A/N: YES! FINALLY I HAVE UPDATED! (True, it's taken me a month, but that's
entirely beside the point.) Anyways, PLEASE review this, preferably an
honest and frank review (you won't hurt my feelings, I promise). Of course,
pure praise is always appreciated, but criticism is worshipped! :-)
**********
"Girls! Girls! The carriage is here! Hurry, Sylvia." Lydia's voice rang out from the front hall. It was time to leave for the ball, and I had quickly flown back to supervise my client. I was horribly anxious. Being dressed on that new silver gown did nothing to lessen my nerves. I was fluttering outside --- invisible as usual --- and peeking in through the windows whenever I could. There was a scurry of feet, and the door was pushed open to reveal the ladies dressed in all their finery. Lydia's hair had been pulled up artistically, and little chestnut ringlets hung down at the base of her neck and at her temples. Sylvia had twisted her up in a complex pattern of tiny, shining black braids, Anya's was twisted up into a knot, and Cinderella's was piled on top of her head in dozens of tiny little curls. Miniscule diamonds were attached onto many of them, and her hair was a mass of sparkle and curl. Not exactly MY style, but striking nonetheless.
They filed out the door. Lydia was wearing a thin lacy silver shawl, Sylvia and Anya wore short and attractive cloaks, and Cinderella was wearing what I suppose was a cloak, made of a thin, puffy pink material. I couldn't see the purpose of it --- the shawl and cloaks were meant to keep their wearers warm, but this would do nothing of the sort. Oh well. If Cinderella liked it, who was I to say?
The coachman quickly jumped down from his perch and unrolled a blue carpet. It arrived at the ladies' feet, and Lydia led the way down it to the coach. They were helped in, and then --- they were off.
I flew up to the top of the carriage and settled myself on the roof, after making sure it was strong enough to support my weight, and watched as carriage after carriage pulled onto the main road. There were carriages in front of and behind us, and I thoroughly entertained myself be speculating how much each had cost, and what type of gowns the ladies inside would be wearing.
We rattled along the road for a while, and the sun had just started to touch the horizon when...
CRACK!
I jumped up into the air, startled, and floated up above the carriage roof, which was now considerably lower than it had been moments before. There were muffled exclamations from inside, and the driver hopped down from his perch with a choice curse. I couldn't figure out what was wrong... until I saw a few bits of splintered wood where one of the wheels had been. I flew down as the driver helped the ladies out of the carriage and surveyed the damage. Rats! The wheel was broken beyond repair, even for a godmother's magic.
The driver crouched beside me. I scuttled away from him to avoid being detected. He started shaking his head and muttering to himself.
Great. Just great.
"Oh well," I muttered under my breath to no one in particular. "I guess I'm going to have to rise to the occasion and pull of something spectacular." I groaned silently, and flew off back the way we had come, in the direction of the nearest house.
There. A big brick building, with a huge garden in back. I flew to it and hovered above the damp earth. "Why must I be wearing a fancy gown when something like this happens?" I complained to a nearby toad sitting on a rock. He croaked sharply at me.
"I know, I know, it's my job," I said, making a face at it. "You don't need to remind me."
He gave me a look. I blinked at him.
"You're really irritating, you know that?"
He croaked in response. I shook my head, and turned to survey the garden. Closest to me were some strawberry plants... carrots... tomatoes... there! Pumpkins! They were supposed to be used for servants, but considering Cinderella's dissatisfaction with her current position, I could probably bend the rules a little. I flew over to the nearest one, and tried to pull it up from the ground.
"Ouch!" I exclaimed as the fine hairs covering the stem poked into my flesh. The toad croaked loudly. I glared at it. "It's not funny."
I pulled out my wand and pointed it rather sharply at the offending stem. It severed itself a little too quickly, snapping around and whacking my leg. I scowled.
"Stupid thing..."
I picked up the pumpkin, muttering darkly at it as I soared back up into the sky, my orange treasure tucked tightly under my arm.
I flew a short distance off into a nearby field of corn. The carriage was blocked from view by the crowd of drivers demanding that the road be unblocked, young ladies and a few young gentlemen trying to figure out what was causing the holdup, and more than one older person, either offering their condolences to the poor family, or trying to get their children back in their own carriage.
I set the pumpkin down carefully on an open patch of ground. The corn stalks were just high enough to cover me from view if I bent over. I quickly pulled out the wand and pointed it at the pumpkin. It glowed gold and began to hover a foot or so above my head. So far, so good. This was a complex charm, and if I messed it up, not only would the Fleurs not have a carriage, I would be liable for a lot of smashed corn. I flicked the wand, and uttered a few choice, and hopeful, words. The pumpkin began to grow in size. Okay... next step.
