"Did you both have fun playing with Marieminna today?"
Shingam looked down at Killashandra, who rested against his chest, before answering. "We had fun. It was strange training; but Killashandra liked the kite."
Quatre debated explaining that it wasn't training, but decided now wasn't the time. "Well I'm glad. Marieminna asked me at dinner if she could come over and play tomorrow, would you like that?"
"I would. And," he looked again at Killashandra. "So would Killa. She was.nice. She knew lots of stuff; as much as Killa and I do."
"Marieminna's a very smart girl."
Shingam nodded, but a yawn caught him, and he closed his eyes before opening them and looking expectantly at him.
"Well I guess that's my cue to start reading, isn't it?" Shingam nodded. "Ok. Duo what did you bring?"
He turned to Duo who sat in a chair next to the bed he was currently sitting on; Shingam and Killashandra tucked neatly inside. Trowa and Heero rested against the wall talking quietly to each other and watching the spectacle before them.
"Yeah, ok, I got one book chalked full of scary stories designed to make little kids wet the bed, and I got fairytales for every child. I'm assuming you want the fairytales." Quatre rolled his eyes. "One book of fairytales coming up."
"Thank you, Duo. Shingam, Killashandra, we should thank Heero for letting us borrow his book, don't you agree?" After the war, Heero had turned to other mediums to quiet his mind. Duo had been the first to suggest children's books, saying that not only had he missed out on them when he was little, but they worked for kids. So Heero had taken to reading children's literature, he often said it was something he could either read for the simple pleasure of reading, or could examine, searching for hidden meanings of the times.
Shingam nodded to Heero and even offered a slight smile, which Heero returned. Settling into his position as storyteller, Quatre opened the book and looked for the marked page; but it wasn't there.
"Duo, I thought you were going to mark the pages?"
"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you. This is actually a new book, I got it for Heero's birthday but forgot where I'd hidden it. Anyway, I found it looking for the other one, and decided this one was as good as any. Look in the table of contents, it's by some guy named Gimes or something like that. It's a name, you know the name of a person or something. I don't remember, it was a long time ago."
Rolling his eyes for a second time, Quatre thumbed through the book until he came across a picture of a beautiful woman wearing clothing similar to the kind women today wore to balls. Deciding this one was as good as any, and that no person in their right mind would make a story for children scary, he began to read.
"Cinderella. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl who loved her father very much. And her father loved her, just as much. The father was sad that his beautiful daughter did not have a mother, since she died when the girl was very small, so he set out to find a new wife, and a new mother for his lovely daughter."
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why did he want to give the daughter a mother? Didn't he know how to protect her himself?"
Duo stepped in. "Shingam, I'm sure the girl's dad was still really young and just wasn't satisfied with his bachelor like existence. He probably just wanted to get-" Heero's hand planted itself firmly over Duo's open mouth.
"He was looking out for his daughter. He realized that she needed a mother to talk.girl stuff with."
Duo managed to escape Heero's hand just in time to comment on that little tidbit. "Yeah, and you and Relena wouldn't be talking 'girl talk' over the vid the other day, now would you?"
Heero offered him the Death Glare, and Duo silently celebrated his victory.
Quatre continued. "Then it happened one day that the little girl's father returned home, and inside the carriage was a woman and her two daughters. The girl's father explained that the woman was the girl's new stepmother, and the sisters were her new stepsisters. And the girl was so excited, and so were her new stepsisters, and so was her father and her new stepmother."
"Yeah I bet, there's finally going to be some action in the house, and after how long?" Heero offered Quatre an apologetic smile before reaching behind Duo and grabbing him by his long braid.
Quatre smiled down at the children whose attention he had completely, and began again.
"But it came to pass that the little girl's father became.wait a minute! Duo I thought you said this was a happy story?" He did not like the next line at all.
"It is, it's a kids story, they're all alike; but you know, you gotta get through the plot twists first. Come on, you know as well as I do they all end in 'Happily Ever After', so keep reading."
Sighing, Quatre continued, but hesitantly. "But it came to pass that the little girl's father became very, very, ill-"
"Probably from syphilis."
"Duo!"
"What?"
"Became very ill, and died. Everyone in the house was very sad, the little girl, her stepmother, and even her two stepsisters. And perhaps it was grief, but the stepmother became very bitter and angry, and she took it all out on the little girl.Duo, this is awful!"
