Re-uploaded to my 'fic shipping' account. A three-shot story! ... Well, that is if the motivation ever comes back. xD;
Disclaimer: I do not own South Park; it belongs to Trey Parker & Matt Stone! I don't own Cinderella, either. It's one of those stories that belongs to... a lot of people.
Not Another Cinderella Story!
Chapter I
"No, no, no! Stop! You're cleaning it too much!"
Kenny's head snapped up from staring at the floor. He turned and saw his little sister who was, once again, caught in another one of Mr. Weatherhead's Agnostic uproars.
"Cleanliness is next to Godliness, Karen, you should know that!" he spat. "Now soak down that floor—but try not to make it too wet… unless—" An evil smirk curled on his lips. "—unless you'd like a night down in the Punishment Room."
"I-I'm so s-sorry, Mr. Weatherhead," apologized Karen. "I won't make that mistake again, I promise!" She immediately got to work with the mop and proceeded to wash the floorboards, but not by too much.
If there was one thing that Mr. Weatherhead took the most genuine pleasure in, it was seeing fear in little Karen's eyes. He had her wrapped around his finger, and he knew that one way or another, his Agnostic intentions would beat into her head in no time.
Mr. Weatherhead then went along with his business, but before he could do so, he caught Karen's older brother staring. The foster father's cold eyes glared daggers at the boy, hoping he'd move in fright; but to Mr. Weatherhead's surprise, he did not. Kenny's sister was not to be messed with, and Mr. Weatherhead knew that of all people. But what he also did know that Kenny was very brave and resourceful, not to mention silent; he didn't talk a lot, much to Mr. Weatherhead's annoyance. However, he did what he was told—most of the time. Poor Karen had to be dragged out of bed past midnight just to witness her older brother being tormented by a long and sticky although somewhat refreshing spray of Dr. Pepper in the Punishment Room.
"Let this be a lesson to you," Mr. Weatherhead had once said, "if you ever disobey the rules of this family."
When their "parent" left the room, Karen could cry freely. Sensing his big brother instincts tingling by hand, Kenny hurried to his sister's aid and allowed her to sob in his arms.
"W—why did our family have to go to heaven so early, Kenny?" she sniffled. "Didn't they love us?"
"Of course they did, Karen," said Kenny, stroking her hair. "But… people can go to heaven at any time. It's not our choice to make."
"I wish we could run away from here," said Karen. "I wish that we could have our own little shining castle that we could share."
Kenny smiled and pulled his little sister into an hygm followed by kissing her on top of the head.
"Maybe we will," Kenny whispered in her ear. "Keep dreaming, Karen. You must believe in that. If you're willing to believe in those dreams, they will come true eventually… You work so hard and you still remain to be kind to all. Remember to keep your chin up and don't fret."
He was always trying his hardest to encourage her to follow her dreams; Karen deserved happiness more than anyone in the entire world.
Karen wiped her tears with a dirty sleeve. "Fret?"
Her big brother nodded. "Because…" He poked her arm. "If we finish all our chores early…" He poked at her again. "Then we'll be able to visit Mr. and Mrs. McElroy today!"
Karen's frown turned upside down. It always made Kenny happy to see her smile.
"Really, Kenny?!" she asked.
"Really, really."
Karen grabbed the mop by the handle and smiled a smile that was as big as the moon. "What're we waiting for?! Let's get to work!"
Thomas and Nelly McElroy were considered to be the best neighbors in the kingdom, at least by Kenny and Karen's standards. They were an elderly couple of middle class who were very kind and generous people. They lived together in a lovely rich cottage filled with old and expensive antiques that the children loved to look at when they were invited over for tea and cookies. Thomas and Nelly were so happy to have children playing in their house again; their only son, Chef, left for the castle a few years ago to take the job of helping out in the kitchen and making the Prince some of his special chocolate salty balls.
However, not wanting to cause an angry breakout between the families, and by Mr. Weatherhead's orders, Kenny and Karen kept quiet about the Punishment Room and the harsh parenting in general. But they always cheered up when Thomas told them magnificent stories about his endless and strange encounters with the Loch Ness Monster. … Well, for Karen, anyway. Kenny couldn't care less about them; he rather grew bored of the countless tales, but as long as his sister was happy.
You could say that Kenny and Karen were treated like royalty.
"… Let me see, was it February or March of that year when we saw that crazy ol' monsta?"
