The Next Cinderella

Chapter 24--Plan B Princess

As night fell upon the kingdom, two carriages rolled towards the castle's main entrance. Fredrick and his second in command stood at each carriage's door, and with a nod they escorted the girls out one by one. Only three girls emerged from Fredrick's carriage, with a fourth one in the back hiding her face.

"It's time to go now," said Fredrick, unaware of the beastly creature he was summoning.

"I can't," she said, the misery apparent in her voice.

Fredrick shrugged. "Then I'll have to call Gianni to process your disqualification."

Bella was a dead woman walking at this point, but even the most defeated person would rather lose out right than be disqualified.

Bella turned sharply and lunged out of the carriage with aggression reminiscent of the beast character in 'Beauty in the Beast.' The only difference was that unlike the fairytale where a girl weirdly wanted to make out with a bison-dude hybrid who had rabies...no sane man would be stupid enough to get within lip-lock range of Bella.

As Fredrick watched Bella stumble out onto the gravel path, the first person he thought of was Myrielle, and her long-standing desire to cause some damage to her nemesis. The next person he thought of was himself, and how he'd agreed to smuggle special ingredients into Myrielle's room. Were those ingredients a factor in Bella's face? Was he an accomplice?

He felt complicit and disturbed and in need of confession, until he saw Myrielle twirling in her yellow gown. As she spun around her dark mane of hair swooshed to life, and compared to the other girls he was relieved to see her lips were normal-sized. The part that didn't seem normal-sized was her bosom. He tried not to look but he was a hot-blooded man. A hot-blooded man with a job to do. He wiped the sweat off his brow and cleared his throat. "Right then ladies, let's head inside."

As the girls fell into step he saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye. "How do I look?" she said smiling.

He wanted to tell her she was a beautiful flower laced with sabotaging poison he would gladly drown in just to be by her side. What he actually said was: "You're dressed perfectly for the occasion."

She frowned. "That's it?"

The last time they'd spoken had been that night on the secluded path, when he'd found himself getting too close to a girl he could never have. And that was the real problem, not the fact that she dabbled in extreme forms of sabotage.

"And your hair," he added plainly. "Your hair looks rather clean."

She seemed confused. "Clean?" She tried her best to make eye contact but he managed to escape her stare.

Before she could question him further, Fredrick and his second-in-command opened the doors to the grand foyer, allowing the girls in their rainbow assortment of gowns to glide in.

The prince came into view from the top of the winding staircase, arm in arm with the queen who possessed more glamour than the rest of the girls combined. Her sparkling emerald lace gown had been meticulously crafted by Rose, and every detail glimmered under the crystal chandelier.

By the time the prince made it to the bottom of the stairs, his usual dissatisfied smirk was replace with a look of horror. Like a scared little boy, he buried his face into his mother's arms for protection. "Mother what is that?"

The queen patted her son on the head, examining the atrocity from afar.

"My god," she said. "What on earth has happened to your prize?"

The prince gasped and took a second look. "It's not really her, it couldn't be...Bella?"

Bella inched forward and smiled. "Ow!" She touched the corners of her mouth and winced. "My apologies but it hurts to smile. And talk." She squeezed her hands into fists. "I'm not supposed to touch it."

The prince stepped forward cautiously. "You've become a monster." He seemed offended by the very sight of her. "How could you do this to me?"

She gasped. And then winced. "You don't understand; it's just an allergy!" She tried to smile despite the pain. "I assure you it will heal completely." She snuck a glare in Myrielle's direction, knowing that without any evidence she couldn't make a claim of sabotage. "Just give it a few days and you'll see!" she added, twirling in her dress as a sign of confidence. It was clear that Bella was is no way planning to be disqualified, and even if she didn't have a shot in hell, it appeared that she would keep on trying until the bitter end.

The prince was at a loss about how to handle his future bride turned freak, until the queen sidled up to him and whispered something in his ear. He frowned. "That's it?" The queen nodded in confirmation, so he slowly approached Bella. "I have a... proposal for you."

Her eyes lit up in excitement, as if she'd somehow known all along that their lust would transcend her disfigurement. "Yes?"

"I propose that you dine in the corridor alone, as your presence will surely put our appetites at risk." He stepped away and then turned back, as if maybe he'd had a change of heart. She held her breath in a last gasp of hope. "And by proposal I of course mean...mandatory directive." He backed away slowly, slightly concerned she might attack him and give him rabies. "I'll make sure the food is sent to you in the hallway."

As Bella's tears flowed in and out of the bumpy terrain formerly known as her face, the prince noticed Myrielle for the first time that night. The last time he'd seen her he'd never felt less attracted to anyone in his life. And yet now she was almost...passable. Not only that, but out of the seven contestants that remained--since Bella was clearly a goner now--Myrielle might have actually wormed her way to the top, at least when it came to bosoms and lowly peasant wives. He sighed.

"Just to be clear," the prince whispered to his mother, "am l actually meant to marry one of...these?"

The queen raised an eyebrow. "You are if you intend to save the kingdom," she said.

The prince sighed and rubbed his eyes. When he was done he looked out across the foyer. To his utter disappointment, it wasn't all a horrid nightmare in which he was forced to marry a peasant. With his inevitable future becoming more real, he decided it was time to make the best of it. So he grinned. "I'm honored to host you all for our first formal dinner!"

Josselyn's ears perked up. "You're giving us food that ain't porridge?" She rushed over to hug the prince but a knight came out of nowhere and blocked her.

"No touching unless the prince is a consenting party," said the knight.

"Alright then ladies," said the prince, avoiding Josselyn's emotionally-hungry and literally-hungry eyes, "let's make our way into the dining hall."

As Myrielle passed by him he stroked her arm, and the look on her face was utter shock.

He smiled in a way that was usually reserved for Bella. "Perhaps later we can expand on our last conversation."

She was puzzled. "The one about your favorite game meats? Because you never even answered the question."

He laughed. "No you silly village...girl, I'm referring to how re-opening the academy might boost by image."

Myrielle involuntarily grinned, as her dream of bringing education to the kingdom was suddenly back on the table.

From where Fredrick was standing, he didn't hear the prince's words, but what he saw was a romantic touch of the arm, which Myrielle returned with the biggest smile.

He may not have had the true facts of the moment, but for Fredrick it was now official: Myrielle had destroyed her nemesis, she was well on her way to seducing the prince, and she'd inevitably live in the castle as the princess he would have to serve...

[WRITER COMMENTARY: most of the this chapter was from Fredrick's perspective, but is he wrong about Myrielle? Has she forgotten their special talk? Does saving the academy beat out everything else? Well...let me just say that the next chapter has a rather important moment coming up... :-) . Read on!]