"I'm not telling you again, Quatre, read the damn story!"
"Fine! So the stepmother made the girl cook and clean, and do all the house work; even though she had the means for proper help. And it came to pass that the little girl was forced to sleep in the fireplace to stay warm, and her wicked stepsisters began to call her, Cinderella."
"What kind of name is, Cinderella?"
"Trowa, not you too!"
"Sorry, Quatre. Keep reading."
"One day, many years after Cinderella's father died, a proclamation was cast throughout the entire kingdom to find a suitable wife for the prince."
"Anyone else finding this story completely unnerving?" Duo sounded unnerved himself.
"You're only saying that because Relena is a princess and is currently looking for a husband."
"Yeah, and she keeps looking at my man! Trowa, you're available, you go stand in her line of sight for a little while."
"Trowa is most certainly not doing any such thing!"
"Worried Quatre?"
"Not for Trowa! But I may have to kill Relena." They laughed, and Trowa gave him a pleased smile before he turned back to the book.
"Ok, where was I.Oh yes. The proclamation stated that all eligible for marriage young women were to attend the ball to be held at the palace in a fortnight-"
"What's a 'fortnight'?" Shingam's voice was sleepy, and his eyes drooped ever so slightly.
Quatre smiled. "It means two weeks, fourteen days."
"Oh."
"I didn't know that."
"Duo, you don't know anything."
"That's not fair, Heero, I know lots of stuff. I know how to make you purr!"
"He purrs?"
"Trowa!"
"Yep!"
"Duo!"
"ANYWAY!" he cleared his throat. "So the wicked stepmother forced Cinderella make beautiful dresses for her two daughters, but no matter how hard Cinderella tried, she could not make a dress that could hide the ugliness of her stepsister's faces. And Cinderella was a very good seamstress indeed.
"Finally, with hardly an hour before the ball, Cinderella finished her stepsister's dresses, before turning to her wicked stepmother and saying, 'Stepmother, I have done as you asked, and made the most beautiful dresses for my two stepsisters to wear. And as you promised, may I please be allowed to attend the ball?' But the wicked stepmother only cackled evilly, and the two stepsisters only laughed menacingly. 'Cinderella, you simply cannot go to the ball dressed like a cindermaid. And with little more than an hour until the ball begins, you couldn't possibly make a dress in time.'"
"Oh that's it, I'm finding this bitch, and taking her out!"
"Baka, don't swear so much in front of the kids."
"Opps! Sorry."
"Very, very sad, Cinderella ran down into the basement and fell into her bed of cinders, weeping because she would not get to attend the ball. A little while later, she heard the carriage pull away from her house, containing both her stepmother, and her two evil stepsisters. Crying harder than ever, Cinderella barely heard the slight scratching of mice and birds, as they came to watch the kind hearted Cinderella weep. Then suddenly in a cloud of light fog a fairy appeared before Cinderella and said, 'Do not weep child. You have saved many creatures of the forest from being harmed, and in kindness they have asked me to come before you and grant you your hearts desire.' But Cinderella was frightened and said, 'But who are you?' And the kind fairy replied, 'Why Cinderella, I'm you're Fairy Godmother.'"
"What do you think was in those cinders she was sleeping in?"
"Duo!"
"I was wondering more along the lines of 'Fairy' godmother."
"Trowa!"
"Yeah, was it a really cute guy in tights or what?!"
"Both of you shut up!"
In unison, "Sorry, Quatre."
Shingam giggled and Killashandra's eyes held a look of humor. Rubbing his face in exhaustion, he continued the tale of Cinderella.
"'Fairy Godmother?' 'Yes, child. I've come to grant you one wish; what is your heart's desire.' 'Oh Fairy Godmother, more than anything in the world, I want to go to the ball!'"
"The ball?! I'd be wishing for a pad on L-4."
"There was no L-4 when this story was written."
"Why do you have to be so literal all the time, Heero? Fine, how about riches beyond her wildest dreams, and a handsome man to marry."
"The fairy said only one wish."
"Damn it, Heero! Fine, she can wish for a handsome man carrying riches beyond her wildest dreams; happy now?!"
"Yes."
"May Quatre continue now?" Trowa's voice was mock stern at best.
"Sorry, Quatre, keep going. By the way, nice girly voices."
