One Extremely Wicked Step-Mother plus an Annoying Star equals Frustration

I felt a cold hand across my cheek. "I have the good mind to throw you out." My step-mother screamed. I fell on the hard floor. "Do you know what I have done for you?" I backed away, afraid of what I had gotten myself into. My step-mother was furious, and there was nothing I could do. "LEAVE MY SIGHT!" That was all the encouragement I needed. I got up and stumbled to the back door, never turning my back to her.

The fresh air was a welcome relief to the noise. I do not know what provoked my step-mother. I felt like I had not done anything terrible. Astra ran to me. She looked upset, angry even. I shook my head; I could not deal with another whirlwind of emotions hurled at me for little reason.

"Oh, Bella, everything is ruined."

"Look Astra I am not in the mood for theatrics." She looked confused.

"The spell is broken."

"So?" I raised my left eyebrow, not interested in what she had to say. She took a deep breath, disturbed with my indifference.

"So," She grabbed my hand and pulled me down to sit. "Now, she will not let you go to the ball. This means you have no way of getting there and more importantly of being announced. Prince Chadwick's spell was riding on that moment and now it is not going to be activated, which means our entire plan is ruined."

"You mean our excuse for a plan is ruined. Astra it was ruined from the moment it was concocted. Your plan had more holes in it then Swiss cheese. Don't stars grant wishes all the time?" She did not answer. "Why is this one so difficult?"

"Maybe because the wisher is stubborn and has a total disregard for everyone but herself."

"Do you know what I have done for you?"

"Yes, absolutely nothing. You could not even control your temper so that you would not get your step-mother angry. You just love making everyone's life as miserable as your own." She was steaming. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. Slowly her expression went back to normal. "Bella, I did not mean that. I am sorry. If you want to know the truth, the only wish I have every granted is for a pony." I smiled at that. "I just want to get back home."

"I know." I said. After a couple of minutes of silence I spoke. "So the spell is broken?" Astra nodded. "And you can't recast it." I exhaled slowly, my anger waning. The ball was in four days, the Queen's breakfast in three. All I had was a dress, a deflated spell, and a whole lot of problems.

******

"You cannot possibly be serious?" Astra asked with a disgusted look on her face. We were still in the back gardens, and having spoken at length about the ball, our conversation switched to Chris Hood. Astra could not believe that I was actually going to meet him.

"He is my friend." She shuddered, perhaps thinking about Cly's filth.

"Well yes, but, is it proper?"

"What do you mean?" I said smiling.

"Well, I am not sure, but when a man invites a women to dinner it usually means he is interested in her, right?"

"No. We're simply friends." She gave me a dubious look. "I should be going if I wish to make it there by sundown."

"Fine then." I got up dusting my skirts. "Is that what you are wearing?" I nodded. Astra sighed and grabbing my hand, pulling me into the manor.

"Astra, is this necessary?" I asked once safely in my room.

"Of course it is," she answered, rummaging through my clothes. "Pitiful." I smirked. They was screeching somewhere in the house, which was not unusual.

"MOTHER!" Someone screamed, probably Madison.

"Hurry Astra, I want to get out of here."

"Why are you in such a hurry to see this man?" I rolled my eyes.

"I am in a hurry to get away from that." Another scream filled the room.

"Fine, here wear this." She handed me a simple cotton dress. My father had bought it for me on my sixteenth birthday. It was dyed a soft green and was actually quite pretty. It seems that Astra has a better fashion sense then I thought. "Won't your step mother call for you?"

"Yes, but she is angry with me which gives me a reason to not be around." Astra looked like she did not understand my logic. "I do not care anymore. The spell is broken anyway."

"I guess." I was finished changing now.

"What will you do?" She smiled mischievously.

"Play with Blue Jay and Sir Lawrence perhaps. Sing to the flowers. Night is approaching so maybe I will watch the stars." Her voice broke off at the end.

"Very well then. Have a good night."

"You as well."

I left the manor, walking swiftly. I was going to be late. Nearing the gate Ben called for me, but I just turned and waved. I had to hurry. Why? Well, it would have been rude to just stand Chris up. Furthermore, I think he could actually be of some use. I needed some ideas on how to get into the Queen's party and how to be announced at the ball. But I would not bring that up. Not at first at least. Thinking back to how he had acted when he met Astra, I decided that talking about the ball would not be a good idea. But we could talk about other things. Like, uh, what could we talk about? Maybe this was not such a good idea. My face was flushed and my hands were sweaty. My throat felt thick and now my mind had stopped working. What could we talk about?

