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Love. It’s a curse. Why did I ever even think that it would solve my problems, when it turned out to be the problem. That, bitch, lied and cheated. He never loved me, even though I love him; at least, I used to. I have my fairy godmother to thank for that realization. Now that I have that fairy’s wand that led me to be played, I can get the revenge I need.
I stand in my room, that fairy staring at me with her jaw practically on the floor. I smirk, her eyes widen, and I turn her into a cloud of smoke before she can react. The mice run for the holes in the wall, fleeing. I let them go; they did nothing wrong. I pull my hair into a bun as I stride down the stairs. When I reach the hall, there’s no one there. I take the grand stairs slowly, allowing the magic I wield to change my current attire into a trumpet dress of beautiful, practical design. I find Anastasia and Drizell at the bottom of the staircase. They yell at me, wondering what I’m doing. Pointing the wand at them, I smiled. They had no idea what was coming.
They kept yelling at me, even after I turned them into mice. They can live a filthy life, like they never wanted. When those snobs finally noticed what I’d done, they shrieked, tiny, squeaky little shrieks, and scurried off. I almost left right then, but a glint of red caught my eye. It was the royal seal of a letter. Picking it up, I opened it and read the paper inside.
To all who reside in the Termaine Household,
We have wondrous news to share! The Prince has chosen a bride. We invite you to the feast which we will hold in her honor. The feast will be a masquerade feast! Wear a mask of your choice and something to move in, for there will be feasting and dancing! It is at 10 tonight and will last till morn. Bring other friends and family. We’d be happy to have more company on this joyful night.
The Bride will be announced at the feast.
Sincerely,
King Fredrick
So, he hasn’t yet. I thought he had picked and married already. That gives me hope. Maybe his little love ploy isn’t real. Maybe he actually picked me. I hope so. I’ll go to this little feast of his. It wouldn’t hurt, I suppose.
I tucked the letter in a safe spot, where that dog of a stepmother won’t be able to find it. I don’t want to see her again for as long as I live. I start making my way to the palace. I walk, knowing I have plenty of time before the feast starts. The moon is peaking out from the horizon, the sun visible no more. A few stars dot the clear sky already.
— — —
A few hours later, I reached the castle. It’s nearly time for the feast. Using the wand, I give myself a half-mask adorned with deep blue feathers that shimmer as I move. Tiny, blue sapphires dot the rim, while veins of cobalt and royal blue crawl across the mask like intricate cracks. There are others still exiting carriages, so I whip one up for myself and join the line.
When the ‘porter’ helped me exit the carriage, I saw someone was taking down who had arrived, probably to make sure the Prince’s chosen bride was there. And I am. The man—who clearly didn’t recognize me—recognized the coach and asked where the Termaine family was. I told him that they were dreadfully sick and had sent me, their maid, to the feast so I could relate the good news of who the bride was to them. He accepted the answer and let me through.
It was thoroughly decorated in the castle, not one speck of dust in sight. The main ballroom had large tables along and near the walls so there was still space to mingle and dance in the middle. All the ladies there(even the poorer girls) had on the fanciest dresses they owned. The masks varied, some covering the full face, others looking like animals, some both. All colors and every gem were dabbled across the range of masks.
The prince, of course, had the most extravagant mask. The half mask rested on his face, its sapphires and kyanites sparkling with the light. Streaks and flecks of navy blue were scattered across it in an elegant manner. The border was a cobalt blue with bark blue feathers on the top corners. We matched. I like it.
The feast started and people ate, danced, and talked. People had fun and the ladies all hoped to be the bride. They, of course, were wrong. It was going to be me. There’s no way it couldn’t be. We’d talked and danced and laughed all the night before. He loved me, and I loved him. All I had to do was wait for him to announce his love to me.
As midnight approached, more and more people came to celebrate our lovely feast. And finally, when the last arrived, the King called for silence. The music paused, the dancing stopped, and the people listened as the Prince, my love, stood up. His father followed in suit and spoke first.