He offered his thanks to Trowa, who smiled kindly back before he glared menacingly at Duo, and then took a deep breath and tried again. "And the Fairy Godmother said to Cinderella, 'Then you shall go to the ball.' And she waved her fairy wand around Cinderella's head, and the rags she wore became a beautiful dress of the finest silks and satins, and her hair was transformed into a cascade of beautiful curls.
"Then the Fairy Godmother took Cinderella into the garden, and from a pumpkin, made the most beautiful carriage for her to arrive in, and from the mice Cinderella had saved from the cat, six white horses, and a fine footman-"
"Now we're talking! Fine footman! Tell us girl, just how fine was he?!"
"He was made from a mouse, guess. And besides that I don't think they meant 'fine' in that sense of the word."
"And more than that, what are you doing checking out someone else's footman?"
"Aaaaaa," Duo stuttered, before closing his mouth under Heero's penetrating gaze.
Quatre groaned before continuing. "But just when it seemed that everything was perfect, Cinderella turned to her Fairy Godmother and lifted up her beautiful dress to reveal that she was still dressed in the shoes of a cindermaid. 'Oh Fairy Godmother, I can't go to the ball wearing these shoes."
"Sounds kind of ungrateful if you ask me."
"No one asked you."
"Well, soooorrrrry."
"But the Fairy Godmother told Cinderella not to worry, and with a wave of her wand changed Cinderella's slippers from rags into beautiful glass slippers."
"Oh I'm not even going to touch that one."
"Cinderella thanked her Fairy Godmother with a kiss on the cheek, because that is how all Fairy Godmothers like to be thanked, before getting into the coach. But the Fairy Godmother had one final warning for Cinderella. 'Child, my magic is strong, but upon the stroke of midnight, my magic will fade like the sun into darkness. Be careful that no one sees you, or they will think you bewitched, and surely han-I'm not reading this anymore!"
"Quatre?" Gently, Trowa sat down next to him.
"Trowa, this story if awful! They're talking about," he glanced down at the two sets of wide-eyed children. "H-A-N-G-I-N-G Cinderella for being a witch. I'm not reading this to them, it's-it's evil!" He knew he was being irrational, but he just couldn't bring himself to read the words to these two children.
Trowa smiled before wrapping an arm about his waist and giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "Do whatever you feel best. We'll stand behind you."
"Quatre," he turned to look down at Shingam. "Can we please hear the rest of the story. Killa likes Cinderella; and I want to hear what she's going to do to the evil stepmother."
He could hardly refuse that. "Ok, well anyway, Cinderella arrived at the ball.and as she entered, she immediately bewitched the prince. From that moment on, they were inseparable. He danced every dance with her, and she with him. They were like two blessed people, dancing the night away. And the king was happy because his son had found a wife, and the queen was happy because her son seemed very much in love with the beautiful young woman.
"But Cinderella was having such a wonderful time that she failed to realize that the midnight hour was upon them. As the bells began to toll, Cinderella raced out of the palace, and away from her prince charming. But just as she was about to enter her carriage-the prince not far behind her- she lost one of her glass slippers on the steps. Knowing she couldn't run back and get it and still leave the prince's sight before the twelfth toll, she abandoned her shoe. And as the bells tolled midnight, her dress turned back to rags, her carriage turned back into a pumpkin, and her horses and coachman turned back into white mice."
"I still can't believe she gave up her shoe! Obviously she doesn't know how hard it is to make glass into shoes, and more to the point, how hard it is to find a shoe you can dance all night in. I'm still looking for my perfect pair, and I can tell you no twelve o'clock bell is going to make me give it up!"
"Duo, I'm only going to tell you this one more time-"
"I know, I know, 'Duo, shut up!' there I said it for you."
"Now just do it!"
"Do what?"
"AHHHHHHHH!"
Chuckling beside him, Trowa rubbed large circles in his back and encouraged him to continue. The pleading looks on two children's faces had him continuing.
"When the ball was over and Cinderella was back home crying for her lost prince, her wicked stepmother and evil stepsisters returned and spoke nothing but how horrible it was that that princess-for surely a young woman dressed so beautifully could be nothing else-had stolen the prince's heart and then run away. And Cinderella did her best not to cry as her evil sisters talked of the young princess's beauty and charm; and her wicked stepmother admonished her for not being so beautiful and lovely.
