Hello everyone! As promised, here is the other Cinderella-based fanfiction. This time, it will be based off the classic Disney movie. :D
I do not own Hey Arnold or Disney's Cinderella.
The story will be somewhat like the movie, but with some modifications. X3
The cast? Well, I shall give it to you here so no one will get confused.
Cinderella: Helga
Lady Tremaine: Brooke Lloyd
Anastasia: Lila (In this, she will be Brooke's child but from a previous marriage than Rhonda)
Drusilla: Rhonda
Lucifer the cat: Himself
Fairy Godmother: Dr. Susan Bliss
Jack the mouse: Phoebe
Gus the mouse: Eugene
Other mice: Other characters of the series.
Birds: Also other characters. XD
Bruno: Harold
Horse: Patty
The Prince: Arnold
(Gerald will be Arnold's personal servant and best friend)
The King: Grandpa Phil
Grand Duke: Martin (Gerald's father)
--~~--~~--
Once upon a time, there was a tiny kingdom that lay in prosperity and peace, rich in romance and community. Upon this lovely place, there lay a little Chateau in which a widowed man lived with his young daughter, named Helga. She was kind, and very gentle. She was not the loveliest child on the block, but none seemed to care. While her father gave her every kind of luxury, he felt that she needed a mother's care.
So, he married again, to a woman of a good family, with two daughters just Helga's age. By name, Lila and Rhonda.
The tragic accident came and Helga's father had passed on. This was when her stepmother's true nature came through, for she was jealous of Helga's imminent kindness and growing beauty, and used all of the riches of the family on her two awful daughters.
The years passed, the Chateau became desolate and lonely beyond repair. The family fell into debts and ruin in result of the luxury of Lila and Rhonda. Helga was abused, humiliated, pushed around, and soon became a servant in her own home. She grew rough, angered, and spoke out of line. But deep down, Helga remained kind, gentle, and still held onto the hopes that one day, her dreams of happiness would come true.
--
Two little birds, by the names of Sheena and Nadine, parted the curtains of the window of the Chateau's tower, which was Helga's bedroom. Helga was still asleep even into these hours of the morning.
Sheena and Nadine flew in, chirping at her sweetly to get her to wake up. Helga groaned and removed her arm from over her eyes as she rolled onto her back. Nadine pulled up one of her pigtails while Sheena chirped into her ear. Helga gently swatted her away and then rolled onto her stomach, placing her pillow over her head.
Sheena tried to crawl under, but Helga pulled the pillow down, forcing her away. Nadine flew over and tried again, this time over the pillow, but she didn't see Helga's hand coming behind her, and giving her a gentle flick on the tail feathers. Nadine squealed and jumped a mile onto the bedpost.
"Well, serves you right for spoiling my dreams like that." Helga said to the birds as she sat up in bed, and smiled a little.
Sheena and Nadine flew to the window sill, pointing out the window at the already risen sun of the beautiful day outside. From the window, there was a lovely view of the kingdom, with the palace standing tall and grand in the background.
"Yeah yeah, I know it's a nice day." Helga said absently as she took out the ties of her pigtails. "But I sure had a nice dream too..." She smiled and sighed happily as she sank back into her pillow. At the bird's insistent and curious chirping, she laughed and waved it off. "No way, I'm not going to tell my deepest secret! But it was a nice dream. And hey, if you tell a wish, it won't come true. You wouldn't want that to happen to me, would you?"
Nadine and Sheena shook their heads. A few mice came out from their quarters within the holes and hiding places of the room. Phoebe, one of Helga's favourite mice, came out in her little blue jacket, shirt, and a hat with some tiny glasses, going to the window sill as she listened to them all talk.
Helga yawned and got herself out of bed, just as the clock tower along the palace gonged. She glared out the window, waving her pillow at it angrily.
"You darn clock! Yes yes, get up you say! Time to start another day! Criminy, even he orders me around." She sighed, and hugged her pillow. "Well, least there's one thing they can't do! They can't tell me to stop dreaming. Ha!"
She looked over at Phoebe, tossing her pillow back onto the bed. "Well Pheebs, time to get all washed up. You guys care to help me out?"
"Helping! Let's go!" Phoebe said to everyone in a high pitched squeaky voice.
All the mice and birds got together, going to work. The birds helped to make the bed, and fluff the pillow, and then carried Helga's pink nightgown away to hang it up while she stepped behind a screen. The male mice were shooed from the room, and Phoebe called for the birds to wet the sponge. Nadine and Sheena tried to lift it out, but a wet sponge was so heavy for two little birds! So a few more intervened and helped carry it to where Helga was waiting, and they squeezed the excess water from it so she could wash herself.
Phoebe, and some mice going by Sid, Stinky, Lorenzo, Curly and a few other girls, got out Helga's daily attire. It was an old simple dress that had white sleeves, a black top and waist, and a pink skirt to finish. It went with a simple white waist apron, also. Two more mice were taking out a pink ribbon that Helga wore just about every day, and as Helga came out and pulled on her clothes, Phoebe helped another female mouse wipe her simple white shoes with a cloth before Helga stepped into them.
"No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing...the dreams that you wish will come true..." Helga sang softly to herself as Nadine and Sheena brought the white apron to her, tying it for her in the back. She took the pink ribbon from Phoebe, carefully tied her long blonde hair into a braid in the back, using the ribbon to tie it back.
Now she was ready to face the day. Or so she thought.
Sid, Stinky, and Curly then returned from the room, and were all talking at once, with Phoebe joining them in curiosity.
"All right all right, one at a time!" Helga raised her voice lightly to get their attention. "Okay guys, what's going on?"
"They said there's a visitor!" Phoebe said.
"Yeah! Yeah! Visitor!" Curly nodded rapidly.
"Oh, what's that you say? A visitor? Well well!" Helga smirked, and then reached into the little drawer of her vanity. She was quite a seamstress, and sewed little clothes and accessories for the mice and birds to wear. "Well, then she'll need a dress and..." She pulled out a little pink dress.
"Oh! No way Miss Helga, it ain't no girly!" Stinky the mouse said.
"It's boy, actually." Phoebe told her.
"Well, that certainly changes everything!" Helga replaced the dress, and pulled out a few more items. "Okay, he'll need a shirt and some shoes...ooh, maybe even a-"
"You gotta hurry, Helga, he was caught in a trap!"
"What?! In a trap?!" Helga burst, standing right up. "Criminy, why didn't you say so?"
Helga went to the door, and descended down the stairs with a few of the other mice following after her. The staircase leading up the tower to where her room was located seemed so endless and dark, like remembering the fact that she does indeed live a life like this.
On one of the landing steps, there was a long barred cage with some other of her mice friends surrounding it. There was a little mouse inside, shivering with fear.
"Criminy, why did they even do this to you..." Helga murmured, picking up the cage and lifting the door. She smiled tenderly at the shivering mouse. "Ohh...the poor little thing is scared to death. Well Pheebs, you should explain things to him."
Helga lay the cage back down on the floor so Phoebe could go inside it to the new mouse.
"Hey now, don't worry about all this. Helga is a little rough around the edges, but she's actually very nice." Phoebe said to the mouse. "And we're all friendly, so don't be afraid of us."
The pale mouse with a patch of red fur along his head looked at Phoebe nervously before looking up at Helga's smiling face as she peered down at him.
"Oh, okay..." The mouse said. "I-I didn't mean to get caught! I'm okay! Just a little clumsy..."
"Well don't worry, you're safe with us now." Phoebe said. "Come on, Helga will give you some clothes." She took the mouse by his forepaw and led him out of the cage.
"There we go, see?" Helga said, satisfied. She then placed the shirt over the new mouse's head, and then his shoes, along with a little hat. "Mm, you need a name... well...guess I'll call you Eugene. Yeah, that's a good name."
"Eugene...I like it!" Eugene grinned. "Okay Helgie, I'll take it!"
Helga laughed. "Well good! 'Cause that's your name now. Oh criminy, I better go and get the breakfast dishes ready." She sighed, shaking her head. "Well, whatever. Pheebs, show him around, will you? Oh, and don't forget to warn him about the cat!" She then descended down the stairs.
"Oh, right!" Phoebe remembered. "Listen Eugene, her step-family have this cat, his name is Lucifer."
"A kitty? Ah! Kitties are fun! I like cats!" Eugene giggled.
"No no, no!" Phoebe shook her head. "Lucifer is bad...he's not funny or cool. Please just trust me on this, okay?"
--
Downstairs along the second main level of the Chateau, Helga went along the corridor leading to her step-sisters and stepmother's bedrooms. Unlike her, they all had beautiful bedrooms with big beds, and enough clothes and jewelry to feed a poor village.
