The only place where Mozu really felt safe was the juniper tree back behind the house, on to of her mother's grave. It reminded her of happier times. Time when her mother was still alive, and her father still talked to her. Times before that Charlotte woman charmed her father, and all but forced Mozu out of her own house.
Mozu's father was a respected and wealthy merchant. When her mother was still alive, they had all sat together around the fire in the evenings, and he had told them stories of his travels as Mozu and her mother had worked on their sewing. But then her mother had gotten sick, nobody had known what was ailing her, and she just got sicker, and sicker, and sicker, till she finally died of whatever it was that she had. Father had never been the same after her death. He left for longer periods of time, and the time between voyages grew shorter. He barely spent any time with Mozu, and she spent most of her spare time managing the house, waiting for those brief moments when her father would return and they could spend time together, and, just for a little while Mozu could pretend that things were how they had always been. But it was never real. Never.
And, one day, father had shown up with a wife on his arm, as if anyone could replace the mother she had lost, and told Mozu that Charlotte, she'd never call that woman mother, was now the mistress of the house, and that Mozu should treat that woman's two daughters like her own flesh and blood. That wasn't about to happen.
It wasn't that she hadn't tried to be welcoming to them at first, after all, it was lonely in the house, and some company would be welcome, even if they weren't necessarily Mozu's favorite people in the world. She had shown them around the house, helped them get settled in, and tried to help them feel at home. They hadn't returned the favor. All Charlotte seemed to care about was the wealth that Mozu's father had accumulated during his travels. Her two daughters weren't much better. Selena and Peri were spoiled rotten, the one wasteful and greedy, the other a living terror to the servants.
The three of them constantly wanted what Mozu had, and they took what they wanted by force. And, eventually, they pushed Mozu out of her very birthright, forcing her to a position that was no higher than that of a common peasant. She became their servant, they berated her so often that she barely had time to finish one thing before she had to do another. They called her Cinders, and Ashes, and Dust, and Dirt, and whatever else it was that she was covered when she answered their call. It was the name Cinders that eventually stuck.
Father barely came home at all anymore. When he did come, they dressed her up in the finery that should've been hers to where every day. They spoke to her in sickly sweet tones, whispering barely veiled insults under their breath. They laughed at her whenever she tried to tell the truth to her father. "She tells such funny stories," they'd say. Or "stop trying to make us laugh, Mozu."
He seldom listened to her anymore, and his visits were so short that it seemed that he had barely arrived before he left again and Mozu was shoved back to her work.
Now Mozu spent more and more time at her mother's grave. It was the one place that they never followed her to. They didn't know about it, and Mozu intended to keep it that way. And so she hid, plotting and scheming of a way to escape her home and so called family.
-X-X-X-X-X-
One day, the household received word that King Xander was searching for a bride, and to determine who he should marry, his sister, Princess Camilla, had arranged that a ball be held for three nights, and every eligible lady in the kingdom was to be invited. It was hoped that king would be able to choose one of the young women to rule beside him as his queen.
It was no surprise that their household had received an invitation. Mozu's father was a well respected merchant and her Mother had been a minor nobleman's daughter. The arrival of the invitation sent up a flurry of frantic preparations. Selena brought home even more stuff than usual from her shopping trips, and Peri became so obsessed with achieving the perfect look, that she had quite forgotten to terrorize the servants. From sunup to sundown, they ordered Mozu about, keeping her even busier than usual.
Mozu wanted to attend the ball, after all, it was her mother's title that Charlotte's daughters were riding on to get in. But when she had asked Charlotte if she could attend, she had been denied.
"You'll only make a fool of yourself, Cinders," They told her.
"You'd have nothing to wear, Cinders."
"You don't have any time, Cinders."
These were only excuses, and poor ones at that. Surely they realized that Mozu had been a lady before they came and forced her down to the position of a mere servant. She had many fine dresses secreted away somewhere, any of which would be acceptable finery for her to wear to the ball. And they were the time reason that she had so little time. But, she knew that arguing would only cause them to hold their ground more, so instead she silently seethed and plotted. She'd show them. She'd get there herself, without any of their help.
It was a simple enough matter to smuggle one of her mother's dresses out of the storage room where they were kept. It was a slightly less simple matter to find time to call on old friends that she hadn't seen in years and find one that would be willing help Mozu. And was not a simple matter at all to round up enough money to hire a carriage for three nights.
