A/N: Whew! Life is life is life, and life is the prime reason that this has
taken so long. That, and I'm a slothful sluggard :-) Enjoy, or don't enjoy,
but whatever you do, LEAVE ME A REVIEW!!! Thanks!
*****
Next task, give Cinderella the Grab-Me Glower, and make sure she meets with the prince. Easier said that done, I realized as I entered the crowded ballroom, thousands of scents of perfume assaulting my nostrils. The room was full of swirling skirts, looking like enormous flowers waltzing around the room. Laughter and talk created an endless murmur of noise. Champagne glasses clanked, music soared up to the high golden ceiling, created by a small orchestra, which I could barely see through all the people. The entire kingdom seemed to be in this room. It probably was, I realized, as old and young, male and female, ugly and beautiful moved around in the room as though pulled by various currents.
Rats. In all my wonder and observations, I had lost Cinderella. I was just about to set off looking for her when a hand clasped my shoulder. I whirled around.
"Clarabelle!" I exclaimed, as I recognized my friend and former classmate. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
"I know, I've been so busy," she said, blue eyes widening. "What with this ball and all. I must have supplied at least a quarter of all the dresses in this room." She gave a tinkling laugh, and the lace on her fluffy pink gown ruffled.
"I've only done a few," I laughed, "but I do hope to have the prince engaged by the end of the night. I was assigned to marry this client of mine off to the prince."
"You don't say!" she exclaimed, looking impressed. "You got a job like that on your first assignment?"
"Yes. I got pretty good marks on the Royal Romance class, I suppose that accounts for it."
"Hmm," she said through pursed lips, scrutinizing me through her long black lashes. "So how are you going to do it?"
"Well, I've been working on it for months. I was the one who started all this ball business." I waved my hand around the crowded room.
"Really?" she asked, intrigued.
"Yes." I patted my small handbag that contained my secret weapon. "And now I have to find my client and give her this Grab-Me Glower, it's a useful little dev---"
I was cut off by Clarabelle's sharp intake of breath.
"What?"
"You can't use those!" she exclaimed. "Didn't you read the notice?"
"What notice?" I asked, confused, and starting to feel a little anxious.
"The notice up at the school and all of the agencies and shops."
"No, I haven't been to any of them for a while. What did it say?"
"That no magical match-making devices were to be used at the ball. There's been a whole row over it at the head administration office, didn't you hear? It was on the news!"
"No," I said, feeling my heart sink.
"Well, you can't use them," she said, eyebrows raised in sympathy. "They said that everybody would want to bring them, and with so much romance and puppy love flying through the air, it could get dangerous."
"But..." I fell silent. I was going to fail. That Glower had been what my entire plan was based on, I hadn't done a single other thing to plan for possible romance. It could take months to get them back in the same room (crowded or otherwise), never mind getting them to fall in love.
"Celeste, I'm sorry," she said, reading my expression. She patted my arm, trying to offer some comfort. Her long nails were painted exactly the same shade as her dress. "Come on, let's go get a sip of something, it will make you feel better."
"No, sorry, I can't," I said, my eyes roving about the room. I only had one night to make this work, I told myself, and it WOULD work, whether it wanted to or not. "I'm going to try and salvage this situation. I'll talk to you later."
Clarabelle offered a smile from her perfectly pink lips, and nodded.
"Good luck. Tell me if there's anything I can do to help."
"Thanks."
I moved off into the crowd, desperately trying to find my client. It was difficult, as I was shorter than the majority of the people there. But finally, finally I found her. She was separated from her stepfamily, which was just as well, as I needed to speak with her.
"Cinderella," I called, trying to sound like we were just old friends. She looked around, confusion written on her angelic face. I called again, and waved, and finally she spotted me, gave a small squeal, and rushed toward me.
"Oh, Fairy Godmother!" she exclaimed. "Oh, it is SO go---"
"Shhh!" I hissed. She looked startled, and I quickly pasted on a benevolent smile. "I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean... well, it's just that I'm sort of undercover right now. Nobody is supposed to know that I'm your fairy godmother."
"Ohhhh!" she said, blue eyes widening innocently. "Oh, dear, I am DREADFULLY sorry. I'll try to be quiet about it next time," she promised.
"That's perfectly all right, dear, I just wanted to let you know."
"Oh, all right."
"Now, dear, you're at the ball ---"
"I didn't get my own footman," she announced to me. "It's all right, though. I understand, and I'll generously pretend that nothing is the matter."