"Ribbit?!" A toad jumped onto my head. The same toad, as a matter of fact, that had been in the garden. It had apparently come with me. I screamed, startled, then quickly stifled my voice, looking carefully over to make sure none of the crowd had noticed me.
"Ribbit," the toad said matter-of-factly. I grabbed it with one hand and dropped it, none to gently, onto the ground. It croaked indignantly.
"You be quiet. I'll deal with you in a minute. AND DON'T YOU DARE MOVE," I whispered threateningly. It looked at me without blinking, then purposely hopped an inch or so.
"Smart-aleck," I said.. The toad looked smug.
I turned my attention to the pumpkin, which was still growing, bigger and bigger, and turning more gold every second. I was astonished that no one had noticed it yet.
There. Good enough. I snapped the wand back and though pulling on an imaginary fishing line, and the enormous gold pumpkin started spinning. As it spun, windows appeared, as did two doors, a perch for the driver and one for the footman, reigns, and even a set of golden steps. I smiled, twitched the wand again, and it stopped spinning and hovered in the air.
"Now you," I said to the frog, and before he could protest, I swirled my wand around his head. In a cloud of horrible-smelling green smoke, a middle aged man appeared in a blue and gold uniform. He grinned.
"I'm a driver, huh?"
"Yes." I magicked him up to the driver's seat.
"Hey!"
"Shhhh!" I gestured to the people at the road. He rolled his eyes.
"They don't notice nothin'."
"Well, they won't if you keep your mouth shut," I said pointedly. "Now, do you know where I can get a footman?"
"Yeah. That cricket, right there," he gestured to the ground beside me. I looked down, and sure enough, there was a little brown cricket next to me.
"How did you see that?" I asked surprised. "He matched the ground perfectly." "I have special contacts," said the frog-turned-driver smugly.
"Oh." I swirled the wand over the cricket's head, and in a burst of smoke, yellow this time, a small and wiry boy appeared. He sighed heavily.
"Get me up there," he said, sounding resigned. I grinned and levitated him up to his seat.
"Where ya' gonna get a team for this outfit?" asked the toad man.
"I'm going to use the one that the other coach was using in the first place," I said, shrugging.
"No you aren't," he said emphatically. "It'll look horrible with this nice coach 'n all."
"Well, what do you want me to do?" I asked. He rolled his eyes, annoyed that he had to explain everything to me, and said:
"Use the mice."
"What mice?" I asked, looking around, bewildered.
"The mice," he said with exaggerated patience. "Right there." He pointed to a corn stalk a few feet from where I was standing. A whole family of little white mice were scrambling around on it, devouring corn. I smiled, and quickly snatched up two of them. It would be easier to perform this charm in the air.
I flew them up to their proper positions, one of them squeaking indignantly. The other three were silent, one because of terror, one because he was bored, and one because he was entirely interested in the fact that he was floating in the air. I swirled my wand around four times, pointing at them.
Poof!
Four enormous, grand white horses were floating in the air, attached to the carriage with what seemed to be long strips of gold. I smiled. So did the driver.
"I've been meaning to get back at that one," he said with a satisfied look at one of the horses, the one that had, seconds before, been squealing it's head off.
"Don't you dare do anything to upset ANY of them!" I exclaimed. I didn't like the look in his eyes. He touched his cap obediently.
"All right. I'm coming up, but I'm coming invisible, don't let anyone know I'm here."
"Gotcha."
I tapped myself ("Invisaleo") and flew up to sit on the front perch beside the driver.
"They're all so dim," I muttered. "I can't believe they didn't notice us."
"You didn't want them to, did you?" he asked logically.
"No..." I said, puzzled. He made a face at my incompetence.
"If you don't want them to see your magic they don't," he said slowly and carefully.
"Oh."
"Can you turn un-invisible once we get going?" he asked. "I feel like I'm talking to the air."
"You are. Only it's solid and talks back," I said. He grinned.
"Can we go now?"
"Yep," I said. He snapped the reigns. The carriage moved forward, still in the air. I decided it wasn't quite impressive enough. I snapped my fingers, and a golden glow surrounded the carriage, making it cast off yellow light.
A woman caught sight of us. She exclaimed something, pointing. One by one, other people saw us as well. A few people shouted in surprise. Lydia was staring, looking shocked. Sylvia looked thoughtful, and Anya was grinning. Cinderella puffed herself up.
"I know who sent this," I heard her say importantly.
"Great," said Anya dismissively.
"It's the same SOURCE," Cinderella said emphatically. "The one I simply CAN'T tell you about."
