by Casey Lane
The thief seethed with anger and stepped toward the witch, but her stepmother was no longer the size she remembered.
Flames started to spill their way down her body, as Armenia laughed. “His heart was so delicious. Never tasted anything like–"
Armenia yelled with power as her body started to grow even bigger. She quickly passed the demonic size of her daughters as the red and orange flames continued to lick her body. She was becoming massive, but Cinderella held strong.
"I will not let you intimidate me, Mother."
Armenia's voice boomed. “It doesn't matter if you're scared. You'll die either way."
A deep, unsteady voice entered the fray. “Nobody does that to my boy!"
Cinderella turned to see Falstone running forward and tossing a full bottle of pure alcohol directly into Armenia's face. The spirits caught fire and gave a flash of light. Unfortunately, Armenia seemed unfazed by the momentary light show.
"Stupid fool.” She threw a fireball in Falstone's direction. The thief rushed over and made the projectile fizzle before it could sear the large knight to death.
Cinderella pulled Falstone behind the base of a massive sculpture.
Armenia's laughter continued to echo through the room.
The thief looked over and saw Kiyara fighting blow for blow with her sister. Their demonic shrieks were loud and would have been terrifying to most.
Cinderella looked back to Falstone. “You need to get out of here. It isn't safe for you."
"I'm not leaving him."
She took him by the shoulders. “He's gone, Falstone. He's like the others. He's gone."
As the realization hit the inebriated Falstone, it trickled through the thief as well. The man she trained with. The man who leapt from rooftop to rooftop with her. He would never return. All that remained was the same husk of a person that her father and Tristan and all those soldiers had become.
She fought off the darkness and tried to internalize what the Godmother had told her earlier. This wasn't about her anymore.
"Just stay here in the corner."
Falstone nodded and crouched by the wall. She didn't want to see the pain in his eyes.
The thief stepped out from behind the sculpture and held her sword high. “Mother, if you want to take this kingdom, you're going to have to go through me first."
The gargantuan Armenia ceased her laughing. “Gladly."
As Cinderella expected, her giant stepmother's motions were slower. It was easy for the thief to watch Armenia's movements toward her and estimate her timing. There would be no more surprises.
Cinderella could feel the heat from her stepmother's flaming body. But the raging flames that extended far beyond the witch's reach met a protective bubble around the thief. The sword was doing its work.
Cinderella prepared to strike. At the moment Armenia swung a large and fiery fist toward the thief, Cinderella swung her sword as well. As the blade and hand met, a blast of energy shot in every direction, sending sparks and the light skyward. The thief and the blade held their ground against the much larger witch. Armenia growled and pressed her hand into the sword, but the thief would not yield. At a stalemate, Cinderella pressed her stepmother back and did a series of backward flips to put some distance between them. Cinderella caught a glimpse of Malina on top of Kiyara, trying to claw caverns into her body. She also looked over at the motionless prince.
It's all going to hell.
Armenia screamed and dashed across the room toward her adversary. With expert timing, the thief leapt above the outstretched hand of her stepmother and swung down upon the fiery shoulder. Armenia cried out in pain, but there was no blood. The fire she momentarily extinguished came right back afterwards. Cinderella landed and rolled to the side to avoid a fiery projectile.
Armenia cackled once again. “I've grown too powerful for that stone to have an effect on me anymore. The fight is lost, little girl."
Cinderella went for one last rush at Armenia's legs, but the giant flaming creature swung her hands so quickly, she didn't have time to react. The attack burned her hands and caused her to drop the Heartstone sword. Armenia let the flames on her right hand dissipate as she grabbed the thief by the neck and hoisted her high into the air. Cinderella felt her throat constrict as she attempted unsuccessfully to let the air pass through. As she swung her legs wildly, she spied her sister on the ground. No longer in the form of a demon, Kiyara had reverted to human form. And she wasn't breathing.
The thief squealed and kicked and did everything she could to get out of the creature's grasp. It was no use.
Armenia had joy in her eyes. “The sister you love is dead. The mother you loved is dead. And neither your father nor your beloved prince will ever remember you again."
The thief did everything she could to shut out the emotional daggers that sliced at her heart. She fought hard to remember exactly what the Godmother had said.
Armenia moved her giant hand down Cinderella's body, allowing the thief to breathe once more. With all her stepmother's might, she pressed Cinderella against the wall and placed her palm over the thief's chest.
"Now let's take a look inside that grief-stricken heart of yours."
Armenia pushed into Cinderella's body and began to draw out everything from her heart. The thief's world went black.
Chapter 39
Cinderella's eyes opened wide. She still saw flames to the left and the right, but she was no longer pinned against the wall in a massive, decadent throne room. She couldn't see the dead-eyed prince or her deceased sister anywhere. Even Armenia had vanished from her view. All she saw was a room that she'd memorized every corner of. Every wall and every flame was familiar, because it was the room where her mother had died. In the familiar spot, Cinderella saw the body of her mother. But something was different about all of it. The flames usually let off so much heat that it made the thief sweat in her sleep. But she didn't feel anything. In fact, something about the flames and smoke around her made her feel almost stronger.
