"Mama!" Iri said, standing on top the bed with a pirate hat on his head, eyepatch over his eye, and a plastic sword in his hand. "I challenge you to make Cinder-Yellow actiony!"
"Actiony?"
"Yeah!"
"Iri, it's a stupid love story!" Aini scolded. "You can't make it actiony."
V rolled her eyes.
"So you don't want an actiony version of Cinder-Yellow?"
"I never said that." pouted Aini. V turned to Celina.
"It's your story, Celina. Do you mind?"
"It'll be wonderful and romantic either way." Celina sighed dreamily.
"Alright then." V grinned. "Actiony it is."
o.0.o.0.o
Cinder-Yellow, Part Three
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Green sighed as King Kuen whizzed another heavy book across the room. "My son has been avoiding his responsibilities long enough!"
"Sir, your blood pressure." Green reminded stoically, crossing his arms behind his back as the king continued to rant and rave about his son. He barely batted an eye as another book whizzed by his head.
"It's high time he got married and settled down." he said, looking over papers. Green raised an eyebrow. He and Red were the same age, twenty, with Red nearing his twenty-first birthday. Honestly, he thought it was fairly young for anyone to get married, but he wasn't going to say anything as his sister married her husband, Bill, when she was only nineteen. Green couldn't exactly support the king either, as he wasn't married himself.
"I'll bet you've got your eye on a nice lass, right Green?"
"Of course, sir." he said, but only to appease him. Honestly, he couldn't care less. Women were annoying and were attracted to nobles like pokémon to honey. Half the time, women only flocked to him to get to the prince, so he simply ignored them. "But you must be patient-"
"I AM PATIENT!"
Obviously not, Green decided. He wondered, briefly, if the king was exploding now about Red shirking on his duties, how would he feel should he find out that Red was spending his days down in the village, talking to the cobblers girl and some servant girl?
"I'm not getting any younger, you know." the king sighed, seeming to cool down. "I want to see my grandkids before I pass."
"Understandable, sir."
"No." the king shook his head. "You don't know what it means to see your only child grow farther and farther and farther away from you."
Well, of course he wouldn't. He wasn't even married yet.
"I'm lonely in this desolate, empty palace." he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I want to hear the pitter-patter of little feet again." And then he began sobbing. Green sighed at his emotional king. "Green, you're a smart young man, as your father was before you and your grandfather before him. What do you think I should do?"
Green sighed. It didn't really matter what he thought the king should do or what the king did. Red was going to do what he wanted anyways.
"Maybe you should just leave him alo-"
"Leave him alone?!" the king shouted. "With his..." he trailed off, waving his hands frantically as he tried to figure out what word to use. "Silly romantic ideas?"
"Well, in matters of love-"
"Love? Ha!" the king rolled his eyes. "A boy meeting a girl under the right conditions, falling for each other as they look into each others eyes?" he crossed his arms and scowled. "And here I thought better of you. Nobility marry first, then fall in love, not the other way around."
Green had to agree with him on that. But with Red and his stubbornness, he wasn't going to bend easily.
"Then perhaps you should arrange the conditions." Green suggested offhandedly.
A moment of silence.
"THAT'S IT!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist on his desk. "His birthday tomorrow! We'll throw a party and invite all the young maidens! What could be more natural than a ball celebrating his twenty-first birthday?"
"Nothing, sir." Green stated simply.
"And with all the eligible maidens who just happen to show up," he grinned. "He's bound to show interest in one of them and he'll have to choose a wife!"
Green wanted to say that it was a stupid idea trying to push this onto Red as he'll stubbornly refuse to find someone, regardless of wether he liked them or not. But he knew that, much like his son, once the king made up his mind, there was no changing it.
"And the moment does, the musicians will play romantic music," he grinned happily, miming the playing of a violin. "The lights will dim, all the trimmings!" he chuckled knowingly. "It can't possibly fail!"
Yes it can, Green thought.
"Green! Start the preparations! Invite the nobility of the neighboring towns and make sure every young lady you can find will be here. And make sure," he jabbed his finger into his chest for emphasis. "Red doesn't find out. He'll quickly put the kibosh on it real quick or do everything in his power to sabotage it."
"Yes sir." Green bowed politely, only letting out the irritated sigh once he was out of the room.
Somehow, he had a feeling this was going to be a huge waste of time.
o.0.o.0.o
Yellow let out a squeak of surprise as the soot from the chimney fell on top of her, nearly coloring her golden blond hair black. She sneezed from the sudden onslaught, then glanced at the chimney.
"And that's the last of the chimneys." Yellow said, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand, unwittingly rubbing coal dust on her forehead.
After she had gotten home from shopping, she had immediately set upon her chores, doing almost everything that was assigned to her by Agatha. All that was left was the gardening and Lucifer's bath. Her hands paused at dusting up the soot as she stared at the big ugly scratch marks from her first attempt. Looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was lurking, she raised her hand over her arm, and watched as the skin mended itself together with her powers.
Gardening first. Then she'd wash her hands and attempt to give Lucifer a bath again.
Just as she opened the door, she saw Fire on the other side, hood on his cloak up, as always, looking ready to knock. He blinked. She blinked back.
"Um, hi." he said, smiling. "Perfect timing, huh? Is Yellow in?"
Yellow promptly shoved him out the doorway and slammed the door shut behind her. She shoved him around the corner of the doorway, out of the view of any windows, and waited.
"Forward, aren't we?" Fire laughed as she paused her shoving. Yellow shushed him, then looked up at the windows.
"I'm coming home, I'm coming home,
Tell the world I'm coming home..."
"Yow." Fire muttered at the shrill notes of Karen's singing and awkward squeaks of Lorelei's flute. In the background, Agatha was playing the piano, trying to keep a beat.
"I know." Yellow sighed at the noise. Fire blinked, then leaned down, blinking at her.
"Yellow, is that you?" he asked, sounding surprised. She giggled slightly.
"Yeah. Chimney accident, you could say."
"Wow. I almost didn't recognize you! Your hair almost looked black."
"I know." she paused, face suddenly going serious. "Why are you here? My family would be enraged...!"
"I had to tell you something." Fire said simply. "Just a simple message."