Helga opened the large curtain having hidden the enormous floor-to-ceiling window before her stepmother's bedroom. She took a breath as she looked outside for a moment, and then went to her stepmother's bedroom door, opening it just a crack, letting a small stream of light toward a little, round, luxurious bed where a fat black cat with a gray face and tale and paws lay. Even the cat had a nicer bed than her!
The cat, Lucifer, was snoring away when the light came in. He snorted, opening his eyes as he was disturbed from his slumber.
"Rowr?" He muttered in annoyance.
"Here kitty kitty..." Helga said begrudgingly through clenched teeth. She hated the cat as much as her step-family, but she didn't dare say it out loud.
Lucifer yawned, stretching his forepaws before staring at Helga, disobeying her. Sometimes she wore that the cat had a mind of his own and was out to get her, just like the rest of the family.
And she was right.
"C'mon now, come on..." Helga coaxed.
Lucifer turned away from her, refusing to obey still.
"Lucifer! Come here!" Helga whispered loudly in an angrier tone.
With a defeated meow, the devious cat jumped down from his bed and exited the bedroom slowly. Once out, he stretched on the floor and yawned, but Helga shut the door against him, since he was standing so close to it. Begrudgingly, he followed her downstairs.
"You damn cat..." Helga muttered. "I don't even know why I bother with you anymore. Man if that witch of a stepmother wasn't so in charge of me, I'd have had you pounded years ago."
She went down to the kitchen area, where the back door was located, and on a round rug in the middle of the stone floor was a large dog, who was sleeping. He grunted and whimpered, growled, and made a running motion.
"Harold..." She whispered to the dog as she opened the top half of the bar door to let in the sunlight. When the dog continued to growl and now chew at the carpet, she raised her voice a little. "Harold! Wake up!"
Awaking, Harold looked up at Helga sheepishly, letting the carpet go.
"Hmm, have yourself some doggy dreams? Chasing Lucifer?" Helga smirked lightly, going to get some wood for the hearth.
Harold let out a dog-like laughing noise as Lucifer sat on the steps leading down into the kitchen.
"Well, that's bad." Helga sighed.
Lucifer snickered.
"Come on, I know why you feel that way...but you know the orders of those damn witches we live under." Helga said, placing the wood in the hearth, lighting it. "I mean, even Lucifer has his good qualities..."
Lucifer smirked proudly as he wandered into the room.
"He..." Helga paused for a moment as she was laying teapots on the three trays she had out for her step-family's breakfast. "Well...um...sometimes he...er... Oh, who am I kidding, there's nothing good about that blasted cat!"
Lucifer glared at her, and then turned around, accidentally bumping noses with Harold, who laughed in reply. Smirking evilly, Lucifer then lowered himself onto his back on the rug, and scratched Harold's face lightly. Harold growled at him, making Lucifer cry out in fright.
"Harold!" Helga scolded him, yet deep down she praised him. She poured milk into a bowl, and then went to the dog. "Oh Harold...criminy...come on now, outside..."
She led the dog out the back door, where he miserably walked out.
"It's not easy, but for the sake of all that is good here....try to get along." Helga murmured. She then placed the dish of milk before Lucifer very roughly. "The same goes for you, your majesty."
Helga then stepped into some larger work shoes, took a bucket of feeding seeds and went outside, where she began to feed the chickens. "Okay, all of you come on out now! Breakfast time!"
--
"Come on, let's go get some seeds!" Phoebe whispered to her fellow mice. "But, we have to be careful of Lucifer...now, I'll go in there and distract him."
"B-But you can't! What if he hurts you!?" Curly hissed.
"Yeah Phoebe...ya sure we can't draw tails?"
"No. I'll go." Phoebe told them. "I'll distract him, and you all slip outside while he's paying attention to me."
Before the mice could protest further, Phoebe slowly made her way out of the hole and into the kitchen. Lucifer was laying on his stomach, drinking his milk as he stared outside absently. His back was to them, giving them an advantage.
Approaching the large cat, Phoebe smirked to herself. It wasn't often she let herself be a bad, adventurous little mouse, but right now was a good time to let that side out. She swung her small foot and kicked the cat in the ribs.
Lucifer yelped, his face ending up in the dish before he flipped it over by accident. He jumped up, only to get sprayed in the face with milk by Phoebe, before she ran off, with Lucifer chasing after her. She ducked into a couple of holes in the wall, too small for the large cat to even think to catch her from.
She peeked out one of the holes, and motioned for her fellow mice to run outside and get the seeds. Eugene giggled loudly, and Sid shushed him before they all sneaked across the kitchen to get outside.
"Yay! Food! Food! We can finally get some-OW!" Eugene squealed as he tripped over a crack in the floor and fell down.
"Rowr?!" Lucifer meowed in surprise at the small noise, turning around.
The other mice had already slipped outside, but Eugene, having fallen down, got back up. Lucifer spotted him. Vulnerable, clumsy...perfect target. Lucifer immediately forgot about Phoebe and slowly inched his way toward Eugene.
"Ooohh...I'm okay..." Eugene uttered, shaking his head a couple of times to revert the dizziness. He turned around, deciding to head back into the hole and wait for the others instead.
When he came face to face with Lucifer and his wide, roaring open mouth.
"YAAAAAHH!!" Eugene screamed, trying to run away, but Lucifer held his tail down with his paw, preventing escape.
Seeing this, Phoebe acted fast, pushing the broom sitting near her with all of her strength. Luckily, nothing was holding it back, so it was easier to move. It fell, knocking the cat on the head, stunning him. Crying out in thanks, Eugene slipped away and made his escape as the other mice ran in with their share of the food.
Recovering from the blow, Lucifer's eyes darted about the kitchen, and came to see Eugene's silhouette climbing the table cloth. He grinned maliciously and went in for the kill.
Eugene climbed onto the table, panting hard in relief as he sat against a teacup upside down on a saucer. He didn't notice Lucifer's eyes peering at him over the table, when the cup suddenly lifted away and covered him!
The cat smirked deviously and peered under the cup to make sure he was there, when suddenly, one of the bells in the kitchen rang incessantly. There were three of them, each of them connecting to the rooms of Brooke, Lila and Rhonda. They would ring them when they wanted something. Like, all the time.
"HELGA!!!!" Rhonda yelled from upstairs as the bell rang.
"Oh, criminy! Already?!" Helga groaned as she came inside, slipping the larger shoes off and taking off her bandanna.
"HELGA!!!" Came the yell of Lila, ringing the second bell.
"All right all right, hold on!" Helga placed two more teacups and saucers on the table before she went off to get some dishes, filling them with the porridge.
Lucifer went to grab the teacup, but saw two more next to it. Which one had his meal under it? He checked all three of them simultaneously, finding that the one on the far right was his target.
"HELGA!!!"
"In a minute!" Helga shouted, but not loud enough for them to hear. She placed the three bowls on the trays, as well as the saucers and cups, then went to get the kettle of hot water.
Lucifer came back up to the table, and was once again faced with the question as to which cup Eugene was under. Again he checked two of them, coming to see that the same one from before was the one he was looking for. But before he could grab at it, Helga came rushing back to fill the teapots with hot water. All three bells were ringing at this point.
Impatiently, Lucifer waited under the table as he waited for Helga to move so that he could get to the mouse he had trapped. Finally, he saw her feet move away. Grinning, he came back up to the table, only to find it bare. Angrily he clawed at it, and turned around to see Helga leaving the kitchen, balancing a tray in each hand, and the third one on her head. After years of doing such things, she had it narrowed down to an art.
"HELGA! HURRY UP!"
"HEEELLLGGAAAA!!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Helga grumbled to herself, not at all aware of Lucifer following after her, and then ahead of her up the stairs leading to the second floor.
Watching her come up the stairs, hidden behind the large statue shaped like a typical trophy, Lucifer waited, his eyes on the prize. Helga's shoe slipped off her foot, and she turned around to get it back, therefore switching the cups. Lucifer, not knowing this, reached out and grabbed the tea cup, only to find the saucer bare. Where did the mouse go?!
Helga reached the first bedroom, which was Lila's bedroom. She carefully opened the door and went inside.
"Good morning, Lila." She said begrudgingly, disguising it with fake pleasantness.
"Take this laundry and have it done in an hour. I would ever so like that. You hear me?" Lila ordered from the bedroom.
"Yes, Lila..."
Lucifer watched as Helga emerged from the bedroom, now carrying a basket of laundry in one hand to replace the tray. Did she still have the mouse? Lucifer followed after her as the blonde girl headed to the second bedroom, which was Rhonda's bedroom.
"Good morning, Rhonda..." Helga said, entering the bedroom.
"It's about time! Take these, be sure to hem them. And don't be all day getting it done!"
"YES, Princess..." Helga muttered, coming out of the bedroom and shutting the door with her foot. Now she held another laundry basket in her other hand, with the remaining third tray still on her head.
