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It had been the best night in all of Cinderella's life. Before this, her only happy memories had been when her father was still alive. Never in all her wildest dreams, did she imagine that she would be here at the royal castle and danced with the crown prince himself. The happiness his loving attention brought her was so overwhelming that it almost seemed too good to be true. She didn't want it to ever end. She wanted this moment to last forever.
Once they’d finished dancing, the two of them had been walking slowly through the royal garden admiring its beauty. Now they were seated together on a low stone banister near the entrance of the back of the castle. The prince’s gentle hands were on her upper arms and they were slowly leaning in to kiss.
Just as their lips were about to touch, there was a soft chiming off to Cinderella's left. In a flash she suddenly remembered the time limit her fairy godmother had warned her about. Looking in the direction of the gentle chime she saw the massive clock tower and that it was almost twelve o’clock. She gasped "Oh my goodness!"
"What's the matter?" The prince asked kindly.
Cinderella stood up from the banister looking in the direction of the clock tower again. “It's midnight!” Where had the time gone?
"Yes, so it is?”
But before he’d even finished the sentence, Cinderella immediately started to hurry back to the palace. "Goodbye.” She had to get to the carriage and race home before the clock struck midnight.
But she was stopped when the prince caught her gently by her wrist. "No, no wait! You can't go now, it's only-"
“Oh, I must! Please I mus.." She froze as a thought came to her. Did she really want to go back? Did she want to continue to live under the cruelty of her Stepmother and Drizella and Anastasia? But how could she explain all this to the prince? Would he even believe her about the magic? Anyone would think she was crazy. But he did seem to care, he had asked for her to dance with him, had been loving and kind to her all night and now he was insisting her to remain here with him.
But what would his reaction be when he saw her beautiful dress change into her mother’s torn and ruined dress? Now as she thought about it, the odds were that she probably wouldn’t even make it home before the stroke of twelve. She decided to try her luck. Anything would be better than the life she now endured as a servant in her own home.
Signing she closed her eyes and relaxed her stance. "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth."
"Truth about what?” He asked, holding her hand in both of his. “What's got you so worried?"
The clock struck its first chime and Cinderella felt her heart pounding. She hoped against all the odds that this would go the way she hoped and not end in a complete disaster. "On the stroke of twelve my dress is going to change back to what it really is, which is not this beautiful dress. I only had until midnight, but I didn't realize how quick the time would pass.”
As the clock continued to chime the prince stared at her in confusion. "What do you mean change back?"
Cinderella looked up at the clock again as it rang out its last few chimes until the stroke of twelve. She took a deep breath and as she stepped back. The prince’s hand suddenly released her as a puff of sparkles enveloped her and ballgown turned back into the torn remnants of her mother's dress. At the same moment, her hair fell down from the elegant updo to her shoulders. Her glass slippers, necklace, headdress and gloves vanished as well. She didn't look up at the prince as she was afraid of seeing his reaction.
"What was that? Your... your dress... It's…it's gone”
She walked back over to the stone banister and sat back down still not looking at him. "The truth is that I was granted that beautiful dress by my fairy godmother who I never knew of until this night. I didn't even know that real magic existed, it all happened so fast. I wish I could explain it, but it's beyond me. All I wanted was to have a night where I could escape and just feel like all the other women in the kingdom who are free and happy.”
The prince's footsteps approached her and he sat down beside her. “Free? What did you want to be free from?"
Cinderella sighed to herself "This is hard to explain because I have never complained. I have never told anybody about my troubles.”
The prince placed his warm hand over hers. "You can tell me anything. I know we only just met, but I can see you're not only beautiful in looks, but you have a beautiful heart. Out of all the maidens I met tonight, I knew when I first laid eyes on you that you were special, not just because of how you looked, but I felt inside that you were special. Please, tell me of your troubles and I will help in any way I can."
Cinderella felt a smile returning. No one had ever spoken like this to her since her father had passed away. If the Prince felt like this towards her, then perhaps she could trust him. She turned back to face him and he was looking at her with the same caring expression he had worn when they'd danced. That was the last piece of assurance she needed to confirm he was trustworthy. “OK, I'll tell you, my story.” She shifted where she sat, so she was properly looking him in the eye. “My name is Cinderella and I live at the large Chateau on the outskirts of the town."
"Isn't that the home of the late Baron Hardup?" The prince asked.