"And you thought it was a good idea to just coming knocking on the door?!"
"Well... I kind of just found myself knocking before I could think of a concrete plan."
"Arceus..." Yellow trailed off.
"Anyways," Fire grinned. "My birthday is tomorrow and I'm inviting you and White and Black to dinner!"
"D...Dinner?" she asked, blinking. No way would she be able to convince Agatha into allowing her to do such a thing. And if she snuck out... "I... I can't."
"You can't?" the smile fell from his face. Yellow nodded. "Why?"
"B-Because..."
"Yellow!"
Yellow blinked, seeing the bright grin of Black. He had a huge bag of letters over his shoulder, holding one in his hand. Although it wasn't entirely official, Black was essentially the town messenger, paid to deliver messages wether written or said.
"Good afternoon, Black." Yellow greeted, wiping her hands on her apron as she and Fire approached the gate. "What's the message today?"
"It's a big one." Black said as Yellow took the letter. "The king's throwing a ball for the prince's birthday. He told me to deliver this to every house, especially those with young, unmarried women. As you can probably guess," he patted his bulging bag. "I thought of you and ran here as fast as I could."
"The prince's birthday, you say?" Fire muttered, glancing at the royal seal on the envelope. "That's tomorrow, right?"
"Yep." Black nodded. "There was an equally big bash when the prince turned ten. I was seven then, but there was a festival for, like, a week."
"Heh, I remember that." Yellow smiled. "Uncle Wilton took me."
A small pause.
"Oh, no!" Yellow exclaimed, hands going to her mouth, turning to Fire. "Your birthday dinner..."
"Damn..." Black muttered, running a hand across his face. "I didn't even think about that..."
"It's fine." Fire sighed, shaking his head. "I'm going to be forced to go to this thing, anyways. Pops orders."
"Heh, he did say all eligible maidens." Black joked. Fire ground his fist into Black's head.
"Then I better see you there as well." Fire said through gritted teeth, though he was smiling.
"Well, maybe we can meet up there!" Yellow said enthusiastically.
"It could work." Black said thoughtfully, shoving Fire off. "White will definitely be there, no doubt, what with her dad being so greedy."
"I... I might be able to go as well." Yellow said thoughtfully. "I have most of my chores done. And I... I can fix up my mothers old dress..." her face suddenly became bright with positive energy. "Yeah! I... I can go!"
"Don't let those stupid cousins of yours hold you down!" Black exclaimed determinedly. "White and I will kidnap you if we have too!"
"You deserve a break." Fire nodded in agreement. "I'll look out for that ponytail, okay?" Yellow blinked at that, then nodded her head.
"Um... Um, Fire..." she stuttered nervously. Fir paused. Hesitantly, she dug around in the pocket of her apron, reached out and put something in his hand. He blinked, seeing a small little pushpin with a small little pushpin, a seaking on the front.
"What is this?" he cocked his head, glancing at the little thing. Yellow blushed.
"Er... that was my uncle's. You never put your hood down, so, I thought I'd give it to you... as something to recognize you by..."
"That's a good idea!" Red encouraged. "I'll wear it tomorrow."
Yellow beamed.
"I'll go deliver this to Aunt Agatha. I'll see you soon!"
The two young men watched her hurry into the house, hair still coated with soot.
"Do you think they'll actually let her go?" Fire asked as they began walking away from the gate.
"Doesn't matter." Black sighed. "White and I will kidnap her anyways."
"Heh, I might actually join in on you with that." Fire chuckled. "She's working herself to the bone. I hardly recognized her when I came there."
"You know that when she gets to the ball, she's gonna find out who you really are."
"So?"
"So don't you think she'll be mad? That you lied?"
"If she hasn't realized it yet, then she's not going to realize it or believe me until we get to the ball." a small silence. "And besides, this is Yellow we're talking about. We could tell her I'm a serial killer and she won't be angry."
"Well, it's not like she gets out much." Black sighed. "And that's true."
"I'll better let you get back to your work." Fire said, waving. "I've got to go and discuss this little ball," he plucked an invitation from Blacks satchel. "With my father."
"Don't go killing the king, no matter how beneficial it is." Black joked.
"Don't worry." Fire frowned, looking at the royal seal keeping the envelop closed. "It's just going to be a small little talk."
o.0.o.0.o
"Yellow, I sincerely apologize for the unjust punishment you received on my behalf." Platinum said, bowing midair with Dia, Pearl, and Topaz around her. Yellow smiled happily. She was glad that Dia managed to find a place among the grove.
"It's not your fault." Yellow said gently as she walked into the house. "I should have checked the cups before I took it up to Karen and Lorelei."
"See, Platinum?" Dia grinned reassuringly. "I told you she wouldn't be mad!"
"So what's that, Yellow?" Pearl asked, staring at the envelope.
"A letter from the king." Yellow said, showing them the royal seal. "There's a ball tomorrow and all eligible young ladies are to attend." she smiled fondly as she thought of Fire. "I... plan on going with some friends."
"Oooooh." Topaz grinned teasingly. "Mr. Hot-Shot from the town?"
"Mr. Hot-Shot?" Dia asked.
"It's some guy from the village that she's infatuated with." Pearl grinned. Yellow blushed, smiling nervously.
"I wouldn't call it an infatuation..."
"But she's had her fare share of wet dreams about 'im." Topaz smirked. Yellow blinked at her. Then her hands flew to her face as she began blushing madly. She would admit that she had wonderful- albeit, cheesy- dreams of her and Fire, but nothing, nothing like what Topaz was implying.
"It... It's just a silly little crush!" she defended.
All of them suddenly winced as another note from Coming Home was brutally botched by Karen.
"Heh, maybe now we can interrupt the..." she trailed off, shooting them a humored look. "Music lessons?"
"If brutally murdering a rattatta is called *bleep*ing music, then I'm going to figure out a way to go deaf." Topaz muttered as she followed Yellow up the stairs. They hid on the molding, listening for a moment as Karen continued to sing a single note horribly. Suddenly, the music stopped, and there was silence.
"You clutz!" Karen shrieked. "You did that on purpose!"
"Now, now, girls." they heard Agatha say. "Remember, self control."