"Oh... er... thank you, child," I stammered. Cinderella looked pleased with herself for her unselfishness. I continued. "Dear, I understand that you wish to marry the prince," I attempted. The sapphire eyes widened, and she nodded fervently.
"Oh, can I?" she asked. "Are you going to make him fall in love with me?"
"I... I'm going to try," I said warily. "I'm not going to promise I'll succeed, my power isn't unlimited."
"It's NOT?" she asked. I had stunned her.
"No, dear, it's not. But I will do my best to... make the prince fall in love with you."
"Good. I think all you'll have to do is make him see me, my beauty and charm will do the rest," she said confidently.
"I hope you're right. But first come with me. We're going to add to that beauty." An idea was forming in my head. One of the first things you learn at school is that first impressions are vital, especially when dealing with your average prince. So...
I hurried Cinderella out onto one of the balconies. There were several couples gazing into one another's eyes, and a group of tittering girls. I hurried past them, trying to remain inconspicuous. Cinderella rushed after me, pink skirts billowing.
"Oka --- all right then," I said once we had reached the edge of the balcony. I peered over the edge. It was only about five feet to the gently sloping ground below. I had to get myself and Cinderella over that without anyone noticing. I straightened, and gestured Cinderella over. I said softly, "All right. We're going to have to get over this wall and onto the ground. None of the other people on the balcony can notice us. I'm going to cause a diversion, and I want you to climb over and drop to the ground. I'll be down right after you."
"What--- drop to the...to the.. the GROUND?" she asked, looking terrified.
"Yes, what else would you fall into? There aren't any bushes or bodies of water," I said, rather sharper than I had intended. My voice softened. "Look, sorry, but it's the only way you'll get to marry the prince. If you hang on to the railing, it should only be a couple of inches for you to drop. You're what, 5 feet?"
"Five feet, six inches," she said primly.
"Well, I'm five feet, THREE inches, and I'll be dropping down after you."
"You'll just fly," she said accusingly.
"No I won't. You don't see any wings, do you?" I asked, gesturing to my back, which was completely devoid of any flying mechanism. True, I didn't need them to fly, but Cinderella didn't need to know that.
"What happened to them?" she asked suspiciously.
"I took them off, the dress wouldn't fit with them on. They aren't attached, you know."
"They AREN'T?"
"No." I was getting impatient. I had ONE night to make this work, and here my client was going to jibber on about my wings. She was opening her mouth, and I cut her off before she could get a word out. "Look, I'm going to cause a diversion. I want you over that railing, then I'm going to make the prince fall in love with you. Just do what I say."
"Very well, then," she said, with a properly delicate sigh.
"Thank you. Okay, here we go. Get ready." I pulled my wand out of my purse, where it had been hidden. Luckily it was bendy, it never would have fit inside any other way. This, however, resulted in a nasty little arc in the wood. That's what I got for not spending the money on a magically expanded one, I thought with a grimace.
I tried to bend the wand back to its original shape. It refused to go back, however, and I resigned myself to working with it... a tricky operation. I prayed it would behave, it was usually the little things, like bends or bits of dirt, that made them malfunction. I sighed. "Let's live on the edge, right?" I muttered. Cinderella gave me a confused look, and opened her mouth, but I silenced her with a look.
"Serpentium!" I cried softly, pointing at the group of girls. A small wriggling snake slowly materialized at the feet of one of them. It writhed on the ground, and one of the girls gave a small scream. In but a few seconds, there was pandemonium. I gestured at Cinderella to climb over, and she, face pale, scrambled over, fluffy overskirt growing in size as it caught air. Her golden head disappeared, and I heard a muffled scream as she dropped the inch or two that would bring her to the ground. I started to the wall, I would get rid of the snake as soon as I was reasonably over. Just then a boy darted out onto the balcony, dressed in a white and gold uniform. It was Geoffrey.
He walked quickly over to the girls, muttered a few words to them, and they all froze, looking terrified. He bent down to where the little snake was wiggling on the stone ground, and a few hisses escaped his mouth, and held out a hand to it. It wriggled up onto his palm, and one of the ladies, pale as death, a blonde cloud of hair around her face squealed, and crumpled to the ground in a faint. I caught a look of amusement on Geff's face, then he stood up, still hissing to the snake, who was calm, and walked over to the balcony. With a smile, he dropped it over the railing. It barely missed my head, which was just below view, behind a small stone bench, my hands, which were grasped to the railing amid some roses slipped, and I fell to the ground with a squeak of dismay.
