The Tragic Tale of Cinderella

An Elaborate Ruse

"So many questions answered, but even more have been asked."

The ghostly appearance of my Lord floated around the camp, taking in everything I'd told him. Ella seemed very skeptical of my information, yet she also didn't outwardly disagree with anything. I hadn't told them about my tryst with Drisella, but her judging looks told me she knew something scandalous had happened.

My Lord's sudden high pitched voice scared me. "No matter how the information came to us, our first strike against Tremaine is clear. Ella my darling, if given a chance, can you drive your grandfather's sword into her heart?"

Killing a monster was one thing, but I couldn't allow someone as pure as Ella to strike the killing blow. For the future needed her to stay in such a state. No this was a task for someone who no one cared if they had blood on their soul. "She won't have to my Lord. I will strike against the witch's daughter myself."

"John, you do not know what you speak of!" Her tender features warped into sadness. "I understood your bluster last evening about Tremaine, but do you really understand the ramifications of taking a life?"

No, I wouldn't be talked out of my quest for vengeance again. If I could deal a blow, as Drisella said, so be it. "She took my father and many others before. It is time Tremaine knows the pain of losing a loved one."

"It was Drisella who told you of this plan, correct? Why would she want Anastasia dead? There has to be more to this."

Maybe she was right, but it wasn't my place to ask. The night before, whether for better or worse, I gave myself fully to Drisella. She had my heart and I had hers, whether she intended it or not. "Ella, stay here, with your father, where it'll be safe. Tremaine wants me dead as much as she wants you. I will use that to draw her out."

Together, we'd been through a lifetime's worth of suffering in a matter of days. Maybe that's why she ran over to me and hugged me so. "You do not have to do this my young friend."

"If it was your father that'd been turned into an abomination by her, would you too not want revenge?"

"Let him seek his fate Ella, he has earned that right." My Lord tried to place his hand on my shoulder, yet it passed through. "I have done you a great disservice in the name of trying to keep you safe. If you think you can execute Anastasia, you must try."

"How will you avoid the guard?"

These were problems I would worry over, not my fair Ella. "Do not fear for me, for I have no plan on sneaking in. I will make her come to me."

And there began the long scheme, of hope and chance, to bring the witch to me. From my new home at the edge of the forest, where my heart was bound to another, I taunted and tormented the estate. From carving my name in the walls surrounding, to disrupting the flow of supplies from the main road, my presence was felt.

One night, after a successful attack on a food caravan, a visitor approached from the estate. My heart leapt a thousand times as Drisella came to greet me. "How I wish I could have seen you sooner John. The magic from your touch still lingers within me."

I ran over and embraced her in a hug. How much better she looked without the ridiculous make up and wigs that she wore in ceremony. Her natural beauty sparkled in the pale glow of the moon. "I try to catch glimpses of you whenever I can."

"My sweet man, as drawn to me as I am to him." She rewarded me with a kiss. "I wish I came for a different reason, but my mother sent me out here tonight to issue you a decree."

I stumbled back. "Your mother knows about us?"

Waving her hand, "Because I allowed it. Fear not, my mother can make no moves against me, but she can and is about to when it comes to you."

I steeled my resolve, ready for this moment. "What does the wench Tremaine have to say?"

She winked at me. "Mother wants a meeting tomorrow at midday in the place you first met. She says to come alone, but I know Anastasia will be waiting in the wings as well."

Forget her pig of a sister, "I can kill Tremaine, end this all in one swift move!"

She wrapped her elegant arm around my waist. "No my love, you cannot. For in her ultimate goal of staying young forever, she has anchored her life force to two others – Anastasia and myself."

"You must be joking!"

"I do not generally joke as you know, and in this matter I am dead serious. She will try to kill you, but your only mission can be to slay my sister. If you try any other means, you will join your father in the afterlife."

The more I learned, the more I hated this woman. "Using you in such a detestable way, it is unforgivable."

She began to remove her clothing, revealing her beautiful body to me once more. "I will worry about forgiving. You just remember your love for me and your task at hand."

Once again, the two of us made love under the moonlight; our hearts and souls intertwining even closer together.