At this point, Yellow decided it was a good time to knock, so she softly rapped on the door. A horrible sound emitted from the piano, as if the player slammed their hands down onto it.
"What?!" Agatha yelled. Yellow timidly opened the door.
"Amarillo!" Agatha exclaimed, standing up threateningly. "I warned you never to interrupt-!"
"But this just arrived from Black!" Yellow blurted out, holding up the invitation.
"Black?" Lorelei asked. Yellow blinked.
"The messenger boy? He's been delivering messages to us for-"
"I can't believe you took the time to learn his name." Karen snickered.
"What is it? Who is it from?" Agatha demanded.
"I think it's an invitation. From the palace." Yellow said.
"From the palace?!" Lorelei and Karen exclaimed, running across the room. Karen snatched it from her, tearing it open, only to have Lorelei snatch it from her. The two quickly began arguing over it, and Yellow seriously became concerned it would get ripped.
"I'll read it." Agatha said, calmly taking the letter from their hands. She red over it, then a large smile came onto her face. Yellow blinked in surprise. Agatha never smiled. Ever. "There's to be a ball tomorrow night."
"A ball?!" Karen and Lorelei exclaimed.
"In honor of his highness's, Prince Red, twenty-first birthday."
"The prince!" they both echoed excitedly.
"And by royal command," Agatha said, reading from the letter. "Every eligible maiden is to attend." she looked up, a huge grin on her face.
"Why, that's us!" Karen exclaimed, excited.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yellow saw Pearl making gestures at the two, indicating they didn't have a chance. Topaz seemed to be mocking them, jumping around with a scrunched up look on her face, as if mocking their dancing. Dia was thoughtfully chewing on some candy, and Platinum looked excited.
"That includes me as well, correct?" Yellow asked, working up the courage to ask.
"Ha!" Karen laughed. "Her, dancing with the prince!"
"Can you imagine?" Lorelei laughed. "I'd be honored your highness," she said mockingly while curtsying. "Would you mind holding my broom?"
They both laughed as they began dancing with each other. Yellow let out a barely audible sigh of frustration. She had no intent whatsoever on dancing with the prince, she only wanted to talk to White, joke around with Black, and dance with Fire, if she could be so lucky.
"Well," she said, feeling oddly confident today. She wanted to go out with her friends. She wanted to wish Fire a happy birthday. She wanted one night, just one, meaningless night, off. "Why not?"
Both stared at her in open-mouthed shock. Agatha was looking at her disdainfully. Yellow steeled her nerves and stood up taller.
"After all," she reminded. "I'm still a member of this family." she noticed Platinum nodding with each word she said, Diamond giving her a thumbs up, and Topaz and Pearl shaking their clasped fists in the air, as if in victory. "And it says... by royal command, every eligible maiden is to attend."
"Yes." Agatha said with much less excitement in her voice. "So it does." she turned, a sly smile on her face. "Well, I see no reason why you can't go."
Karen and Lorelei looked at each other in open-mouthed horror.
"If you get all your work done," Agatha shrugged. Yellow could feel her own mouth open, but this one in excited surprise.
"Oh, I will!" she exclaimed, not having felt so happy in years, rushing towards the door.
"And," Agatha added on. "You find something suitable to wear."
"I will, Aunt Agatha! Don't worry, I will!"
Agatha watched as the door closed behind her. Lorelei and Karen looked at their mother in horror.
"Mother, do you realize what you just said?!" Lorelei exclaimed in horror.
"Of course." Agatha smirked. "I said 'if'."
o.0.o.0.o
It was very late in the night as Agatha walked through the streets of the town. Unlike in the daytime, when the town was beautiful and quaint and bustling and safe, at night it was dark and frightening, littered with people with less than a higher standing.
Agatha wasn't worried, though. She had her ghost type pokémon to scare away any would-be attackers.
She came to the tavern she was looking for, and went inside, immediately spotting a bright mass of spiked red hair.
"Ah, Agatha." the man grinned. "It's been some time. Who's the lucky man that needs to be knocked off the shelves now?"
"No husband this time, I'm to old to get remarried." Agatha sighed, sitting down. "My money's drying up, Lance."
"I don't do loans." he stated immediately.
"I know, Lance."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I'm running short on money and I have a nuisance living in my house who's set to inherit nearly and entire fortune."
"That Yellow girl? I thought all the money and handling of the money was left to you after Wilton got knocked off."
"Well, it wasn't." Agatha grumbled. "He left about an eighth of it to me and my daughters, the rest to Yellow. They won't give me a cent of it, no matter how much I beg."
"Then you shouldn't have squandered your kids."
"They deserve the best." Agatha said bitterly. "The best dresses, the best shoes, the best husbands, the best everything."
"I never said they didn't." Lance said. "I said you squandered the money." Lance sighed at her venomous glare. "So what do you want?"
"I want you to burn the house down with Amarillo in it."
Lance paused at that.
"Again?" he finally asked. "Don't you think that's a little flashy, two house fires in under ten years?"
"I need it to look like an accident. Plus if the house gets damaged, I might get compensation for that as well." she paused. "Same amount as last time?"
"Nope." Lance shook his head. "These are new stomping grounds. She's just a young girl, not some old guy. It's gonna have to be higher."
Agatha ground her teeth for a moment.
"Fine." she sighed. Lance rested his elbows on the table.
"When?"
"Tomorrow night."
"The night of the ball? All the eligible young ladies are supposed to attend that. Are you sure that Yellow'll won't find a way to go?"
"Oh, she won't go. I'll give her so much work to do, she won't have time for making a dress." she paused. "And if she does find time, she'll be so exhausted she'll pass out before she could even get out the door."
Agatha stood to leave, but Lance stopped her.
"Whoa, whoa, black widow." he said mockingly. "Payment upfront this time."
"What?! Why?"
"Because I don't trust you'll give me my fair cut."
Agatha blinked, then scowled, dropping a bag of coins on the table. Lance opened it, shifting through the money.
"That enough?"
"Good." Lance nodded, flipping the coin in the air. Agatha left the tavern with a huff, leaving him chuckling to himself. She actually paid it all upfront. What an idiotic woman. Sure, he would accept hits on old men any day. They were due to die soon, anyways. But he wasn't going to go and knock off nice girl like Yellow for a stupid old woman who can't control he wallet.