"Like I said, great."
Cinderella sniffed. I grinned. We were close. I leaned over and whispered:
"Okay. I'm going to bring the carriage down. You inform the ladies it's for them, which I think they already know, but tell them anyways. Sound really important and official." He nodded. I flicked my wand at the horses, and slowly the carriage began to descend to seven feet... four feet... two... there! We landed with a small bump.
Mr. Toad Man stopped the carriage. He stood up, precariously balancing on the fragile footrest below the seat. He bowed, and began speaking in a startlingly cultured voice. Startling for me, at least, as I had just heard him speak in a FAR more casual way.
"Good ladies," he said, touching his cap. "I have been sent to escort your lovely persons to the royal ball. If you will allow your footman to help you in, we will be on our way."
"Thank you," said Lydia cautiously. "But we didn't order the carriage."
"It is a gift, from a source who wishes to remain anonymous," said the driver graciously but firmly. The matter was closed. Lydia hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. The driver snapped his fingers at the cricket- boy, who jumped down (rather sullenly) and opened the door. He helped Lydia in, then Cinderella, Anya, and Sylvia. Once they were securely inside, he shut the door firmly and hopped back up on his perch. "Clear the way, please!" called the driver. "Clear the way!" People obediently scattered, none wanting to be crushed by the enormous carriage of gold. He sat down, and we took off at a quick and steady pace, until we reached another carriage ahead of us, and had to slow down.
Finally, after nearly a half-an-hour of driving (during which I learned that the driver's name was Tom, he had a wife, about a hundred and fifty children still at home --- too many for me, but for a frog, this was nothing, he explained --- and a pet ladybug, which he sometimes wanted to eat, but his wife was too attached to it). Slowly, the castles many turrets pulled into view. I stiffened nervously. We pulled into the long drive. The front lawns seemed to have been made into an enormous parking lot of grass, where carriages were being directed here and there according to their splendor. We were led to a spot quite close to the front of the castle.
Tom gestured at the cricket-boy, who jumped down and opened the door for the ladies. I played nervously with the hem of my neckline.
"Tell him to keep the door open for a moment," I hissed at Tom. He nodded, and passed the message on. I quickly flew inside as soon as the Fleurs were on their way to the castle, their backs turned, and regained my visibility. I quickly stepped out of the carriage, and with a quick thank you to Tom and the cricket-boy, and hurried after the retreating backs of my client and her stepfamily, into the castle.
**********
"Girls! Girls! The carriage is here! Hurry, Sylvia." Lydia's voice rang out from the front hall. It was time to leave for the ball, and I had quickly flown back to supervise my client. I was horribly anxious. Being dressed on that new silver gown did nothing to lessen my nerves. I was fluttering outside --- invisible as usual --- and peeking in through the windows whenever I could. There was a scurry of feet, and the door was pushed open to reveal the ladies dressed in all their finery. Lydia's hair had been pulled up artistically, and little chestnut ringlets hung down at the base of her neck and at her temples. Sylvia had twisted her up in a complex pattern of tiny, shining black braids, Anya's was twisted up into a knot, and Cinderella's was piled on top of her head in dozens of tiny little curls. Miniscule diamonds were attached onto many of them, and her hair was a mass of sparkle and curl. Not exactly MY style, but striking nonetheless.
They filed out the door. Lydia was wearing a thin lacy silver shawl, Sylvia and Anya wore short and attractive cloaks, and Cinderella was wearing what I suppose was a cloak, made of a thin, puffy pink material. I couldn't see the purpose of it --- the shawl and cloaks were meant to keep their wearers warm, but this would do nothing of the sort. Oh well. If Cinderella liked it, who was I to say?
The coachman quickly jumped down from his perch and unrolled a blue carpet. It arrived at the ladies' feet, and Lydia led the way down it to the coach. They were helped in, and then --- they were off.
I flew up to the top of the carriage and settled myself on the roof, after making sure it was strong enough to support my weight, and watched as carriage after carriage pulled onto the main road. There were carriages in front of and behind us, and I thoroughly entertained myself be speculating how much each had cost, and what type of gowns the ladies inside would be wearing.
We rattled along the road for a while, and the sun had just started to touch the horizon when...
CRACK!
I jumped up into the air, startled, and floated up above the carriage roof, which was now considerably lower than it had been moments before. There were muffled exclamations from inside, and the driver hopped down from his perch with a choice curse. I couldn't figure out what was wrong... until I saw a few bits of splintered wood where one of the wheels had been. I flew down as the driver helped the ladies out of the carriage and surveyed the damage. Rats! The wheel was broken beyond repair, even for a godmother's magic.
