Cinders Goes to the Ball by Valerie Fletcher Adolph
Our coven of fairy godmothers met in the garden of Alpha's house overlooking Lake Geneva. We still use the term “fairy” godmother even though we’re all past the age of gossamer wings and wands and more into walking canes. Two of our members were absent, working on Tasks in order to replenish our dwindling stack of gold - Gamma was hovering invisibly around a toddler who had already fallen into a raging torrent three times. Lambda was starting out on a tricky, long-term Task for the parents of a sweet girl called Honeysuckle who fell in love with every good-looking young man she met.
Alpha is a genius at magic and she has been our leader for the last couple of centuries. She told us that she had been contacted by a rich nobleman saying he needed our help to get his daughter, Cinders, to attend a New Year’s Eve ball in the finest trappings - in a gold coach wearing a fabulous gown and rich jewels so she could impress a young Prince.
Personally I thought that, with his money, the nobleman could have got his daughter to the ball looking pleasingly winsome without our help. But Alpha explained that the poor fellow had lost his adored first wife, and made the mistake of too-quickly marrying Melissa, a flashy, well-endowed saleslady. Not only had she brought her twin daughters to the marriage but now she had made sure that the ball tickets named her and her two daughters, but excluded Cinders.
Once we agreed to take on the Task, Alpha revealed her plan to us. We knew she would take on the role of fairy godmother to this young woman herself - after all, she is the best. Not only does she have contacts everywhere, from Buckingham Palace to Versailles, but she is a mistress of disguise. We knew she'd be working the “I'm a tired, hungry old lady” routine to get herself inside this poor girl's house.
The only surprise was that she decided to take me along as her apprentice. I’m Beta, second in command usually, but this time sidekick would have been a better term. Still, I wasn't about to argue with Alpha. I've never fancied the life of a toad. And yes, she has magic strong enough to do just that.
We did our first reconnaissance on a cold wet day because no one takes in a poor shivering old lady and a skinny orphan in warm weather. The girl herself let us in; she said her name was Eleanor but everyone called her Cinders. The family lived in a mansion so imposing that we had gone around to the back door to avoid the liveried manservant at the front who would surely have turned us away. Inside, the furnishings were Italian oak, the carpets three inches thick, and the servants wore uniforms with the family crest. I felt overwhelmed but Alpha took it in stride.
Cinders’ father was tall, but stooped, with a potbelly. He strode around trying to look important, while Melissa issued orders to everyone. She was a trophy wife if I ever saw one - long blonde hair, a D cup with some contents artfully revealed and eyes like flint. At a distance I might have thought she was 25 until I saw her two daughters, twins, who actually were 25. They had Melissa’s flinty eyes, but sadly both had A cups and the beginnings of a mustache.
I felt sorry for poor Cinders because the twin sisters, despite all the servants, kept ordering her to do the most menial tasks - scrub the floors, peel the potatoes. Then they would walk across the clean floor and shove her face down in the potato water. Cinders herself just seemed to want to curl up by the fire with a book.
Being, for now, a skinny orphan I hid under the table to observe. The place was in an uproar because of the upcoming grand ball at the royal palace. The local king, Popham III, had lost battles recently with both the Visigoths and the Ostragoths, and he needed funds to pay his armies to take on Catalonia. Having taxed Europe to the brink of poverty, he decided his only hope of money for an army was to marry off his son, Prince Somewhat Charming, to a young woman who would inherit wealth. Hence the ball on New Year’s Eve, to attract rich heiresses.
“He should marry one of the twins,” I said. “It would serve the Pophams right.”
Alpha shook her head. “We’re here on a Task. We must get Cinders to the ball looking over-the-top wealthy so she can marry Prince Somewhat Charming. Her father’s new wife wants to be related to the royal family. Cinder’s father knows neither of his new wife's twins will snag anything above a duke.”
New Year’s Eve started smoothly enough; the entire household was busy making Melissa and the twins glamorous. I edged up to Cinders who was sitting near the fire, her head in her latest book. I perched on a stool beside her, “Don’t you wish you could go to the ball too?”
She shrugged, “I suppose so.”
Which worried me a little because we can't start the magic until the person named in the Task says, “I wish”.
“Wouldn’t you love to be in a beautiful gown?”
“No chance of that.”
“Don’t you wish you could dance with Prince Charming?”
“He’s only somewhat charming and he’s not half as good looking as the postman.”
“Yes, but the ball is going to be so glamorous. People will be talking about it for years. You’ll wish you were a part of it.”
“I suppose it might be interesting.”
“Prince Charming won’t be the only man there. You might find someone good looking and interesting. Imagine yourself in a gorgeous gown, dancing with a handsome duke or earl who could take you way from Melissa for ever.”
“Being away from Melissa would be a dream.”
“So, tell me, don’t you wish you could go to the New Year’s Eve ball?”
“If you put it like that, I suppose so. I wish I could go to the New Year’s Eve ball.”
I had almost dragged the words out of her. But right away, Alpha snapped into action.
In the blink of an eye, she contacted London and outside was a gold coach with white horses and a driver in royal livery. Next, Cinders was wearing a ballgown from Versailles and jewels from Tiffany. The only problem had been the Italian shoemaker, used to making leather shoes for gentlemen. Given Cinders’ shoe size, he came up with delicate shoes made of silica – they looked like glass but would stand up to even the clumsiest partners’ big feet. Cinders was reluctant to wear them, they looked so frail. Finally, we got her into them and they set off – Alpha sitting beside Cinders in the coach wearing another dress from Versailles and a tiara seen recently on the Princess Royal.
Later Alpha told me the ball had been quite the most decadent display of wealth she had seen in a long time – old Popham must have spent his last bag of gold to snare an heiress for his son. Prince Somewhat Charming himself was followed around by the treasurer of the royal palace to provide estimates of the financial expectations of each beautiful dancing partner. The prince did his best despite this escort and his own very limited social skills. He danced most often with Cinders because if he moved towards any other heiress, some plump older lady with a dress from Versailles stood in his way.
As midnight approached, the plump older lady hissed in Cinder’s ear, “We need to leave now. Your wish was to attend the New Year’s Eve ball. When New Year’s Eve ends, your wish ends.”
“Oh, but I’m having so much fun! Can’t I have just one more dance with Poppy?”
I can only imagine Alpha’s face as she said, “Do it and you’ll find yourself in your old clothes and you’ll walk home.”
Cinders hesitated.
“Now!”
Cinders turned to run but it was too late. Just as one of her Italian slippers fell off, all her fine clothes were replaced by scruffy kitchen wear. Alpha said Cinders cried all the way home. Myself, I’d have magicked myself home and let her walk alone.
But our Task was not complete. King Popham and his treasurer had to be guided through the country’s tax revenues to discover that Cinders’ father was the richest merchant in the country and the beautiful young woman at the ball was his eldest daughter and heiress to every bag of gold in his counting house. It was my job to lead Prince Somewhat Charming through the town to find Cinders’ mansion. It wasn’t difficult because, after the palace, it was the largest, most ostentatious building.
The prince fitted the Italian shoe carefully on Cinders’ foot and, being on his knees, asked for her hand in marriage.
So our Task was complete. We went into the counting house to collect our renumeration, which naturally included expenses. We could hardly carry the bags of gold we had earned. Too bad that Cinders might be less of an heiress than King Popham hoped.