Thomas scratched his big gray beard, his eyes rolled to the ceiling, deep in thought. Kenny and Karen were sitting on the opposite sofa, sharing a plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies. They crunched and munched to their hearts' content when all of a sudden, Nelly hurried into the living room, flapping around a scroll.
"Thomas! Children!" she screamed. "We've received an invitation 'ta be adult supervision at 'ta the Prince's ball, Thomas! Oh Lord have mercy, what a won'rful ball it'll be!"
"What?" Thomas exclaimed, jumping off the couch. "Are you sure, Nelly? It could'a been 'dat damn Loch Ness Monsta' at the door in disguise as the king's messenger!"
"Have a look for yourself, Thomas!" Nelly held up the paper.
The elderly man put on his reading spectacles and scanned the fine writing. Kenny and Karen joined him.
"Well, what do you know? Nelly's right. It's all written here in ink! There's to be a ball t'night in honor of the Prince! … He will be choosin' a bride or… he'll be… hmm…"
"He'll be what, Mr. McElroy?" asked Karen.
"Apparently, he's forced to choose a bride by the stroke of midnight. If he doesn't, then he'll be grounded," replied Thomas. "Damn. Poor litt'l cracka'."
Karen smiled sadly. "Oh, that's wonderful! I hope you have a good time. I wish we could go."
"But my dear, you are eligible to go!" said Thomas cheerfully.
The little girl gasped. A burst of joy filled her heart. "I… I am?"
"And Kenny, too! You both are allowed to go. Every child is required to attend the Prince's ball. It says so right here."
Karen swung her arms around her older brother, smiling up at him. "Did you hear that, Kenny?! We get to go to the ball!"
"No, you are not going to the ball."
Karen's bottom lip trembled as she faced her stern foster parents. "But… I-I don't understand, every child is required to go. Didn't you get a message from the king today?"
"Why would we?" Mr. Weatherhead frowned as his wife crossed her arms. "Most of the idiots in this town don't even know of your existence."
"… The Prince isn't an idiot," Karen commented. "I'm sure that he would have sent a—"
"Karen!" Mr. Weatherhead cut her off, enraged. Frightened, Karen backed away behind her brother for protection. Kenny's eyes narrowed; he had just enough about this nonsense. "You are not attending the ball, end of discussion."
After a single teardrop, Karen raced upstairs and locked herself away in her bedroom. Kenny looked on in a mix of worry for his baby sister and fury towards his foster parents. He watched them as they suspiciously interacted to each other in exasperated whispers as they walked into the kitchen, popping open a pair of canned Dr. Pepper.
A half an hour passed when the coast was clear. Mr. and Mrs. Weatherhead parked themselves in front of their giant bookcase and cozy fireplace, reading cliché and uninteresting informative books on how to train up a child. Kenny didn't take his sweet time to sneak into the kitchen and bombard himself into the garbage can. A second later he jumped out and swept away a rotting banana peel before opening a crumpled piece of paper.
That's when an unspeakable rage burned within him.
Overwhelmed with disappointment and fear, Karen buried face first into her pillow. She was so excited to attend this ball—she and her brother could have tried new food, mingle with new friends, and dance the night away—but, no. Unfortunately, she was never to go to the ball all because of her horrible foster parents. Her real parents—if they were alive—probably would tell her that she could not attend, but with good reason. They were very poor at the time before they passed away, and Karen could have understood why she wouldn't be able to go. She couldn't afford to buy any formal clothing of her own. But now she and Kenny were living in a two story house with a pair of horrific fake parents that chose to do as they pleased, no matter if "their" children were happy or miserable.
Shuddering, Karen raised her head and went to her window. The magnificent white castle glimmered in the distance. Everyone was there. Everyone besides her and Kenny. What she would give just to have a night full of fun and away from Mr. and Mrs. Weatherhead… She lay her head down on the windowsill and closed her eyes, her head wandering off in the clouds.
And then, all of a sudden, she felt something warm grasp her tiny hand. Karen broke from her daydreams and opened her eyes. She gasped and took a step back. Her 'o' shaped mouth changed into a grin when a cloaked figure in purple spandex was perched on the sill.
"Oh, you're here!" Karen cried. "You're the one who comes to me when I'm feeling sad. Thank you for coming!"
"Mysterion," said the mysterious stranger in purple. "But as you call me your…"
"Guardian Angel," Karen finished for him.
The one who dawned the Mysterion persona gave a brief nod.
"Karen," he said. "There is no time to waste. There are people who are expecting your arrival. The ball awaits!"