Cinderella nodded.
"My father spoke of the baron once or twice to me, said he was a good man and a good father. And that it was such a sadness that he lost his first wife then died too soon himself?"
This was surprising, not only that the king knew of her father, but also regarded him as a good man and would speak of him in such respect. "I still miss him so much, he and my late mother were probably the only people that cared about me, including my pets and animal friends."
"Are you saying that you have no one else? From what I heard, your father was married to his second wife when he died. Did she not take care of you?"
She shook her head. "Quite the opposite actually. When father died, she became cold and cruel towards me. She took me out of my bedroom, stripped me of the lovely dresses and gifts my father had bestowed upon me. She moved me up to the attic tower and forced me to become a servant in my own home?” Cinderella still could not believe that she was actually telling all this to another person, but it felt good. The prince’s expression had become shocked with disbelief and when he said nothing, she decided to break the silence and continue the story.
“All these years, ever since I was eight years old, they made me do everything around the house. My stepmother squandered my father's fortune on my stepsisters. Despite all this hardship, I remained kind to them and did all they said. But they never thanked me once for any of it or show me any gratitude for my efforts. Part of me hoped that one day they would see the light and welcome me back properly as a member of the family.” She sighed as she remembered what had happened earlier that night. The memory pained her just as excruciatingly as her parent’s deaths had been. “But after something awful they did to me tonight, I can see that they'll never change.”
"What did they do to you?"
"After we received the invitation for the ball, my stepmother said I could only come too if I got all my chores finished and found something suitable to wear. I did find something which was one of the last things I had of my mother's. It was an old pink and white dress of hers. And against the odds the dress was altered to be suitable enough just in time for the ball tonight. But it appeared that the discarded stuff that was used to alter the dress was stuff I thought was just unwanted things my stepsisters didn't want anymore. But when I presented myself to them, my stepsisters...they became really angry and tore the dress apart into what you see me wearing right now. Then…they left me all alone at the house with a torn dress and a…broken heart."
She closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek as she ran her hand over the torn fabric of her skirt. The prince put a comforting arm round her and Cinderella leaned against him, welcoming the loving care she had longed for so long.
"I can't believe anyone could be that cruel to someone as wonderful as you, Cinderella.” Tenderly he wiped her tear away.
"I can't believe it myself. I never did anything to them, my father was nothing but good to them too. But I guess it’s no use hoping anymore, any hope I ever had that they could change disappeared when they shut the door on me tonight and left me all alone."
His hand gently rubbed her arm "Don't you worry, Cinderella. You won't have to return to that cruel life ever again. I promise I will help you.”
Cinderella at up and looked him in the eye again. "What will you do?"
"I will have them brought before my father and they will face the consequences for all the abuse they have done to you.”
If someone had said this to Cinderella yesterday, she would’ve begged them not to do anything to her Stepmother or Drizella and Anastasia. But tonight, after what they had done to her, they had lost any pity Cinderella had in her heart for them. It was about time they faced the consequences for their cruelty to her.
"I will only do so however if that is what you wish for. The choice is yours.” Said the Prince.
Cinderella gave a small smile, grateful that he was asking her permission and not doing anything against her will. He was so kind and considerate, how was it possible that everything she had ever hoped for was coming to her so easily in this night. It was so unbelievable, even that such a man like the prince existed. That he was willing not only to listen, but want to help her too. She had to accept what he was offering. The last thing she wanted was to return to being a caged and helpless bird. Taking a deep breath she nodded "I will allow you to do it. I have had enough and want to have a life free from them."
The prince took her hand "I can offer that life to you too, but only if it is what you really want.”
"What do you mean?"
"Ever since my poor mother, the queen, died. I always felt an empty space my heart. I was grateful for the undying love my father gave me throughout my childhood, but part of me still missed her so much. When I got old enough, I left the castle to travel the lands and try to find a way to heal the empty space in my heart. Though I found the traveling enjoyable, the emptiness remained. I didn't give up because I knew she would have wanted me to be happy. Soon though I knew I would have to come home because I did miss my father. And I would have to take on my responsibility for the kingdom,"
He paused for a moment and looked out into the distance. "It was today that I returned and when I came before my father, he told me that we were having a royal ball in my honor. And the purpose of it was so I could find myself a suitable wife. I wasn't ready for this though, because it felt so sudden for my father to arrange something like this. And every maiden who came before me tonight seemed to all be the same. However, when I saw you across the ballroom, I somehow knew that you were the one. And all night I have had the most wonderful feeling. I feel as though that empty space my mother’s passing left me with has faded away. No other girl I have ever met has captured my heart the way you have."
