The Next Cinderella

Chapter 31--No Turning Back

Fairy Godmother and Myrielle made their way along the gravelly path towards the looming tower in silence. Back in the royal hall, Fairy Godmother had been on a victory lap in her mind; the bonus coin she'd won...the parties she'd throw...the gold-plated carriage she'd buy...except...when she thought about it...she would usually drink alone in her cottage and didn't even have any friends. And here was Myrielle...who'd made the difficult choice of ruining her life and Fredrick's for the good of the kingdom. Maybe it was the sobering cool night breeze, or maybe it was the shred of humanity within her that alcohol abuse could not kill. Whatever it was, she felt protective of Myrielle, almost in the way that...a godmother would.

"It will all work out," Fairy Godmother said.

Myrielle's only answer was an unintelligible grunt.

Fairy Godmother extended her hand out to pat Myrielle on the shoulder, but nerves got the best of her halfway through and she stopped short of actual physical contact. "If only my magic worked on these complicated human affairs!"

Myrielle snorted. "Magic..."

Fairy Godmother was running out of 'empathy ideas' fast. She fished around in the pockets of her dirty cloak and held out her hand to Myrielle. "Cashews?"

Myrielle glanced at Fairy Godmother's open palm to find a handful of broken nuts mixed in with some random scraps. She pulled out something shiny. "That's a button."

Fairy Godmother grinned. "Keep it for good luck!"

Myrielle laughed bitterly. "Luck? Luck? What does luck have to do with anything at all? Luck is just another name for the things we end up doing to each other." She lowered her head. "And the things I did to Fredrick."

"Don't worry about him!" said Fairy Godmother laughing. "Servants are the most resilient humans at all!" She had no idea what that could possibly mean but it was all that her intoxicated brain could conjure up.

Myrielle wiped the first real tear she'd shed since joining the contest. "Let's just go and face the wolves."

They approached the base of the tower a few minutes later, and as Myrielle went inside and started climbing the narrow steps, she noticed Fairy Godmother struggling below.

"I think just I'll wait down here!" she said.

Myrielle frowned. "But you're supposed to be my shield if things get ugly!"

Fairy Godmother frowned. "But what if things don't get ugly? Then I would have climbed all those stairs for nothing. And how many stairs do I even have left in these wobbly knees?"

As much as Fairy Godmother wanted to help her struggling 'godchild,' she was tired and old in sixteenth-century terms, and already beating the odds by surviving into her sixties.

Instead of responding Myrielle stomped up the stairs two at a time. This had already been the worst day of her life, and it left her with zero patience for alcoholism excuses disguised as geriatric struggles. Blinded by rage she reached the top of the stairs and swung the door open without a second thought.

Inside the dorm, the girls were in the middle of a gossipy huddle, but they started to disperse when they noticed Myrielle.

"You're here..." one of them said.

"I thought Bella caught you in the act..." said another.

'Bella the beast' was the last one to emerge from the huddle. "I caught her alright. And it's strange...because when I left...the prince was planning on be-heading you both." She stepped closer, her face revealing a layer of blisters that had just been freshly scratched. She flicked Myrielle on the forehead. "Tell us then; why is your head still attached to your body?"