Above me, Geff was grinning. He smiled at the ladies over his shoulder, who began to talk in a very excited sort of way, and waited a moment, after which he swung himself over the railing and onto the ground beside me. He stood quickly, and grinned down at my crumpled heap on the grass. Cinderella was curled up in a ball behind me.
"You could have just climbed over," he said, one eyebrow raised. "No one would have noticed. They're all too enamored with the prince or each other up there," he said with a gesture to the balcony above us.
"Really," I said dryly. "That would have been good to know BEFORE I made the snake."
"Well, he's all right, at any rate," he said. The snake was gone, probably off into the flowers where he could set up peaceful housekeeping. "What are you trying to do?" he asked me. "You HAD to have had a good reason for that."
"I'm trying to get her---" I gestured to Cinderella "---over the balcony so I can make her absolutely stunning, after which we're going back inside."
"Him. Why, exactly? I've seen you hovering around the castle, I guess it has something to do with this ball? You're a fairy godmother, I take it?"
"Yes, I'm a fairy godmother, yes, it has something to do with the ball, and yes, I have been 'hovering around the castle', but how did you know that, I was invisible."
"I have a... this is going to sound horribly clichéd... but I have a..." He grimaced, and continued. "I have a... 'Gift'. Apparently it's a huge deal, I was in the newspaper once, and I was apprenticed to a load of different wizards for a while. That didn't last long," he added with a grin that made me refrain from asking exactly why that was. "Anyways, I can see invisible people, through disguises, lies, that sort of thing. It's kind of useful, but it's also kind of a pain. However, I think I may be of help to you."
"How?"
"You're trying to wed her off to the prince?" he said, with a quick glance at Cinderella. I nodded. "Thought so. She's princess material, that one. Okay. But what are you doing out here?"
I explained my situation as quickly as I could.
"... So now what I'm going to do is make her look like an absolute fairy princess, have her make a spectacular entrance into the ballroom, and hopefully, if all goes well, wedding bells will ring."
"Hmm. Not a bad idea. Make her look as pretty as you can... that ought to work. He's marrying for beauty, I suppose you know that?"
"Shh!" I hissed, pointing my head at Cinderella. "He's marrying for LOVE," I said pointedly. "He'll marry the girl he LOVES the most, RIGHT?" Geff grinned.
"Oh, yeah, right, I forgot. He's marrying for love." Then in an undertone: "Love of the big eyes, straight nose, pouty lips..."
"Shh!" I hissed again. He just smiled.
"So, you're trying to make a spectacular entrance. Okay. You... er... 'beautify' her, I'll be more than happy to help with the rest."
"Thank you," I said. "Stand back, or you may find yourself covered in glitter or something," I added warningly. He quickly backed away from Cinderella and myself, and I ushered her under the balcony, in hopes of not being noticed. She looked extremely nervous.
"Glitzatempa, Rubalip, Blushatanga, Masquerae, Shadou." I chanted, once we had gotten ourselves properly hidden. After each word, a golden spark flew at her and landed on her face, making her flinch. "Beautabone, Perfecta," I added as an afterthought. Those spells didn't always work very well, but with Cinderella, I figured they had a chance. Night was falling fast, however, and I couldn't see her face to confirm my work. We could do that right before we entered the hall, I was sure these spells had worked.
"Okay," I said to Geff, "let's go."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, grinning. "Follow me." He headed to a back entryway. "Right through here."
I ushered Cinderella in ahead of me. The doorway was narrow,and she had to smooth her voluminous skirts before she entered it, a look of distaste on her face at the shabby surroundings inside. It was a small room, with a low ceiling, rough-hewn stone walls, and a floor so covered in dust and caked mud that it might as well have been dirt.
"What on EARTH is THIS room for?" Cinderella demanded, nose in the air.
"Nothing," shrugged Geff. "I think it originally was for King Handsome the 15th's pet earthworms. He was a bit eccentric," he said, in response to my incredulous look. "Thought they were really all these profoundly wise creatures who were misunderstood and were really trying to communicate the secrets of the universe with us humans."
"Hmm. Right," I said, arching my eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's what I think. But hey, a king's a king, and they all have their little... ah... 'quirks'. Some more than others."
"Can we PLEASE proceed to the ballroom for my grand ENTRANCE?" Cinderella asked, sounding highly annoyed.