"However, the next day, another proclamation was read, and it said that the prince had found the slipper of the beautiful young woman, and whoever's foot fit the slipper, he would marry and make princess of the entire kingdom."
"This prince sounds kind of desperate to me."
"Trowa, he's only trying to find his true love."
"He knows his true love after only one night of dancing and her foot size?"
"Well.yes. It's love at first sight."
"It's ridiculous."
"You mean to tell me you didn't fall in love with me at first sight?"
Quatre relished the trapped look that crossed Trowa's face then. He was curious how his lover planned to work his way out of this one.
But Trowa only smiled and offered Quatre a quick kiss. "Not quiet, but I did fall in love with you at first music note. Will that appease you?"
He smiled brilliantly, leaning up for another kiss. "That works beautifully."
"Ok guys, you're sickeningly sweet scene is making the kids ill. Can we continue please."
Quatre glared at Duo before once again continuing. "On the last day of the search, the prince and his man came to the door of the house, but the evil stepmother was embarrassed by Cinderella's appearance and made her hide in the cellar. When the prince came in, the wicked stepmother had her two daughters try on the shoe. And when it didn't fit she secretly commanded them to go and-This is nuts! Who the hell wrote this thing?!"
"What's wrong now, Quatre?" The way Duo said it, as if he'd been causing all the delays in the story up to this point, had him nearly out of his seat and strangling his best friend. Only Trowa's sure grip about his waist had him rooted to the spot.
Calmly, Trowa took the book from his hands and read over the passage, his eyebrows lifting when he came to the part Quatre had stopped at.
"See! I'm not reading that! It's a bedtime story for crying out loud! That'll give them nightmares for weeks!"
"I'm sure," Heero said. "It can't be any worse then what they've already had to deal with."
Instantly the mood sobered; and Quatre felt suddenly drained. They could joke and make fun all they wanted, but the fact remained, two children, who had been through hell and back, were resting next to him, wrapped together like long time lovers, listening intently to a story that would scare a normal child, but probably didn't even register with them. He couldn't help but wish it did scare them; at least that way he'd know they hadn't been totally dehumanized.
Trowa's voice ended the silence as he began to read, his deep and soft timber lulling even Quatre to sleep. "And when it did not fit, she secretly commanded them to go and cut off the heels of their feet to make the shoe fit. But the prince's man took notice and refused to let them try it on. Angrily, the wicked stepmother threw her cane and in the process, broke the glass slipper.
"The prince was beside himself with sadness; and as Cinderella watched from underneath the stairs, the prince began to cry. So Cinderella came up from the cellar and knelt down in front of the prince, and bestowed upon him the other glass slipper-the one she had not lost the night of the ball. And when the prince asked her how she had come upon the treasure, she could not lie and told the prince of her Fairy Godmother and wicked stepmother's broken promise.
"The prince was so relieved to have found the beautiful maiden, that they were married that very same day. And Cinderella, now a princess and no longer a cindermaid, had her stepsister's heads cut off, and her wicked stepmother tarred, feathered, and nailed into a barrel which was rolled down a rocky cliff. And together she lived with her prince, happily ever after."
Hesitantly, Trowa set the book aside and turned to him. All Quatre could do was shake his head. How had a bedtime story turned so ugly? How could parents of centuries gone by, have told these very same stories to the children they loved? It was simply evil!
"Quatre."
He turned to regard Shingam, who now held a sleeping Killashandra in his arms.
"Yes, Shingam?"
"That was a good story. We liked how Cinderella got to live happily ever after."
And then Quatre knew the answer. Children were children. A story embellished for adults is lost on the ears of children searching for dreams. He smiled down at Shingam.
"I'm glad. Now you go two sleep and I'll see you in the morning." Leaning down, he kissed Shingam's forehead, and likewise the sleeping Killa, before standing and moving aside. One by one, the others kissed Shingam, and even Heero bent down to drop a light kiss to the child's head.
And as he left them to their dreaming, Quatre couldn't help but wonder if Shingam and Killashandra's story would end happily ever after.
After saying goodbye to Heero and Duo, he moved to the couch and sat next to Trowa.
"Cinderella."
"Cinderella." Trowa repeated, and draped an arm around his shoulders.
"I think we should stick to regular children's stories, this fairytale stuff is cruel."
"I agree."
And with that, Quatre leaned up and kissed Trowa softly, before standing and pulling his lover up with him. Together, they entered their bedroom and allowed the door to shut silently behind them.