He just got paid for doing absolutely nothing. And if Agatha was mad, what did he care? She posed no threat to him at all.
o.0.o.0.o
The next morning, Yellow woke up without the pestering of her fairy friends. She had worked herself to near exhaustion finishing her chores, and she was proud to say that she had completed every last one. Now, with her families breakfast served, she could spend all day working on the dress.
Happily, she pulled out an old blue dress that her mother loved.
"Isn't it lovely?" she asked them, holding it up in front of her. "It was my mothers."
"It looks a little old, don't you think?" Opal asked, cocking her head.
"Well, it might be a little old-fashioned," Yellow commented, pulling it over a mannequin she had pulled out of storage. "But we can fix that easy, right?"
"Of course!" Ruby grinned, looking absolutely ecstatic to get his hands on the article of clothing. "We'll fix-"
"Cinders!" a shrill shriek echoed throughout the house, causing the occupants of the room to wince.
"Cinder-Yellow!"
"Amarillo!"
Yellow sighed as they voices continued to echo.
"Now what do they want?" she asked, staring at the door with slight disdain. After a moment, and more screaming, she stood in front of her gown, slightly brushing her fingers against the fabric. "I guess my dress will just have to wait."
"CINDERS!"
"I'm coming!" she called, opening her door and hurrying down the stairs.
"Poor Yellow," Soul sighed. "It seems like every time she has even a little time to herself, they begin yelling and screaming."
As if to prove her point, they began yelling again. Annoyed, Pearl and Topaz kicked the door closed.
"Every *bleep*ing time." Topaz grumbled. "This and that and this and that. Arceus."
"I thought she had everything done." Diamond said, blinking in surprise.
"They'll find a way to keep her busy." Jade crossed her arms.
"It's always work, work, work." Opal sighed. "They've got it all fixed and planned."
"They probably are doing it on purpose so she can't go to the ball whatsoever." Onyx huffed.
A heavy pause.
"Well, why are we sitting here then?" Crystal finally asked. "We may be small, but we aren't incompetent."
"What're you saying, Crys?" Gold asked, staring at her.
"Why don't we make the dress?" Crystal asked, tugging at a book containing designs for the dress. "I mean, we have Ruby and Soul. They've been fixing up Yellow's dresses for years."
"That's true." Sapphire mused, helping her shove the book out. Ruby immediately began flipping through it, trying to find a design.
"Yellow's done so much for us." Silver nodded in approval. "This is the least we can do in return."
"All *bleep*ing right, then!" Topaz grinned, holding up a needle like a sword. "Where do I stab it?"
"Er..." Ruby trailed off, glancing at her.
"It seems we need a sash." mused Platinum.
"Some beads would look nice." Diamond pointed out. Platinum smiled at him.
"Shall we split up and go search for some?" she suggested.
"Yeah!" Topaz grinned, forgetting about 'stabbing' the dress with the needle.
"I'll go too." Pearl offered.
"The more the *bleep*ing merrier, that's what I say!" Topaz grinned, obviously excited at the prospect of scavenging.
As the four ran off to go on their little scavenging exposition, the other fairies glanced at each other.
"We really," Gold said, crossing his arms. "Need to consider on making those four our official scavenging crew."
o.0.o.0.o
Slowly, Pearl brought back a small piece of wallpaper so they could sneak into Lorelei's room. She was always leaving things laying on the floor, so it wasn't like they expected her to actually notice anything missing.
"And this too, Cinders, my gown needs to be mended-"
"And I want this dress to be ironed-"
"Mend the button holes!"
"Press my skirt too, and mind the ruffles, you're always terrible when it-"
"Do they ever stop complaining?" Diamond asked.
"Unfortunately, no." Platinum sighed.
"And Amarillo!" Topaz made a gagging face at Agatha's voice.
"Yes?" Yellow asked, sounding exhausted at the prospect of preparing Karen and Lorelei's dresses.
"When you're through," they could almost hear the smirk in her voice. "And before you begin your regular chores, I have a few little things that needs to be fixed."
"Yes, Aunt Agatha." Yellow sighed, turning and walking out the door.
"Oh, Mother, I don't see why everybody else gets to have such nice things." Karen complained. "And I always end up in these old rags." she frantically waved an old white sash around. "This sash!" she scoffed. "I wouldn't be seen dead in it!"
"You should talk." Lorelei huffed, slamming some golden-colored beads on the ground. "These beads! I'm sick of looking at them." As if to punctuate her point, she kicked the beads across the room. Pearl shared a glance with Topaz, and they nodded in agreement.
Karen and Lorelei continued complaining as they left the room, leaving it vacant. The only other living thing in the room
"Alright, lets be really, careful-" Platinum began, only for Topaz to completely disregard her, whipping out of the hole with a excited grin on her face.
"Topaz!" Pearl hissed. She waved at them while holding up the discarded sash.
"I can't say I've ever seen her act like this." Dia mused.
"We haven't either." Pearl said through gritted teeth, fluttering out after her. He grabbed the other corner of the sash and began dragging it back, careful to be quiet so not to wake Lucifer.
Unbeknownst to them, Lucifer had woken up, and was confusingly staring at the sash seemingly moving on it's own. Once he caught sight of the two fairies, he began making a chase for them.
"Nope!" Topaz shouted as she and Pearl dashed into the hole, tugging the sash behind them. Lucifer, however, was smarter, and immediately began tugging on the sash himself.
"Crap, let go!" Pearl exclaimed.
"The sash would be useless if it ripped...!" Platinum exclaimed, darting out into the room to taunt Lucifer.
"Get out there, *bleep*it!" Topaz shouted to Diamond. Diamond nodded, darting out to also distract Lucifer. The cat had since given up on the sash and was now chasing Platinum, allowing Topaz and Pearl to tug the rest of the sash into the cubby hole.
Suddenly Lucifer leapt up and snatched up Platinum in his mouth. Platinum let out a terrified shriek while Diamond let out an exclamation of fear, stupidly diving down and holding Lucifer's mouth open with his feet and hands.
