Reincarnated as an Ugly Step Sister

Chapter 23

A beautiful waterfall, sparkling in the sun, stands before me. "Chase! Nicholas!" I call. After a few moments I can hear them stumbling through the forest, breaking branches and calling my name.

"What!? What happened, are you okay?" Nicholas exclaims when he finally breaks into the clearing. He looks at me then to the waterfall, noticing I'm not in any danger. "We thought you were in trouble!"

I chuckle. "Sorry to worry you. I just wanted to show you this beautiful waterfall, let's go for a quick swim!" Chase and Nicholas look at each other warily. "Come on, we have some time and it's been a while since I've bathed," I plead. They look at each other again then begin taking off their clothes down to their undergarments. I do the same.

I avoid eye contact with both Chase and Nicholas because I know if I look at them it will make things awkward. Moments later I'm slipping into the cool, clear water. I swim around for a bit then sit on a rock. Using a piece of lace I've ripped from my dress I rub all the dirt and dead skin off until I feel cleaner than I have in days. Then I swim over to the waterfall and let the strong pressure of the water beat all the dirt out of my hair. Chase and Nicholas, less concerned with hygiene, are in the midst of a vicious water fight.

Suddenly I notice a cave behind the waterfall. A small tunnel leads to a cavern. I crawl in, curiosity getting the best of me. I don't get far into the tunnel before I hear a shout and I rush out to see what's happening.

I see Chase, holding his foot and a red cloud of blood in the water below him. Forgetting about the cave I rush over to see what happened.

"I stepped on a sharp rock," Chase explains, gritting his teeth. Harry and I bandage his wound. We're about to get dressed and leave when I remember the cave.

"Oh! I found this cool pond in a cave behind the waterfall, let's check it out before we leave!" Nicholas and I turn to Chase, our eyes asking if he's up for it. Always looking for adventure, he agrees to explore with us.

We swim through the crystal clear water. Its cool but not cold, deep enough to swim but shallow enough to walk. I lead them through the waterfall and climb into the tunnel. I feel momentarily self conscious knowing I'm practically naked but force the thought out of my head. They wouldn't do anything disrespectful.

I can't help but gasp as I come into the cavern again. Nicholas then Chase swim in after me, also marveling at the beautiful sight before us. The water is a beautiful blue and it's reflected around the cave, light dancing playfully across the walls and our skin. Water droplets echo from jagged spires that point down from the roof. Out of all the beautiful things I've seen today, this is the most breathtaking. The bottom of the cave is covered with a soft moss that tickles my toes and feels like clouds when I sit on it.

Chase kneels and runs his hands through the water. "It's warm," he says. All three of us dangle our feet into the warm water. When I take my foot out it looks as though it's glittering. My feet were once rough on the bottom, I assumed Violet used to go outside without shoes a lot when she was younger, but now it's soft and smooth, like baby skin. Chase pulls his injured foot out of the water, unwraps the bandage and my heart skips a beat when we all see his perfectly healed skin.

"It's as if you were never even hurt," I say, my voice quiet as if I'll scare the magic away.

"This must be a healing pool," Nicholas murmurs. "It has magical properties that can heal physical injuries." That's too bad, I have some emotional injuries that could use some magic healing, I think to myself.

"Do... do you think we could use this to save Cinderella?" I ask, my voice still hushed.

Nicholas shakes his head. "Cinderella is trapped under a magic spell and I doubt this will do much to help her. It's actually a miracle we found this. These pools change location at the stroke of midnight every night."

"We should take as much as we can, in case someone gets hurt," Chase says but I barely listen. I'm staring at the walls of the cave and I realize there's something written on it. I can't read what it says because it's in a different language and even if I could understand it, it's very faded. I look down and see something trapped under the moss. When I dig it out I see it's a small vial, intricately made with gold vines weaving over and under each other. It's practically a puzzle just to open the tube and I suddenly realize what it's for.

"I don't think we can do that. I think we're only allowed to take as much as what fits in here." I hold up the vial. "I'm not sure what happens if we take more but this feels dangerous if we don't."

"I think you're right," Nicholas says. "I've read in several books that old magic tends to be vengeful if directions aren't followed carefully."

I fill the bottle with as much as I can and make sure the cap is on well. For some reason I don't want to tell anyone else about what we've found and Nicholas and Chase agree to keep it a secret unless we need to tell someone. I pack the vial in a safe pocket in my satchel. I get the sinking feeling I'm going to need it later on.

We say goodbye to the unicorn and hike back to the carriage. We've wasted the whole day and now the sun is close to setting but I'm glad that we did all this. I met a unicorn, took an amazing bath, found magic water, and everyone got a day of rest. I feel as though my problems have been washed away.