Shingam looked down at Killashandra, who rested against his chest, before answering. "We had fun. It was strange training; but Killashandra liked the kite."
Quatre debated explaining that it wasn't training, but decided now wasn't the time. "Well I'm glad. Marieminna asked me at dinner if she could come over and play tomorrow, would you like that?"
"I would. And," he looked again at Killashandra. "So would Killa. She was.nice. She knew lots of stuff; as much as Killa and I do."
"Marieminna's a very smart girl."
Shingam nodded, but a yawn caught him, and he closed his eyes before opening them and looking expectantly at him.
"Well I guess that's my cue to start reading, isn't it?" Shingam nodded. "Ok. Duo what did you bring?"
He turned to Duo who sat in a chair next to the bed he was currently sitting on; Shingam and Killashandra tucked neatly inside. Trowa and Heero rested against the wall talking quietly to each other and watching the spectacle before them.
"Yeah, ok, I got one book chalked full of scary stories designed to make little kids wet the bed, and I got fairytales for every child. I'm assuming you want the fairytales." Quatre rolled his eyes. "One book of fairytales coming up."
"Thank you, Duo. Shingam, Killashandra, we should thank Heero for letting us borrow his book, don't you agree?" After the war, Heero had turned to other mediums to quiet his mind. Duo had been the first to suggest children's books, saying that not only had he missed out on them when he was little, but they worked for kids. So Heero had taken to reading children's literature, he often said it was something he could either read for the simple pleasure of reading, or could examine, searching for hidden meanings of the times.
Shingam nodded to Heero and even offered a slight smile, which Heero returned. Settling into his position as storyteller, Quatre opened the book and looked for the marked page; but it wasn't there.
"Duo, I thought you were going to mark the pages?"
"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you. This is actually a new book, I got it for Heero's birthday but forgot where I'd hidden it. Anyway, I found it looking for the other one, and decided this one was as good as any. Look in the table of contents, it's by some guy named Gimes or something like that. It's a name, you know the name of a person or something. I don't remember, it was a long time ago."
Rolling his eyes for a second time, Quatre thumbed through the book until he came across a picture of a beautiful woman wearing clothing similar to the kind women today wore to balls. Deciding this one was as good as any, and that no person in their right mind would make a story for children scary, he began to read.
"Cinderella. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl who loved her father very much. And her father loved her, just as much. The father was sad that his beautiful daughter did not have a mother, since she died when the girl was very small, so he set out to find a new wife, and a new mother for his lovely daughter."
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why did he want to give the daughter a mother? Didn't he know how to protect her himself?"
Duo stepped in. "Shingam, I'm sure the girl's dad was still really young and just wasn't satisfied with his bachelor like existence. He probably just wanted to get-" Heero's hand planted itself firmly over Duo's open mouth.
"He was looking out for his daughter. He realized that she needed a mother to talk.girl stuff with."
Duo managed to escape Heero's hand just in time to comment on that little tidbit. "Yeah, and you and Relena wouldn't be talking 'girl talk' over the vid the other day, now would you?"
Heero offered him the Death Glare, and Duo silently celebrated his victory.
Quatre continued. "Then it happened one day that the little girl's father returned home, and inside the carriage was a woman and her two daughters. The girl's father explained that the woman was the girl's new stepmother, and the sisters were her new stepsisters. And the girl was so excited, and so were her new stepsisters, and so was her father and her new stepmother."
"Yeah I bet, there's finally going to be some action in the house, and after how long?" Heero offered Quatre an apologetic smile before reaching behind Duo and grabbing him by his long braid.
Quatre smiled down at the children whose attention he had completely, and began again.
"But it came to pass that the little girl's father became.wait a minute! Duo I thought you said this was a happy story?" He did not like the next line at all.
"It is, it's a kids story, they're all alike; but you know, you gotta get through the plot twists first. Come on, you know as well as I do they all end in 'Happily Ever After', so keep reading."
Sighing, Quatre continued, but hesitantly. "But it came to pass that the little girl's father became very, very, ill-"
"Probably from syphilis."
"Duo!"
"What?"
"Became very ill, and died. Everyone in the house was very sad, the little girl, her stepmother, and even her two stepsisters. And perhaps it was grief, but the stepmother became very bitter and angry, and she took it all out on the little girl.Duo, this is awful!"
