, the sound of nostalgia is clear in his voice, and the longing in his tone is unmistakable.

So I believe my father and mother would have lived happily ever after if that drunk driver hadn't taken her life that many years ago. I suppose you know by now that I grew up reading lots of fairy tales. Despite being a tomboy, I had always dreamed of meeting my prince one day until I had my ski accident.

It was unforgettable. I was fourteen then. As a medical doctor working in the emergency department of Vancouver General Hospital, my father had been so busy that he had to cancel our trip to Whistler, but Lynn had protested, "Joe, we haven't had a family vacation for more than a year now." After some negotiation, he would carpool with his brother's family to join us the next day.

However, Lynn felt a bit under the weather after two hours of driving to the resort. Although I had been skiing for many years, she wasn't convinced that I could ski by myself.

"Lynn, I know Whistler Blackcomb Mountain very well now!" I kept begging her and promised that I would faithfully follow the trail map.

"Look! I'm not a child anymore. I'm even taller than you!"

She argued that I had always skied under their closed supervision, so I should wait till my father came, but I implored, "Trust me, I will only go for about an hour."

After some more badgering, she let me go but nagged me all the way to the ski lifts. It was such a glorious day, and I was too excited to be bothered, knowing she did all that because she loved me.

It was a blast, skiing by myself for the first time in my life. With the picturesque snow covered mountain peaks perched in the distance, I couldn't help but appreciate the awesome visual landscape as I glided effortlessly down the trail. Nothing compared to the feeling of the rush of wind against my face.

After one descend, I was overjoyed by my achievement, and I couldn't resist the call of going one more time. I navigated through the mountainous terrain, weaving and passing the other skiers with ease. On my third round, I was so thrilled that I decided to challenge myself. I had only traversed the trails I was comfortable with, but I supposed my skill level had improved over the years. Although my inner voice admonished me to wait for my father tomorrow, I told myself I would definitely return to join Lynn after this time.

A while later, a skier shot past me, altering my course, and I made a wrong judgement. I soon found myself in the middle of nowhere. Though I warned myself not to panic, I watched in fear as I was heading straight for a tree. I did attempt to make a turn, but it was too late. 

Whatever followed was a blur to me. I reckoned I was badly injured because I couldn't move even an inch; my body had seemingly shattered into many pieces. I was in so much pain that all I could do was moan, and I was half-conscious by the time a man came to my rescue. He removed his toque and ski mask to check my conditions. I barely noticed that he had shiny blond hair, but I had never seen a pair of crystal blue eyes as remarkable as his.