Cinderella could not believe what she was hearing. After just a short time of knowing him, did she really make him feel all this? Then again, the care he was giving her was kind of doing the same to her. All night not only had she felt free, but the grief from the loss of her parents seemed to fade as well.
Taking her hands in his, he stood back up and so did she. "I know we barely met tonight, but my heart has never been surer.” He bent down one knee and Cinderella's eyes widened in astonished wonder, "Beautiful Cinderella, will you marry me and become my queen?"
She did not need to contemplate her decision because she felt exactly the same way he did. Somehow this night had not just been magical because of the things her fairy godmother had granted her. Somehow when she and the prince met, some other kind of magic in their hearts told them that each other was special. And Cinderella had never been happier and she didn't want it to end. Smiling happily, she said "I would love to.”
A big smile broke across the prince's face. He stood up and without any hesitation, they leaned in and their lips met in a loving kiss.
Her heart sang with pure joy and all her troubles vanished as the kiss sealed their declaration of love. When the kiss finished, he picked her up and whirled her around making her giggle. After setting her back down on her feet again they'd caught their breath the prince leaned forward and whispered softly in her ear.
"Thank you, Cinderella.”
"Thank you, my prince. You have no idea how much this means to me. For the longest time, I have dreamed of finding happiness. And somehow it found me.” They wrapped each other in a warm hug and stood there for a while.
Then The prince said "Cinderella, we should go to my father and sort everything out. First we'll deal with your step family then we'll start arranging our future."
Cinderella smiled then she looked down at her mother’s torn dress. "I don't know how we're going to explain my dress to everyone. It’s going to cause a lot of confusion.” Then she froze as she remembered something else.
"What is it?" The prince asked.
“If my dress transformed back, then so did everything else. My fairy godmother also transformed a pumpkin into the coach I came here in, my mouse friends into the horses, my own horse Major into the coachman and my dog Bruno into the footman. Oh dear, I hope no one finds them.”
When she looked back up at the Prince, he was staring mystified at something behind her. Turning around Cinderella saw a cluster of sparkling twinkles gathering in the air and coming together to form a shape. Cinderella's smile returned as she realized who it was, "Fairy Godmother!" She cried in delight.
The older women appeared before her in bright glow from all the beautifully combined sparkles. "Yes, my child" she said, taking her hands. "I did not know if you would return home or choose to remain on the stroke of twelve. But I'm happy that followed your heart." She glanced behind Cinderella and she did so too.
The prince himself still looked mystified by what he had just seen, then after looking at the fairy godmother and then back to Cinderella. "I guess everything you told me about the magic makes complete sense now."
Cinderella nodded, "I suppose seeing It with your own eyes helps."
"It certainly does.”
She turned back to her fairy godmother "I know I only had until midnight, but I forgot about the time because I was so happy and…”
“You don't have to apologize, child. I understand. I have been watching and I know you are worried about several things, but you do not need to. When I saw that you'd chosen to stay here, I cast a slight change on the spell. When the clock struck twelve, I sent your friends and the pumpkin straight back to your garden. I told them myself what had happened and so all is well. As for your dress my dear, that can easily be fixed.” Her magic wand appeared in her hand and she waved it, summoning a cluster of more sparkles "Bibbidi- Bobbidi-Boo!"
The sparkles surrounded Cinderella and in a matter of seconds her dress changed back into the beautiful ballgown, her hair was styled back into its elegant updo and all her accessories returned too.
When all the sparkles faded the fairy godmother said. "This time there is no time limit Cinderella. The dress is yours to keep as a gift from me. As for your mother's dress, I have sent it back to your tower room and restored it back to the pretty dress your friends made for you?"
For a moment Cinderella was lost for words. There was nothing to worry about. Here friends were safe, her mother's dress was mended and she was engaged to marry the prince. The man she had found true love with. Smiling warmly, she took her fairy godmother's hand. "Thank you, thank you so much for everything"
The older woman returned her smile and caressed her cheek. "You’re welcome, my child. Take care and I hope the days to come will bring you the happiness you deserve"
"Will I ever see you again?"