"What is this place?"
When nothing answered, she walked toward her mother. The flames around her continued to have no effect. She noticed that in her dreams she would often have the body of a child… the child who watched her mother die. And yet, she was her exact right age in this place. She wore her typical black thieving cloak and could feel the Heartstone sword in her scabbard. Whatever realm she'd stumbled into, it certainly wasn't the same old dream.
Cinderella knelt beside her mother. She looked over to the side of the room that in recent nights had featured the golden bird leading her into safety. That's when she realized that the bird was standing beside her. Not in its typical form, but as the little golden child. Cinderella blinked and saw that both twins were standing beside her.
Cinderella pursed her lips. “Aymee. Tressa. What is this place?"
The twins smiled in unison before Aymee opened her mouth. “Your mother is ready to speak to you now."
Cinderella's hand absently rubbed her thigh. “Am I dead? Am I with my mother?"
Tressa let out a giggle. “Just talk to her. It's why you're here."
Cinderella pulled her focus from the golden twins and let her hand lightly touch her mother's shoulder. She expected it to be cold and dead. But she was overwhelmed when she realized this woman beneath her had a pulse. She was very much alive.
Cinderella's chest tightened. “Mother?” She lightly shook the shoulder. “Mother?"
The thief's mother turned toward her, but she did not wear the face Cinderella remembered. The woman didn't seem to be her mother at all.
It was her mentor. The Godmother.
Cinderella forced herself to breathe. “What's happening here? I don't understand."
The Godmother smiled and took her fingers. “I think you do. I think if you search deep down, you do."
Cinderella's heart opened wide. The Godmother had looked different. Had acted different. Even though it seemed absolutely impossible, her mentor had
the spirit of her mother with her all along. Somehow, the woman who'd guided her all these years was actually her mother.
She held her breath and intertwined their fingers. “Why didn't you tell me? How did I not know? How did you find a way to reach me?"
The Godmother sat up and wrapped her arms around Cinderella. The thief felt herself sink into her mother's touch for the first time in a decade. It was like coming home.
Her mentor squeezed tight. “Not every question needs an answer, but you don't need to die today like I died so many years ago."
Cinderella pulled back to look her mentor in the eye. To look her mother in the eye. “I'm not dead? I can still win this fight?"
"I may have trained you to be strong. To be fast. To be resilient. But you always had the thing you needed to defeat your greatest enemy."
Through all the unanswered questions Cinderella had had over the last decade, this was one she was able to answer herself right away. She nodded and smiled.
The Godmother let her hands slip down to meet Cinderella's. “It's time for you to go."
Cinderella knew that this was true. She sighed. “Will I ever see you again?"
"I'm not sure. But I'll do my best to stay in your thoughts."
Cinderella didn't want to ever leave this place, but she knew she couldn't live in this strange world forever. A single tear rolled down her cheek and made contact with the wood below. She gripped the Godmother's hands and smiled as the vision began to fade away.
The thief's eyes opened once again. This time she was back in the throne room, but now she was on the ground. She looked up to see Armenia in unparalleled distress. Her stepmother's shrieks seemed to rattle the stone walls.
Armenia's screams were so loud and full of pain, Cinderella wondered if the fire on the outside of her body had finally gotten into her veins for the first time. The gigantic woman started to shrink and lose her fiery exterior. By the time the thief had reoriented herself and got to standing, the witch was back to normal size. Her stepmother gritted her teeth and pointed all her ire toward Cinderella.
She balled up both of her fists. “How? How were you able to resist me?"
At the very same moment, the thief and her stepmother both spied the Heartstone sword from across the room. Without hesitation, both of them ran for it. Armenia was quick, but Cinderella had something else working for her. As she grew closer to the weapon, she rolled forward, picked up the sword in one motion, and held the jeweled part of the blade up to her chest. “How did I resist? My love is stronger than your hate."
The second the jewel made contact with the area above the thief's heart, a light brighter than anything she had ever seen radiated out from it. Cinderella squinted against a light as powerful as the sun, which fired a constant beam across the throne room and directly into her stepmother's chest. The screams before were no match for the sounds that came out of Armenia's mouth just then.
Deep, dark, guttural sounds bounced against the walls of the throne room as Armenia twitched within the throes of the light. Cinderella watched with some difficulty through the brightness as her stepmother's body began to cave in on itself. The screams continued until the proud, heartless woman blinked out of existence, leaving nothing but a faint wisp of smoke behind. The light from the sword extinguished itself, and the thief fell to one knee, breathing harder than she expected.
She clutched at her chest and tried to will oxygen back into her lungs. “It's done. It's all done."
Cinderella used the sword to prop herself back to standing. With some difficulty, she walked straight ahead and through the puff of smoke that used to be her stepmother. It completely dissipated as she walked through it. She stepped past to what was now an empty throne and looked down at her fallen sister.
She shook her head. Kiyara was long gone, but there was a strange look upon the girl's face. She didn't look as though things had been cut short. She looked at peace. She looked as though, in the last moments of her life, she finally lived her truth.
"You were always my sister. That is how I'll remember you."