"I'm not telling you again, Quatre, read the damn story!"
"Fine! So the stepmother made the girl cook and clean, and do all the house work; even though she had the means for proper help. And it came to pass that the little girl was forced to sleep in the fireplace to stay warm, and her wicked stepsisters began to call her, Cinderella."
"What kind of name is, Cinderella?"
"Trowa, not you too!"
"Sorry, Quatre. Keep reading."
"One day, many years after Cinderella's father died, a proclamation was cast throughout the entire kingdom to find a suitable wife for the prince."
"Anyone else finding this story completely unnerving?" Duo sounded unnerved himself.
"You're only saying that because Relena is a princess and is currently looking for a husband."
"Yeah, and she keeps looking at my man! Trowa, you're available, you go stand in her line of sight for a little while."
"Trowa is most certainly not doing any such thing!"
"Worried Quatre?"
"Not for Trowa! But I may have to kill Relena." They laughed, and Trowa gave him a pleased smile before he turned back to the book.
"Ok, where was I.Oh yes. The proclamation stated that all eligible for marriage young women were to attend the ball to be held at the palace in a fortnight-"
"What's a 'fortnight'?" Shingam's voice was sleepy, and his eyes drooped ever so slightly.
Quatre smiled. "It means two weeks, fourteen days."
"Oh."
"I didn't know that."
"Duo, you don't know anything."
"That's not fair, Heero, I know lots of stuff. I know how to make you purr!"
"He purrs?"
"Trowa!"
"Yep!"
"Duo!"
"ANYWAY!" he cleared his throat. "So the wicked stepmother forced Cinderella make beautiful dresses for her two daughters, but no matter how hard Cinderella tried, she could not make a dress that could hide the ugliness of her stepsister's faces. And Cinderella was a very good seamstress indeed.
"Finally, with hardly an hour before the ball, Cinderella finished her stepsister's dresses, before turning to her wicked stepmother and saying, 'Stepmother, I have done as you asked, and made the most beautiful dresses for my two stepsisters to wear. And as you promised, may I please be allowed to attend the ball?' But the wicked stepmother only cackled evilly, and the two stepsisters only laughed menacingly. 'Cinderella, you simply cannot go to the ball dressed like a cindermaid. And with little more than an hour until the ball begins, you couldn't possibly make a dress in time.'"
"Oh that's it, I'm finding this bitch, and taking her out!"
"Baka, don't swear so much in front of the kids."
"Opps! Sorry."
"Very, very sad, Cinderella ran down into the basement and fell into her bed of cinders, weeping because she would not get to attend the ball. A little while later, she heard the carriage pull away from her house, containing both her stepmother, and her two evil stepsisters. Crying harder than ever, Cinderella barely heard the slight scratching of mice and birds, as they came to watch the kind hearted Cinderella weep. Then suddenly in a cloud of light fog a fairy appeared before Cinderella and said, 'Do not weep child. You have saved many creatures of the forest from being harmed, and in kindness they have asked me to come before you and grant you your hearts desire.' But Cinderella was frightened and said, 'But who are you?' And the kind fairy replied, 'Why Cinderella, I'm you're Fairy Godmother.'"
"What do you think was in those cinders she was sleeping in?"
"Duo!"
"I was wondering more along the lines of 'Fairy' godmother."
"Trowa!"
"Yeah, was it a really cute guy in tights or what?!"
"Both of you shut up!"
In unison, "Sorry, Quatre."
Shingam giggled and Killashandra's eyes held a look of humor. Rubbing his face in exhaustion, he continued the tale of Cinderella.
"'Fairy Godmother?' 'Yes, child. I've come to grant you one wish; what is your heart's desire.' 'Oh Fairy Godmother, more than anything in the world, I want to go to the ball!'"
"The ball?! I'd be wishing for a pad on L-4."
"There was no L-4 when this story was written."
"Why do you have to be so literal all the time, Heero? Fine, how about riches beyond her wildest dreams, and a handsome man to marry."
"The fairy said only one wish."
"Damn it, Heero! Fine, she can wish for a handsome man carrying riches beyond her wildest dreams; happy now?!"
"Yes."
"May Quatre continue now?" Trowa's voice was mock stern at best.
"Sorry, Quatre, keep going. By the way, nice girly voices."