The driver crouched beside me. I scuttled away from him to avoid being detected. He started shaking his head and muttering to himself.
Great. Just great.
"Oh well," I muttered under my breath to no one in particular. "I guess I'm going to have to rise to the occasion and pull of something spectacular." I groaned silently, and flew off back the way we had come, in the direction of the nearest house.
There. A big brick building, with a huge garden in back. I flew to it and hovered above the damp earth. "Why must I be wearing a fancy gown when something like this happens?" I complained to a nearby toad sitting on a rock. He croaked sharply at me.
"I know, I know, it's my job," I said, making a face at it. "You don't need to remind me."
He gave me a look. I blinked at him.
"You're really irritating, you know that?"
He croaked in response. I shook my head, and turned to survey the garden. Closest to me were some strawberry plants... carrots... tomatoes... there! Pumpkins! They were supposed to be used for servants, but considering Cinderella's dissatisfaction with her current position, I could probably bend the rules a little. I flew over to the nearest one, and tried to pull it up from the ground.
"Ouch!" I exclaimed as the fine hairs covering the stem poked into my flesh. The toad croaked loudly. I glared at it. "It's not funny."
I pulled out my wand and pointed it rather sharply at the offending stem. It severed itself a little too quickly, snapping around and whacking my leg. I scowled.
"Stupid thing..."
I picked up the pumpkin, muttering darkly at it as I soared back up into the sky, my orange treasure tucked tightly under my arm.
I flew a short distance off into a nearby field of corn. The carriage was blocked from view by the crowd of drivers demanding that the road be unblocked, young ladies and a few young gentlemen trying to figure out what was causing the holdup, and more than one older person, either offering their condolences to the poor family, or trying to get their children back in their own carriage.
I set the pumpkin down carefully on an open patch of ground. The corn stalks were just high enough to cover me from view if I bent over. I quickly pulled out the wand and pointed it at the pumpkin. It glowed gold and began to hover a foot or so above my head. So far, so good. This was a complex charm, and if I messed it up, not only would the Fleurs not have a carriage, I would be liable for a lot of smashed corn. I flicked the wand, and uttered a few choice, and hopeful, words. The pumpkin began to grow in size. Okay... next step.
"Ribbit?!" A toad jumped onto my head. The same toad, as a matter of fact, that had been in the garden. It had apparently come with me. I screamed, startled, then quickly stifled my voice, looking carefully over to make sure none of the crowd had noticed me.
"Ribbit," the toad said matter-of-factly. I grabbed it with one hand and dropped it, none to gently, onto the ground. It croaked indignantly.
"You be quiet. I'll deal with you in a minute. AND DON'T YOU DARE MOVE," I whispered threateningly. It looked at me without blinking, then purposely hopped an inch or so.
"Smart-aleck," I said.. The toad looked smug.
I turned my attention to the pumpkin, which was still growing, bigger and bigger, and turning more gold every second. I was astonished that no one had noticed it yet.
There. Good enough. I snapped the wand back and though pulling on an imaginary fishing line, and the enormous gold pumpkin started spinning. As it spun, windows appeared, as did two doors, a perch for the driver and one for the footman, reigns, and even a set of golden steps. I smiled, twitched the wand again, and it stopped spinning and hovered in the air.
"Now you," I said to the frog, and before he could protest, I swirled my wand around his head. In a cloud of horrible-smelling green smoke, a middle aged man appeared in a blue and gold uniform. He grinned.
"I'm a driver, huh?"
"Yes." I magicked him up to the driver's seat.
"Hey!"
"Shhhh!" I gestured to the people at the road. He rolled his eyes.
"They don't notice nothin'."
"Well, they won't if you keep your mouth shut," I said pointedly. "Now, do you know where I can get a footman?"
"Yeah. That cricket, right there," he gestured to the ground beside me. I looked down, and sure enough, there was a little brown cricket next to me.
"How did you see that?" I asked surprised. "He matched the ground perfectly." "I have special contacts," said the frog-turned-driver smugly.
"Oh." I swirled the wand over the cricket's head, and in a burst of smoke, yellow this time, a small and wiry boy appeared. He sighed heavily.
"Get me up there," he said, sounding resigned. I grinned and levitated him up to his seat.
"Where ya' gonna get a team for this outfit?" asked the toad man.
"I'm going to use the one that the other coach was using in the first place," I said, shrugging.
"No you aren't," he said emphatically. "It'll look horrible with this nice coach 'n all."
"Well, what do you want me to do?" I asked. He rolled his eyes, annoyed that he had to explain everything to me, and said:
"Use the mice."
