Dreams of Stars (A Once Upon a Time/Jiminy Cricket fanfic)

Dreams of Stars Part 32

Distressed, Kaelin stepped out into the night and looked out across the sea. There was a tall, grassy hill sloping down from Geppetto's workshop with broken, stone stairs leading to the shore. The beach was made of chipped, gray stones, and there were rock islands just off the coast with pine trees growing on them. A cold breeze blew up from the darkened waters, making Kaelin shiver. "Where are they?" she whispered.

"Kaelin..." said a voice from behind her. She turned around. It was Nova.

"Do you know where they are?" Kaelin asked, tears coming to her eyes.

Nova nodded, but the worry in her face was frightening. "They're gone," she replied, "N-not dead, but...somewhere dangerous. Pinocchio was tricked. He was enticed to a place called 'Pleasure Island', and Jiminy went with him to try to convince him to change his mind. When Geppetto found out they were gone, he sailed out to find them."

"But they'll be all right, won't they?" Kaelin pressed, "They won't die?"

"I don't know," Nova said, shaking her head quickly, "I only hope they'll be all right. As I said, it's dangerous. I don't know much about this Pleasure Island, but I do know it's not what it seems."

"What should I do?" Kaelin pleaded, frightened, "Should I go after them?"

"I don't know how you can," Nova said regretfully, "I think the only thing you can do for now is go back to Cinderella."

Kaelin bit her lip. Nova was right. There was nothing she could do. Early the next morning, she took the first merchant's cart back to Cinderella's town. Fear for them churned in her stomach—fear especially, she had to admit, for Jiminy. He was in danger. What would she do if he died?

When she returned to Cinderella's house the morning after, however, Kaelin was immediately caught up in a whirl of excitement. There would be a royal ball tomorrow evening—a ball to see who would have the prince's hand in marriage! Cinderella's two stepsisters were nagging her more than ever. She had to make sure their dresses were clean and perfect for the ball, and that everything was in place. Of course, when no one was looking, Gus would be the one making sure the dresses were in tip-top shape. It was his specialty.

Cinderella wanted to go to the ball more than anything. "If I could go," she whispered to Kaelin, "I might meet my true love there. I know it's...a silly, girlish notion...But you meet people at balls. Maybe one of them will love me and take me far away. If only I could go!"

In fact, Cinderella wished so much to go to the ball, she even managed to work up the courage to ask her stepmother. Upon hearing the timidly stated idea, the stepmother flew into a rage. "You? You want to go to the ball?" she demanded, "And in what? Those rags? Aren't you even thinking, girl? You need to have a nice dress to attend a ball! You at least need to be clean, and you can't even do that! Don't bother me!"

The tone of the stepmother's explosion had been so horribly familiar to Kaelin that she wanted to run away and curl up in a corner, but instead she listened. The stepmother hadn't simply forbade Cinderella to go. Instead, she had basically said it would be impossible on account of her lack of a nice dress. The stepmother probably hadn't meant she would let Cinderella go even if she did have a dress, but Kaelin saw a glimmer of hope nonetheless. She ran to find Gus.

Upon hearing Kaelin's excitedly whispered plan, Gus looked at her aghast. "What? You want us to make a dress for her? In one night? You're crazy, Kaelin."

"Yes, but...it might give her a chance," Kaelin urged, "You're great at making clothes. You helped me make that outfit for Jiminy."

"I helped you make a cricket-sized outfit," Gus pointed out, "What you're talking about is a full-scale, human-sized project. In one night."