And then things started to go wrong, very, very wrong. At first it seemed like the problems were ones that Mozu could overcome, but they kept adding up and it felt like nothing was going right. It was pouring rain outside, which meant that she had gotten soaked during the short walk to the house of the friend who had agreed to help her prepare for the ball. When she arrived, it turned out that the friend had already left, so Mozu had to head back through the rain, getting soaked a second time in the process. It was difficult to get into one of her mother's old dresses by herself, but she managed it in the end only to discover that the carriage she had hired was nowhere to be seen.
It was only then that Mozu allowed herself to be worried about actually making it to the ball. She was in a real spot of trouble now. She didn't have a carriage and she couldn't go out to find one without getting soaked again and ruining her mother's dress. All of the servants had left hours ago, having been given the evening off, and even if there was somebody to send, the likelihood of there being a carriage to hire on this evening was lower than the likelihood of her father riding in on a dragon shooting lightning from his fingertips. The sheer unfairness of the situation caused Mozu to begin to cry tears of frustration.
She was the middle of crying with anger, annoyance and frustration when she was interrupted by a kind voice.
"Why are you crying, dear?" Mozu looked up to see a woman clothed entirely in violet speaking to her.
"I'm crying 'cause nothing seems to be goin right tonight." Mozu narrowed her eyes. "Who are ya anyway?"
"We're your fairy godmothers!" piped up an enthusiastic girl dressed in pink who Mozu hadn't noticed before.
"Really?" Mozu didn't think that fairy godmothers really existed.
"No," said the violet woman. "You can consider us your patrons. My name is Camilla and this is my sister, Elise." She gestured to the pink girl.
"Hi!" Elise waved.
"So why are ya here? I'm not an artist," said Mozu.
"You do want to go the the ball, don't you?" Camilla asked.
Mozu nodded.
"We're here to help you get there."
That must have been Elise's cue, because she immediately rushed Mozu off and prettied her up, talking all the while. It was only later, as the two of them rushed Mozu to a carriage outside, that she had a chance to ask the question that was burning in her mind.
"Why are ya doin this?"
"Because you deserve to go!" Elise said with her usual enthusiasm.
"No, I mean what are ya gettin out of this?"
"Let's just say that I have a vested interest in making sure our king finds a bride at this ball," Camilla said, helping Mozu into the carriage. "Now, go enjoy yourself, dear. And don't forget the carriage leaves at midnight sharp, so don't miss it.
And, with that note, Camilla closed the carriage door and sent Mozu on her way. There was another girl in the carriage, she introduced herself and the two of them made small talk as they rattled along the roads to Windmire and Castle Krakenberg. They stopped a couple more times before arriving, each time picking up another girl. Each of them had a similar story to Mozu; they couldn't make it to the ball, and, in the end, Camilla and Elise had helped them out.
All conversation trickled to a halt as the carriage made its way through the streets of Windmire. Mozu had visited the capitol before, but she had never seen it like it was now. The streets were just as deserted as they ever were, but the buildings and streets were decorated with flags bearing the crest of Nohr and bunting in purple, black, and effect would've been quite festive it the streets weren't quite so bare, and the weather wasn't quite so dreary. The girls grew even more impressed as Castle Krakenberg itself came into view. THere was a candle in every window and strands of lanterns were hanging about, lighting up the dreary place with an almost welcoming glow. Whoever it was that organized the ball had certainly made sure that nothing would be left out.
Mozu's wonder reached its peak when she saw the ballroom. It was swirling with ladies dancing. They were wearing dresses of every color and design. The ballroom itself was filled with light from the glittering chandeliers overhead. She didn't see Charlotte or her daughters anywhere that she looked, but there must have been hundreds of girls and young women invited that night.
As soon as the next song started, Mozu was asked to dance, and off she went, dancing every dance with a different part every time. She hadn't had this much fun since before Charlotte had shown up.
Most of her dancing was a happy blur, but there were a few faces that stood out among the rest. There was the gray haired man who flirted with her the entire time that they danced. Another man had been one of the wolfskin that Mozu had heard about. She had never met one before, but this one seemed nice enough, if a bit confused, not all bloody-eyed and terrible. And then there was the tall blond man who had danced with her twice. Mozu liked him the best, he was polite and slightly reserved, if a bit overwhelmed by all that was going on around him.
All to soon, Mozu looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight. She rushed out, and the carriage brought her home, where she collapsed on her bed, exhausted.
The next day proceeded much like the first. Dawn came all too soon as Mozu rolled out of and walked groggily towards the kitchen where she got to work the same as she did any day. All Peri and Selena would talk about was the ball; who they danced with, what they saw, that mysterious girl who danced twice with the young king. Mozu listened to their gossip, pretending that she hadn't gone to the same place that they had and seen the same things that they had seen.
