Cinderella
Beaner-Bop
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A/N: Yet another chapter…
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Disclaimer: Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…
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Chapter Ten: Stephen Says…
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Ginny looked at her ceiling wondering what would come next. She winced at the sound of a knock on her door. She didn't answer. It was silent for another ten seconds when the knocks came again.
"Come in, Stephen." The older man did and took a seat next to Ginny's feet and patted her leg lightly.
"How are you Ginevra?" He asked her softly. Ginny shook her head, messing her hair up on the pillow.
"Horrible. What was father thinking when he married the wench?" She asked acidly. Stephen shrugged.
"How should I know. Ever since your mother died, your father's been…lost." Ginny sniffed then nodded.
"I know…but you're supposed to end up going with someone who makes you…you know, 'un lost', aren't you? How is that woman making him, I don't know, found?" Stephen shrugged his aging shoulders.
"I honestly don't know, Miss. Maybe she does it in some strange way, maybe she doesn't do it at all. Perhaps she's safe." Ginny looked confused.
"What do you mean, safe? She'd kick us out of here if she had half a chance. She's worse than your common criminal. Some crooks have reasons behind what they do, besides their own greed. What does she have? Just her greed." Stephen nodded in agreement. He took a moment to gather his thoughts.
"She's safe…in an unsafe way…" He said slowly. Ginny looked up from her pillow and cocked an eyebrow at him.
"And I'm not confused, in a very confused way. Stephen, what the hell do you mean?" He grinned at her apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Ginevra. I'm not explaining myself very well. Let's see here…when your mother died, your father was in pain, we all were. We, were, hurt." She nodded, showing him she was going along with what he said. "Your father never wants to have to feel that pain again in his life." Ginny nodded, though she still didn't quite understand what he was getting at.
"…What does that mean?" She asked softly. Shaking his head, Stephen explained it all to her.
"If this woman dies, your father wouldn't care nearly so much as he did when your mother died." He finally just said. Ginny's eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed for a few moments. She only stopped when Stephen hit a fly that was about to fly into her open mouth.
"Oh…that's what you meant."
"Yes. That's what I meant." Ginny nodded a moment before sending him a somewhat weak smile.
"Stephen…she wants one of her daughters to marry the prince." He snorted, nodding to her.
"Of course she does. Can't get much higher in society than royalty." Ginny nodded. She began to bite her lip. "Miss Ginevra, is something wrong? Are you quite alright? I fear that if you bite your lip any harder I will have to call an ambulance…" She smiled at him sadly…
"She wants to be in a higher standing than what she already is, doesn't she?" Stephen nodded.
"Women like that always want to be higher in society. Why? You already knew that." She nodded to him.
"I know…it's just…at this party…there's going to be people with much better social standing than daddy, isn't there?" Stephen nodded slowly, trying to follow where she was going with all of this.
"Yes…"
"Stephen?"
"Yes, Miss Ginevra?"
"Daddy's sick. He's pale and he's getting weak…I think…I think she's trying to kill him." His eyes widened at her claim.
"Miss Ginevra! I realize that you might be thinking that this woman is the devil, and quite honestly, I agree with you, but…she's trying to kill your father? Isn't that a little to far fetched, even for her?" Ginny shook her head.
"No. She's going to kill him, Stephen, I just know it." he nodded. "I have to stop her. I have to…" She let out a bark of humorless laughter. "She's going to this dance to look for a new husband."
Stephen snorted. "May the lord above bless who ever gets the unfortunate company of that demon woman."
Ginny was about to say something else when she turned to Stephen and smiled. "You believe me?"
He nodded and grinned. "Why wouldn't I, you silly girl?" She sat up and hugged him. It wasn't until the parted that her grim mood came back.
"But how can I stop her? I have no way of getting to the ball!" Stephen thought about this for a moment before nodding.
"If what you're saying is true, I doubt your father will be able to leave the bed tomorrow. Your father has four tickets to this this thing…I'm sure I can snatch you one from their room…" He looked around the room again and then looked her in the eyes. "You…better visit your mum tomorrow at around noon…you remember those seeds I gave you a few days ago to plant?" She nodded. It was one of the first memories of this world that she had. It was actually what she was returning from doing when she 'came' to this world. "I want you to sing this…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. He took a few minutes to write something on the paper and then handed it to her. "when you get to the cave, call for Marie, and tell her…tell her Stephen sent you." She looked at the paper, and then back to him.
"You want me…to sing to seeds?" He smiled at her.
"I want you to sing to a tree." She looked even more confused.
"I planted those seeds just a few days ago." He brought his hand up and ruffled her hair playfully.
"And you of all people should know about magic." She looked up at him in shock, the piece of paper still clutched tightly in her hand.
"Stephen…" She was about to say something else when a scream stopped her from doing so.
"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH DEAR GOD! PETER! PETER! STEPHEN! PETER FELL!" Ginny winced.
"Looks like I was right." She whispered.
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A/N: Ugh, my hands hurt…
Beaner