The Next Cinderella

Chapter 15--Top Ten Wenches

The rose ceremony in ABC's 'The Bachelor' is a captivating thing, with contestants on display in evening gowns, faux lashes meticulously glued on, and hair extensions neatly clipped into place. It's magazine-made beauty against the backdrop of an opulent mansion, with suspicions of sabotage running dangerously high from the never-ending flow of champagne.

The sixteenth-century beginnings of 'The Bachelor' may have been behind on the glamour front, but the purpose behind the proceedings was the same.

The girls made their way into the royal hall dressed in underwhelming matching grey dresses.

The royal judges were seated on their thrones with Gianni and Fairy Godmother at their side. The king barely glanced at the girls before sighing. "Shouldn't some sort of hors d'oeuvres accompany the ceremony?"

The queen had more important matters on her mind. "Where is the new clothing they were to have?" she said sneering. "They can't be seen in the castle dressed like this."

Gianni consulted his notebook. "We've already put out a rush order on noble-worthy fashion for the contestants." He had a passing thought about Myrielle's mother working all alone in the tailor shop; she would probably have to sew until her fingers bled to finish the first batch of dresses, but wasn't that normal for peasants? He wasn't sure and he didn't really care.

The queen leaned over to take a peek at his notes. "Did you also put in an order for a lace and emerald gown?" The king raised an eyebrow. "What?" she said defensively. "This contest has raised our profile so I'll certainly need a new gown or two."

Gianni nodded. "It's a reasonable request, but the gown and the dresses won't be ready until we're down to the top ten."

The prince clapped his hands. "Let's get to it then!" He leaned in to whisper to Gianni. "Get rid of the pie pig. And the one with no neck."

Gianni flipped through his notes. "No neck? Are you sure we have one of those?" He studied each contestant with a penetrating gaze, and halfway through he gasped.

"Good heavens you're right. Her head just sort of...disappears into her shoulders; it's ghoulish, really."

Fredrick was stationed off to the side with the tray of lilies, but he'd heard every word in reference to the 'no-neck' and 'pie-pig.' It was hard to forget he'd been utterly rejected by the one girl in line who wouldn't even look him, yet still he felt the urge to speak up on behalf of pie-'pig.'

With a casual air, Fredrick sidled up to Gianni and glanced at his book. "You can't get rid of contestants who weren't the worst in both challenges, can you?"

Gianni 'accidentally' pushed Fredrick out of the way, but he knew the little weasel was right. "Based on the results," he said scrolling through the list, "it's these two who should go." He looked up at the royals. "But we should still put four in the bottom for dramatic effect."

The prince scanned the list and shook his head. "That can't be right. And anyway...isn't there the wow factor to consider? In terms of wow, I can't believe how much her appearance offends me?" He swallowed a bit of vomit as he pictured himself bedding some of these average-looking peasants.

As the judges deliberated the merits of the gross-out factor, Bella snuck up beside Myrielle. "I know it was you," she whispered.

Myrielle continued staring straight ahead. "What are you babbling on about?"

"The mud," she said. "I was in that lane for a reason, and so was the mud."

Myrielle shrugged. "You can't blame me for geography and nature."