Disclaimer: All things from Newsies belong to Disney; all things from Ever After belong to Fox. Everything else has either been created by me or donated to me. I'd like to thank all those who let me use their characters for this fic. I know the beginning is pretty much exactly like Ever After, but please keep reading; things will change. Enjoy!
Ever After: a Newsies Story
By Athena
Although the castle had been constructed of the iciest gray stones, lain carefully by workmen centuries ago, the interior was quite warmer than Rio and Whisper had imagined it would be. Flames blazed in enormous fireplaces, under mahogany mantels carved with pomegranates and roses. Massive tapestries depicting valiant knights on flawlessly white horses or fair ladies in lush gardens hung on the walls. Expensive carpets imported from Turkey and Persia enveloped the floors. Freshly cut flowers, arranged into lavish bouquets, stood with dignified grace in crystal vases. The two young women found it somewhat difficult to focus on the task at hand when there was something new to notice at every turn.
The tall butler who was currently leading them through room after room did not remark upon their stares of awe. Initially, he had cast the girls a condescending glance as he wondered why would his employer wish to speak with these commoners in the first place. Certainly, there had been talk about them; who hadn't heard about Rio and Whisper Grimm and their tome of local tales? The butler quietly scoffed. Fairy stories indeed, he thought. Why Lady Smalls would ever request a meeting with the writers of children's stories is beyond my comprehension.
Rio caught sight of the butler's disdainful expression and narrowed her eyes at him. Leaning over to Whisper, she murmured, "He looks like a character from our book- a disgruntled troll under a bridge, maybe."
Whisper stifled her laughter and nodded. "If he's any indication of what our audience with Lady Smalls is going to be like, we might be very sorry that we ever agreed to this." They both recalled the afternoon a few days prior, when they had been celebrating the wonderful response to their book of local fairy tales, stories which used not the formal diction of nobles, but the everyday speech of the common folk. A young messenger, not much older than the two girls, had burst into Tibby's (a popular place for the artistic crowd to sip coffee and discuss their latest works) with a letter addressed to them- a letter that requested their presence at the home of Lady Smalls, one of the most prominent noblewomen in the land. The two girls had paled a bit and pondered over the nature of such an invitation. Curiosity eventually got the better of them, although now, only a room away from Lady Smalls herself, the sisters were anxious yet again.
The butler pushed open a large oak door and announced, "Rio and Whisper, the sisters Grimm, my lady."
Whisper and Rio glanced from behind the man to see an elderly woman seated in a lush chair, made of dark rosewood and forest green velvet. The room was just as lavishly decorated as the others had been, although this one was surrounded by bookshelves packed with heavy tomes and several works of art in beautiful frames of silver or mahogany. One particularly painting caught the both of the girls' eyes- a portrait of a young woman, perhaps eighteen years old, with fair skin, ebony hair, and beautiful brown eyes. Before they could look at the painting more closely, Lady Smalls spoke up in a dignified yet amiable voice.
"Welcome, ladies. Won't you please sit down?" she said, motioning to two more chairs which matched her own. As the sisters moved to sit, they studied their hostess. Although her hair (which had obviously once been a vibrant shade of auburn) was graying and the tiniest wrinkles were apparent at the corners of her eyes and mouth, her bright green eyes spoke of her wisdom and internal strength. Once the girls were seated, Lady Smalls continued, "I'm sure you're curious as to my reason for requesting this meeting with you."
Whisper nodded. "We were rather surprised at your letter, madam."
"We've had some success with our book," Rio added, "but we haven't been called to such an audience before."
Lady Smalls nodded and smiled gently. "I, along with many others, find your collection of folk tales to be quite inspired. This is a huge step forward for the works of local storytellers and the language of commoners."
The sisters glanced at each other and grinned brightly, both sitting up a bit straighter in their chairs. "Thank you, madam," Rio replied calmly, attempting to contain most of her excitement.
"However," Lady Smalls interjected evenly but firmly, "I was quite upset with your version of the Cinderella tale." She cast Whisper and Rio each a somber stare, and the two girls silently sighed in disappointment. They looked to each other again, wondering what could be said in polite response.
"There are so many different tellings," Whisper spoke up bravely, her voice slightly hushed and her cheeks barely stained with crimson, "that no one knows exactly how the story originated. People say that the tale appearing in our book- with a fairy godmother and a magical carriage- is the closest to whatever the truth may be."
Rio nodded resolutely in her sister's defense. "There are those who say that the infamous slipper was made of glass, while others insist it was fur. Others declare that the fairy godmother was the spirit of the girl's mother, or that the father was alive throughout the whole tale." She shrugged and looked directly at Lady Smalls. "I suppose we'll never know the truth of Cinderella, if there is even such a truth that exists."
The older woman paused momentarily, and the Grimm sisters eyed each other curiously, both wondering if they had somehow upset their hostess. Then Lady Smalls shifted slightly in her chair, turning to the portrait of the young woman.
"This," she stated in a much more kindly manner than Whisper and Rio had thought she would use, "is Luna- the owner of the infamous slipper." She bent down to extract a shoe from a beautifully carved box. The slipper was neither glass nor fur, but decorated with seemingly hundreds of tiny diamonds, each sparkling like a star on a clear autumn evening.
Rio and Whisper blinked, studying first the painting and then Lady Smalls, whose expression was just as serious and kind as before.
"She's not joking," Rio, her eyes widening slightly, murmured to her sister in surprise.
"So it's true, then?" Whisper inquired, moving forward in her chair. "The story is actually-"
A smile began to suffuse over Lady Smalls's lips and she nodded serenely. "Yes, this is more than a mere fairy tale- far more. It is the tale of internal strength, immense bravery and true love with overcame so many obstacles." Her smiled widened further as she looked from the slipper to the stunned young women before her. "If I may set the record straight?" She raised the slipper slightly, so that the diamonds glittered even more radiantly, sending tiny rainbows soaring throughout the room. The words of Lady Smalls danced in the air with a fiery brilliance all their own.
To be continued…please review!