The door closed on Lucifer's nose, which he glared resentfully up at her, not that Helga noticed.
Helga came to the last bedroom, the bedroom Lady Brooke Wellington Lloyd Pataki.
"Come in now, child, come in." Brooke sounded kind, yet condescending.
"Good morning, stepmother." Helga said. She had been told over and over to address Brooke as Lady Wellington Lloyd, but begrudgingly agreed against it when Helga put up a fuss about it, the first time she had ever had an outburst right to her face.
"Pick up the laundry, and do have it done before this evening."
"Yes, stepmother..." Helga groaned, and came back out from the bedroom, avoiding stepping on Lucifer. She now had a laundry bag on her head as she headed to the stairs.
Lucifer let out an annoyed whine, wondering what he was going to do about the mouse he was trying so hard to get.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!" Lila suddenly screamed from her bedroom, the sound of dishes breaking ensued.
Excitedly, knowing what this meant, Lucifer ran toward Lila's room, just in time for Eugene to come crawling out from under the door. The cat grabbed him in his paws, happily watching the coming drama.
"Mother! Mother!" Lila cried, coming out of her room.
"What happened?!" Helga yelled as she came back up the stairs.
"You! You did that ever so on purpose!" Lila accused.
"What are you talking about?! What did I do?!" Helga demanded.
"Mother! Mother!" Lila ran to Brooke's bedroom, not answering Helga.
"What did you do THIS time?" Rhonda wanted to know. "Sheesh, don't you have anything better to do with your time, Helga?"
"Criminy, will you just tell me what happened?" Helga said, trying to calm down.
Rhonda didn't answer her, she just went into her mother's bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Helga groaned under her breath, and then came to see Lucifer, staring up at her deviously.
"All right, you blasted cat. Where is he?" She demanded.
Lucifer showed her his paws, which were empty.
"You expect me to fall for that?" Helga grabbed him near the scruff of his neck, standing him upright. "Now move your foot."
Lucifer lifted his foot, no Eugene. But he kept his other foot down.
"Now the other one. Come on. Let him go." Helga ordered. When he didn't obey, she shook him lightly. "I said let him go!"
Reluctantly, the cat lifted his foot, revealing Eugene curled in a ball, his arms over his head. When he realized he was free, he ran in a dizzying motion into the nearby mouse hole in the wall.
"Well, now I bet you'll think twice before-"
"Helga! Come in here at once." Brooke then called from her bedroom.
"Oh great." Helga muttered, going to her stepmother's bedroom as Lila and Rhonda came out, both sneering at her. Lucifer went into the room ahead of her.
"You're gonna get it now!" Rhonda told her.
"You're in ever so much trouble." Lila said smugly.
"Close the door, Helga." Brooke said.
Helga did, and the two half-sisters peeked in through the keyhole. Lucifer went up onto the large canopy bed of the bedroom. The room was dark, only the glowing green eyes of Lucifer were visible as Helga slowly approached.
Her stepmother, Brooke, sat upright in bed, petting Lucifer as she regarded her stepdaughter with cold, hard eyes.
"Stepmother, I didn't mean to-" Helga began.
"Hold your tongue." Brooke told her. "I can't even begin to understand why you did such a thing, Helga. You actually had enough time on your hands to place a mouse in your sister's cup..."
"I didn't! I was-"
"Silence!"
Brooke poured herself some tea, regaining a calmer composure. "Since you have time on your hands...let's put it to better use. Now then, there is a rug in the main hallway. Clean it! And the windows, upstairs and down, wash them."
Lucifer gave Helga a commanding glare, nodding in agreement to his mistress.
"There's also the draperies, the tapestries..."
"But I already-"
"Do them again!"
"There's the garden, sweep the halls and the stairs, clean the chimney, then there's also the mending and the sewing and the laundry."
With an evil smirk, she then accidentally on purpose knocked down an intricate China figurine off her bedside table.
"And clean that up, too. Don't forget to also polish the the china, the vases, and of course the portrait frames. Oh yes, and one more thing. See that Lucifer gets his bath."
Cringing, Lucifer glared at his Mistress with disapproval as Helga hid a smirk.
--
While all this was going on in the Wellington Lloyd Pataki household, some matters were also occurring at the grand palace. No one would know of the rather interesting conflict the Royal family was facing.
"C'mon man, at this age, I think it's a perfect time for you to find a nice woman and settle down!" Gerald Johansen said to his best friend, blocking another blow with his rapier. He was a dark-skinned fellow, and the prince's best friend and personal servant. His father, Martin, was the Grand Duke.
The two of them were fencing together to hone their swordsman skills.
The young prince, Arnold, just sighed in reply. "I know, Gerald. But it's not that easy. I can't just go up to a woman and say 'Hey, will you marry me?' like it was nothing. Marriage is sacred and beautiful, I really want to marry someone I'm in love with."
"Man, I do understand, but I'm afraid that ain't very possible." Gerald said, shaking his head. "You got a lot on your shoulders as Prince."
Arnold sighed again, and then held his hand out in a "time out" manner and placed his rapier aside. He took a towel and wiped his forehead with it. The Prince was fairly young, standing very tall and full of grace. His most distinctive outward feature was the fact he had an oblong-shaped head, with unruly blonde hair to go with it. His eyes were a lovely shade of green, holding such kindness and gentleness. Even though he was perceptively slender, he did have a light tone to him from years of training and practice of various physical activities. Prince Arnold was a kind, gentle, giving, and generous soul who cared very much for his people and those he cared for. He saw the best in everyone he encountered, and never failed to help someone in need when the time came.
Now these days, his grandfather, now the King due to the tragic passing of his mother and father, was slightly pressuring him to get married and settle down. Being the sole heir to the throne, there was a lot of pressure involved.
"Yeah, and that isn't always easy." Arnold murmured. "I just want to be happy, Gerald. I know that's selfish of me to say, but marriage means a lot to me, and I want it to be beautiful, meaningful, and truly something I will enjoy and remember the rest of my life. I want to marry someone I love."
"Arnold my man, there is nothing selfish about wanting to be happy!" Gerald told him, coming over to him and patting his shoulder in assurance. "Trust me, if I could help you get the girl of your dreams, I would. But I'm afraid that's all just in fairy tales...because unless you do meet a potential wife you fall for, then it's impossible."
Arnold smiled sadly at his best friend. "I know... I know. I may not have much time, but with that ball tonight...well, maybe I will have a chance."
"Exactly! Come on, there's gotta be at least one eligible maiden in the kingdom you could fall in love with! It's all about meeting under the right conditions."
"Gerald, it's not that easy. You don't just fall in love at first sight. Love grows over time, as you get to know the person you're with and see who they are inside and outside." Arnold said.
Gerald snickered. "Man, you're one hopeless romantic."
"I guess I am." The Prince said bashfully.
"So you ready for the ball tonight?"
"No way."
"Didn't think so."
"Gerald!"
"Hey man, I'm just kiddin' around!"
"Hey, short man!" Came the cheery call of the King Phil, Arnold's grandfather. "Havin' some fun?"
"Yeah, I guess, Grandpa." Arnold replied.
"Hey!" Gerald protested.
"Haha! Well good! I sure hope you're excited for the ball tonight, short man!"
"Grandpa, I'm a little over six feet tall. I'm not that short anymore." Arnold told his grandfather.
"Ah, you'll always be the little short man who at nine years old decided to adopt a pig you called Abner!" Phil laughed.
Gerald laughed, and Arnold cast an annoyed glance at them both.
"Grandpa! That was years ago..."
"I know I know, Arnold. Now, go get yourself cleaned up and ready! You only have until tonight to be ready for the ball! And don't forget to pick yourself a suitable mother!" The King said joyfully.
"Grandpa, I need a wife before the mother of my children." Arnold chided gently.
"Whatever you say, short man!" Phil said with a laugh. "Well I'd better go and inform the Duke to get the last of the preparations going. See you later, short man!" The King gave a laugh and left the room.
Arnold sighed, going over to a nearby window and looking out over the kingdom and the horizon. He stared, his eyes often glancing over at the desolate-looking Chateau sitting on the hill at the end of the village.
"Arnold? Hey Arnold, you all right?"
"I'm fine, Gerald." Arnold replied absently. "...I guess you're right. Maybe there really is a girl out there for me..." His eyes fell on the Chateau again, sighing softly. "I'd give anything to be able to dance with her tonight..."
--
Back in the Wellington Lloyd Pataki household, Brooke, Rhonda and Lila were in the music room on the second floor engaged in their daily music lessons. Or at least, that's what it was considered. Brooke played the grand piano, Rhonda sang-very badly- while Lila played the flute. The music Brooke and Lila were playing was actually nice, but Rhonda's off-key singing drowned it out.
Lucifer was on the couch in the room, clearly bothered by Rhonda's "singing". So much, that he grabbed the cushion and pulled it over his ears to try to tune out the noise.