"Oh, I have no doubt you will. Goodbye for now Cinderella and you as well, your highness" she said giving the prince a curtsy and he bowed in return. In a small flash she disappeared leaving a cloud of sparkles that went out one by one like bubbles in the air.
They both watched until the last sparkle went out. Cinderella turned back to face the prince who was still staring at the space where her fairy godmother had been standing moments ago.
"Don't worry, even I am still amazed that magic like this exists."
The prince relaxed again. "Well at least she saved us the trouble of explaining your dress"
"And that there would have been a pumpkin, four mice, a horse and a dog at the foot of the castle steps."
They both laughed. “Well now that's all sorted, shall we go find my father?”
“Yes, let's go!” The prince offered her his arm and she took it with a smile. Together they walked back towards the castle.
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It all turned out better than Cinderella ever imagined. Once she and the prince returned to the castle, they summoned the King and the Grand Duke. Once they were all alone in the empty throne room, the prince had Cinderella tell them all about her miserable life and how she had been forced to become a servant in her own house by her stepmother, and how she and her two daughters had mistreated her. Cinderella left out the part about her Fairy godmother and the magic part of the story. Cinderella said instead that she had acquired her ballgown and her coach by a kind soul who had taken pity on her.
Seated on his throne, The king seemed to believe all she told. It was still unbelievable to Cinderella when the king himself confirmed that he had known of her father. When her story was over, The King was extremely furious to learn that the Baron’s second wife had taken advantage of Cinderella and her family’s good fortune. He stood up quickly and demanded to his guards that Lady Tremaine and her daughters were to be brought to the throne room.
Cinderella stood close at the prince’s side while his father was seated in his great throne. When her stepmother, Drizella and Anastasia were brought before them, she managed to keep her face expressionless. When Lady Tremaine caught her eye and realized who she was she looked as though she was about to explode with fury, but before she could march forward a guard held her back with a hand restraining her.
The king declared that she was guilty domestic violence due to her mistreatment of her stepdaughter and abusing her power over Cinderella’s family fortune and taking advantage of the poor girl she was suppose to treat as a member of her family.
Of course, Lady Tremaine denied all this claiming Cinderella was just an imaginative child making all this up and that her late husband the Baron had left everything to her to do with as she wished, including his daughter who was nothing but an inferior to him.
Cinderella felt her heart fall in pain at this false claim. She was about to speak out, but The King then rose up from his throne, his face was red with fiery fury. He pointed at Lady Tremaine and sharply declared that knew for a fact that she was lying. The reason why he knew this was because, not long before the Baron passed away, he had told The King that his daughter Cinderella was the most important girl in his life. Being a father himself, the king knew a father’s affection whenever he saw it. Baron Hardup would have never regarded his beloved daughter as an inferior.
The king then decreed that Lady Tremaine would be striped of her title and she would be imprisoned along with her daughters. And Cinderella would become the legal owner of her home and family fortune to do with as she wished.
Cinderella still kept her face blank as she watched her Stepmother and Stepsisters being hauled away by the guards. All three of them were screeching like parrots and begging not to be imprisoned, but their pleas were useless.
Once they door was closed, the prince turned back to his father and declared that he had chosen Cinderella to be his bride and that she had happily accepted his proposal.
The delight on the King’s face when he heard this news was so adorable. Quick as a flash he raced over to embrace Cinderella, lifting her right off her feet and making her smile happily as she hugged him back.
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Soon everything was perfect. Cinderella had requested that her horse Major and dog Bruno were to be brought to live at the palace too. Unknown to everyone else, the mice and birds came along too. The birds taking up residence in the palace gardens and the mice finding their own new homes within the walls of the castle and keeping out of sight as they always did. Lucifer on the other hand was turned loose on the streets since Cinderella knew he was not safe to have near her mouse friends and he had never been a loving pet to her or her animal friends.
And in no time at all the magical day came where Cinderella and the prince was happily married and the whole kingdom rejoiced in welcoming the new princess. After exiting the church, the church bells chimed, the people of the kingdom cheered and confetti flew everywhere in snowy showers. Cinderella and the prince rode away in the golden royal coach to their honeymoon. And after sharing a loving kiss with her husband, Cinderella leaned on his shoulder. Her heart filled with happiness and his arm around her shoulders. All her troubles were over and her dreams had come true.
The End.