Tales From the Cave-Cindermeg

Bibbiti Bobbiti Boo!

M'gann sat on one of the steps, among the shreds and ruins of her late mother's dress, bawling her eyes out.  It had been more than her only way to go to the ball.  It had been the last remaining solid evidence that she had led a good life here, in which was now the worst possible place to live now that her father was gone.  That this house had been, what seemed like a lifetime ago, a beautiful chateau where little M'gann had played with the butterflies alongside her doting parents.

As her sobs grew louder and louder, M'gann failed to notice the swirls of sparkling dust that were sweeping into the room.  Slowly, they flocked together in the shape of a person.  But poor M'gann was oblivious, only focused on her own awful predicament.  "There's nothing left for me to believe in,", she wept.  "Nothing..."  A slim, elegant hand in a long, golden-white sleeve reached over and smoothed down her red hair.  "Oh, c'mon!  You don't really mean that, do you?"  Megan stopped crying and looked up.

"I mean, if you'd lost all your hope, I wouldn't be here!  And here I am!"  Before her was a young woman, in her late twenties or early thirties.  She had long hair, as white as snowflakes, styled into tight spiral curls, coated with gold glitter.  She wore a sleek, elegant white gown that fell around the floor, spreading around her feet like a waterfall.  It was accented with golden glitter, from her deep plunging V-neckline, to her long train, to her long sleeves that flared at the end.  Three golden gems decorated each of her cheeks.  She smiled at the sad girl, her teeth so white they were almost blinding.

Megan stood on her feet.  "Wh-Who in the name of Mars are you?"  The mysterious woman giggled.  "I'm your fairy godmother!"  M'gann blinked.  "My...what?"  The woman, her fairy godmother, put a hand on her shoulder.  "Call me Felicia.  I'm here to solve all your problems!"  Megan stepped down the stairs to stand on the floor.  "Um, don't take this personally...but what is WRONG with you?!"  Felicia jumped back.  "Whoa!  What's with you?"  "The past two years of my life have been a living HELL!", M'gann shouted.  "Where were you when my dad died?  Or when my stepmom made me a personal MAID?  Why did you choose to show up NOW?!"  Felicia waved her hands.  "Hey, look!  The Fairy Queen tells me when people need me most!  Why she didn't send me sooner, I'll never know!"

She shook her head.  "But I'm here now, and I'm gonna make everything better!"  She held out her hand, and a long, thin golden stick appeared out of thin air.  "First things first, you'll need..."  M'gann smiled and looked down at her dress.  "...Transportation!"  She looked up.  "Oh.  Right.  Transportation.  Of course."  Felicia smiled.  "Go into the garden and get me the biggest, roundest pumpkin you can find!"  M'gann looked surprised.  "A...pumpkin?"
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M'gann lay out the pumpkin that had earned the family a blue ribbon at the last county fair.  As usual, she had done all the work, and her stepfamily had gotten all the credit.  She looked up at Felicia with a curious expression.  "How is a pumpkin supposed to get me to the ball?"  Felicia smiled.  "You'll see.  Stand back, this could get messy."  Megan took a few steps backward.  With a fancy flourish of her wand, Felicia shot a burst of gold dust at the pumpkin with a loud ZAP!  At once, it grew, and kept growing and growing, it's orange color fading away, it's vines swirling around, changing from deep green to shining silver.  At last, the growing stopped, and instead of a plain orange pumpkin, before M'gann was a magnificent coach of glimmering gold.  It's wheels were made of swirled solid silver vines, and inside, it had soft leather seats lined in red velvet.

M'gann stared at the wonder before her.  She could not believe what she was seeing.  Felicia turned to her with a smirk.  "You wouldn't happen to have any mice, would you?"  Megan looked over at her.  "Mice?  Oh, yes!  Wait right here!"  She ran back into the house, returning moments later with David, Peter and Olivia.  Felicia took the trio from her and placed them in front of the carriage.  With another quick flourish, she zapped them, and they grew and grew, their brown fur paling and shortening until they were no longer three regular housemice, but three proud white horses with long, flowing manes and reins made of silver and gold, with bright red plumes sprouting from their heads.