The sun was setting. It was my favorite part of the day. It looked like all the colors were dancing in the sky. I crossed the River of Dreams and was glad Leo's Bakery was a couple of blocks away.

By the way, Leo's Bakery is the most famous in all of Faylinn. Its all-time rival is the Muffin Man's Bakery but that is in a complete different district. Anyway, everyone hangs around Leo's. The owner is this buoyant man who is older than the sun. His name, surprisingly, is Jonathon Nick.

I was so nervous that as I got closer to the bakery I did not realize the man waving to me through the window was Chris. I completely ignored him. Leaning on the wall of the bakery, I took to watching the lively sky. The door opened. "Hey," Chris said. He was covered with flour. He looked down at his clothes as if noticing them for the first time. "I'll be right back. Okay?" I nodded, barely.

A couple of minutes later the door opened again. "Sorry about that," Chris said whipping his palms on his pants. He took my hand and kissed it gently. "Thank you for joining me my lady." He gave me a brilliant smile. He took my arm and we started to walk. "You are awfully quiet," he said after several minutes of silence.

"You work at Leo's?" I asked.

"Yeah, one of my many jobs. I can get you a discount if you like. But, you didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"Why are you so quiet?" I looked down, slightly embarrassed.

"I did not know it was a question. It has been a long day."

"For me too. The place was packed."

"I thought Hoodlum's were suppose to rob not work." Another smile.

"Not exactly. My Uncle Robin has very expensive medical bills."

"Hum." We continued to walk. The sun had completely set. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," was his answer. That and my favorite smile.

******

"Bon Appetite," Chris said, setting a plate of sizzling food in front of me. It smelled delicious.

"Thank you." He got himself a plate and filled it with food. After walking around for a bit Chris brought me to his apartment in Faylinn and cooked, yes, I know, I was surprised too, us dinner. "How is it?" He asked smiling.

"Great," I answered my mouth still full of pasta. Very elegant. I wiped my mouth embarrassed. "Is your Uncle home?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"No he is probably playing cards gambling away his arm. If it gets too late I will go look for him." He was kidding, but I did not realize that.

"What?" Chris shook his head laughing.

"Forget it. He's not home."

"Oh." Silence. This was not going well. What could we talk about? "It was pretty day today," I said quietly.

"Lovely," Chris replied, teasing me. 'Do you really want to talk about the weather?' his eyes said. "So tell me about your long day." He was comfortable and I wasn't. What was wrong with me?

"Um, I went shopping," I replied after thinking about what I had done.

"All day?" I nodded. "That sounds like torture."

"It was." He laughed again.

"You don't like to shop?"

"Not really. I am not into that kind of thing."

"Then what are you into?" You, I wanted to say. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "What do you like to do Bella?"

"Paint, I like to paint,"

"Really? What do you paint?" He seemed genuinely interested.

"I don't know?" I bit my lip, thinking of something to say. He placed his hand on mine. Now I was hyperventilating. What do I paint? Were these questions really so hard. He smirked at me and I could not imagine how red my face was,

"Well don't think too hard," he said as if reading my mind. I smiled.

After my initial nervousness waned, we could not stop talking. Chris was knowledgeable on a whole range of subjects. I had not had this much fun in a long time. At the end of the night, Chris insisted on walking me home. By the time we reached the manner, I could not believe how quickly time had gone by. Chris gave me a kiss goodnight, longer then the first. It was perfect. Walking into the manor, I was soaring. It seemed as if all my problems had floated away.

Hey everyone! Well there's chapter 8. Wow it's been over a month since I updated, sorry about the long wait. I should be doing my project right now but I had to get this chapter up. So, since I am going to fail the project b/c there is no way I am going to finish in time make it up to me by reviewing. Please. =) Anyway hope you liked this chapter, I do. I love CHRIS. So tell me what you think. I am always looking for ideas or ways to improve. ~Iris Lily~

P.S. Thanks to everyone who is reading, favorited, and subscribed.