Embellished With Lies

Chapter Twelve

"Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are!" Tessa shouted, jumping up and down on the bed like a madwoman. "Up above the world so high! Like a diamond in the sky!"

I groaned loudly. "Tessa... why? It's only..." I looked for an alarm clock or something, but I couldn't find one because they weren't around during that period of time. "It's still dark out."

"Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are!" she continued, not even listening to what I had just said to her. She then started the song over. "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder-"

"What you are," I cut her off. "I get it. Tessa, are you aware of what time it is?"

"Up above the world so high!"

"It's early."

"Like a diamond in the sky!"

"The sun's not even awake yet," I pointed out to her.

"Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are!" she sang without a care in the world.

I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down onto my lap. "Tessa, it's early."

"So?"

I sighed. "People are still sleeping."

"They are?" she inquired, looking up at me.

"They are," I said. "You should be quiet so they can get some rest."

Tessa nodded. "I guess so." She paused. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Sleep, maybe?"

"But I don't wanna." She sprawled out like a spider on the bed and rubbed her eyes.

"But you're tired," I murmured quietly. "You need to."

"But-"

"Shh..."

---

Tessa did end up falling back asleep, but I remained awake, left to think about our situation. I still had absolutely no idea how this was possible. It didn't seem logical; in fact, it wasn't logical at all. And the mirror... there were probably thousands produced. It wasn't just Tessa who owned one. So... did that mean that everyone who has one of the Cinderella mirrors can fall into this world? Or was it just Tessa's mirror that... malfunctioned? If it was just Tessa's mirror, why? Why hers?

What if this was just a dream?

Several variations of that thought crossed my mind until about seven, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said, my voice still raspy from last night's sleep.

The door opened up, and in came a young woman pushing a cart full of food.

"I'm Felicia, one of the cooks," she introduced herself as she wheeled the cart closer to the bed. "The Queen has requested that you eat a filling breakfast before both Emma and Ingrid come up and prepare you for the dance."

I nodded. "Alright, thank you so much."

Felicia grinned a little before she backed up towards the door. "Enjoy, and Emma and Ingrid should be here within the next thirty minutes or so."

"Thanks again."

She disappeared down the hallway.

I glanced down at Tessa, who had her head buried under the fluffy pillow and her foot sticking out of the covers. "Tessa..." I shook her lightly. "You gotta wake up."

She didn't even stir.

"Tessa..." I said, a little louder. "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are!"

"Bubby... stop..." she groaned. "You're embarrassing yourself."

I rolled my eyes and let it go. "We can eat breakfast now."

She perked up at the sound of food. "Really?"

"Yeah, Felicia just brought it up," I told her as she sat up, yawning.

"Who's Felicia?" She asked me, scratching an itch on her knee.

"She's a chef, and she made us breakfast this morning." I gestured to the cart. "See?"

"What is there?" Tessa asked, sitting up a little straighter. "Is there anything good?"

I looked over at our breakfast and observed the food for the first time since it had arrived. The plates were the fanciest of china, and the food on it looked fancy as well. Something that looked like scrambled eggs, bacon, and orange juice caught my eye, and there were also biscuits, berries, orange slices, and even a crepe of some kind.

"Ooh, bacon!" My sister exclaimed, jumping out of bed and grabbing a plate before putting several pieces on it.

"Doesn't it look good?"

She answered the question by stuffing one right into her face. Her expression changed from looking excited to looking like she was going to throw up really fast. "Bubby?"

"What?" I asked, fearing the worst.

"This isn't bacon."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Well, if it isn't bacon, then what it it?"

"I don't know..." Tears started spilling out of her eyes.

"Hey," I started, wiping the drops of water out from under her eyes. "Why are you crying?"

"Because it tastes like a butt," she cried and snuffled her nose.

I chuckled. "Then spit it out; it's okay." I held the plate up to her chin as she spit out the meat, or whatever it was, onto the plate. "See? Why don't you try something else, alright?"

She nodded. "Okay." She grabbed one of the spoons and dished up some of the berries onto a new plate. Once she took a bite, her face perked up a bit. "These taste like raspberries."

Smiling, I nodded. "Yeah, it's probably because they are raspberries." I paused. "Are they good?"

She nodded again. "They're a little sour, but they're still tasty."

"That's good," I said, grabbing a plate of my own and dishing up biscuits, scrambled eggs, and the crepes. After taking a bite of the fluffy biscuit, I couldn't help but grin. "Wow."

"Wow what?"

"The biscuits are the best I've ever tasted," I muttered, taking another gigantic bite. "They're better than Mom's."

"Nothing is better than Mommy's biscuits," Tessa commented. "Well, except for maybe Grandma's. And maybe chicken nuggets."

I shook my head and handed her a biscuit. "Tessa, you have to try these. They are way better than Mom's biscuits, crazy as it seems."

Tessa took a small nibble of the bread, and a smile took over her face. "Wow, this is good!"

Laughing, I shook my head. "See? I told you so."

"Wow, I guess you did." I rolled my eyes as she continued. "I can't wait to try the pancake."

"It's called a crepe," I told her.

She looked at the food for a second before she shook her head vigorously. "No, it's a pancake. That's what I'm naming it." She paused. "Can I have a pancake?"

"It's not a pancake."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "It is now."

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Hey! What's up? Nothing much on my part. I've been so bored since summer started haha. Hopefully things will pick up!

Thoughts? Next chapter is when they get ready for the ball!

Keep commenting and voting!

Thanks! Love you!