He offered his thanks to Trowa, who smiled kindly back before he glared menacingly at Duo, and then took a deep breath and tried again. "And the Fairy Godmother said to Cinderella, 'Then you shall go to the ball.' And she waved her fairy wand around Cinderella's head, and the rags she wore became a beautiful dress of the finest silks and satins, and her hair was transformed into a cascade of beautiful curls.
"Then the Fairy Godmother took Cinderella into the garden, and from a pumpkin, made the most beautiful carriage for her to arrive in, and from the mice Cinderella had saved from the cat, six white horses, and a fine footman-"
"Now we're talking! Fine footman! Tell us girl, just how fine was he?!"
"He was made from a mouse, guess. And besides that I don't think they meant 'fine' in that sense of the word."
"And more than that, what are you doing checking out someone else's footman?"
"Aaaaaa," Duo stuttered, before closing his mouth under Heero's penetrating gaze.
Quatre groaned before continuing. "But just when it seemed that everything was perfect, Cinderella turned to her Fairy Godmother and lifted up her beautiful dress to reveal that she was still dressed in the shoes of a cindermaid. 'Oh Fairy Godmother, I can't go to the ball wearing these shoes."
"Sounds kind of ungrateful if you ask me."
"No one asked you."
"Well, soooorrrrry."
"But the Fairy Godmother told Cinderella not to worry, and with a wave of her wand changed Cinderella's slippers from rags into beautiful glass slippers."
"Oh I'm not even going to touch that one."
"Cinderella thanked her Fairy Godmother with a kiss on the cheek, because that is how all Fairy Godmothers like to be thanked, before getting into the coach. But the Fairy Godmother had one final warning for Cinderella. 'Child, my magic is strong, but upon the stroke of midnight, my magic will fade like the sun into darkness. Be careful that no one sees you, or they will think you bewitched, and surely han-I'm not reading this anymore!"
"Quatre?" Gently, Trowa sat down next to him.
"Trowa, this story if awful! They're talking about," he glanced down at the two sets of wide-eyed children. "H-A-N-G-I-N-G Cinderella for being a witch. I'm not reading this to them, it's-it's evil!" He knew he was being irrational, but he just couldn't bring himself to read the words to these two children.
Trowa smiled before wrapping an arm about his waist and giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "Do whatever you feel best. We'll stand behind you."
"Quatre," he turned to look down at Shingam. "Can we please hear the rest of the story. Killa likes Cinderella; and I want to hear what she's going to do to the evil stepmother."
He could hardly refuse that. "Ok, well anyway, Cinderella arrived at the ball.and as she entered, she immediately bewitched the prince. From that moment on, they were inseparable. He danced every dance with her, and she with him. They were like two blessed people, dancing the night away. And the king was happy because his son had found a wife, and the queen was happy because her son seemed very much in love with the beautiful young woman.
"But Cinderella was having such a wonderful time that she failed to realize that the midnight hour was upon them. As the bells began to toll, Cinderella raced out of the palace, and away from her prince charming. But just as she was about to enter her carriage-the prince not far behind her- she lost one of her glass slippers on the steps. Knowing she couldn't run back and get it and still leave the prince's sight before the twelfth toll, she abandoned her shoe. And as the bells tolled midnight, her dress turned back to rags, her carriage turned back into a pumpkin, and her horses and coachman turned back into white mice."
"I still can't believe she gave up her shoe! Obviously she doesn't know how hard it is to make glass into shoes, and more to the point, how hard it is to find a shoe you can dance all night in. I'm still looking for my perfect pair, and I can tell you no twelve o'clock bell is going to make me give it up!"
"Duo, I'm only going to tell you this one more time-"
"I know, I know, 'Duo, shut up!' there I said it for you."
"Now just do it!"
"Do what?"
"AHHHHHHHH!"
Chuckling beside him, Trowa rubbed large circles in his back and encouraged him to continue. The pleading looks on two children's faces had him continuing.
"When the ball was over and Cinderella was back home crying for her lost prince, her wicked stepmother and evil stepsisters returned and spoke nothing but how horrible it was that that princess-for surely a young woman dressed so beautifully could be nothing else-had stolen the prince's heart and then run away. And Cinderella did her best not to cry as her evil sisters talked of the young princess's beauty and charm; and her wicked stepmother admonished her for not being so beautiful and lovely.
"However, the next day, another proclamation was read, and it said that the prince had found the slipper of the beautiful young woman, and whoever's foot fit the slipper, he would marry and make princess of the entire kingdom."
