Disney Chills: If The Shoe Fits

A Dream is A Wish...or Fear

Cynthia whipped her body around to see Lady Tremaine standing behind her, smiling that unnerving smile, that glint on her eye that made anyone uneasy.

"You're-You're here!", Cynthia exclaimed, jumping her to feet. "I-I-I didn't think—"

"That I would show up?", Lady Tremaine questioned her. "I'm offended. After all, we did maje a bargain, didn't we? And I never go back on my word."

"Actually, at first, I thought it had been a prank."

"A prank, hm? A practical joke? Well, this is no joke, my dear. I am here, and I am here to help."

"How? How are you going to help me? Just what is this oh-so-special thing you have that will magically solve all my problems?"

"Hold your tongue!", snapped Lady Tremaine. Her tone was so sharp and cold, it made Ana's cynicism die in a moment's breath.

"I was just getting to that.", said the older woman. "Close your eyes."

Cynthia looked skeptical, but shut them anyway for a minute.

"Now open."

Cynthia obeyed, and looked back at the older woman. "Well?"

Lady Tremaine's green eyes lowered as she smiled smugly. Cynthia followed her line of vision, and had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing right.

There, right in front of her feet, were a pair of shoes. But not just any shoes. They were hands down the most gorgeous pair of shoes she had ever seen before in her whole entire life. They were covered with palest baby blue satin-like material, so shiny and smooth they glittered and glowed like purest glass. They even had little rhinestone hearts attached on top of the toes that caught the starlight and shimmered brightly in the dark of the night.

Awestruck, Cynthia picked up the shoes, studying their sparkle, seeing they had little kitten heels. "These...These are beautiful." She set them on her lap and lifted her head back to her mysterious and generous benefactor with a perplexed scowl on her face. "But I fail to see how they'll help me become popular and adored."

"My dear,", Lady Tremaine purred with a sly smile on her face, a look in her eye like she knew a secret no one else did. "These are no ordinary shoes. These are made of pure magic."

"Magic shoes?", Cynthia repeated. Now she'd heard everything.

"Indeed.", said Lady Tremaine. "Simply put these on every morning, and all your troubles and insecurities will go poof!"

"So...I put these on, and everything is poof! Solved just like that?"

"Exactly."

Cynthia looked at Lady Tremaine, then at the shoes, then back up at Tremaine. "Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?"

"You don't believe me."

"Of course I don't. Magic shoes? This isn't Oz, this is the real world."

"Don't you believe in magic?"

"No, I don't. I stopped when I was in fourth grade."

"Well, time to believe again."

"Come on! This is crazy! You seriously expect me to take these shoes, believing that wearing them will fix my life?!"

Lady Tremaine tilted her head to the side, her stare burning away Cynthia's courage. "What do you have to lose?"

Cynthia thought. It sounded ridiculous, yes, but she had a point. Right now, Cynthia had nothing to lose by wearing the shoes. She was already unpopular at school and unpopular at home.  Even if these things were a fluke, no harm would be done by wearing them, and at the very least, she'd had a fabulous new pair of shoes.