"What mice?" I asked, looking around, bewildered.
"The mice," he said with exaggerated patience. "Right there." He pointed to a corn stalk a few feet from where I was standing. A whole family of little white mice were scrambling around on it, devouring corn. I smiled, and quickly snatched up two of them. It would be easier to perform this charm in the air.
I flew them up to their proper positions, one of them squeaking indignantly. The other three were silent, one because of terror, one because he was bored, and one because he was entirely interested in the fact that he was floating in the air. I swirled my wand around four times, pointing at them.
Poof!
Four enormous, grand white horses were floating in the air, attached to the carriage with what seemed to be long strips of gold. I smiled. So did the driver.
"I've been meaning to get back at that one," he said with a satisfied look at one of the horses, the one that had, seconds before, been squealing it's head off.
"Don't you dare do anything to upset ANY of them!" I exclaimed. I didn't like the look in his eyes. He touched his cap obediently.
"All right. I'm coming up, but I'm coming invisible, don't let anyone know I'm here."
"Gotcha."
I tapped myself ("Invisaleo") and flew up to sit on the front perch beside the driver.
"They're all so dim," I muttered. "I can't believe they didn't notice us."
"You didn't want them to, did you?" he asked logically.
"No..." I said, puzzled. He made a face at my incompetence.
"If you don't want them to see your magic they don't," he said slowly and carefully.
"Oh."
"Can you turn un-invisible once we get going?" he asked. "I feel like I'm talking to the air."
"You are. Only it's solid and talks back," I said. He grinned.
"Can we go now?"
"Yep," I said. He snapped the reigns. The carriage moved forward, still in the air. I decided it wasn't quite impressive enough. I snapped my fingers, and a golden glow surrounded the carriage, making it cast off yellow light.
A woman caught sight of us. She exclaimed something, pointing. One by one, other people saw us as well. A few people shouted in surprise. Lydia was staring, looking shocked. Sylvia looked thoughtful, and Anya was grinning. Cinderella puffed herself up.
"I know who sent this," I heard her say importantly.
"Great," said Anya dismissively.
"It's the same SOURCE," Cinderella said emphatically. "The one I simply CAN'T tell you about."
"Like I said, great."
Cinderella sniffed. I grinned. We were close. I leaned over and whispered:
"Okay. I'm going to bring the carriage down. You inform the ladies it's for them, which I think they already know, but tell them anyways. Sound really important and official." He nodded. I flicked my wand at the horses, and slowly the carriage began to descend to seven feet... four feet... two... there! We landed with a small bump.
Mr. Toad Man stopped the carriage. He stood up, precariously balancing on the fragile footrest below the seat. He bowed, and began speaking in a startlingly cultured voice. Startling for me, at least, as I had just heard him speak in a FAR more casual way.
"Good ladies," he said, touching his cap. "I have been sent to escort your lovely persons to the royal ball. If you will allow your footman to help you in, we will be on our way."
"Thank you," said Lydia cautiously. "But we didn't order the carriage."
"It is a gift, from a source who wishes to remain anonymous," said the driver graciously but firmly. The matter was closed. Lydia hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly. The driver snapped his fingers at the cricket- boy, who jumped down (rather sullenly) and opened the door. He helped Lydia in, then Cinderella, Anya, and Sylvia. Once they were securely inside, he shut the door firmly and hopped back up on his perch. "Clear the way, please!" called the driver. "Clear the way!" People obediently scattered, none wanting to be crushed by the enormous carriage of gold. He sat down, and we took off at a quick and steady pace, until we reached another carriage ahead of us, and had to slow down.
Finally, after nearly a half-an-hour of driving (during which I learned that the driver's name was Tom, he had a wife, about a hundred and fifty children still at home --- too many for me, but for a frog, this was nothing, he explained --- and a pet ladybug, which he sometimes wanted to eat, but his wife was too attached to it). Slowly, the castles many turrets pulled into view. I stiffened nervously. We pulled into the long drive. The front lawns seemed to have been made into an enormous parking lot of grass, where carriages were being directed here and there according to their splendor. We were led to a spot quite close to the front of the castle.
Tom gestured at the cricket-boy, who jumped down and opened the door for the ladies. I played nervously with the hem of my neckline.
"Tell him to keep the door open for a moment," I hissed at Tom. He nodded, and passed the message on. I quickly flew inside as soon as the Fleurs were on their way to the castle, their backs turned, and regained my visibility. I quickly stepped out of the carriage, and with a quick thank you to Tom and the cricket-boy, and hurried after the retreating backs of my client and her stepfamily, into the castle.