In the Borg household, life progressed in its norm, as every family member expected it to.
Cyrus Borg worked long and hard, creating inventions and conferring with inventors from every corner of the Central Commonwealth. His second wife, Amaryllis, lived as a queen and headed their estate, doting on her daughters Begonia and Columbine as if they were incarnate angels. Pixal, for her part, toiled daily to do the chores and housework, eager to please the spirit of her mother even as her stepmother and sisters tormented her. In the little free time she had, she worked on her own sorts of inventions and sciences in the safety of her basement, to which she had been cast when Columbine had taken custody of her old bedroom.
One day, as was his habit, Cyrus gathered the women of his household before he left on yet another business trip. He asked each of them a question.
"My dearest, what gift would you like me to bring home when I return?"
Each gave a separate response.
"I would like for you to bring home a bolt of fine western silk brocade, so that I might have an evening gown made from it," Amaryllis requested, gently smoothing the taffeta fabric of her skirt.
"I want many strings of pearls!" Columbine demanded, pulling on the chain of her gold necklace.
"I want the most beautiful set of combs you find, with gold and silver inlay," Begonia cried, stroking her long locks of auburn hair.
Pixal was silent when Cyrus came to her. Concerned, he took her hands in his. "Pixal, my daughter, what gift would you like? Your sisters and stepmother have asked for such beautiful things. Would you like me to bring you those, too?"
Pixal shook her head. "No, Father. I do not want gold or jewels. My only wish is that you might find something small and rare– a flower, or a locket. Something with a story, that I might hear it."
Cyrus smiled and kissed her forehead. "Of course, Pixal. I promise, I will bring you a rare treasure, with a magic all its own."
Once all his goodbyes had been said, Cyrus departed from the Borg estate, and the women went back to their lives, with even more resentment toward Pixal because of Cyrus' greater love for her.
After several weeks of travel, Cyrus Borg eventually returned to his estate, laden with gifts. Just as he had promised, he brought back fine fabrics, stones, accessories, and garments for them, all paid for with the money he had earned from selling yet another invention. When he parceled them out, he gave each many things. One such item was a beautiful purple dress with white and red embroidery and matching shoes, given to Pixal. Along with it, he also placed a little box in her hand.
"What is inside?" she asked, opening it.
"It is a silver clip. I searched far and wide to find it for you, my daughter. The man who sold it to me promised that it has a magical property, but he could not explain it. You will have the pleasure of learning from it."
Pixal took out the hairclip and examined it. It was plain silver, with no adornment of any kind, save for a tiny engraving of an ancient symbol. She smiled and put it in her hair, which it seemed to blend with, the color nearly identical. "Thank you, Father. I will cherish it." Once he had given out his gifts, Cyrus and Pixal talked for a long time about his travels.
When he had gone to bed, Columbine and Begonia came to see Pixal in her basement. She had laid her new dress and shoes safely away, hidden behind a loose wall panel, but still wore the clip. Her stepsisters came up to her, smugly adorned in their new finery, fingering them with pride.
"Your clip is so dull, Pixal," Begonia said. "I've never seen such a useless hairpiece."
"Why would you ask for something like that?" Columbine asked incredulously. "At least the dress makes sense."
"I do not want finery," Pixal said, meeting their eyes with eerie intensity. "I wish for utility instead, even though you do not understand why."
"No wonder you are a maid, Pixal. Nobody in their right mind would ask for something so useless and claim it's useful."
"With that strange name, could she be anything else? Really, Pixal, it's a wonder Father puts up with you."
The two stepsisters snickered to themselves. Pixal only watched them and was unafraid. Eventually they tired of her and left, claiming to have other things to do. Only then did she take out her hair clip so she could examine it.
The clip was indeed simple, as if it were a cheap gift. For a moment, Pixal wondered if it had been a scam. However, her father had trusted, the vendor, so perhaps it was true. With her nail, she traced the engraving. It was a complex character of an ancient script, perhaps Old Shintaran. She went to the library with it and pulled out a book of history, which she opened to a section on Shintaro, the elusive northern kingdom.
It was as she had thought. The symbol was magical, with an incantation to match. Slowly, she sounded out the symbol, which was a word.
"Salva me in opere...*" The clip began to glow in her hand. Pixal's eyes widened, and she glanced at the translation again for guidance. The symbol was used for tools to help the user in work. Magical items that used it would be able to do all sorts of things– saddling horses, cleaning dishes, and lifting heavy furniture were all examples. Knowing this, she looked back at the clip. "Close the book," she told it.
The clip began to shine brighter, and an apparition of light burst from it in the form of a hand. The hand went to the book and closed it gently, then disappeared. Once it did, the clip laid still and silent once again.
Pixal beamed at it, knowing her father had spoken truly. She re-fastened it in her hair and asked it again. "Salve me in opere. Put the book away and dust the shelf."
Just like before, the clip began to glow, and two apparitions burst from it. Just as she had instructed, they did the work asked of them, disappearing into the air when they were finished. Pixal gazed in amazement as they worked, faster than she ever could. This tool was more invaluable than anyone could tell her, but clearly more valuable as well. She could not tell her family– not even her father, who would entrust the knowledge to her stepmother. Instead, it would be her secret.
Days and weeks passed, and Pixal slowly learned more about her magical tool. Just as the book had told, the clip could do incomparable things. It washed dishes, cleaned, retrieved things, and more. However, it was not infallible, so she eventually composed a mental list of restrictions, which she kept in the forefront of her mind. The clip could not be used without the trigger phrase, could not lift or move anything weighing more than fifty pounds, and could not be used more than twenty times per day. If she commanded it to do something it could not, it would do nothing, as if it were never magical at all. Knowing this, she began to use it well.
Over time, Pixal learned to use the clip for the most time-consuming work, so that she might use her energy for the quicker things. With the time it afforded her, she began to read copiously, learning as much as she could about mathematics, the sciences, histories, the arts, and politics. Whenever her father would ask her what she desired after his travels, she would ask for literature and heavy tomes, such that he carried a trunk just for her gifts during each journey. Her thirst for knowledge was great and rarely abated, such that she would often spend her nights reading by candle light. In envy of her father's love, however, Begonia and Columbine began to tell Pixal to do more and more work for them, so that she would be unable to educate herself so thoroughly. Amaryllis encouraged them, and slowly, Pixal took on all the work of the hired help, who were thus dismissed.
Unbeknownst to everyone, however, Pixal began to learn from her tomes the quiet ways of magic. She learned of wards and spells, hexes and curses, and all manner of charms, and slowly became a novice mage, even as her workload grew.
*Latin for "help me in my work."
The story continues, with many departures from the familiar tale! If you haven't read it and wish to, read the Grimm Brothers version of Cinderella, which is guiding this tale.
I have a challenge for you readers, since the ones in Hair as Gold as Straw were so well received. In this story, four people have flower names. What do they mean? I'd love to see your ideas in the reviews (and as always, your thoughts in general)!
Thank you all for reading!