"Oh, sing Sweet Nightingale...
Sing, Sweet Nightingale...
High above me...
Oh, sing Sweet Nightingale..." Rhonda sang out, very badly, of course.
Lucifer couldn't take it any longer. He left the room, shutting the door. Taking a breather, he then heard the sound of Helga singing from downstairs. He peeked around down the landing, seeing her scrubbing the floor of the foyer. She was singing the Nightingale song to herself, and granted she was a better singer than Rhonda, after years of practicing it since her childhood, it had improved immensely.
"High
Oh, sing sweet Nightingale...
Sing sweet Nightingale, sing
Oh, sing, sweet Nightingale..." Helga sang to herself as she scrubbed, occasionally stopping to pop a few bubbles that would fly around her periodically.
Going down the stairs, Lucifer noticed a dustpan sitting there on the step next to him, already filled with dust and dirt. He grinned devilishly, and then proceeded to jump and walk along the wet floor, leaving his footprints around.
"Oh, Lucifer!" Helga exclaimed, realizing what was going on around her as she snapped out of her daydreaming. She saw the mess he'd made, and threw her washcloth down. "You mean old thing! Criminy, don't you have anything better to do than annoy me?!"
Lucifer just jumped away with glee, not at all caring. Helga grabbed her broom, about to chase after him, when there was a knock at the front door.
"Open in the name of the King!"
Helga opened the door to the Royal Messenger, who held out a letter to her. On his back was a huge sack of similar-looking envelopes, probably each containing the same letter.
"An urgent message requested to be delivered to all who dwell in the Kingdom, regarding the grandson of the King, his Royal Highness the Prince!" Said the messenger.
"Oh, thanks." Helga took the letter, and gave him a coin for a tip before shutting the door.
Phoebe and Eugene, having been listening through one of the little mice secret passages and eavesdrops, came out to Helga.
"Helga, Helga! What's the letter? What does it say?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know...the guy just said it was urgent, something about the Prince." Helga said with a shrug. She went to the stairs, and looked down at them with a smirk. "Hey, he DID say it was urgent...so I think I'm gonna go and interrupt their...ahem, singing lessons."
Phoebe and Eugene giggled as Helga went upstairs. They slipped into a hole in the wall hidden behind a rotating crevice piece, going up after her to see what all the fuss was about.
--
"Oh sing sweet Nightingale, sing sweet Nightingale, hi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i!"
Lila's finger got stuck in one of the holes of the flute, causing it to bump up a few times under Rhonda's chin as she struggled to pull it out. It was an accident, but Rhonda obviously didn't
"You clumsy idiot!" Rhonda grabbed the flute and bopped Lila over the head with it.
"Oh, I'm ever so sorry!" Lila shot back in defiance, not sounding the least bit sorry.
The girls continued to argue, which was something they also had a pretty bad habit of getting into. Especially since they were half-sisters, which led them to try to outdo the other. Rhonda's father was born into the family from Brooke's first husband, Lila was the result from her second husband. Helga was Robert's daughter from his first wife, so she was only related by marriage. It was no wonder they shunned her like they did.
"Girls, girls! Enough arguing!" Brooke scolded her daughters, but not like how she scolded Helga. Once the girls quieted down, she raised her fingers to play the piano again when there was a knock at the door. "Yes?!"
Helga opened the door, totally ignoring her stepmother's angry tone.
"Helga! I warned you never to interrupt us unless-"
"Yeah, I know!" Helga protested. "But this is urgent news from the palace!"
"From the PALACE?!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"The palace?!" Lila echoed.
The girls ran over to Helga, grabbing the Royal sealed envelope from her and trying to take it from one another, successfully ripping the envelope itself and getting the letter out.
"Give it here!"
"It's mine! I want to see!"
"I'm ever so certain I touched it first!"
"No, let go!"
"I'll read it!" Brooke grabbed it from her daughters and read it over quickly. "Oh...there's to be a ball..."
"A ball?!" Lila and Rhonda said unison to each other, excited.
"In honour of the upcoming birthday of his Royal Highness the Prince..." Brooke continued.
"The Prince?!" The girls cried.
"And, by Royal Command, every eligible maiden is to attend!" Brooke concluded, pretty excited about the idea herself. It was a golden opportunity to get her daughters all the money they needed to support their expensive lifestyle.
"Why, that's definitely us!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"And I know that I'm ever so eligible!" Lila agreed.
The Prince! Helga had long heard about the Prince, although she only knew his name, which was Arnold. She'd never seen him before, but having heard a lot of the ladies and young girls around the village talking about him and how handsome he was, she knew a thing or two. He was said to be really nice and sweet, always helping people when they needed it.
He sounded like her kind of guy, for sure. Too bad it was only wishful thinking.
Still, this was perfect! Maybe she would meet this Prince...or even better, maybe at the ball she would meet a man or two that she could get fall for...
"Then that means...I can go too!" Helga realized, thinking out loud. Hey, she was a woman, and she was not involved with anyone, which of course made her eligible.
"Ha! Her?! Dancing with the Prince!" Rhonda laughed.
"I'd be ever so honoured, Your Highness, would you mind holding my broom?" Lila mimicked Helga, holding out her flute like it was a broom.
Rhonda took hold of the flute and started to playfully dance with Lila, laughing along with her.
Normally, Helga would have been the good little girl and walk away from it all, accepting defeat. But this time, it was a true one step to getting out of this place and making her dreams come true, and she would be able to! No, she was not about to let this pass up. Not when she actually had a chance to get closer and closer to her dreams of happiness.
"Well, why not?" Helga demanded. "I mean, I'm still a member of the family after all! And it does say that by Royal Command, every eligible maiden is to attend. And the last time I checked, I'm an eligible girl. So I have every right to attend that ball just as you do."
"Yes...it certainly does say that." Brooke said condescendingly, obviously catching on to what Helga was insinuating. "Well....I do see no reason why you can't go. If you get all your work done..."
Helga grinned happily. Finally! The odds were finally set in her favour! "Oh, yes! I will!"
"And, if you can find something suitable to wear..." Brooke added, knowing that this portion of the bargain would be harder.
"Don't worry, I will. Thanks, Stepmother!" Helga was too happy to care about anything now, she left the room and shut the door behind her.
"Mother! Do you realize what you just said?!" Rhonda scolded her mother.
"Of course. I said if..." Brooke smirked.
"Ohhh...if...." Lila said, and giggled along with her sister.
--
Upstairs in her room, Helga had opened her trunk and pulled out a lovely, flowing dress from it. It had rounded puffy sleeves, with flares. The top half to the waist was pink, and the skirt was white. She twirled it around in excitement, and then placed it over a bodice.
"Do you like it?" She asked her mice friends, who all nodded. "It was my mom's. Yeah, it's pretty old-fashioned...at least by Rhonda's standards. But I think this book here has great ideas!"
She picked up a book sitting near the sewing table and flipped through a few pages before setting it down to show the mice the page she had selected. The image of the dress in the book was absolutely lovely. It was full length, pink, with straps instead of sleeves, to be accompanied by a white shirt beneath it, with a pink bow sash around the waist as an optional add-on, and around the bottom of the dress would be a darker pink.
(Yes, it's made up like Helga's outfit on the show! XD)
"It's perfect! Just gotta shorten those sleeves, maybe alter the waist a bit, and we can find a neat sash for the waist..." Helga said, above the excited squeaks of the mice.
"It's so beautiful, Helga! You would look wonderful in it!" Phoebe told her.
"Yeah, definitely! You'll be the life of the ball!"
"Helga! Helga!" Rhonda and Lila called from downstairs.
"Oh, now what do they want?! Criminy, can't a girl ever have some time to think?! Doi..."
"Helga, get down here now!"
"Helga!"
"HEEELLLGAAA!!!"
Helga sighed and stood back up, playing with the skirt of her dress. "Well, I guess my dress will have to wait..."
"HEEELLGAAA!!!"
"HELGA!!"
"All right, all right! I'm coming!" Helga groaned angrily, going to the door and leaving the room, heading down the stairs.
Phoebe went to the door, watching her go down through the crack and sighed. "Poor Helga...she just can't get a minute to herself... The minute she begins to think it, that's when they begin it!"
"HEEELLLGAAA!!" Rhonda and Lila yelled from downstairs, so loud that the door rattled, Phoebe shut it with her foot.
"Can you believe them? It's always the same thing...giving her all kinds of chores under the sun...Helga do this, Helga do that, Helga clean my shoes, Helga dust the attic, Helga do the dishes, Helga scrub the floors..." Phoebe said, feeling her heart going out to her friend.
"They're so mean! Why do they have to do that? Why?" Eugene said, and tripped over a needle. "I'm okay!"
