Cinderella vs. the Fairy Godmother (sequel)

Chapter 3

           The two by the door had thrown themselves onto the ground, covering their heads with their hands as splinters and dust pattered down around them. They seemed to think it was safest on the ground because they stayed where they were. A few heartbeats later, the dust settled enough that a figure could be seen. He was tall, wide and reminded her of a bear. Specifically a polar bear because his hair was white-blond.

            He caught sight of her and cried “Princess! I’m here to rescue you.”

            Valerie face palmed and muttered “Not another one.”

            The stranger covered the distance between them in a few swift strides. “Princess, I saw your signal and came speeding here to save you. Point out the villain who has imprisoned you here and I will see to his execution myself,” he said, bowing deeply to her.

            She propped her fists on her hips and glared at him. “Oh no. Oh hell no. I’m not doing this a second time. And…wait did you say signal? You mean the blanket trick actually worked?”

            “Are…are you not in need of a rescue?” He asked hesitantly, looking startled by her initial hostility.

            “I was but I’m not anymore,” she replied before turning to Harutyn. “Unless of course you guys intend to keep me here or try and kill me or something.”

            “Of course not my lady!” The greying man cried, eyes wide and lips twisted into a grimace of horror.

            Valerie turned back to the stranger when she noticed the sword belted at his side. “Ah! Where’s my sword? You guys didn’t lose it did you? I love that thing!”

            Harutyn shook his head and hurried over to one of the chairs circling the table. He pulled a scabbard off the back of the chair and came running back. “It’s right here, my lady. I hope you will accept our apologies for what we did to bring you here.”

            She strapped the belt around her waist, before looking up at him. She smiled “Apologies accepted. I understand why you did it even if I’m not particularly happy about it. Provided you let me go and don’t try anything like this again, I’ll call us quits.”

            “So you’re safe then princess?” The newcomer asked, worry tingeing the edges of his voice.

            Val turned to him and rolled her eyes. “Yes. I’m fine. And who are you exactly?”

            “Prince Konah of-”

            “Stop! That’s enough. So you’re Konah. Fine. You can leave now. Thanks for the rescue attempt, but I’m good.”

            “I’m sorry princess but I can’t accept that. Please allow me to escort you to your home.”

            Valerie sighed. “First off, I’m not a princess. Secondly, I’m not from fairy tale land so you’d have a hell of a time getting me home. To be honest, I want nothing to do with you. The last prince to show up turned my life upside down and I’m still mad at him for it.”

            “Another prince? So you’re…”

            She made a face and looked up to the ceiling as if for help. “Cinderella, okay? I’m a frigging Cinderella. By your standards at least. I still think you guys are all more than a little nuts.”

            “But then where is your prince?”

            “I don’t know. Probably looking for me. Harutyn and his people thought I could help them with Amorrt there,” She replied, jerking her chin in the direction of the sleeping prince. “But since I can’t, I’ll just figure out how to get to the palace on my own. Or maybe just stay here and wait for someone to show up since I have no idea where I am.”

            Konah turned and seemed surprised to find someone laying in the bed. “Who?”

            “Amorrt. A regular sleeping beauty now which is an improvement over the ‘let’s go crazy and kill people’ attitude of before.”

            “My lady,’ Harutyn admonished.

          She shrugged unrepentantly. “Try that on someone who wasn’t at the ball that night.”

           “So…Amorrt? needs a kiss to wake up?” Konah asked, staring at the sleeping prince.

            “Yep. Got smoked in the face with a bag of sleeper powder. Harutyn and his lot are trying to find someone to do the kissing but so far, no luck.”

            Konah grinned at them, green eyes crinkling at the corners. “Then I’m glad to be of service,” he said.

            Valerie had opened her mouth to stop him but Konah was faster. He had bent down and pressed his lips against Amorrt’s before she could yell wait. He straightened and looked down at the sleeping prince expectantly.

            She sighed. “It’s not going to work. He’s-” She stopped in mid-sentence, watching with the others as Amorrt’s eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up.

            Darren’s cousin looked up at the faces staring at him and said, voice rusty and cracking with disuse “Is there a problem.”

            Looking from Amorrt to Konah then back again, Valerie quickly lost control and began laughing. She laughed even harder when the blanket over Amorrt slipped and revealed the unlaced tunic he was wearing, causing Konah to yell “You’re a man!”

            She laughed so hard, tears coursed down her cheeks and she had to sit, before she lost balance.