"Let her go! Let her go!" he exclaimed, arms buckling under the pressure. Platinum tumbled out of his mouth as quickly as she could, trying to run across the floor. Diamond wondered, for a moment, why she wasn't flying, when he realized what happened to fairies wings when they get wet. They get heavy and useless, like two coins attached to their back, weighing them down.
Diamond quickly flew after her, yanking her up into his arms, bristling slightly at the wetness that covered her.
"Take this you stupid *bleep*!" Topaz shouted, buying them some time by kicking Lucifer in the nose. The purugly meowed in frustration, chasing after her.
"Is she okay?" Pearl asked as Diamond practically collapsed into the hole in the wall.
"I think she's just shaken up." Diamond stated, glancing at the shivering, silent Platinum.
"Hey, maggots!" Topaz shouted, coming into the room with the beads wrapped around her. "While all ya'll were sittin' in here *bleep*ing having a group therapy session, I got these *bleep*ing beads."
"How?" exclaimed Pearl. Topaz nodded her head in the doorway, sandy blond hair getting tossed in the process. Diamond and Pearl shuffled towards the opening, and saw Lucifer humorously tangled in clothes, face poking through a sleeve, making it look like he was, oddly enough, wearing a bonnet.
Pearl and Diamond burst out laughing.
o.0.o.0.o
When the clock struck seven'o'clock, Yellow glanced out the window with her broom in hand, seeing a small, dare she say, dinky little carriage pulling up. She felt a small smile come to her face as she thought about Lorelei and Karen's disgusted reactions at the less than suitable carriage for them.
Her smile quickly fell, however, when she went to alert her family. She was still in her ragged dress, and she was exhausted from the days work. There was no way she would be able to make a dress suitable for the ball.
For a moment, she felt tears threatening to spill, but she quickly shook that off. She didn't know why she was thinking of crying now. She'd stop crying a little after her Uncle Wilton died. She simply ran out of tears to cry.
She knocked on the door of her Aunt Agatha's room. A moment of silence, then she opened it, wearing a much fancier dress.
"The carriage is here." Agatha said.
"Oh." she said. Yellow turned to walk away, only to hear her speak in mock sympathy. "Why, Amarillo, you're not ready?"
"I'm not going." she responded simply, not bothering to turn around.
"Not going?" exclaimed Agatha. "Oh, what a shame. But of course there will be other times, Amarillo."
Yellow paused, her head still held high. She turned to look at her.
"My name is Yellow. Goodnight." she stated simply before walking away to the attic.
As she got to her room, she flopped on her bed.
"Well, what's an old ball anyways?" she stated, not even caring if any of her fairy friends were listening. Chuchu climbed on the bed, gently licking her cheek in comfort. Yellow rolled over on her back, holding Chuchu above her in a way so that the skin around her neck bunched around her face, making it seem like she didn't even have a neck. Yellow giggled at her silly expression. "I'm sure... I'm sure it'll be dreadfully dull and... and I can always wish Fire a happy birthday next time I see him. He'll always have other birthdays. Just remember August eighth, right?"
She turned to look over her shoulder.
"Ri-" she trailed off in surprise as light suddenly shined upon a nearly new dress. Instead of the old dress that her mother had, she saw a lovely light blue dress with a white sash around the waist, and little golden embroideries across the bottom. Across the bust was a white ribbon, and on the hanger was a string of golden beads.
"SURPRISE!" everyone shouted.
"Happy birthday!" Diamond threw in.
"Idiot, it's not her birthday!" Pearl exclaimed, glaring at him.
"Crap, she's crying!" Onyx exclaimed, watching as delicate little tears rolled down Yellow's face.
"Hey, sweet cheeks, what's with the waterworks?" Carnelian asked.
"Did we botch it? Oh, no, we botched it!" Soul exclaimed.
"Ruby, you dolt, this is your fault!" Sapphire exclaimed, flying after him.
"No, no it's lovely!" Yellow exclaimed, trying to calm things down. "I'm just... just really, really happy!"
"Then cut the *bleep* with the tears and change, *bleep*it!" Topaz shouted.
"Yeah!" Opal nodded. "You've got a date, right?"
"I wouldn't call it a date..."
"No time for this idle chatter!" Jade ordered. "Boys, out! Yellow, change!"
"Aye, aye, ma'am!"
o.0.o.0.o
"Now remember," Agatha reminded her two daughters. "When you're presented to his highness-"
"Wait!"
Their mouths all dropped at the sight of Yellow hurrying down the stairs in a rather beautiful dress.
"Where on earth did she get that?" Karen hissed to Lorelei.
"Please, wait for me!" Yellow exclaimed, continuing down the stairs. She beamed. "Isn't it lovely?" She did a small twirl, obviously proud and excited about the lovely dress. she paused, glancing at them. "Do you like it? Do you think it will do?"
Unlike her two daughters, Agatha kept her mouth closed as she looked over the dress. Her hair was tied in her signature ponytail, a lovely white lily tucked into the hairband.
"Cinder-Yellow!" Lorelei said in an almost scolding manner.
"Mother, she can't go!" Karen cried out. "You wouldn't do that to us!"
Then at the same time, both began complaining about not letting Yellow go to the ball.
"Girls, please." Agatha said, shushing the two instantly. "After all, we did make a bargain." she glanced over Yellows dress again, the golden beads around her neck catching her eye. "And after all, I never go back on my word."
Yellow took an instinctive step back as Agatha began walking towards her, suddenly very nervous. Agatha had never hit her as she had Lorelei and Karen handle any physical abuse she wanted inflicted. So what was she planning...?
"How very clever." Agatha complimented, glancing at the beads. "These beads... give it just the right touch." she turned to Lorelei. "Don't you think so, Lorelei?"
"No, I don't." she immediately said, crossing her arms and turning her head away. "Quite frankly I think she's hi-" she cut herself off with her own gasp as she turned to look at the beads again. "Why you little thief! They're my beads!"
She quickly crossed the room as her mother stepped back, snatching at the beads and ripping them clean off Yellow's neck, uncaring that she pretty much destroyed them in the process. Yellow knew what was coming as her hands flew to wear the beads were, crying out in alarm.
"Please don't! This was my mother's-!"