Felicia noticed a rat scattering through the radishes.  "Oh no, you don't!"  At "don't", she zapped the rat, turning him into a plump coach driver with a long black mustache that curled at the ends, wearing a white uniform lined with gold.  She picked up an empty watering can and dumped out two green lizards.  With another ZAP!, they became a pair of handsome footman, wearing uniforms lined with silver.  Felicia looked around.  "Let's see...coach, horses, driver, footmen...what am I missing?"  She looked at Megan, still wearing her tattered yellow dress.  "Oh, right!  Attire!"

She looked M'gann over.  "Hmm...I'm thinkin' white...floor length...gloves...maybe we could curl your hair...how do you feel about red roses?"  "I love red roses."  Felicia smiled.  "Leave it to me.  Close your eyes and turn around three times."  M'gann looked confused, but did as she was told.  On her third turn, she heard Felicia's voice.  "Bibbiti Bobbiti BOO!"  She heard the tinkling of bells as she finished her turn.  "Okay!  Open your eyes!"  Once more, she did as she was told.  She looked at the mirror Felicia was holding and gasped.

M'gann was wearing the most beautiful ballgown she had ever seen.  It was as clear and white as freshly fallen snow, and glittered in the moonlight.  The puffy skirt stood out around her legs, the hem just brushing the floor, with the tiniest little ruffles going up and down, making soft swishing noises as she moved around, the reddest of roses on the small of her back.  On her arms were form-fitting elbow-length gloves, the same snowy white hue as her gown.  Her red hair seemed to have been brushed until it shone, and styled with loose curls framing her face perfectly, another red, red rose adorning her tresses.  A shining pearl choker circled her throat, and matching pearl drop earrings dangled from her lobes.

But the most dazzling pieces of the ensemble was on her dainty feet.  Instead of her mother's yellow butterfly heels, she had on high-heeled slippers made of only the purest and finest Phoenician glass.  They seemed to shimmer whenever she took a single step, and when she walked around in them, she felt as if her feet were stepping on clouds.  On the toes of each heel was a tiny rose carved from crystal. She spun around, admiring her fine new things.  She looked in the mirror one last time, her eyes wide.  Was that girl in the mirror really her?  Could that be the same girl whose stepsisters always teased her for being dirty and wearing old clothes?  She didn't look or feel like Cindermeg anymore.  She felt like a princess.  "Its gorgeous!  I love it!  All of it!"

Felicia smiled.  "All in a day's work!  Now, get your lil' tush into that coach!"  The footmen helped M'gann get into the carriage carefully, as not to soil her gown, and closed the door behind her.  As the horses pulled it away, Felicia waved goodbye.  "Have a wonderful time!"  She froze.  "Wait a minute...time..."  She put her wand to her chin, thinking for a moment.  "Wait!  Stop!", she screamed suddenly, causing the carriage to stop and jerk forward.  She ran to M'gann, whose head was leaning out the window.  "I almost forgot!  You have to leave the ball before midnight!"  "Midnight?  Why?"  Felicia sighed.  "Look, I'm sorry, but the magic is only temporary.  At the final stroke of midnight, the spell with be broken, and everything will go back to it's original form.  Your coach will turn back into a pumpkin, your horses and men will go back to being animals, even your new dress will become rags again."

M'gann thought.  "Midnight?"  She smiled.  Twenty minutes ago, it seemed she wouldn't get to go to the ball at all.  "That's more than enough time."  She leaned furthur out the window.  "Thank you.  This is more than I ever dreamed of."  Felicia caressed Megan's cheek.  "God bless you, child."  The carriage took off once more, Felicia waving and waving before disappearing in an explosion of golden fairy dust.