“My loyal subjects, welcome!” Everyone clapped as the king held up his hands. “I am truly honored to say that my dear son,” he puts a hand on the Prince’s shoulder, “has found one whom he loves and cherishes, a woman whom he wishes to spend his days with..” He pauses, looking to his son to continue.
His son stepped forward and said:
“I thank you all for coming tonight, to celebrate my engagement with my bride!” He waited for the cheers to die down. “I do hope you all will support my future and I in our endeavors to keep this kingdom strong. I love her and hope you will all love her as I do.” He smiled as the cheers became deafening.
My mood lifted and my heart sang louder with each word he’d said. I loved him and knew he loved me back. All I had to do was wait patiently for him to say it was me. I know he didn’t know my name, but we had pet names for each other that night. I was honey and he was sweetbee. We came up with them in the garden.
The prince stood and waited for the cheers to die down yet again, which took several minutes. When it did die down, he took a breath and spoke again.
“Now, with great pride and love, I shall introduce you to my bride-to-be!” He waits for a few moments, for suspense, likely. I could hardly wait to hear my name.
With his hand down towards me as if to invite me up, the prince shouted, “Lady Adélaïde Rousseau!”
As the crowd cheered for the redhead next to me, whose face lit up, all I could think about was that he chose a brat, a nothing, a nobody, over me. I spent all night with him, talking and fawning and kissing. He—I—
“Let the festivals begin once again!” A voice, the king’s, shouts.
It doesn’t take longer than that for the crowd to dance and feast and cheer once more. I look up at the prince and watch as he hugs that nobody as if she’s the only girl in the world as he claimed I was. Hatred fills my veins, flooding every corner of vision. But, I decided to wait. What better time for revenge than crashing a wedding?
The night passed agonizingly slow, ending with a dance of just the prince and his unworthy swine. When it finally ended, I couldn’t leave soon enough. As I rode back in the carriage, I started plotting. I went over about a thousand scenarios in my head before I finally settled on the perfect one.
When we got back to the chateau, I climbed out of the carriage and let it disappear, back to wherever I had conjured it from. The house was quiet inside. I liked it, though I do wonder where my so called step-sisters scurried off to. It doesn’t matter, though. I won’t have to deal with them again.
I found that ‘stepmother’ of mine in her room. I stood and waited for her to notice. She jumped when she saw me. I vaporized her. No need to keep that evil in this world. I undressed, threw on a nightgown, and went to bed.
When the morning light shined through the windows, I got up and dressed. I went to the kitchen to get myself some breakfast. There was some flour left for pancakes. I’ll have to get more later.
Just as I finished my fresh pancakes, I heard a knock. I walked to the door and opened it to find a royal messenger there. He handed me a letter and hurried off to his next stop. I closed the door. Looking down, I see that it’s a purple envelope, the royal crest stamped into the red wax on the back. I opened it up, sitting on the stairs. It was a wedding invitation.
I sat straight up and read slowly. The wedding was to be held in three days’ time. Just enough time for me to gather what I need. Just a wand won’t be enough. Magic sometimes required more than a source to spout from.
I spent the next few days preparing my wedding gift to the prince and his bride. Took a mighty heap of work without my mice friends to help me. It will be worth it though, to watch his face fall as the love he left behind came back to bite him. Or worse.
— — —
The day of the wedding was here. I put on my best dress, which I spent the past few nights making. The bodice had shards of shattered glass, the gaps between the glass—filled with a deep blue transparent silk—getting bigger before it stopped just below my collarbone. The skirt was a deep navy blue, cascading down in soft waves like shadows.
I had on thigh-high boots that faded from opaque black at the sole of the boots to clear silver at the top. Veins of silvery dark blue climb up the boots as well. I pulled my hair into a faux waterfall braid. And with a little mascara, blush, and eyeshadow, I was ready.