Gingerly at first, but then at an unwieldy gallop, Falstone emerged from behind the face of the sculpture he'd hidden behind. He placed his hand on the back of her neck. “I thought you were done for a second there. I think I owe you more than a few drinks, my lady."
Cinderella smirked. “I need a nap more than I need a drink.” She looked back to the empty throne and around the expansive chamber. “Have you seen Braedon?"
Falstone's grief-stricken look spoke volumes. “I don't understand. I don't know what that witch did to him."
Cinderella rubbed the bridge of her nose. “The same thing she's done to so many others. But, at least she'll never do it again.” She sighed. “Tell me where he is. I want to see him."
The hefty knight would make a terrible card player, as his eyes immediately betrayed the location of the prince. Cinderella kept the sword held high and walked quickly into the hallway. Her heart momentarily stopped when she saw him. The sword clattered loudly to the ground below.
Just outside the room, and in plain sight of the partygoers who had walked toward the ruckus of the throne room, were Malina and Braedon hand in hand. Her lips were pressed firmly against his.
Chapter 40
Cinderella rode home in a carriage across from Falstone. She was silent for most of it as she let the events of the last few hours sink in. Armenia had been defeated, but not without her stepmother giving Cinderella one last gift. Given how her father acted over the course of the past ten years, she wasn't sure if there was any chance of getting back the Braedon she knew.
The thief wasn't sure how she did it, but in that short time outside the throne room, Malina had secured a marriage proposal from the heartbroken soon-to-be king. The demon happily accepted. It was like her father’s second marriage all over again.
From what she knew of the large knight across from her, he was quieter than normal as well. Much in the way she had been shunned, the bonds of friendship between him and the erstwhile prince had likewise been severed.
"He said he didn't know me. It was like the last few years never happened for him. I know they say that drinking causes memory loss, but this is something–"
"It's not your fault, Falstone. It's terrible and it's magical, but it's not your fault."
Falstone's eyes seemed to appreciate her compassion, but they betrayed his lack of belief. His guilt was deafening.
The carriage stopped when it reached Cinderella's home. With her dad barely able to speak a word, and her stepmother turned into smoke, she supposed she'd been upgraded from servant status.
She nodded toward Falstone. “Think of him more when you get some sleep. If you'd like to talk things over more, I'm happy to do so."
As she reached for the door, the sweaty knight stopped her. “Wait. Before… whatever it was... happened to him, Braedon gave me something for you."
Cinderella squinted, until she remembered that final dance with the prince. “The note."
He pulled the parchment from his jacket pocket. “I didn't read it. I wanted to, of course, but I actually never got the chance.” He placed it in her palm. “Tell me what it says, after you've been able to… after you've gotten some rest."
She smiled. “You're a good friend. If he were in his right mind, he'd be very happy you did this for him."
Falstone jumped up from his seat and wrapped his arms around the thief. She squeezed him back.
"If you ever need someone to drown your sorrows with, you know exactly where I'll be."
Though she was in pain, the gesture of affection helped her feel warm. “I promise I'll take you up on it."
Cinderella stepped down from the carriage, her feet still bare from the battle. When she reached the ground, she turned to see Falstone blowing her a kiss. Then the carriage pulled off and left her there, alone. She looked down at the note and took a deep breath as she opened the parchment. She focused her eyes and squinted at the words that
were highlighted by moonlight.
I'm sorry, Elle. The idea of magic had always been thwarted for me when there was nothing the entire kingdom could do to bring my father back. But I'm warming to the concept after seeing what the Godmother was able to coax out of me. Especially after seeing what happened with you and the sword in the blacksmith's house. But really, the greatest magic of all has been spending time with you. I hope you don't hate me, and I hope I have the opportunity to be in your company much more often. Besides, I have a feeling one of these days I'm going to beat you.
Love,
Braedon
Cinderella let herself read the words one more time before she allowed the parchment to slip from her fingers. A light midnight breeze carried the paper away from her, scuttling it across the cobblestone and out of her view. She walked inside the house and shut the door.
Cinderella lay there in her dress for an entire day. There were several moments when the pain, both mentally and physically, nearly abated enough to let her stand and change. That's when the thoughts of her sister or the engaged Braedon came to mind and forced her back down. According to her mother's former servants, news had spread quickly of the impending marriage. Not only that, but Braedon would be formally crowned king in his mother's absence. This would come shortly before Malina, the new love of his life, would become the Queen of Loren. It seemed as though Armenia's final wish would be fulfilled.
A part of the thief considered one last mission to rescue the prince from his fate. She knew that security around the castle would likely be tripled and that her efforts to get into the castle would be a suicide mission. But what exactly would she be rescuing him from? If her father was any indication, he'd be just as morose at the altar as he would on the run.
If he chose to leave the castle with her in the first place.
A full day after the battle with Armenia, Cinderella was still in her dress. She might have stayed in this condition for another few hours if she hadn't heard a noise from downstairs. They were footsteps. Someone was walking around the house, but who? At long last, the noises were enough to get Cinderella out of bed and into something more comfortable. She took one of her daggers with her, just in case.