"Oh, look that's my sash, wearing my sash-!" Karen cut both herself and Yellowoff as she ripped the sash from around Yellow's waist. She heard a horrible ripping sound, and knew that they had damaged something other than the sash.
"This is what happens to little thieves!" Lorelei hissed angrily as she and Karen continued to tear the dress apart, despite the pleads from Yellow to stop.
"Girls, girls!" Agatha said, putting a stop to it before either off them could land a punch. "That's quite enough." she turned and opened the door. "Hurry along now, both of you. I won't have you upsetting yourselves." as she was about to follow her daughters out the door, she paused, turning to look at Yellow. "And Amarillo," she glanced at the near broken girl and the tattered remains of what was once a beautiful dress. "Clean up that mess."
Yellow could feel her lip trembling as she stared down at what she was wearing, her eyes going over the torn cloth and broken beads all across the floor. Clean up, she said. That's all she was good for, wasn't it? All... All she wanted was to wish her friend one simple happy birthday. To see Black and White and Fire... To feel nice and beautiful and maybe have a little fun for a change...
Slowly, she just sort of collapsed onto the floor, covering her mouth with her hands as she stared at the ruined dress. She didn't want to look at it, but no matter what she did, she couldn't turn away. It was like a bad accident or something. Just one thing... One stupid little night...!
Yellow hadn't cried since she was twelve. She thought her tears had dried up from all the crying she had done previously. But it seems that wasn't the case. Rather, her tears had been locked away inside, as if waiting for the perfect moment to come out.
And it seems as if now was that time.
She sobbed there in the foyer, not noticing her fairy friends in the background, hovering over her guiltily. Dody and Chuchu also peeked their heads out, but didn't know how to console her. No doubt this even was the straw that broke the camerupt's back.
"It's just no use." she muttered between sobs. "All I'm good for is cleaning and cooking."
Her aunt and her sisters were right. She was an ugly disgrace, unbefitting of even glancing at the palace let alone dance inside it. Black and White... no doubt they were false friendships made out of pity. And Fire... Fire's probably dancing the night away with some other beautiful girl, maybe even a princess, or one of her cousins. He would hate her for this, she was sure. No doubt that he was so looking forward to her being there, and now she couldn't even give him that. For all of his kindness, she couldn't even show up to a stupid ball and wish him a stupid happy birthday.
"I guess it's as the saying goes," Yellow murmured. "You can put lipstick on a tepig, but it's still just a tepig."
"Isn't it the same the other way around, though?" Yellow let out a startled gasp at the new voice, snapping her head up to see as young woman with long brown hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a blue dress that shimmered just perfectly that it reminded her of water. The dress was tight around the waist but loose in the skirt and sleeves, making the effect seem even more realistic. From her back was a pair of the most beautiful, shimmering white wings that Yellow had ever seen, almost ghost-like. She had her chin in her hand, a mischievous look on her face. "If you put rags on a princess, isn't she still a princess?"
Yellow blinked, taking a startled step back, but mutely nodded in response. She let out a chuckle, then clapped her hands.
"It's all about perspective, that's what I always say!" she laughed. "Anyways, you're probably wondering, who are you? Well, Miss Yellow, that's simple. I'm Blue, your fairy godsister because I'm much to young to be a godmother."
"W... Well, I can't exactly be surprised, since I've had a grove of fairies living in my room for nearly six years." Yellow said shakily.
"Great!" Blue grinned. "That saves me time from calming you down after a freakout!"
"Uh... right."
"Anyways, you can't go to a ball like that." Blue said, tapping her chin.
"I-I can't go to the ball-"
"Sure you can!" Blue grinned, dragging her outside. "Now be a dear and fetch me a pumpkin!"
"A... A pumpkin?"
"Yes, any pumpkin will do." Blue said, glancing at her. "Well, what are you waiting for? We haven't got all night you know! Go to the garden and bring me back the biggest pumpkin you can find!"
Yellow wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that other than fetching a pumpkin for her, so she did just that. Once she somehow managed to lug the huge thing to the front of the house, Blue has happily talking to the grove of fairies, all of which were out front, while Chuchu and Dody stood cautiously in the doorway.
"Oh, this one is perfect!" Blue grinned, pulling a silver wand out of nowhere. "Now lets see... something, something, something... bibbidi, bobbidi, blue!"
Yellow stepped back in surprise as the pumpkin suddenly grew to the size of a carriage, the orange replaced by silver, the vines becoming delicate wheels.
"Oh, it's better than I expected!" Blue grinned. "Now I need some fairies. Anyone here brave enough to be a rapidash for the night?" The entire grove went silent at the prospect of that. Blue sighed. "So stubborn. I'll just choose for myself then. Bibbidi, bobbidi, blue!"
Yellow gasped as Topaz, Pearl, Diamond, and Platinum suddenly became rapidash, each with fiery manes flickering the color of their namesake. They glanced at each other, than Topaz snickered.
"Pearl, you're fires *bleep*ing pink." she said offhandedly.
"And now we need a coachman and a footman." Blue mused glancing over the fairies again. "Hmm..." her eyes settled on Ruby and Sapphire. "Bibbidi, bobbidi, blue!" The two blinked as they were suddenly human sized, without wings.
"This is weird." Sapphire muttered, looking at her back.
"It's not going to be that long." Ruby shrugged. "Just deal with it for Yellow."
"Ugh, fine." Sapphire rolled her eyes, scrambling up to handle the reigns while Ruby hopped onto the back.
"Now for the finishing touch." Blue grinned, waving her wand again. Yellow felt her heart leap at this, for she knew that this meant that she was going to, hopefully, get a gown. "Bibbidi, bobbidi, blue!"
She blinked as a rain of blue sparkles surrounded Blue herself, and suddenly, she was wearing a blue ballgown and lacking her wings. She turned to Yellow with a bright grin.
"I've never been to a human ball before, so let's go!"
"Um... but..."
"No need to thank me!" Blue hummed happily, dragging her over to the carriage. "C'mon, c'mon, lets go!"
"You *bleep*ing hack!" Topaz yelled. "You-"
"Topaz!" Yellow scolded gently. "Um, I don't... Actually, I do thank you, but don't you think my dress..."