"Easy, they want to wear her down..." Phoebe sighed, sitting on a thimble. "Every time she has one minute of happiness, they go and stomp on it with their big feet. She's not going to the ball...she'll never get her dress done, and I know they'll make sure of that. She finally had a chance to go and be happy, to make her dreams come true, and now look!"
The mice all sat in silence for a few moments, feeling very sorry for their dear friend. It all seemed so hopeless, all because of Helga's meddling stepsisters and stepmother.
Right then, looking at the book, the dress, and all the sewing essentials, Phoebe was then struck with an idea.
"Hey! Wait a second...we can do it!" Phoebe told all the mice, excited all of a sudden. "We'll make her dress! We'll make it nice and pretty, we'll get it ready for her in time for the ball!"
"Yeah! We can do that!" Sid agreed happily.
"Perfect idea, y'all!" Stinky agreed, slapping a high five with Sid.
All the birds tweeted in agreement, the mice all danced around in happiness, singing and harmonizing in joy for being to help out their dear friend. The years had been rough, but over time it all warmed up, and they were more than happy to help their friend find happiness. And hey, once she did, she would take them, too!
"C'mon Eugene, let's go and we'll find some things we can add to the dress!" Phoebe said to Eugene.
"Heh heh, okay!" Eugene grinned, going after Phoebe into the hole to go down to the lower floors.
--
Once down there, they pushed open a little square door in the wall, peeking in as Rhonda and Lila were giving Helga some laundry and clothes to mend, sew or adjust.
"Take this too, it's hideous and needs to be washed!"
"And this one too, it's ever so small!"
"This one too!"
"And this! Don't forget it!"
"Yes...yes...I got it..." Helga groaned, trying to balance the armload of clothes she was holding.
"And Helga, when you're done with your regular chores...I have a few other things you can do." Brooke said from the doorway of the room before she left.
"Yes, stepmother..." Helga sighed, and left the room through the other door.
"Goodness, and I can't believe I even have this stupid sash!" Lila exclaimed, throwing down a long, pink sash to the ground.
"You're telling me! These beads...I'm sick of looking at them!" Rhonda threw a stringed necklace of bright red beads to the floor and kicked it away.
The girls then left the room also, shutting the door behind them. Once the coast was clear, Phoebe and Eugene slipped out from the hole in the wall, looking around the room for some things they could use for Helga's dress. The discarded sash lay on the floor nearby, and so did the beads.
"Ohhh!! Beads! They're so pretty!" Eugene cried in excitement, giggling.
Phoebe gasped and covered Eugene's mouth. "Shh! Eugene, be quiet! Look!"
That was when they saw Lucifer asleep on a little stool. It was strange they didn't see him before. But now they had to be really careful and quiet if they wanted to get the sash and beads.
Quietly, Phoebe led Eugene toward the said sash. Luckily, Lucifer had not noticed them yet. She whispered something to him, and he nodded. They then took one end of the sash, holding it over their heads as they ran across the floor to make it back to the other end, where they had come in. The movement must have caught Lucifer's attention because he woke up and saw the sash sliding and then rolling across the floor. He couldn't see the mice, so he was wondering how it was moving all by itself.
Unfortunately, while rolling in it, Phoebe and Eugene couldn't see where they were going, so inevitably they crashed into the wall, where the rolling ended, therefore revealing themselves.
Lucifer grinned maliciously and leaped off the stool, hurrying toward them. Phoebe and Eugene frantically pulled the sash into the hole as Lucifer chased after it, pawing at it. On and on he went as the mice pulled in the sash. Luckily, they pulled it into the hole, causing Lucifer to crash his face into it. Pulling out of the hole, he shook his head to shake off the feeling, and then crouched low in front of the hole, waiting for them to emerge.
Creeaaaaaaakkk!!
This caught Lucifer's attention as he heard a creaking noise from his right. He turned his head, seeing a round piece of the wall further down pushing open. Phoebe glanced around, and then pointed toward the beads they were going to get.
"Ooohh! There they are! Oh Helga's going to love those!" Eugene cajoled a little too loudly.
Phoebe noticed Lucifer watching them, and she panicked, covering Eugene's mouth.
"Be quiet, Lucifer heard us!"
Seeing their intention, Lucifer dashed in and sat down on the beads, preventing them from taking them. Phoebe slapped herself on the forehead, wondering what they could do now that their chances of getting the beads were now out of the question. Looking around the room, she saw a discarded old shirt a few yards across from where Lucifer was sitting. Studying it, she then got an idea.
"Eugene, I have an idea..." Phoebe whispered into Eugene's ear so that the cat wouldn't overhear. "I'm going to go over there and distract Lucifer so that he'll come toward me. When he gets off the beads, you go and get them and bring them back to this hole."
"Got it!" Eugene whispered loudly.
"Shh!" Phoebe hissed, and then climbed down from the hole, going toward Lucifer.
Seeing this, Lucifer sneered and held his paw up, ready to strike when Phoebe would walk up. But, she walked past him on his left instead of his right, which confused him. He then heard soft humming, and looked ahead to see Phoebe now biting off the thread of buttons attached to a shirt, and piling them on top of each other. Perfect...she was out in the open, perfect for him to grab her.
Humming to herself, Phoebe cast glances at Lucifer to make sure he was stalking toward her. Perfect. She continued to bite the buttons off the shirt, and placed them on a little beside her.
Lucifer was now off the beads as he approached Phoebe, but he heard a little noise from behind him. Turning around, he noticed Eugene now making his way toward the beads he had just gotten off of. Seeing this, Lucifer sat back down on the beads, taunting him. He looked back at Phoebe, and could now see he had a dilemma. So, to fix things, he slid his rear across the floor, keeping the beads under him as he made his way to Phoebe.
"Phoeeeeebbeeeeee!!!" Eugene cried to her in warning.
But Phoebe knew what she was doing, she continued to pile the buttons, making sure Lucifer came closer and closer to her...
The cat raised his paw at her, but Phoebe was one step ahead of him. She took a button, and pulled a game of Tiddly-Winks, which caused the button on the floor to fly at Lucifer, which bopped him against the nose. Luficer meowed in rage and then jumped into the pile of shirts to try to get Phoebe, now burying himself under the pile.
With him distracted, Eugene slipped down from the hole and ran to get the beads, carefully trying to pick them up. But they were fairly heavy for a mouse. He drooped them along his little arms and on his head, over his shoulders, and then made a run for it.
Lucifer came up from the pile, and now searched along the shirts to try to find Phoebe, not noticing Eugene yet. But where was Phoebe?
It turned out, she was on top of Lucifer's head. She peered down at him to make sure he didn't see Eugene, but when she looked up toward the said mouse, he had tripped and was now sliding across the floor on the beads! She covered her mouth to stifle a gasp, watching him crash into the wall, with the beads having been broken off the string, bouncing and scattering all over the place.
Lucifer turned his head to see what the noise was about, but Phoebe grabbed his eyelids and pulled them over his eyes to distract him and so that he wouldn't see. Lucifer pawed at his head, and Phoebe jumped back into the pile of clothing. The cat went in after her, and he thrashed through them, trying to find her.
Eugene now picked himself up, and was now putting the beads into his hat, hurriedly picking them up.
Through the clothes, Phoebe finally emerged out from a sleeve, with Lucifer following after her. He was far too big to fit through, so only his head made it out of the sleeve. Phoebe reached Eugene, and was now taking the remaining dropped beads, stringing them through his tail while Eugene took them into his hat. Lucifer crawled to them, going fairly slow since he was stuck, but he was determined.
Hurriedly, Phoebe strung the beads onto Eugene's tail, and just as Eugene reached for the last one, Lucifer had reached them too, and bit at him. But they grabbed the last bead and then fled into the hole, shutting the little door behind them, with Lucifer bashing into it as he lunged at them.
--
A little later, back on upstairs, the mice and the birds were working on Helga's dress. So far so good, they were measuring out the length of the skirt to cut out the pattern, by drawing little lines with tiny chalk pieces, to which Phoebe and Eugene helped to cut with scissors, narrowly missing another mouse's tail!
The birds helped to carry up the fabric for the skirt, placing it around thanks to some help from string, using stick pins to hold the fabric in place on the skirt. With the help of one mice inside the bodice on the other side of the skirt, with another on the outside, they were able to work to sew the fabric to the skirt.
Nadine and Sheena held a measuring tape along the collar to measure how much they would need to add a white pattern to it. It measured out thirteen centimetres, so Sheena tweeted down to Sid and Stinky, using her wings to indicate the number thirteen. Sid and Stinky nodded and counted out the measurement on the white pattern, allowing the birds to bring it up to the collar, were Curly and another mouse known as Peapod added the stick pins to hold it down.
Filling a shoe with some needles and thread, Phoebe signaled up to another mouse, who tugged the string on one side. Sid, Stinky, and two other mice pulled up one end of the string, lifting the shoe up to Curly and Peapod's level, to which they began to sew the pattern to the collar.
