The king set it on William’s head instead, adjusting it with a crooked but bemused smile.
“Well, now,” he said, and he clapped his hands. “I believe someone has a story to tell me, perhaps over dinner. After all, do we not have a wedding to plan?” Then, quite suddenly, he frowned. “And whose dog is that?”
48
The Completion
We didn’t celebrate immediately, of course. There were citizens to be freed, wounds to bind, restitutions to be made. The people were greatly afraid, and it took time for trust to be earned again.
Over time, the people stopped hiding at the approach of their king—and sooner than that, they once again greeted their prince with the adoration they had always felt toward him.
Memorials were held for the fallen paladins, and Samia traveled beyond our borders to pay her respects in her own way.
Liesl fell with full force into planning the wedding, and though she continued to be bombarded with offers for her own hand, she rejected each outright with grace and kindness as only she knew how, and she grew all the lovelier, and more loved by others, each day.
Edward, William, and I learned quickly how to care for each other. It was difficult and there were many tears, but it seems to me that our lives are not meant to be easy things. We are inevitably bound to live through hardship, but it is how we deal with adversity that shapes the trajectory of our days and lives.
We will make mistakes, we will be selfish, we will cause harm. But that is not who we are, so long as we choose goodness day by day. Love first, admit wrong, and sacrifice when required, that we might love more fully and wholly and completely.
And when William pressed his lips to mine, finally, on the day we pledged ourselves to each other for all eternity, that is how I felt when I gazed at him, at my people, at the faces of the ones I loved. I did not need the Book, but I was grateful it was there, should I be called upon once again to use it in a time of need.
But that day, for the first time in many years, I was well and truly, and simply, Ellison.
Full, and whole, and complete.
Cinderella’s Inferno: Historical Notes
There’s a lot of weird stuff in this book. Spoilers ahead, so be forewarned if you’ve turned to this page before reading the story! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
If you’ve read Ellison’s first story in Cinderella, Necromancer, you know that book was not only a fairy tale retelling but that the necromancy in the text was based on a real grimoire from 15th-century Germany. In writing the sequel, I wanted to build off the world I’d established in the first story while also giving readers another taste of a Gothic-style retelling.
Cinderella’s Inferno is heavily inspired by the first part of the Divine Comedy, a 14th-century epic poem by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The Inferno is perhaps the most famous section of the three-part poem. It chronicles the journey of Dante through hell as guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil. In its simplest form, the Inferno depicts hell as nine concentric circles of eternal torment, located deep within the bowels of the earth.
When I sent Ellison into the underworld, I wanted to stay as close to Dante’s structure of hell as possible, while also taking the necessary liberties to tell an interesting story. Some of the circles have been combined (ie. Greed & Gluttony), some are reordered (ie. the Living Wood, known in the Inferno as the Wood of the Suicides), while others have been left out entirely since they didn’t serve the purpose of Ellison’s quest.
I tried to include details that readers familiar with the Inferno would appreciate. The constant sense of descent in Cinderella’s Inferno is purposeful, for example. In Dante’s poem there are several distinct drops from one level of hell to another—some via paths, some via literal drops through empty space. And readers who are familiar with the Inferno will recognize that Ellison’s father fulfills the role of Virgil (for a time, anyway). The areas in the Eighth Circle of hell (Fraud) reserved for sorcerers and heretics fit perfectly with Ellison and William’s situations, and the Ninth Circle (Treachery) was a natural fit for Celia’s reappearance.
In addition, at the entrance to Lower Hell, known as Dis in the Inferno, Dante and Virgil are visited by an angel who helps them to cross through the gates despite being threatened by the Furies—hence the mysterious stranger’s appearance to remove Samia from the quest in this book. And instead of a three-headed monster called Geryon flying the characters down to the Eighth Circle, the three-headed dog Cerberus plays that role instead.
If you’re not familiar with the Inferno, don’t worry! The poem is a long one and can be a bit of a slog, and it’s not for everyone. There are also some difficult passages and you may wish to do a little more research into the original poem’s contents before diving in. However, if you are interested in reading it for yourself, I used Robert M. Durling’s translation published by Oxford University Press. The notes in his version are extensive and perfect for first-time readers. It strikes an excellent balance between information needed to understand the text and necessary clarification of the more obscure passages. For the eager reader who loves history, it also contains some short essays on Dante’s life, the time period in which he wrote the poem, and the Inferno’s poetic structure. None of this is necessary to enjoy Ellison’s story, of course!
Acknowledgements
The first words of this book were written at a Madcap Retreat, sitting outside on the patio, while large swaths of Tennessee burned nearby enough that we saw the smoke heading closer and closer each day… which might explain some things about this story.
But in all seriousness, I’m grateful for Natalie Parker and Tessa Gratton’s leadership at the retreat, and thankful to Jilly Gagnon, Bree Barton, and Corabel Shofner for the conversations, laughs, walks, and the pervasive smell of gasoline that might still be lingering in my clothing. I can’t fill my car’s tank without thinking of you three, so, you know, that’s something.
Thanks goes out to my agent Bill Contardi for his unparalleled communication skills, and to the dedicated team at Brandt & Hochman Literary Agency.
To Georgia and the Month9Books crew—Shannon, Barbara, Katherine, and undoubtedly many others to whom I’ve not specifically been introduced. Your work is seen, appreciated, and loved. It takes an entire team to bring a book to life! An extra special thank you goes out to Najla Qamber Designs for my gorgeous covers.
Brantford Board Game group, you’re awesome. Thanks for understanding when I had to skip out on my own BGP to finish writing. Wrimosaurs, you’re literally the best NaNoWriMo group in the entire world—your encouragement while I navigated revisions and tried to hold up my end of ML duties was unparalleled. Lyndsay Houghtling, thanks for picking up my slack and being a solid partner even though I basically threw you into the deep end.
Raqs Mahasti… I love you all so much. You don’t even know. Your patience, friendship, and creativity in a non-writing outlet means I return to the keyboard renewed and energized. Sorry for being cranky on Saturday mornings, though tbh, I don’t think that’s going to stop anytime soon. One of these days I’ll bring in that kettle and/or coffee pot…
And this is less an acknowledgement for writing this book than it is for giving me the tools to move forward, since they happened in the same year: the #NoTagYetRetreat. Kate, Chandra, Emma, Kaitlyn, Sarah, Tara, and Traci, you are all delightful human specimens. Brandon, thanks for showing up. Eventually.
Thanks to my family for putting up with me, and especially to HusBeast for bringing me popcorn and/or gourmet Root Beer when I needed it. And for reminding me to shower.
Anyone else I’ve forgotten, this line is for you: [insert name here].
Finally, deep thanks has to go to Dr. Judith Fletcher, my professor of Ancient Greek during my university years—coincidentally, as I went online to double check the spelling of her name while writing this, I learned that she is currently drafting a book on the reinterpretation of ancient literature’s depictions of t
he underworld in contemporary culture, which tells you just how on-point Dr. Fletcher is in her area of expertise and how much of her incredible teaching I must have absorbed over the course of four years to then turn around and write my own underworld story. That said, all errors or deviances from the ancient and medieval depictions are my own, done for the sake of story. (Dr. Fletcher, I’ll be first online to pre-order your book!)
Soli Deo Gloria.
F. M. BOUGHAN
F. M. Boughan is a bibliophile, a writer, and an unabashed parrot enthusiast. She can often be found writing in local coffee shops, namely because it’s hard to concentrate with a cat lying on the keyboard and a small, colorful parrot screaming into her ear. Her work is somewhat dark, somewhat violent, somewhat hopeful, and always contains a hint of magic.
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