"Yes! Yes, it's lovely!" Blue grinned. "Absolutely..." she trailed off, eyes going wide. "Good Arceus, what happened to you?"
"*bleep*y cousins." Sapphire stated simply.
"Hm..." Blue said, standing over the smaller girl. "Lets see... Hazel eyes... and maybe if we based it off that..." she snapped. "Bibbidi, bobbidi, blue!"
Yellow had to say it was strange. She felt a warm feeling go over her, and then a rush of wind. Through the haze of sparkles, she wondered if this was how the fairies or her pokémon felt whenever she healed them with her own magic.
A moment later, the sparkles had faded, and she gasped.
It was as if someone had taken the little dress she had loved so much as a child, and made it a million times better. It was still light green, like she so fondly remembered, with a dark green peplum over it. Dark green lace lines the bottom, and pink roses accented the peplum. The wrapped off-the-shoulder sleeves were also dark green, a small rose in the middle, the bodice also pale green. On her feet, she noticed beautiful glass slippers, a small glass rose on the tips of the shoes.
Her hair was down, for the first time since she could remember, and she felt something in her hair. Delicately, she touched small, glass roses, strung together with a string of small white beads. A floral crown, made with beads instead of vines, glass roses instead of real, but still... the sentiment was touching.
"How did you know?" she asked. Blue grinned, tucking her wand away.
"I'm your fairy godsister. I know these things." Blue grinned, gesturing towards the carriage.
"It's like a dream." Yellow sighed, stepping into the carriage after Blue.
"Yes, but dreams only last for so long." Blue sighed, crossing her arms. "You'll have only till midnight-"
"Midnight?" Yellow asked as the carriage began moving. "Oh, thank you."
"Hey, listen, Yellow." Blue said, reaching for her hands. "You'll have only till midnight. Once it becomes midnight, the spell will break. The carriage will become a pumpkin, your friends will become fairies again, and this gown will be gone. Are you okay with that?"
"Of course!" Yellow beamed. "You gave me one night for me to enjoy. Thank you so much for that!"
Blue blinked, then smiled.
"I knew I made the right choice, being the fairy godsister for you."
o.0.o.0.o
Prince Red was not happy at all.
He had a rather large blow up with his father after he had gotten home, in which it somehow ended with him having to dance and converse with every young lady who attended the ball. On top of that, he nearly had to order Pika, his pikachu, to shock his wardrobe designer to allow him to wear Yellow's pushpin, which he succeeded, even though the small bronze pin looked a bit off on his fancy clothes, he didn't care. His father was doing this on purpose and he, in response, was going to be absolutely miserable about every little thing.
After the last dance, he purposefully yawned, glancing up at his father, sitting on his throne with Green, his most trusted advisor and talented swordsmen, stood faithfully at his side. He shot a glare at his 'friend'. Traitor. Some of these girls were weird! Green whispered something to the king, and the king raised his hand, indicating that other couples had permission to dance on the floor.
"Finally." Red muttered, going into the crowd to try to find Black and White. He quickly tracked the two down, Black pestering Green to teach him better sword skills. "Hey. Any sign of Yellow yet?"
"Not from what I can see." White said, sounding worried.
"Ugh, but guess who I do see." Black muttered, nodding over to Agatha, Lorelei, and Karen, all of which were staring at Red. Red shuddered, and ignored them.
"Your father is going to go mad if you don't find one girl to talk to for longer than a single dance." Green warned. Red crossed his arms stubbornly.
"I don't care. This is stupid and pointless." Red sighed.
"You better face it, Red." White sighed. "I don't think she's coming."
"Seriously, Red," Green said, nodding to his father, who's face was going red from rage. "Just pick a girl and try to find something nice about her."
"Fine." Red huffed, going over the crowd of women. He didn't even care at this point. He'd go for a girl who had blond hair like Yellow, if that's what it took...
He widened his eyes for a moment, spotting a flicker of blond hair. He blinked, seeing a young lady with long, golden blond hair wearing a green dress, glass flowers woven into her hair like a crown. She was talking to a brunette with a blue dress.
"Hey Green." Red muttered to his friend. "Who's that girl? The blond in the green dress?" Green blinked at her.
"I honestly have no idea."
"You've never seen her before? In any of the courts or previous balls?"
"No."
"Maybe she's a princess from a faraway kingdom!" White said dreamily.
"Maybe." Red murmured, making his way across the dance floor.
o.0.o.0.o
"Oooh, cutie on sights!" Yellow heard Blue squeal under her breath. Yellow followed her gaze, and saw a rather serious-looking young man with spiky brown hair and piercing green eyes. "If you don't mind, Yellow, I'm going to go snatch him up before someone else does."
"Um, okay." Yellow said, raising her hand in a wave as her new friend began to cross the dance floor. She watched the other couples for a moment, trying to catch eye of White, Black, or Fire. As she turned, she felt someone grab at her hand. A gasp escaped her lips as she shook her hand free, turning to see a young man a little older than her with spiky black hair and bright red eyes. Eyes that reminded her of...
"Fire?" she whispered, seeing her uncles little pushpin on his shirt. Someone bumped into him all of a sudden, a woman Yellow recognized. It was Karen. She ducked her head down and backed away, not wanting to be recognized.
"I apologize, your highness." Karen said, fluttering her eyelashes. Yellow paused. Your highness? As in... As in the prince?
She paused, looking over at him. Prince Red... was Fire? She suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment fall over her. She... she treated him with such disrespect and... and gave him that dinky little pushpin! But... But he wanted to go by a different name and... and he wanted to talk to commoners like her, right? So maybe... maybe he wasn't appalled or enraged by her actions?
"Excuse me, Miss."
She smiled slightly. That was definitely Fire's voice.
"Your highness." she said politely.
"May I have this dance?" he asked, bowing. Yellow giggled slightly. It was so odd seeing him act so... so proper! She curtsied politely.
"Of course."
He gently took her hand and kissed her knuckles, leading her to the dance floor.
"The waltz!" she heard the king shout. "The waltz! Play the waltz!"
"I'm sorry." Red apologized as the music began playing. "He's been a little... high strung all night."