Sheena and Nadine then wrapped the sash around around the waist in a beautiful pink bow. But it was too long, since one end was hanging down from it, which would make the dress look a little much. So they called to Eugene and Phoebe, who were raised up in the shoe, and cut the end of the bow. From there on, the mice and birds continued to work tirelessly to get the dress done. They only had a few more hours, anyway.
--
It was 8 PM, with the palace's clock tower indicating so with its chimes. the hour for the carriages to go from home to home, picking up the eligible maidens of the kingdom.
It wasn't long before one carriage pulled up to the Wellington-Lloyd Pataki house, with the driver looking up at a lit window. A silhouette of someone in the window looked outside, and then turned away.
Helga, miserable and defeated, went to her stepmother's room and knocked on the door.
"Yes?" Brooke said, answering the door.
"The carriage is here." Helga said simply, and then turned to go.
"Why Helga, you're not ready." Brooke remarked, pretending to sound concerned.
"...I'm not going." Helga said, holding back the disappointment in her voice.
"Not going?" Brooke repeated, and then cast a secretive smirk to her daughters, who were half dressed as they were getting ready. "What a shame..." She faked, and the two girls hid giggles. "Well, there will always be other times, then..."
"Good night." Helga told her, and then left to go upstairs to her room.
Brooke, Lila and Rhonda all exchanged triumphant glances. They had won yet again. She wasn't going anywhere.
--
Upstairs in her room, Helga felt ready to cry. But she didn't. She knew better than to think her evil stepmother and stepsisters wouldn't make sure she had no way out, but they did it. The same way they always did, by giving her too many chores and obligations. She was trapped yet again. If the Gods of Cruelty were on their side, one of them would probably end up marrying the Prince, go live in the palace and live a life of wealth and luxury, while leaving her in the dust.
"I should've known." Helga sighed, going to her window and looking out at the grand palace. "Of course I'm not going to go! Criminy, what was I even thinking? I mean it's just a dumb ball! It would've been stupid, boring, dull, and just..." She sighed, slumping over the window sill. "Completely wonderful..."
All of a sudden, two candles lit up in the bedroom. Confused, Helga turned around just in time to see Nadine and Sheena pulled open her wardrobe stand's doors, which revealed her mother's dress. It was finished! Exactly as it was to look from the book.
"What?! Oh God...it's...it's my-!" Helga uttered, rendered speechless.
"Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!" The mice all cheered from around the room.
"Happy Birthday!" Eugene added in.
"No no no no!" Phoebe scolded him.
"Doi, you silly mice! I can't believe you did this!" Helga cried happily, grabbing her dress and twirling it around. "This is...wow! Oh wow...thank you, thank you all so much! Thank you...thank you!" It wasn't often she was this happy! Finally, her dreams were going to come true!
--
Downstairs, Brooke led her daughters down to the front door as they all elegantly descended the stairs. Brooke was wearing a simple but elegant purple gown with a wrap, while Rhonda and Lila wore matching dresses, which had the rounded puffy sleeves, paniers around the waist, and bumpy back ends. Only Rhonda's was red while Lila's was green.
"Now girls, when you're presented before his Royal Highness-" Brooke began just as she was to open the door, but was interrupted by a call from upsairs.
"Wait! Wait for me!"
Helga came down the stairs, dressed her newly finished gown, while the mice observed from the railings upstairs. She looked beautiful! For an added touch, she wore the red beaded necklace, which was also repaired, and even had a large pink bow in her hair. Her hair was down, flowing along her shoulders and down her back.
"Well, do you like it? Think it'll look great for the ball?" Helga asked them, a little too excited to care about what they would think. She was finally going to the ball!
Rhonda and Lila were shocked, unable to believe it. Not to mention, although they wouldn't admit it, Helga looked prettier than they did.
"Helga...! Why...no way, that's..." Rhonda stammered.
"That's ever so not fair! Mother, you can't possibly-" Lila protested.
"Girls, please!" Brooke told them. "Let's calm down, now. After all, we do have to hold up our end of the bargain." She approached Helga, who's smile immediately faded. "And I never go back on my word, either..."
Eugene was about to jump in at them, but Curly held him back.
"You certainly did a nice job on your dress..." Brooke said, and fingered the beaded necklace. "Especially these beads. They give it just the right touch. Don't you think so, Lila?"
"No, I ever so don't!" Lila said stubbornly, and then it dawned on her. "Why...Helga! I can't believe you! Those are my beads! How dare you steal them from me! Give them back!" She ran to her, ripping the beads off her.
"What?! What are you doing?!" Helga cried defensively.
"And that's my sash! How DARE you?!" Rhonda yelled, and ripped off some of the fabric of the skirt.
"And my ribbon! I'm ever so certain stole my ribbon!"
"You took my pattern, too! It's going to have to go!"
With each accusation, Lila and Rhonda ripped off a part of the dress, over and over again until there was barely anything left of it, just the simple dress itself, now ripped and tattered, with everything else strewn about the floor.
"Now girls, that's enough. It's time to go." Brooke said calmly, as if nothing had just happened. She opened her door, and Lila and Rhonda walked outside. She sneered at her stepdaughter before closing the door. "Goodnight."
And they won again.
Helga let out a broken sob, and just snapped. She couldn't take it anymore. She turned and ran into the kitchen, and then out the back door into the garden. There she ran out to a stone bench on the far side of the garden under a large willow tree. Helga knelt down in front of it, burying her head in her arms as she cried. It was over, all over. Completely hopeless. There was nothing she could do now. It was too late.
The mice all wandered outside after her, not saying a word as they watched their friend break down. There was nothing they could do or say to help. Although their efforts had been wasted, it didn't matter now. Seeing her like this was absolutely heartbreaking.
Sparkles in the shape of what looked like snowflakes danced about, to which no one seemed to nice.
"It's no use...no use at all...what was I thinking...I'll never get out of here...it's no use at all..." Helga sobbed brokenheartedly. "It's over...it's hopeless...criminy...why can't I ever be happy? What have I done to deserve this...it's no use...so-called dreaming, that's never going to happen now...why do they have to be so evil...all I want is to find true love...to be happy..."
The sparkles all radiated toward Helga, and gathered together on the bench. She didn't notice, she was too busy crying and couldn't see what was happening. The sparkles then materialized into the form of a woman, now sitting on the bench with Helga sobbing in her lap, with the woman stroking her head comfortingly. She was a woman dressed in a light purple cloak, with short brown hair and warm, sweet brown eyes.
"Don't worry, Helga...it's not completely hopeless." The woman said kindly.
"What are you talking about, of course it is!" Helga sobbed, not even realizing what had happened.
"Not true. If it were hopeless, then I wouldn't be here." Said the woman. "You do still have hope deep in your heart, Helga."
"Criminy, what's with you people and-huh?!" Helga raised her hand and gasped. "What...? But...you...you're..."
"Oh Helga, it's all going to be okay." The women gently took her arms and helped her to stand up as she did as well. "That's why I'm here."
"But that's impossible...I can't go to the ball." Helga said sadly. "I'm...I'm not prepared."
"Nonsense, Helga. You're going to the ball." The woman told her. "And I'll make it happen."
"What? Wait...so then, you're...who are you, anyway?"
"I'm Susan Bliss...your Fairy Godmother, honey." She said kindly, and then conjured up a long, white stick. "With the wave of my magic wand, all your troubles will be gone."
"You...I.....really?" Helga blinked, unable to believe this was happening. It was so impossible! "Wow, I must be going crazy."
"I assure you, dear, you're not crazy. It's truly happening." The Fairy Godmother told her sweetly. "Now then, first of all, you need...oh yes, you need transportation to get there...hmm..." She looked around the garden. "Ah! That should do."
Helga and the mice all looked to see that was she was pointing at a lone pumpkin sitting there, under the glow of the moonlight.
"...A pumpkin?" Helga finally said, incredulous.
"Oh, not just any ordinary pumpkin, Helga. You'll see." Fairy Godmother Bliss told her. She then waved her wand toward the pumpkin, which shot out an array of sparkles from its tip. "Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Put 'em together and what have you got
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
At the magical words to her song, the magical sparks cascading along the pumpkin, it then began to move! It walked on its vines toward them, scaring the poor mice, and over the course of the magic spell and song, it grew bigger and bigger, the vines surrounding it becoming rounder...
"Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
It'll do magic believe it or not
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Salagadoola means mechicka booleroo
But the thingmabob that does the job is
bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Salagadoola menchicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Put 'em together and what have you got
bibbidi-bobbidi bibbidi-bobbidi bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
To everyone's surprise, the pumpkin was then transformed into a large, beautiful white, pumpkin-shaped coach! It had a door with an opening window on either side, engraved with an H, pink padding all along the inside, a seat up front, and a stand on the back. It was amazing!
