TLC the Musical

7 Years

Channary sat in the front row of the Auditorium, eagerly anticipating the start of Selene's play. She found it so amazing that this very play, "Four Fantastic Fairytales", was the very play that got Channary on the map back when she was Selene's age. She'd played the part of Cinderella back then, and now her daughter was taking on the same role.

Oh, she thought. I can't call her Selene anymore. It's Cinder. Linh Cinder.

Despite reading the dozens of documents on her, Channary still found it hard to call her daughter Cinder. Rather than the name she chose for her little girl while she'd been pregnant with her. But that was history now.

And Channary was just glad to have her daughter back.

What made Channary even happier was that her crazed sister was now in prison, awaiting a sentence that would keep her there for the rest of her life. For the first time in years, Channary felt truly safe. As if nothing could hurt her.

Because Levana had been the only real threat to Channary's safety. She'd nearly killed Cinder, and came after Channary more than a few times. The mere thought of Levana gave Channary nightmares.

Channary and her sister had never gotten along, and Channary had to admit she had been cruel to her when they were younger. But never that horrible. Never as bad as Levana drowning Channary's cat or setting her room on fire. Levana had her own problems long before she'd gone into a feud with Channary. Sadly, their parents had been too ashamed of Levana to admit that she needed help. They let her go one with her disturbed mind.

Maybe, now that she was in the custody of the state, she would finally get the help she needed.

Pushing that out of her mind, Channary watched as parents guided their children to their family's seats. The sight of a mother and her daughter nearly made Channary break down in tears. But she sniffed lightly and turned away, regaining her composure.

Soon, the lights would dim, and the play would start. And if Cinder was half as good as Kaito said she was at acting, she would knock the audience dead. It gave Channary a brief sense of pride, knowing that her daughter had taken on acting like her mother. Her friends said she was also a mechanic, yet Channary found it hard to relate working with cars to playing different characters.

"Is this seat taken?" asked a man at her side. Channary looked up to see an old man, with thin white hair and big, black glasses. He'd aged so much since she last saw him, but she knew it was in fact him. Her old doctor.

"Doctor Darnel," Channary said, feeling conflicted. The last time she saw him was the day she gave Cinder up. She hoped that seeing him again today had nothing to do with any kind of foreshadowing.

She gave him a weak smile. "No, this seat is perfectly empty. I believe all of the seats in this row are empty for some reason."

"That's probably because I reserved them all."

Channary and the Doctor turned to see someone they had both worked with before. Darnel worked with him now, and Channary had been in several movies with him. Rikan Huang.

He strolled over to them and grinned. "When my son told me that you were Cinder's mother, I almost laughed. I should have known her brand of talent anywhere." He gave a knowing smile to Channary, and she knew exactly what it was for.

The first time they'd met, Channary had been Cinder's age. She played a young girl trying to make it through high school, and Rikan played her principal, keeping her on the straight and narrow. How funny, that their children would end up starring in a high school play together.

Channary stood up and held her hand out for Rikan. He took it and they did their special handshake that they'd created after growing close on set. They hadn't done it in years, but they still did it perfectly.

The day Channary heard Rikan was retiring from Acting was like when Luke had to watch Yoda die. She lost her mentor, and father figure. Then again, a lot of girl cried, since they thought of him as eye candy. Channary never looked at him like that. It could have been their father-daughter bond, or the fact that he already had a wife, and she a boyfriend at the time.

Rikan grinned at Channary so brightly. "Can you believe our kids are dating?" he asked.

Channary grinned. "Well, from what I've heard, your son is quite the catch." Of course Channary made Cinder spill the details after catching her kiss Kaito on her first day back to school after her surgeries. What good mother wasn't at least a little involved in what her daughter did?

(And when Channary says "involved", she doesn't mean completely obsessed with her child's personal life to the point where she stalked Cinder to get all of the details or invaded her privacy for information. Get it right crazy parents.)

Rikan glanced at the stage. "I reserved all of the front row seats for parents of the main cast. I believe that includes you, Channary."

She smiled and sat back down, just as Rikan took a seat on the other side of her. A few more people joined them. Two men and two women Channary recognized as the Clays and the Hayles. while she wanted to apologize for everything her sister had to them, they assured her that they had no grievances towards Channary. Only her insane sister.

Another woman came, and Channary knew who she was instantly. She stood again, trying to muster together any words to express how sorry she was for causing that woman so much pain.

"Madam-" was all she could say before the old woman held up her hand, silencing Channary. Her eyes were cold, unfeeling, and otherwise unreadable.

Her lips were pursed in a permanent scowl. "Your sister was to blame for what happened to my granddaughter. Not you. You did not call in the anonymous tip, you did not coerce my son into joining the gang that helped hold her against her will, and certainly did not cause me any trouble by asking me to take your daughter somewhere Levana would never find her. Do not give yourself so much credit, Miss Blackburn."

Channary let go of the breath she'd been holding to say her long, excessive apology. But if there was anyone who would be so done with everything to just silence her and tell her she was overthinking everything, it would be Madam Michelle Benoit.

But the french woman was not done yet. "And do not even think of blaming yourself for giving up your daughter. Her life was in danger because of Levana, not you. And Cinder probably never would have grown up to be as kind and generous as she is here. She is a wonderful girl with a lot to look forward to. If she's stayed in that godforsaken house, she might not even be alive today. So do not blame yourself for a thing."

"But-"

"No buts!" Michelle proclaimed. "You are not to blame and that is that, young lady! You are not responsible for everything." She sat down next to Doctor Darnel. "You Hollywood actors always think you are at the center of everything. Sit and watch your daughter in her play. This is about her." The old woman looked up at her, but her gaze wasn't as cold anymore. "This is her moment. Don't corrupt it with self pity."

The lights dimmed, and Channary knew that was a stage cue for people to take their seats and get ready for the show.

But Channary still had one thing to say. "Thank you, Madam Benoit. For bringing Cinder to this place. You helped her become such a wonderful young woman." Only after saying that, did Channary take her seat.

She was ready for the show to being. And to see her daughter be an even better Cinderella than she'd been back in high school.