"This prince sounds kind of desperate to me."
"Trowa, he's only trying to find his true love."
"He knows his true love after only one night of dancing and her foot size?"
"Well.yes. It's love at first sight."
"It's ridiculous."
"You mean to tell me you didn't fall in love with me at first sight?"
Quatre relished the trapped look that crossed Trowa's face then. He was curious how his lover planned to work his way out of this one.
But Trowa only smiled and offered Quatre a quick kiss. "Not quiet, but I did fall in love with you at first music note. Will that appease you?"
He smiled brilliantly, leaning up for another kiss. "That works beautifully."
"Ok guys, you're sickeningly sweet scene is making the kids ill. Can we continue please."
Quatre glared at Duo before once again continuing. "On the last day of the search, the prince and his man came to the door of the house, but the evil stepmother was embarrassed by Cinderella's appearance and made her hide in the cellar. When the prince came in, the wicked stepmother had her two daughters try on the shoe. And when it didn't fit she secretly commanded them to go and-This is nuts! Who the hell wrote this thing?!"
"What's wrong now, Quatre?" The way Duo said it, as if he'd been causing all the delays in the story up to this point, had him nearly out of his seat and strangling his best friend. Only Trowa's sure grip about his waist had him rooted to the spot.
Calmly, Trowa took the book from his hands and read over the passage, his eyebrows lifting when he came to the part Quatre had stopped at.
"See! I'm not reading that! It's a bedtime story for crying out loud! That'll give them nightmares for weeks!"
"I'm sure," Heero said. "It can't be any worse then what they've already had to deal with."
Instantly the mood sobered; and Quatre felt suddenly drained. They could joke and make fun all they wanted, but the fact remained, two children, who had been through hell and back, were resting next to him, wrapped together like long time lovers, listening intently to a story that would scare a normal child, but probably didn't even register with them. He couldn't help but wish it did scare them; at least that way he'd know they hadn't been totally dehumanized.
Trowa's voice ended the silence as he began to read, his deep and soft timber lulling even Quatre to sleep. "And when it did not fit, she secretly commanded them to go and cut off the heels of their feet to make the shoe fit. But the prince's man took notice and refused to let them try it on. Angrily, the wicked stepmother threw her cane and in the process, broke the glass slipper.
"The prince was beside himself with sadness; and as Cinderella watched from underneath the stairs, the prince began to cry. So Cinderella came up from the cellar and knelt down in front of the prince, and bestowed upon him the other glass slipper-the one she had not lost the night of the ball. And when the prince asked her how she had come upon the treasure, she could not lie and told the prince of her Fairy Godmother and wicked stepmother's broken promise.
"The prince was so relieved to have found the beautiful maiden, that they were married that very same day. And Cinderella, now a princess and no longer a cindermaid, had her stepsister's heads cut off, and her wicked stepmother tarred, feathered, and nailed into a barrel which was rolled down a rocky cliff. And together she lived with her prince, happily ever after."
Hesitantly, Trowa set the book aside and turned to him. All Quatre could do was shake his head. How had a bedtime story turned so ugly? How could parents of centuries gone by, have told these very same stories to the children they loved? It was simply evil!
"Quatre."
He turned to regard Shingam, who now held a sleeping Killashandra in his arms.
"Yes, Shingam?"
"That was a good story. We liked how Cinderella got to live happily ever after."
And then Quatre knew the answer. Children were children. A story embellished for adults is lost on the ears of children searching for dreams. He smiled down at Shingam.
"I'm glad. Now you go two sleep and I'll see you in the morning." Leaning down, he kissed Shingam's forehead, and likewise the sleeping Killa, before standing and moving aside. One by one, the others kissed Shingam, and even Heero bent down to drop a light kiss to the child's head.
And as he left them to their dreaming, Quatre couldn't help but wonder if Shingam and Killashandra's story would end happily ever after.
After saying goodbye to Heero and Duo, he moved to the couch and sat next to Trowa.
"Cinderella."
"Cinderella." Trowa repeated, and draped an arm around his shoulders.
"I think we should stick to regular children's stories, this fairytale stuff is cruel."
"I agree."
And with that, Quatre leaned up and kissed Trowa softly, before standing and pulling his lover up with him. Together, they entered their bedroom and allowed the door to shut silently behind them.