"Oh my God...!" Helga exclaimed in surprise at seeing a display of actual magic, and transforming a simple pumpkin into a gorgeous coach. "It's so...oh my...!"
"Isn't it lovely?" Fairy Godmother Bliss smiled. "Hmm...but there's still something missing...oh yes! You'll need a few horses."
Patty the horse let out a surprised snort and whinny.
"Ah, we can use you little guys." Fairy Godmother Bliss said sweetly to the mice, Phoebe, Eugene, Sid and Stinky. She pointed her wand at them, but didn't notice Eugene running off. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
The magic struck the three mice, and they instantly transformed into beautiful, pure white horses! All adorned with golden accessories.
"There we are...ah, well I could have sworn there was four of you..." The Fairy Godmother said thoughtfully. She then noticed Eugene cowering near one of the wheels. "Ah, there you are! Don't be afraid now, you'll be all right. Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
Eugene ran aside to avoid the sparkled blast of magic, but then came to see Lucifer near him, holding a bowl to cover him with. He panicked, and the fat cat covered him with it just as the magic struck him. He then grew into a white horse like the other three, which was unbeknown to Lucifer.
Pulling up the bowl, he looked in confusion to see nothing there. Noticing the big horse he was now on looking at him, and giving a warning whinny, Lucifer cried out and ran away, and Eugene happily trotted to join his friends at the front of the coach.
"Heh heh, poor Lucifer...not!" Helga laughed, totally amused by the situation.
"Now, we have them taken care of...let's see, what else do we need..." Fairy Godmother Bliss said thoughtfully. "Mmm...ah, I know...we need-"
"Well I do need a new-" Helga began, but she saw she wasn't paying attention.
"Ah, yes! You, dear Patty...for tonight, you will be the one to take the reigns." The Fairy Godmother said, and pointed her wand at Patty, which lifted her up and floated her toward the coach. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
Patty was then surprisingly transformed into the form of a human! She was a tall, rather muscular woman with medium brown hair and brown eyes, dressed in elegant riding clothing that was light blue. She looked at herself in surprise and then grinned, lifting her hat up in a polite gesture.
"Perfect, now we're almost done here...oh yes! This setup isn't complete without a good footman. You, Harold, will be the fine footman tonight! Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
The magic struck Harold, and as he bounced toward the coach, he transformed also into a human form. He was tall, a little on the fat side, but with some muscle as well, dressed in the same manner as Patty. He grinned and held the door of the coach open.
"Well, there we go, now you're ready for the ball." Fairy Godmother Bliss said to Helga.
"It's all wonderful! But, doi...I can't go like this!" Helga said.
"Don't be silly, dear. You have everything you need."
"But my dress-"
"Yes, it's lovely, it really-...." Fairy Godmother Bliss finally took a look at the dress and her eyes widened with surprise. "Oh...goodness! You can't go like that."
Helga shook her head in agreement, and the Fairy Godmother went over to her, studying her up and down.
"Mm...well this could be fixed...all right, let me see...let me check your size, ah, and the shade of your eyes...oh, just leave it to me, dear. What a beautiful gown this will be!" She waved her wand in a circular motion toward Helga. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
Instantly, Helga's torn, ragged dress was then transformed into a gorgeous, flowing pink gown! It was slim and form-fitting from the waist up, but the skirt was huge and round to accentuate her figure, with a lot of layers beneath it. Her hair was down with a light wave to it, part of it hiding the left side of her face, and topped with a tiny pink bow on her head. She also had white full-length gloves, complimenting the colour contrast beautifully.
"Oh my...! Whoa! Wow! What a gorgeous dress!" Helga gushed, unable to believe it was really happening. "I-I-It's prettier than all the dresses my stepsisters have!" She poked one of her feet out from under her full length skirt and gasped. She had adorable, red glass slippers on her feet. "Oh wow, glass slippers! Oh wow...this is a dream come true!"
"It is, dear, but unfortunately, all dreams do end...this does come with a price." Fairy Godmother Bliss told her warily.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Helga asked, turning to look at her reflection in a nearby fountain. "I mean, yeah, sure, all dreams do end, but what do you-"
"Listen, this will not last forever." The Fairy Godmother told her. "You will only have until midnight."
"Midnight?"
"Yes. On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken. Everything will be as it was before." She said, and then realized. "Oh, but what am I saying? Go, Helga, you have to get going. The ball won't wait! Oh, get in, go and have a lovely time!"
She ushered Helga to the coach, where she stepped inside, and it rode away, with her waving a handkerchief at the Fairy Godmother, who waved back and then disappeared in a implode of sparkles.
The grand, pumpkin-shaped coach was driven through town, hurrying quickly to the grand palace.
--
Meanwhile, inside the grand royal palace, the ball was taking place as planned. Inside the ballroom, all of the eligible women accompanied by their families stood around, all dressed in their very best. A jazz band stood off to one side of the room, awaiting the time to start the dancing. The King and the Duke sat observing in a balcony high above the room.
At the front of the room on the little raised platform with a red carpet leading to it was the young prince, Arnold. He stood there, and would bow in greeting to each lady that was presented to him.
A man was reading off the names of the ladies off a scroll, to which the woman would approach the prince, curtsy, and then return to where she once stood.
"Mademoiselle Augustina DuBois, the daughter of General Pierre DuBois..."
A young woman approached the prince, curtsied to him in respect, and he bowed back to her, and then she walked away. Arnold hid a yawn at the back of his hand, pretending to be interested in the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. He was just not having any luck at all. All the women were pretty, and some very nice, but no one was appealing to him at all.
"That grandson of mine..." The King muttered to himself. "I'm sure one of them would make a suitable mother."
"Phil, don't you think that's a bit much to ask?" Martin said nervously, fiddling with his monacle.
"Okay, suitable wife. Ah...too bad he won't find another girl like my late Pookie..."
--
Before long, Helga had finally arrived at the palace. She was nervous and a little scared, since she had never been there before, and wasn't sure where to go. It was really just overwhelming for her, having been facing all that magic that brought her here, and now she was actually here.
"Wow...I'm inside the palace..." She said softly to herself.
There was a grand staircase before her, and with no other real option, she slowly ascended.
--
"The Mademoiselles Rhonda and Lila Wellington Lloyd, the daughters of Lady Wellington Lloyd..." Called the announcer.
Rhonda and Lila had been fidgeting around, stepping on each other's skirts and whispering insults toward one another until their names were called. This was it! They were finally to see the Prince!
Arnold bit back a sigh as he watched the two girls approach him and curtsy, grinning at him like he was a piece of meat.
--
"Oh, shortman..." The King sighed to himself. "He'll never learn...at this point, it's completely useless."
"It's a real shame, Phil, but these things take time." Martin shrugged. "After all, if it were like a fairy tale, it would go like this. Arnold is down there, rising up from a bow, but then he stops as he spots someone up ahead..."
As he said this, Arnold was straightening himself out, when he then spotted someone up ahead at the far end of the room, completely forgetting Rhonda and Lila staring up at him like he was their next dinner. The woman was Helga, wandering around nervously as she tried to find her way about this place.
"Who is she, where did she come from, he doesn't know, nor does he care...but she's the girl of his dreams! So he walks toward her, completely raptured by her, forgetting that the rest of the world exists..." Martin went on.
As if in a trance, Arnold walked toward her, completely ignoring the stares and whispers of the other guests. He wasn't sure what came over him, and yet, it was as if he just knew who this girl was, that she was whom he had been looking for. Attraction? Maybe.
"Excuse me...hey, nice bow." Arnold said to Helga, gently taking her by the hand.
"Huh-?" Helga let out a surprised gasp and turned around to face him. She couldn't believe her eyes, it was the Prince! Oh my gosh, he's so cute! That hair, and oh, that oblong-shaped head! Wow! He's...he's so sweet! She was immediately lost in his kind, gentle, green eyes and his sweet smile. "O-Oh..."
"I like your bow, because it's pink like your dress. Um, I know this might sound crazy but..." Arnold blushed a little bit, rubbing the back of his neck. He never felt so nervous before, and yet, it was a different kind of nervous and weird, it felt nice. Undeniably, he was absolutely smitten by her. "Would you like to dance with me?"
Helga's cheeks turned bright pink, and she smiled widely. She wasn't used to someone treating her with kindness, and it felt so wonderful. She took his hand. "I'd...I'd love to."
Arnold smiled at her more, and then led her to the ballroom floor, not even noticing nor caring about the surprised stares of the rest of the populace.
--
"Ah, but really, that's just in fairy tales. This is the real world, no way that would ever-" Martin went on, when his arm was suddenly grabbed. "Wha?!"
"Marty you silly man, look at that!" The King exclaimed, pointing a bony finger down toward the ballroom floor. Clear as day, Arnold was leading a beautiful woman to the floor.