"Of course, milady," said Geoffrey politely. He swept a bow. Cinderella looked smug at the 'milady'. "If you'll just follow me." He strode to the door, and held it for Cinderella and myself. "Looks like you got your hands full with this one," he said in an undertone to me as I passed.
"You have no idea."
We had come out onto a small landing, which had several doors and passageways leading off from it. There was also a staircase off to one side, and Geff led us up it. We emerged in one of the palace's elaborate white and gold hallways, and Geff set down it purposefully. Cinderella had to trot to keep up with him, looking extremely odd with her large gauzy skirts bouncing like a large pink balloon. We didn't pass anyone, which, judging by Geff's expression, was good. He darted through a door on our right, and Cinderella and I followed him into a large room, furnished with sofas, chairs, and portraits. He marched straight through it and into another room of the same sort, through a small white and gold indoor tennis court, and down a long and narrow hall, finally coming to rest in a small room at the end of it, in which a stately old man was checking things off a list. He looked up in surprise as Geff came through, followed my Cinderella and her pink monstrosity, and myself, wisps of hair flying in all directions, having escaped from the knot I had twisted it up into.
"Geff!" the man said sharply. "What, may I ask, are you doing?"
"Saving a bunch of people's tails," said Geff with a grin. "I need your help though."
"You've been dragging these ladies all over the castle, it looks like, and I doubt you're up to any good. Why do you think I'm going to help you?"
"I'll bribe, blackmail, or look really cute, whichever works."
"Oh, really?" asked the man, looking amused. "Well, all right, what do you want?"
"Are you done with the announcing?"
"Yes." He peered suspiciously at Cinderella and at me.
"Good. I want you to announce her." He pointed at Cinderella, who, in spite of all the dashing about, looked even more ravishingly beautiful than normal. My spells had done their job.
"I'm DONE with the announcing, I said, and besides, I don't think she's on the list."
"I know you're done. That's what will make it even better. We want her to get NOTICED. By the prince."
"Ahhh. So you've taken up matchmaking, is it?" He raised an eyebrow.
"No, SHE'S---" here he pointed at me "---taken up matchmaking, and I like her selection, so I'm helping."
"I see."
"So are you going to help me or not?"
"I'll help. But you're going to make it up to me, aren't you?"
"Of course. One batch of Mother's Triple Divinity Delight is on the way," he said dutifully. I could tell this was a payment regularly delivered.
"Two," the man said with a grin.
"Okay, two. But hurry."
"Follow me." He went through a door opposite the one we had entered in, and we all followed into the hall. The man stepped into a tiny box of a room beside us, and closed the door.
"When he says your name, milady," Geff said in a hurried voice to Cinderella, "you walk out there like a princess. I want you to BE a princess."
"I AM a princess," Cinderella said haughtily, "despite my lowly upper-class birth." I could see a laugh being stifled from Geff, then he contained himself and we waited. The music which had been wafting from the ballroom beyond had stopped suddenly, and even up where we were, there was an expectant hush. Nothing happened. Then the door opened and the man poked his head out.
"What's the name?" he asked, looking embarrassed.
"Erm..." Geff said.
"Cinderella," I supplied.
"Last name?"
"Don't use one. It's not traditional."
"Okay," he said, looking skeptical. The head disappeared, and a moment later, an amplified voice could be heard throughout the ballroom and into the hall.
"Presenting..."
The head was back.
"Title?" he hissed.
"Um... uh... princess," I said quickly. Rats. Maybe that was a little assuming. Better change it... too late. The door was shut again.
"Her Royal Highness Princess Cinderella."
"Go out there, Your Highness," I said to her, giving herself a gentle shove. "Win yourself a prince!"
She tossed back her head, the jewels on the still-perfect curls glinting, then strode from the hall and onto the landing that led to the ballroom, pausing for a moment, as though she were on a stage. I could hear a sudden chorus of whispers in the ballroom, which stopped as Cinderella descended the steps. She was PERFECT.
"Go," Geff said. "Quick. No one will notice you."
And no one did. I walked down the steps, trying to appear invisible, and completely succeeded. The entire room was staring at this beautiful newcomer in amazement. Then, the crowds slowly parted, and His Royal Highness Prince Charming of Arpathia appeared, in a uniform of gleaming white and gold. He stopped before Cinderella, and bowed handsomely.
"Fairest princess," he said. "May I have this dance?"
