Breaking the Cinderella Rules

❁ BEAUTY AND her BEAST

Happy late Valentine's day, everyone :) Welcome to the Ball :)

Song: Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 18—BEAUTY AND her BEAST

CINDER

            Andrew told me the party would be fine. He told me that everyone would be coming with peace. But he did mention me to always be careful. The guests of this masquerade party were skilled cold-blooded killers who wouldn’t think twice about making a soul disappear.

I prayed that nothing would happen. Cinder Roxanne could be a mischievous girl with an attitude, but there was still a trace of Cinder Van Hoyer inside of me. I was still the girl who would cry over losing her little teddy bear, the girl who would cry over death. My strength had a limit. I was innocent, compared to all these people. I felt weak and helpless.

The boisterous party ceased to an end as a figure fell towards the ground with a sound of shattering glass. Her cup of wine collided with the ground, smearing the red carpet with the dark liquid. Glass shards spilled around the crime scene. Her eyes were lifeless, and her lips had turned into a purplish color. She was poisoned.

Eyes turned around, and a few gasps collected from behind the scene. Some removed their masks to take a closer look at the victim. They shook their head before continuing their conversations. Nobody screamed.  Nobody cared to take a glance. This world was cold, freezing to the core.

None of the guests even trembled or felt terrified of the accident. Everyone took this like an everyday occurrence. Soon, the silence was replaced by another round of laughter, like nothing had happened.  My legs were buckling, and my eyes were suddenly filled with tears. I was terrified of this world. It was worst than neither evil nor vile.

            As soon as the body connected with the ground, I searched for Andrew’s hands. His leather gloves gave me warmth as I squeezed his hand. Surprisingly, he squeezed it, trying to soothe me down. I pressed myself closer to him, and he pulled me into his arms.

            He shushed me from my whimpers. I placed my head on his shoulder, and my emotions began to pour. My quivering hands clutched his jacket tightly, and he held me close. People around thought we were idiots in love, but in reality, he was just trying to comfort me. He was being nice, for once.

            “Hey, everything will be fine,” Andrew whispered.

            I nodded weakly and tried to give him a smile, but when my eyes glanced back to the body, another wave of shivers ran down my spine. Swallowing, I sighed and turned away. “Is this the world I must know?” I asked. “It’s so cruel.”

            Andrew looked down. “It’s getting worst than that, Cinder. They’ll take ever bit of humanity left in you. By the time you enter this icy intense world, you have to be the strongest. Without strength and sanity, you could evolve into a heartless human being.”

            From the periphery of my eyes, I saw cleaners entering the ballroom. The lights around the dead woman were dimmed almost immediately, to get the guests’ attention of the corpse. Some officers entered the room to examine the case.

A headache struck me forcefully, and I shook my head to focus with the emotions building inside of me. I could never imagine why one would try to solve a problem with killing. How badly were they hurt? And I wondered if I could ever fix this situation.

            Then I must be the Heir, end my Father’s business, and create peace among the living.

            I scoffed at my own thoughts. It was formed based on a child’s fairy tale book. My innocence was unbearable. “Who’s the woman who died?” I questioned Andrew as we walked towards the table of drinks.