A Retelling of the Classics

Cinderellis-- Part Four of Five

He wears a black shirt with a silken black vest. A glittering pocketwatch is tucked into his pocket and his black pants are tucked into tall leather boots. A white masquerade-esque mask covers one half of his face, crossing his nose diagonally. He looks himself over, "This– This isn't something I would be able to afford. I can't wear this."

"Well, you are," Lousia waves him off and turns to James. James holds out his worn scythe and the fairy waves her wand. It glitters into a shiny silver tool that matches in quality to Ellis' outfit.

James hands it to Ellis and winks, "You'll take good care of it."

Ellis nods his thank you and Mary Clarence steps forward, holding out her skull necklace, "The skull will turn black when the magic is lifted."

Louisa nods, "Yes. You'll only have till the necklace runs out to get the Princess to choose you. Otherwise it will wear off and you will die."

"I will die?"

"Yes," his mother answers, brushing his cheek with her finger, "I do not want you to return to the miserable life you've had with your stepfamily. You will die and come to be with me and we will be together forever."

Ellis shakes his head, "But I–"

"If Belle doesn't pick you, you've no one else to live for, Young Ellis," Mary Clarence says kindly. Ellis knows she is right. And death doesn't scare him. Just the dead do. And when he's one of them, no one will try to haunt him and he will see his mother more often.

But then Belle will never see him.. and he will never see her. She will be forced to marry someone and he will be dead.

"The death will come in a way I will not be able to control, since even magic has its limits," Louisa explains, "The magic will hide you well unless someone is looking for you and can tell enough about you. It will be hard, but if Belle loves you, she will be able to tell it is you at some point."

That makes Ellis' heart flutter. What he wouldn't give to have Belle in love with him.

Louisa looks around and grins, "You, rat, will be a useful ally."

The Rat has no time to ask what she means when she waves her wand and The Rat is lifted into the air. He screams as he flails in the air and Ellis watches as the magic changes him from a tiny rat into a large, silky black horse.

"And you," Louisa turns to The Crow, "Will be at Ellis' side."

With a wave of her wand, the ghostly Crow's body fills in and soon he is a real and alive crow. He ruffles his feathers and caws happily.

Ellis smiles at Louisa, "Thank you so much."

Louisa winks as his mother comes up to him and ties a silky cloak around his shoulders, "I love you son. Good luck."

"Thanks, Mom," Ellis smiles.

Louisa nods toward the horse, "You're already late, boy. Off you go."

Ellis nods and jumps onto the horse. Turning back one last time, he grins, "Thank you."

They all wave goodbye as the horse begins running, disappearing into white mist.

Meanwhile, Belle kindly talks to a young man dressed as a viking, "A dance sounds pleasant. Come find me at the start of the next one! For now, I would just like to get a snack!"

"Of course, my princess!" The young man bows and disappears into the crowd.

Belle lets out a sigh of relief and grabs a drink from a servant's tray, settling into the shadows of the room, watching the dancing.