I beamed, as Cinderella took his hand, and they waltzed onto the dance floor.
*****
Next task, give Cinderella the Grab-Me Glower, and make sure she meets with the prince. Easier said that done, I realized as I entered the crowded ballroom, thousands of scents of perfume assaulting my nostrils. The room was full of swirling skirts, looking like enormous flowers waltzing around the room. Laughter and talk created an endless murmur of noise. Champagne glasses clanked, music soared up to the high golden ceiling, created by a small orchestra, which I could barely see through all the people. The entire kingdom seemed to be in this room. It probably was, I realized, as old and young, male and female, ugly and beautiful moved around in the room as though pulled by various currents.
Rats. In all my wonder and observations, I had lost Cinderella. I was just about to set off looking for her when a hand clasped my shoulder. I whirled around.
"Clarabelle!" I exclaimed, as I recognized my friend and former classmate. "I haven't seen you in ages!"
"I know, I've been so busy," she said, blue eyes widening. "What with this ball and all. I must have supplied at least a quarter of all the dresses in this room." She gave a tinkling laugh, and the lace on her fluffy pink gown ruffled.
"I've only done a few," I laughed, "but I do hope to have the prince engaged by the end of the night. I was assigned to marry this client of mine off to the prince."
"You don't say!" she exclaimed, looking impressed. "You got a job like that on your first assignment?"
"Yes. I got pretty good marks on the Royal Romance class, I suppose that accounts for it."
"Hmm," she said through pursed lips, scrutinizing me through her long black lashes. "So how are you going to do it?"
"Well, I've been working on it for months. I was the one who started all this ball business." I waved my hand around the crowded room.
"Really?" she asked, intrigued.
"Yes." I patted my small handbag that contained my secret weapon. "And now I have to find my client and give her this Grab-Me Glower, it's a useful little dev---"
I was cut off by Clarabelle's sharp intake of breath.
"What?"
"You can't use those!" she exclaimed. "Didn't you read the notice?"
"What notice?" I asked, confused, and starting to feel a little anxious.
"The notice up at the school and all of the agencies and shops."
"No, I haven't been to any of them for a while. What did it say?"
"That no magical match-making devices were to be used at the ball. There's been a whole row over it at the head administration office, didn't you hear? It was on the news!"
"No," I said, feeling my heart sink.
"Well, you can't use them," she said, eyebrows raised in sympathy. "They said that everybody would want to bring them, and with so much romance and puppy love flying through the air, it could get dangerous."
"But..." I fell silent. I was going to fail. That Glower had been what my entire plan was based on, I hadn't done a single other thing to plan for possible romance. It could take months to get them back in the same room (crowded or otherwise), never mind getting them to fall in love.
"Celeste, I'm sorry," she said, reading my expression. She patted my arm, trying to offer some comfort. Her long nails were painted exactly the same shade as her dress. "Come on, let's go get a sip of something, it will make you feel better."
"No, sorry, I can't," I said, my eyes roving about the room. I only had one night to make this work, I told myself, and it WOULD work, whether it wanted to or not. "I'm going to try and salvage this situation. I'll talk to you later."
Clarabelle offered a smile from her perfectly pink lips, and nodded.
"Good luck. Tell me if there's anything I can do to help."
"Thanks."
I moved off into the crowd, desperately trying to find my client. It was difficult, as I was shorter than the majority of the people there. But finally, finally I found her. She was separated from her stepfamily, which was just as well, as I needed to speak with her.
"Cinderella," I called, trying to sound like we were just old friends. She looked around, confusion written on her angelic face. I called again, and waved, and finally she spotted me, gave a small squeal, and rushed toward me.
"Oh, Fairy Godmother!" she exclaimed. "Oh, it is SO go---"
"Shhh!" I hissed. She looked startled, and I quickly pasted on a benevolent smile. "I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean... well, it's just that I'm sort of undercover right now. Nobody is supposed to know that I'm your fairy godmother."
"Ohhhh!" she said, blue eyes widening innocently. "Oh, dear, I am DREADFULLY sorry. I'll try to be quiet about it next time," she promised.
"That's perfectly all right, dear, I just wanted to let you know."
"Oh, all right."
"Now, dear, you're at the ball ---"
"I didn't get my own footman," she announced to me. "It's all right, though. I understand, and I'll generously pretend that nothing is the matter."
