346 Prompts

Number 4

"Fairy tales have happy endings. All of us know what happened in the mushy fairy tale, Cinderella. Yeah, its romantic, the prince actually finding Cinderella. They lived happily ever after. But happy endings can sometimes be, well... boring. no zing. so predictable. so... happy. What if the shoe fit one of the sisters? what happens then? play with your imagination here. Be funny if you like. or serious if you feel like it. Or be an Alfred Hitchcock. Whatever you are into, write your ending to the Cinderella story — but this time, make it so that the shoe fit one of the icky sisters. What does Prince Charming do? How does Cinderella cope with it? And what about the Fairy Godmother? Start your story here."

Cinderella sat in her loft, aghast. The shoe fit. The shoe fit on her sister. Not her. She couldn't believe it. He was so close, and she was so ready to be taken away. To live with the love of her life. She sat of her bed where the tears had wet her pillow so many times. She could hear excited speech from downstairs as Prince Charming, his nobles, and her step family discussed the marriage. He said he would marry the woman whose foot fit in the slipper.

"It was my slipper," she whispered through heavy sobs.

The sun set on a weary day for the Prince; he had been searching all morning and again all afternoon. It set on an even worse day for her; she had met the love of her life, but he had been stolen away by someone she disliked. Not that she would say anything about disliking her sister to anyone, she kept that to herself. Her mind spun and felt numb. She felt useless, despite all of the chores that awaited her downstairs. She found herself packing all of her belongings, not much by any standard, into a sack. She wrapped a cloak around her shoulders and decided she would go away. She didn't belong here anymore; she couldn't bear it.

The streets were dark in the city, very few people wandered out now. She took her time traversing the cobblestone, pondering recent events. There was no point. She was doomed to be a slave for ever.

Her sad feet shuffled her out of the city, across a bridge in the night. Cobblestone turned to gravel, then to dirt as she walked. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't care where she was going. Finally, she laid herself down on a patch of soft grass by the road by a large old tree and fell into a somber sleep.

She woke to the early hues of sunrise. Her hair was tangled about her head from her many dreams. Her rags were cold with dew and a breeze cut her cloak's warmth. She sat up, feeling as if she hadn't slept at all.

A small, very sharp object poked into her lower back and made her jump. She looked down and almost screamed from fright: travelling the length of the tree and sprawled all over the ground was a system of sable thorny vines. They were as thick as her finger, some thorns as long as her hand, all sharp to the touch. The tree itself was dead, choked by its black oppressor.

Cinderella scrambled to her feet, poked several more times by the barbs reaching up from below the soft grass. She practically ran to the road side. A presence, beyond her peripheral, made her turn.

"Who are you?" a black-cloaked man asked as she turned to face him.

"I am called Cinderella," she curtsied fearfully, "I ran away from home and am looking for another place to stay."

"You may stay with me," the strange man's voice caressed, " There is some light physical labour required, but for any burdened soul it is well worth it." The hood of the shadowy cloak revealed a pale, handsomely featured face. Cinderella was taken aback by his alien beauty.

"You look like Prince Charming," she whispered in awe.

"Ah," a smirk curled the corner of his mouth, "You've met my brother."

"Why don't you live with your family in the castle, if you are his brother?" she asked suspiciously.

"They thought me strange from the beginning. When I was old enough to take care of myself, they sent me away. I have established a colony were estranged and isolated souls like myself can live in tolerance and simplicity. It is beyond the thorns, away from the city. Will you join us?" he held out his hand, white and smooth as marble.

She hesitated and he must have sensed it, for he softened visibly.

"I promise: no harm will come to you. We will treat you fairly," he stepped towards her and lovingly took her hand.

She felt at ease with him, more so than with the Prince she had danced with. She nodded and continued down the road ahead with him. They talked about their future in the colony and about recent events in the city. Slowly but surely, Cinderella's sadness melted away during their walk. When they finally arrived at the colony beyond the thicket, Cinderella felt sure that she belonged with Saber, the Heteroclite Prince.

"You'll want to change your name," he prophesied with a gentle smile as she looked over her new home.

"Would you have any suggestions?"

He thought for a moment, then wrapped his cloaked arm around her and whispered the name she would gladly take as her own for the rest of her simple but happy life:

"Cindra."