"It's fine, truly." Yellow smiled, glad that it was only a simple waltz. Even she knew those dance steps. A few minutes into the waltz, Yellow heard familiar voices.
"But who is she Mother?"
"Do we know her?"
"Well the prince certainly seems to." a pause. "But I know I've never seen her."
"Now right, but she certainly is..." she felt a shiver got down her spine as she heart Agatha speak her next words. "Wait... There is something familiar about her..."
"U-Um, forgive me for my rudeness, but I heard the palace has the most splendid gardens." she said quietly, suddenly very much aware of everyone staring at her. Her face began heating up. "Could you... maybe show them to me?"
"Of course." Red smiled, waltzing to the edge of the dance floor.
She noticed him give a pointed nod to the green-eyed man, who was trying not to pay attention to Blue and failing. He nodded back and muttered something to the conductor. The conductor nodded, and ended the waltz, going into another song, giving other couples a chance to dance on the floor. Red escorted her off the floor, and edging their way outside.
"You blushed." Red said offhandedly.
"I... I'm sorry?" Yellow asked with a hint of questioning behind her voice.
"No, it's fine." Red smiled. "It's just rare to see a young lady blush when there's so much attention on them." he glanced at the gardens. "A lot of them are nobles and daughters of high standing. They're used to being complimented on every little thing. So as you can probably imagine..." he trailed off, looking back at her. "Blushing girls are a rare treat."
In response, Yellows face went red.
"Er... that pin. The one with a seaking on it. Where did you get it?"
"I got it from a very good friend." Red smiled. "She said she'd show up tonight, but I haven't seen her yet so I won't give up."
"So he doesn't recognize me." Yellow thought. She didn't exactly expect him to. No doubt she looked insanely different from when she usually saw Red.
"What's she like?" Yellow asked, sitting beside him on a bench
"She's a beautiful person." Red said immediately. "She's kind and timid but no matter what, always has the grace and dignity of a princess, even though she's a servant in her own home."
"Even more grace and dignity than a princess?" Yellow mused thoughtfully.
"The most I've seen in any girl thus far, and I've met a lot of princesses." he paused. "She has this awful aunt and these horrible cousins, though she'll never say it outright." Red shrugged. "She says she never wants to impose whenever I invite her to stay with me, but I mean, come on." he gestured around him. "I'm literally living in a castle. I'm sure my father would adore her, and if she wants to work, we could always find something..."
"It sounds like..." Yellow paused, twiddling her thumbs. "It sounds like you love her."
"Love? Yellow? Please." Red shook his head. "She doesn't even know I'm the prince."
"But it doesn't sound like she would be angry if you told her." Yellow responded.
"I suppose."
"Hey, there you are!" Yellow snapped her head up and saw Blue running towards her. "We have to get going!"
"What?" Red asked. "Why?"
"It's nearly midnight!" Blue exclaimed. Yellow felt her face pale. "We need to go!"
"Um... It was lovely, Prince Red!" Yellow shouted over her shoulder. "Thank you!"
"Wait!" Red called after them as Blue dragged her through the ballroom. Blue nearly plowed down Green. He raised his eyebrows at her.
"I see you found your friend. Now-" Blue cut him off by pressing her lips to his.
"Thanks for the memory, Greeny!" she called over her shoulder, running down the stairway. Green stared after her in shock.
"You kissed him!" Yellow exclaimed.
"Yes! Best last minute decision I ever made!" Blue laughed. Yellow stumbled, and saw that her shoe was sitting on the ledge. "Leave it, we gotta move!" Following her advice, they continue until they piled into the carriage.
"Guards! Stop that coach!"
"They're seriously sending the guards after us?!" Blue exclaimed as the carriage sped off. She waved her wand a bit when the clock struck twelve, trying to keep her magic together, though Yellow could already see her dress returning to rags and Blue's wings sprouting up. "I'm sorry, Yellow..." Blue said, furrowing her brows. "I can't hold it together anymore...!"
Suddenly, Yellow found herself sitting on a pumpkin with Ruby, Sapphire, Platinum, Pearl, Diamond, and Topaz back to being tiny fairies. Blue was standing across from her, back in her fairy attire.
They heard the heavy sounds of rapidash hoofs, and the two girls ducked into the bushes, the fairies flying out of sight. The abandoned pumpkin was destroyed under the hooves of their pursuers.
"I'm sorry." Yellow turned to Blue. "I guess I just forgot about everything."
"Heh, I wonder if Greeny will remember me?" Blue pondered thoughtfully. Yellow giggled.
"I don't really see how he can forget." she stood up, though her balance felt... off.
"Hey, you still got one." Pearl said, pointing at the glass slipper. Yellow blinked, taking the shoe off, holding it delicately.
"Didn't expect that to happen." Blue said thoughtfully. "I guess the rules can bend just a little for some people."
o.0.o.0o
"Moooom!" Iri whined. "That wasn't actiony at all!"
"It will be better next time, I promise!"
"Moooom!"
"No complaining, Iri." V said, standing up. "Time for bed."
o.0.o.0.o
Is it horrible that the entire time I was writing this chapter, I was listening to the Nightcore remix of "Shut Up and Dance"?
*briefly imagines song playing in the ballroom*
BRILLIANT.
Is it odd that I thought I was writing Blue out of character? I couldn't put my finger on what it was, though.
Anyways, Black and White are aware that Fire is Red and vice versa, while Yellow is oblivious because, well, sheltered life and... she's Yellow. ^.^
So... I always wondered why no one ever recognized Cinderella in the actual movie(she was, like, the only blond in the whole damn kingdom), so I figured that she always had her hair down and must have been dirty from all her work. So, Yellow is always wearing rags, smudged with coal, and her hair is up, if we changed all that- cleaned her of dirt and coal, gave her a pretty dress, and let her hair down- would Red recognize her?
Probably not.
Sooo while writing this story, I was doing some research on the princess movies, and stumbled upon a lovely manga titled Kilala Princess. Oh my God, I don't care if you don't like manga, if you like disney princess's you are going to love this. It was so CUTE. It kind of had the feel of Sailor Moon for some reason. I suggest reading it, but it's only available online in english. There was never an english serialization!
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^