I summoned the carriage I had used that dreadful night and hopped in. The ride to the palace got slower the closer we were. The roads were packed with people heading to the royal wedding.
I was one of the first to unload. Once they’d let me through, I slipped down a random hallway. And I stood there, watching people go by and waiting for the right moment. It took a while for all the people, even royals from other kingdoms, to arrive and take their seats. A few beats after the last person walked past me, I silently followed. Standing in a shadowy corner, no one could see me. And they won’t until I want them to.
I stood there the entire time, but tuned it all out until the vows. As it is in any wedding, the pastor asked if anyone has an objection to the marriage. I waited until he was about to speak again before I stepped out and said: “I do.”
Every head turned to look at me, with either disgust or shock.
“And why?” The pastor asked me.
Instead of answering, I took a few steps forward and spoke. “This man,” I gestured to the prince, “isn’t as righteous as you may think… You all remember the blonde haired girl in the blue dress whom no one knew the name of, yes?”
The crowd slowly nodded.
I strolled among the crowd. “Then you should remember how the prince took a liking to her, danced with her all night, took her to the gardens, almost kissed her. And then he tries to find her with a shoe.” I stopped in the aisle and scowled. “I suppose he must’ve found his love because did he ever stop to wonder that maybe there’s another out there other than his little Esmeé that could fit the shoe? No. Did he ask her if she had the other shoe to prove it was indeed his Esmeé? Of course not. That’s too much work for a guy like him. Did he ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, his Esmeé lived in lower status? Not even once. He was too busy believing that those peasants could never be the pretty little thing he loved.”
The prince looked utterly confused. I’d call him a poor little thing, pityingly, but he knows what he did. The puzzle pieces just haven’t connected yet. The crowd was silent, so I continued.
“And yet, she was. Every day she waited for her love to show. For the prince to roll up and carry her away to marriage. For them to say ‘I do’ and live happily ever after. But sadly, this isn’t one of those stories.” The crowd seemed uncomfortable. I liked it. “I just want to warn you. That girl is among the crowd tonight. She might want to seek peace. Congratulate the prince. Get revenge on the one she thought was her true love. That’ll be up for fate to decide.”
The crowd murmured among themselves, the bride looking very pale, and the prince. Well, one could see the cog wheels turn as I stared at him. Then sweet recognition dawned on his face. He pulled his bride just a bit closer.
“Quiet down, please,” I said coldly. Everyone stopped talking and looked at me. “The prince has connected the dots!” I gestured with my arms to say the floor was his. “Do you mind sharing with the others your conclusion?”
It took a moment for him to speak. “...You’re the girl you were talking about, aren’t you?”
I chuckled. “Correct indeed. And I have proof.”
I pulled out the glass slipper. No one noticed my dress. The entire crowd gasped. A lovely little sound.. And with that, the skirt of my dress wrapped around every guest in the room like shadowy hands, preventing them from moving. It also grabbed the pastor and brought him to the crowd, The guards outside the doors clearly didn’t notice.
I stepped slowly towards the prince and his bride. He pulled her behind him protectively. When I got merely a foot from the prince, I held the shoe between us.
“I waited every day in agony for you to show. You didn’t. And then I heard about the ball. Figured you’d announce it there. But, you chose that hag instead.” The girl gasped and I wheeled on her. “Another sound from your petty little mouth and I’ll let you watch your groom get beaten to a pulp.” She shut her mouth at that.
“Stop this. Now,” the prince growled.
I pretended to consider before slamming the shoe in his face. The glass shattered and blood was everywhere. The brat screamed. I pulled out my wand and sent the prince flying backwards into the wall. She screamed again, so I did the same to her.
The guards finally heard. They entered the room, swords drawn, and paused for a moment. Their eyes scanned the chaos before landing on me. The guards charged, swords raised. Catching the prince’s eye, I smiled. Smiled a devil’s grin that would shatter his heart like he did mine.