Chapter 9: Changed World
A cool breeze blew through the window, and Cinderella felt sharp little feet lightly pricking her through her thin blanket. Sleepily, she rolled over and pulled the covers over her head, which really didn't do much to muffle the cheery warbling that began a moment later. Still, she mashed her eyelids shut against the brightening dawn, desperately clinging to the last little bit of the lingering dream... such a wonderful dream.
Except... it hadn't been a dream.
Cinderella sat up suddenly, prompting a startled series of cheeps from the surprised bluebird who'd been perched on her shoulder. As the castle clock began to strike the hour, she touched her fingers to her lips. "It really did happen, didn't it?" she murmured, looking at her friends in wonder. "The ball – the palace – all of it." She slipped out of bed and went to the window, smiling softly as she looked at the distant castle. A prickle crept up her spine as she watched the hazy morning clouds drift past. Somehow the colors seemed sharper even in the pale early-morning light, and there was a strange tang to the air that she didn't quite recognize. She laughed, spinning around in her nightgown and hugging her pillow to her chest. "I suppose this is what it feels like to have your dreams come true."
Humming to herself, she pinned up her hair, washed, and got ready in what seemed like no time at all before hurrying downstairs to light the fires, feed the animals and begin breakfast. As she was boiling water for tea, the largest bell on the wall rang insistently. She frowned – who on earth would come visiting at this hour? It rang again, and she wiped her hands on her apron as she hurried toward the front door. She turned the bolt, opened the door, and to her surprise found herself looking at a handsome (if tired) young man wearing a tunic with the royal crest on the front. She curtsied, but before she could say much more than "Good morning," he held out a sealed envelope.
"By the order of His Royal Majesty the King this Notice is to be given to the Lord or Lady of the Household with all due Haste notwithstanding the Hour of the Day or Night God Save the King!"
Somehow he managed to get it all out in a single breath, and Cinderella pressed her lips together to hold back a laugh. "Of course. Thank you," she said as she took the envelope, but he was already running down the drive. Closing the door, she shook her head in amusement. "All due haste indeed, it seems." She looked up the stairs uncertainly, then sighed. Her stepmother never liked 'intrusions,' as she called them, and could be particularly unpleasant in the mornings. Still – a royal command, after all.
It was a few moments after she knocked on the tall, heavy door that she heard her stepmother's voice call out, "Come in." Cinderella took a breath, and stepped through into the still-dark bedroom. She paused, her eyes slowly adjusting, and her stepmother snapped, "Well? What is it?"
"This came from the palace," she said, walking over to the bed and holding the envelope out. "They said to deliver it to you immediately."
Her stepmother snatched the envelope out of her hand, scowling at her, and broke the seal. She opened the letter, but before she began to read, her eyes narrowed. "What are you waiting for? Go on – get back to work!"
Cinderella bobbed a curtsy and quickly made her way out of the room, gently closing the door behind her. Despite her stepmother's harsh tone, she could scarcely keep from dancing down the hallway. It was strange, how light she felt.
But had she stayed and peeked through the keyhole, she would have seen something even stranger, for the stately Lady Tremaine sat bolt upright in bed with a gasp, then threw back the covers and dashed to her wardrobe. "Lucifer," she murmured as she began dressing rapidly, "it seems the game has not yet been played out." A sly smile pulled at the corners of her thin mouth.
"And I intend to win."