That evening, after Charlotte had flounced out the door with her daughters, Camilla and Elise showed up again, teasing her about her conquests as they helped her prepare. And they ushered her out to the same carriage as before, giving her the same warning and sent her on her way.
Once again, she danced through the night, barely stopping. She knew that this would likely be the last bit of fun that she'd have for a good while. The blond man from the previous night danced with her again, much to Mozu's enjoyment. He was a good conversationalist and they talked and laughed together as they danced the night away. He danced mostly with her, only occasionally dancing with someone else.
It was strange, didn't even know his name, and yet, she felt like she could trust him. At least for these three nights before she went back to the life that was forced upon her.
Then Mozu noticed it was nearly midnight, and she rushed away again. But not before her partner stopped her and asked for her name. And all the way Mozu laughed to herself. She'd never expected that she was dancing with the young king himself. To think, she was the person that her sisters had been so jealous at at breakfast.
The next morning, mozu could barely contain her laughter as Peri and Selena all but turned green with envy as they complained about the girl who took all of the king's time. As if they would have a chance with him in the first place.
That night, as Camilla and Elise helped her out in their usual manner, they insisted that she wear the dress that they provided. It was beautiful, more beautiful than any of her mother's old dresses, elegant, and it fit Mozu like a glove. It was a dress fit for a queen. They teased her while they helped her into it, but Mozu could tell that there was a seriousness in their teasing that hadn't been there before.
"You've got to look your best tonight," they told her. Did they really think that Xander would propose to her that night? They were certainly acting like it, even if they were trying to pretend that nothing was out of the ordinary. Camilla even issued the same warning that she had the previous two nights.
Xander danced only with her that night. They talked and laughed like they had before, but it was clear that he was chewing over something in his mind. Maybe he would propose tonight after all. But he didn't, and when midnight began to approach, Mozu ran out of the ballroom in a hurry, well as quickly as she could run in the dress she had been given. In her hurry, one of her shoes fell off on the castle steps, but, as she could see that the carriage was about to leave, she left it behind.
When she arrived home, she hung up the dress that she had been given with her mother's old gowns, keeping it as memento of the ball. She turned her back on it and closed the door behind her. Mozu supposed that xander might come looking for her if he was really as smitten as everyone acted like he was, but were three nights of dancing really enough to base a relationship off of?
Her question was answered later that day when Princess Camilla herself came knocking on the door. Mozu had suspected the true identity of her 'patron', but to have it confirmed was still surprising. Charlotte and her daughters were out calling, so nobody had been around to stop the princess from marching in and inviting Mozu to tea in her own house. Which, considering her home situation, seemed very out of place for her.
"Well dearie, you've given my brother quite the shock," Camilla said while drinking tea. "When I told you that the carriage left at midnight, I didn't mean that you should abandon my brother like that."
"I didn't want to be left behind," Mozu said defensively. "I didn't have any other way to get home."
"If Xander had proposed to you, that wouldn't have been a problem."
"It wasn't like he was going to get around to proposing last night anyway."
Camilla shook her head dismissively. "Regardless, you've made quite the impression on him. My brother has decided that he's going to look in every house in the kingdom to find you."
"Oh." Mozu wasn't quite sure what to think about that.
"I tried to tell him that I knew where you lived, but he wouldn't listen." Camilla shrugged. "At least I talked him out of his first plan, which was to have every girl in the kingdom try on that shoe you left behind to find out who it fit."
Mozu snorted. "Did he really think that that would work? There must be dozens of girls who could wear that shoe."
"I told him that if he needed a shoe to recognize you, he didn't know you as well as he thought."
"When ya' put it that way, I guess we don't really know each other that well. We've only known each other for three nights."
"Nevertheless, Xander has decided that he wishes to marry you, and I am not one to oppose him. Which brings me to the reason for my visit."
"And?"
"I want you to come to the castle with me. My brother has a kingdom to run and he can't do that if he's looking everywhere for you."
"He really wants to marry me that much?"
Camilla nodded.
"Then I'll come." Mozu decided in an instant that being queen had to be better than being a servant.
"Excellent, gather up anything you want to take with you and we'll go."
It didn't take long for Mozu to gather up the few things that she wanted to take with her. And once again she found herself in a carriage heading for the capital, scarcely believing all that had happened in three short days.
AN: This is my (very belated) entry for day 7 of Mozander week! Woooo! So, I figured, we've got a prince and peasant, what better than a Cinderella AU.