"Oh... er... thank you, child," I stammered. Cinderella looked pleased with herself for her unselfishness. I continued. "Dear, I understand that you wish to marry the prince," I attempted. The sapphire eyes widened, and she nodded fervently.
"Oh, can I?" she asked. "Are you going to make him fall in love with me?"
"I... I'm going to try," I said warily. "I'm not going to promise I'll succeed, my power isn't unlimited."
"It's NOT?" she asked. I had stunned her.
"No, dear, it's not. But I will do my best to... make the prince fall in love with you."
"Good. I think all you'll have to do is make him see me, my beauty and charm will do the rest," she said confidently.
"I hope you're right. But first come with me. We're going to add to that beauty." An idea was forming in my head. One of the first things you learn at school is that first impressions are vital, especially when dealing with your average prince. So...
I hurried Cinderella out onto one of the balconies. There were several couples gazing into one another's eyes, and a group of tittering girls. I hurried past them, trying to remain inconspicuous. Cinderella rushed after me, pink skirts billowing.
"Oka --- all right then," I said once we had reached the edge of the balcony. I peered over the edge. It was only about five feet to the gently sloping ground below. I had to get myself and Cinderella over that without anyone noticing. I straightened, and gestured Cinderella over. I said softly, "All right. We're going to have to get over this wall and onto the ground. None of the other people on the balcony can notice us. I'm going to cause a diversion, and I want you to climb over and drop to the ground. I'll be down right after you."
"What--- drop to the...to the.. the GROUND?" she asked, looking terrified.
"Yes, what else would you fall into? There aren't any bushes or bodies of water," I said, rather sharper than I had intended. My voice softened. "Look, sorry, but it's the only way you'll get to marry the prince. If you hang on to the railing, it should only be a couple of inches for you to drop. You're what, 5 feet?"
"Five feet, six inches," she said primly.
"Well, I'm five feet, THREE inches, and I'll be dropping down after you."
"You'll just fly," she said accusingly.
"No I won't. You don't see any wings, do you?" I asked, gesturing to my back, which was completely devoid of any flying mechanism. True, I didn't need them to fly, but Cinderella didn't need to know that.
"What happened to them?" she asked suspiciously.
"I took them off, the dress wouldn't fit with them on. They aren't attached, you know."
"They AREN'T?"
"No." I was getting impatient. I had ONE night to make this work, and here my client was going to jibber on about my wings. She was opening her mouth, and I cut her off before she could get a word out. "Look, I'm going to cause a diversion. I want you over that railing, then I'm going to make the prince fall in love with you. Just do what I say."
"Very well, then," she said, with a properly delicate sigh.
"Thank you. Okay, here we go. Get ready." I pulled my wand out of my purse, where it had been hidden. Luckily it was bendy, it never would have fit inside any other way. This, however, resulted in a nasty little arc in the wood. That's what I got for not spending the money on a magically expanded one, I thought with a grimace.
I tried to bend the wand back to its original shape. It refused to go back, however, and I resigned myself to working with it... a tricky operation. I prayed it would behave, it was usually the little things, like bends or bits of dirt, that made them malfunction. I sighed. "Let's live on the edge, right?" I muttered. Cinderella gave me a confused look, and opened her mouth, but I silenced her with a look.
"Serpentium!" I cried softly, pointing at the group of girls. A small wriggling snake slowly materialized at the feet of one of them. It writhed on the ground, and one of the girls gave a small scream. In but a few seconds, there was pandemonium. I gestured at Cinderella to climb over, and she, face pale, scrambled over, fluffy overskirt growing in size as it caught air. Her golden head disappeared, and I heard a muffled scream as she dropped the inch or two that would bring her to the ground. I started to the wall, I would get rid of the snake as soon as I was reasonably over. Just then a boy darted out onto the balcony, dressed in a white and gold uniform. It was Geoffrey.
He walked quickly over to the girls, muttered a few words to them, and they all froze, looking terrified. He bent down to where the little snake was wiggling on the stone ground, and a few hisses escaped his mouth, and held out a hand to it. It wriggled up onto his palm, and one of the ladies, pale as death, a blonde cloud of hair around her face squealed, and crumpled to the ground in a faint. I caught a look of amusement on Geff's face, then he stood up, still hissing to the snake, who was calm, and walked over to the balcony. With a smile, he dropped it over the railing. It barely missed my head, which was just below view, behind a small stone bench, my hands, which were grasped to the railing amid some roses slipped, and I fell to the ground with a squeak of dismay.
