A Cinderella Story (Part 1)

Chapter 3: A Mission (Sofinne's perspective)

I skipped down the stairs. Manipulation was my almost-favourite part of the day. Second only to dessert. But nothing can beat dessert, so basically my favourite.

I was especially excited this time, since Mother had said we would do something special soon. I had been dreaming about that special something. Maybe we could go out. Merellda didn't want to go out. But still. There was always a chance. I remembered when we had last talked about it.

"I don't want to go out," Merellda had told me when we first heard about it.

"Why?" I had asked.

"Didn't you listen to Mother? It's dangerous out there. That's not where we belong." She answered.

I had felt her annoyance radiating across the room.

"I don't care if it's not safe," I retorted.

"Fine," she said.

"Fine," I said, stomping out of the room.

And that was supposed to be the end of it.

But it wasn't.

I couldn't help but dream about nights of galloping through the star-lit sky on the back of a wild pegasus, or befriending shy jackalopes to stroke their soft fur and feed them magic berries, or find a mermaid so we could laugh and make seashell friendship bracelets and braid each other's hair all day long.

But I didn't.

And I couldn't.

Until that day that Mother had told us, right when we were leaving the room.

"Soon the time will come, when you are ready."

And even though it was cryptic and didn't technically mean anything, I knew that those nine words did mean something. Mother always had a reason. So why stop now? My mind was already brimming with questions, hopes, and ideas when I burst through the double doors.

"MOM...er...MOTHER!!!" I shouted, unable to contain my excitement.

And then I saw Ella. Guffawing. Practically rolling around on the ground. Suddenly, it was quite easy to contain my excitement.

Don't get me wrong. I like people. I've chatted with the servants, cooks, stewards, grooms, guards, even the horses, but I had a bad feeling about Ella right from the beginning, when the servants carried her into my room. Things were about to go awry, and it was going to be her fault. It was a gut feeling, and my gut was always right. Especially when it was either warning me or telling me it was time to snatch a tart from the kitchen.

I snuck another peek at Ella. She appeared to be in a heated argument with Mother.

Should I interfere? Defend Mother and prove myself worthy?

But as I debated between jumping in and standing around awkwardly, Ella shot one final defiant glance back, then stormed into the hallway.

I stepped forward, all thoughts of Ella gone like a dissipated puff of smoke. I could imagine my eyes sparkling with eagerness as I beamed up at Mother. But when I opened my mouth, about to talk, I was interrupted by Mother. She only said a single word, but that one word (okay, fine, nine words) meant a world to me:

"Yes, yes. Just be quiet for once, will you?"

I felt like my heart could leap out of my chest. No, fly out of my chest. My mind was buzzing in anticipation, and it felt like, if I had to wait a second longer, everything I was thinking would pour out of my mouth. Finally, the doors opened, and Merellda walked in. I thought she would realize what was going on, by the way I was bouncing on the tips of my toes and emanating joy. But I could almost swear she paled. A little crinkle formed in between her eyebrows, which always happened when she was stressed. Which didn't make sense, since my dreams were coming true. Which she should have been happy about. Which she should one hundred percent would be if she was a good sister. But I couldn't let the little things get to me. This was going to be the best day of my life, after all. How long until we left? A week? A day? An hour? A minute? A second?

"Sofinne, Merellda. In exactly three days,"

(Three days! Three days!)

"One, and only one of you, will be riding to the Caelfall Ball as Princess Abigail Floriver of Bryxton Cove."

I couldn't help it.

"ME!"  I shouted.

Merellda didn't even want to go. She wouldn't care. She would be happy for me. Besides, I was finally getting an adventure! I knew I would be the one to go, because my magic was far beyond anything Merellda would ever dream of.

"I have not finished yet," Mother snarled.

Oh. Oops.

"Sorry."

She glowered.

"And the other will be disguised as a servant, providing a distraction, possibly stealing it."

Merellda nodded grimly. But I was still wondering what it was. As if reading my mind (it's a possibility) Mother looked at us, and her face was even more serious than usual.

"The slipper. One of you will steal the coveted glass slipper."

I gasped. What? It was obviously my cue.

"Wait. Our mission is to steal some shoe that we can't even wear?"

Mother sighed, exasperated. That wasn't an unfamiliar sound.

"It is not an ordinary slipper. And we will leave it at that."

Now it was my turn to sigh. Of course, she couldn't tell us the whole story. Her words just had to be confusing and limited, as usual.

"Girls. We start preparations tomorrow, and they will take place throughout the entire day. On the day two days following tomorrow, the two of you will be riding to the castle, separately, of course.

We both nodded, bowed slightly, and exited the room. By that time, it was nearly sundown, so me and Merellda quickly ate some dinner and hurried off to bed. Soon, both me and Merellda were asleep. And that night, I dreamt of picking flowers in a unicorn meadow and baking acorn pie with fairies, crafting love potions with kind witches and flying on broomsticks with familiars. And maybe, just maybe, in exactly three days, those dreams would come true.