"Well I'll be darned..." Martin said in surprise, checking through his monocle. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Quick quick, we have to get them to play the waltz!" The King said, waving toward the conductor.
The conductor hurriedly nodded, and started to play the soft waltz music. It was then that Arnold and Helga then began to dance together in the middle of the ballroom floor, with everyone watching in awe. Had the Prince found a potential woman? No one seemed to know for sure.
"That's my little shortman...he's finally found himself a girl...." The King said happily, and then stood from his chair. "Well I'm off to bed! Marty you can keep an eye on 'em and when he proposes, come tell me at once!"
"Y-Yeah, sure Phil..." Martin replied, and sat back in the chair.
The elderly King danced happily as he could, feeling 40 years younger, and he had even grabbed one of the stationed guards and danced around with him before letting him go and disappeared into his bedroom.
--
"Who is that girl? I'm ever so certain I've never seen her before!" Lila exclaimed as she, Rhonda and Brooke were watching the prince dance with his mystery girl, who seemed to be familiar to them for some reason. "Do we know her?"
"Well the prince certainly seems to!" Rhonda said crossly. "Mother, what's going on!?"
"I certainly..." Brooke got a good luck at the mystery girl as the two of them danced past the crowd. "Ah...well, there's definitely something familiar about her."
To be sure, she followed after the couple, who were dancing now off the ballroom and into the next sectional. But before she could go closer, a red curtain drew, obstructing her view and path. Martin stood by, having decided to give the two of them privacy.
--
Meanwhile, Arnold and Helga danced together in pure bliss and happiness. Neither of them spoke a word, but their gazes never left each other. The whole time, it felt as if they were the only ones in the world.
Needless to say, Helga was in Heaven. While they were dancing, it was as if all of her troubles were melted away and nothing at all mattered. She was happy, beyond happy, and felt at peace, for the first time in such a long time. It was purely a dream come true. Her smile never wavered as her eyes locked with his gentle green orbs, and the way he smiled with that half-lidded gaze, it just turned her insides to mush. He was the first man she ever met who had shown her kindness, and taking an interest in her. For a moment she thought for sure it had to do with how gorgeous she looked, but looking at him, and hearing what he had to say, it seemed more than that. He was wonderful, absolutely wonderful. A perfect man, a dream boy. Her dream boat.
Strange as it sounded, she fell in love with him.
Arnold himself couldn't believe how happy he was feeling as he was dancing with this lovely girl. Sure, she was absolutely beautiful, and he noticed that right away, but there seemed to be more to her than just that. She seemed lonely and scared, the way she was wandering around nervously earlier. He had a notion she needed help, was looking for an escape, and his heart just went out to her. He wasn't sure why, but it did. She was so sweet, and the way her eyes looked into his lovingly. She had beautiful eyes, the bluest he'd ever seen. No doubt about it, she was his dream girl. Being with her just made everything seem right, like he didn't have a care in the world. Dancing with her was as if he was in a wonderful dream, a dream he didn't want to end.
It was odd, since he only just met her, but he was falling in love with her.
Before long, the two of them danced out onto the back garden of the palace, where they stopped and looked at each other with sweet, shy smiles.
"You're a great dancer..." Arnold told her.
Helga giggled. "So are you. I-I enjoyed it so much..." Normally she wouldn't open up so easily, but the Prince was just so kind and sweet to her, that she felt she could really be herself, and not feel ridiculed or be judged.
"I'm glad." Arnold then took her hand. "Do you want to go for a walk in the garden with me?"
"S-Sure..." Helga beamed up at him, squeezing his hand gently. She couldn't believe it, it was a dream come true! She'd found a wonderful man who seemed to feel the same way toward her.
The two of them walked out into the palace garden, where grand trees stood in all their glory, sparkling water fountains, beautiful flowers and shrubs, it was beautiful. The two spoke a little as they walked, even though Helga never got around to telling him her name or where she came from. It never came up. All that mattered was that she was enjoying herself with the loving, caring Prince she had effortlessly fallen in love with.
So this is love....it's a miracle... Helga thought to herself as she and Arnold now stood on a tiny little bridge that crossed a small stream leading to one of the fountains. At first they looked down into the water, and then she looked at him, to which made him turn to look down at her. In a moment of affection, he brought a hand to her cheek, gently caressing her.
"You have beautiful eyes." He told her, smiling.
Helga blushed a little more. "Thanks...yours are beautiful, too."
"It's no big deal, they're not that special." Arnold chuckled, blushing too.
"No, really...they are." Helga brought her hand over his, and smirked lightly. "...Football head."
Arnold was surprised at the silly nickname, and he laughed. "Well, that's an interesting nickname."
She giggled, feeling relieved that he didn't make her feel stupid for calling him that. She didn't know why, but it just somehow came to her, and she had an urge to be playful, and he accepted it.
They walked to the courtyard near the garden, with the clock tower in plain view.
"Arnold, I..." Helga began, and he touched a finger to her lips.
"Shh..." He smiled, and then gently lifted her chin up. He then leaned in and gently touched his lips to hers.
Helga's eyes widened with surprise, feeling as if she had just died. It made her feel like they were dancing again, only more so. She felt so much peace, love, and happiness when their lips met, which was overwhelming in the best way possible. Love! She had found love! She was so happy, and felt so warm and safe in his arms, like she was the safest, luckiest girl in the world.
All of a sudden, the chimed time of the clock tower caught her attention, and she pulled away reluctantly, turning to look at the clock. To her horror, it was midnight.
"Oh no...it's...it's midnight!" Helga gasped.
"Yeah, it is..." Arnold nodded. "Why?"
"I...I have to go." Helga murmured, and turned to go.
"Go? Why?" Arnold gently grabbed her arm. "Please don't go, there's still a few hours yet."
"I-I can't stay...I...I...." Helga wanted to tell him the truth, but she couldn't.
"What's wrong? Why can't you stay?" The prince asked with concern. "Are you all right?"
"I-I..."
GONG!
"Goodbye...!" Helga cried, and ran off, holding her skirt up so she wouldn't trip.
"No, wait! Come back! I don't even know your name! How will I find you? Wait! Please, wait!" Arnold called after her, and went after her. "Wait, please!"
--
"Goodbye!" Helga said as she burst back into the ballroom from behind the curtain, waving to Martin where he sat.
Martin smiled and waved back to her, but he then realized what was happening and stood up to try to stop it, but Arnold came through, looking for Helga. But a bunch of fine ladies surrounded him before he could go any further.
Helga hurried down the stairs near the entrance of the palace, but one of her slippers came off her foot, slipping onto the stair. She went up to go back for it, but when she saw Martin coming down, she turned and fled away, now not caring that she only had one slipper.
"Wait, Miss! Wait!" Martin called after her, grabbing her slipper. "Wait! You forgot your shoe!"
Helga didn't listen, she hurried down the stairs to get to her pumpkin coach, with Harold hurriedly beckoning to her. She climbed in and it hurried away.
"Stop the coach! Stop the coach! Close the gates!" Martin called to the gate guards.
But it was too late, the coach rode through just as the doors closed.
"Oh no...quick! Follow that coach, quick!"
Men on horseback charged through the gates as they re-opened, hurrying after the coach Helga was in. The clock tower continued to chime its twelve runs, as the coach was nearing home, Helga grew worried as everything started to diminish.
Before long, the coach became a pumpkin again, Harold and Patty reverted back to being a dog and a horse, and Phoebe, Eugene, Sid and Stinky became mice again. Helga's dress then became the ragged, torn dress she'd had on before. They all now sat in the middle of the road, but before they had time to soak it all in, the men on horseback chasing her from the palace were coming, so they quickly ducked into the trees next to the road to avoid being trampled. The men on horseback rushed past, crushing the pumpkin into pieces.
Once they were gone, Helga breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow...I can't believe it's over. And yet...ohhh...Arnold was such a dream... When we were dancing, I felt like it was a magical dream world...he was so handsome, so sweet and kind... I never met anyone who showed me kindness before, and yet he did." She smiled dreamily, looking up at the moon in the sky. "I didn't think this would happen, especially so fast like this, but I'm so in love with him...I wish I could have stayed, but the spell, you know...oh crimeny...still, I'm so happy I managed to go. It was a real dream come true...it really was."
"Helga! Helga! Look!" Phoebe suddenly said as Helga stood up.
"What's up, Pheebs?" Helga looked down at her, confused.
"The slipper!" Phoebe pointed at the glittering glass slipper that still remained on her foot.
"You still the have slipper!" Eugene said.
"Oh my God..." Helga took it off her foot and hugged it to her chest, looking up at the heavens. She knew what this meant. The wonderful Fairy Godmother was letting her keep it as a memento, and sign for a new hope. "Thank you...thank you so much..."