Above me, Geff was grinning. He smiled at the ladies over his shoulder, who began to talk in a very excited sort of way, and waited a moment, after which he swung himself over the railing and onto the ground beside me. He stood quickly, and grinned down at my crumpled heap on the grass. Cinderella was curled up in a ball behind me.
"You could have just climbed over," he said, one eyebrow raised. "No one would have noticed. They're all too enamored with the prince or each other up there," he said with a gesture to the balcony above us.
"Really," I said dryly. "That would have been good to know BEFORE I made the snake."
"Well, he's all right, at any rate," he said. The snake was gone, probably off into the flowers where he could set up peaceful housekeeping. "What are you trying to do?" he asked me. "You HAD to have had a good reason for that."
"I'm trying to get her---" I gestured to Cinderella "---over the balcony so I can make her absolutely stunning, after which we're going back inside."
"Him. Why, exactly? I've seen you hovering around the castle, I guess it has something to do with this ball? You're a fairy godmother, I take it?"
"Yes, I'm a fairy godmother, yes, it has something to do with the ball, and yes, I have been 'hovering around the castle', but how did you know that, I was invisible."
"I have a... this is going to sound horribly clichéd... but I have a..." He grimaced, and continued. "I have a... 'Gift'. Apparently it's a huge deal, I was in the newspaper once, and I was apprenticed to a load of different wizards for a while. That didn't last long," he added with a grin that made me refrain from asking exactly why that was. "Anyways, I can see invisible people, through disguises, lies, that sort of thing. It's kind of useful, but it's also kind of a pain. However, I think I may be of help to you."
"How?"
"You're trying to wed her off to the prince?" he said, with a quick glance at Cinderella. I nodded. "Thought so. She's princess material, that one. Okay. But what are you doing out here?"
I explained my situation as quickly as I could.
"... So now what I'm going to do is make her look like an absolute fairy princess, have her make a spectacular entrance into the ballroom, and hopefully, if all goes well, wedding bells will ring."
"Hmm. Not a bad idea. Make her look as pretty as you can... that ought to work. He's marrying for beauty, I suppose you know that?"
"Shh!" I hissed, pointing my head at Cinderella. "He's marrying for LOVE," I said pointedly. "He'll marry the girl he LOVES the most, RIGHT?" Geff grinned.
"Oh, yeah, right, I forgot. He's marrying for love." Then in an undertone: "Love of the big eyes, straight nose, pouty lips..."
"Shh!" I hissed again. He just smiled.
"So, you're trying to make a spectacular entrance. Okay. You... er... 'beautify' her, I'll be more than happy to help with the rest."
"Thank you," I said. "Stand back, or you may find yourself covered in glitter or something," I added warningly. He quickly backed away from Cinderella and myself, and I ushered her under the balcony, in hopes of not being noticed. She looked extremely nervous.
"Glitzatempa, Rubalip, Blushatanga, Masquerae, Shadou." I chanted, once we had gotten ourselves properly hidden. After each word, a golden spark flew at her and landed on her face, making her flinch. "Beautabone, Perfecta," I added as an afterthought. Those spells didn't always work very well, but with Cinderella, I figured they had a chance. Night was falling fast, however, and I couldn't see her face to confirm my work. We could do that right before we entered the hall, I was sure these spells had worked.
"Okay," I said to Geff, "let's go."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, grinning. "Follow me." He headed to a back entryway. "Right through here."
I ushered Cinderella in ahead of me. The doorway was narrow,and she had to smooth her voluminous skirts before she entered it, a look of distaste on her face at the shabby surroundings inside. It was a small room, with a low ceiling, rough-hewn stone walls, and a floor so covered in dust and caked mud that it might as well have been dirt.
"What on EARTH is THIS room for?" Cinderella demanded, nose in the air.
"Nothing," shrugged Geff. "I think it originally was for King Handsome the 15th's pet earthworms. He was a bit eccentric," he said, in response to my incredulous look. "Thought they were really all these profoundly wise creatures who were misunderstood and were really trying to communicate the secrets of the universe with us humans."
"Hmm. Right," I said, arching my eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's what I think. But hey, a king's a king, and they all have their little... ah... 'quirks'. Some more than others."
"Can we PLEASE proceed to the ballroom for my grand ENTRANCE?" Cinderella asked, sounding highly annoyed.
"Of course, milady," said Geoffrey politely. He swept a bow. Cinderella looked smug at the 'milady'. "If you'll just follow me." He strode to the door, and held it for Cinderella and myself. "Looks like you got your hands full with this one," he said in an undertone to me as I passed.
"You have no idea."
We had come out onto a small landing, which had several doors and passageways leading off from it. There was also a staircase off to one side, and Geff led us up it. We emerged in one of the palace's elaborate white and gold hallways, and Geff set down it purposefully. Cinderella had to trot to keep up with him, looking extremely odd with her large gauzy skirts bouncing like a large pink balloon. We didn't pass anyone, which, judging by Geff's expression, was good. He darted through a door on our right, and Cinderella and I followed him into a large room, furnished with sofas, chairs, and portraits. He marched straight through it and into another room of the same sort, through a small white and gold indoor tennis court, and down a long and narrow hall, finally coming to rest in a small room at the end of it, in which a stately old man was checking things off a list. He looked up in surprise as Geff came through, followed my Cinderella and her pink monstrosity, and myself, wisps of hair flying in all directions, having escaped from the knot I had twisted it up into.
"Geff!" the man said sharply. "What, may I ask, are you doing?"
"Saving a bunch of people's tails," said Geff with a grin. "I need your help though."
"You've been dragging these ladies all over the castle, it looks like, and I doubt you're up to any good. Why do you think I'm going to help you?"
"I'll bribe, blackmail, or look really cute, whichever works."
"Oh, really?" asked the man, looking amused. "Well, all right, what do you want?"
"Are you done with the announcing?"
"Yes." He peered suspiciously at Cinderella and at me.
"Good. I want you to announce her." He pointed at Cinderella, who, in spite of all the dashing about, looked even more ravishingly beautiful than normal. My spells had done their job.
"I'm DONE with the announcing, I said, and besides, I don't think she's on the list."
"I know you're done. That's what will make it even better. We want her to get NOTICED. By the prince."
"Ahhh. So you've taken up matchmaking, is it?" He raised an eyebrow.
"No, SHE'S---" here he pointed at me "---taken up matchmaking, and I like her selection, so I'm helping."
"I see."
"So are you going to help me or not?"
"I'll help. But you're going to make it up to me, aren't you?"
"Of course. One batch of Mother's Triple Divinity Delight is on the way," he said dutifully. I could tell this was a payment regularly delivered.
"Two," the man said with a grin.
"Okay, two. But hurry."
"Follow me." He went through a door opposite the one we had entered in, and we all followed into the hall. The man stepped into a tiny box of a room beside us, and closed the door.
"When he says your name, milady," Geff said in a hurried voice to Cinderella, "you walk out there like a princess. I want you to BE a princess."
"I AM a princess," Cinderella said haughtily, "despite my lowly upper-class birth." I could see a laugh being stifled from Geff, then he contained himself and we waited. The music which had been wafting from the ballroom beyond had stopped suddenly, and even up where we were, there was an expectant hush. Nothing happened. Then the door opened and the man poked his head out.
"What's the name?" he asked, looking embarrassed.
"Erm..." Geff said.
"Cinderella," I supplied.
"Last name?"
"Don't use one. It's not traditional."
"Okay," he said, looking skeptical. The head disappeared, and a moment later, an amplified voice could be heard throughout the ballroom and into the hall.
"Presenting..."
The head was back.
"Title?" he hissed.
"Um... uh... princess," I said quickly. Rats. Maybe that was a little assuming. Better change it... too late. The door was shut again.
"Her Royal Highness Princess Cinderella."
"Go out there, Your Highness," I said to her, giving herself a gentle shove. "Win yourself a prince!"
She tossed back her head, the jewels on the still-perfect curls glinting, then strode from the hall and onto the landing that led to the ballroom, pausing for a moment, as though she were on a stage. I could hear a sudden chorus of whispers in the ballroom, which stopped as Cinderella descended the steps. She was PERFECT.
"Go," Geff said. "Quick. No one will notice you."
And no one did. I walked down the steps, trying to appear invisible, and completely succeeded. The entire room was staring at this beautiful newcomer in amazement. Then, the crowds slowly parted, and His Royal Highness Prince Charming of Arpathia appeared, in a uniform of gleaming white and gold. He stopped before Cinderella, and bowed handsomely.
"Fairest princess," he said. "May I have this dance?"
I beamed, as Cinderella took his hand, and they waltzed onto the dance floor.