TLC the Musical

I Know Things Now

The scene switched again, and the focus was back on Cinderella and Red. Sunto could still see the wolves watching from behind the shrubbery. Though he couldn't decide which wolf was which.

"Why would you travel through the woods with a Wolf the size of a bear?" Cinderella questioned. "He could swallow you whole?"

"Why would you run from a prince at the ball?" Red shot back. "He could have asked you to marry him or something. You could have become a princess and lived happily ever after."

Cinderella rolled her eyes and said, "That may be some girls' happily ever after."

Red squinted at her and tilted her head. "I thought every girl dreamed of marrying the prince."

"Did you?" countered Cinderella.

"Touche." The two walked across the stage before Red stopped abruptly. "If you don't dream of being with the prince, then what do you dream about?"

"Well, it's not exactly ... normal," Cinderella said with air quotes around the last word.

Red shook her head and shrugged. "Honestly, what you dream about is probably considered more normal than what I dream of."

Toying with her dress, Cinderella admitted, "I dream of living in a small cottage, on my own. Out of servitude. I want my own life, and the freedom to live as I choose, with whom I choose. Living in a palace ... that would restrict that a bit."

Rather than criticize her, Red agreed, "I know how you feel."

"You do?"

"Yeah." Red stuck her hand in her basket and pulled out a tomato of all things. "I work on a farm when I'm not visiting and caring for my grandmere. But someday, I want to own my own farm and have her live there with me. To make it easier for her to get around and for me to be with her. And to keep a better eye on her."

Cinderella smiled at her. "I guess we both dream of owning our own places to live."

"I guess so," concurred Red.

Sunto thought it was the perfect moment for the two to burst into song and wow the audience. After the performance the Bad Wolf gave, many watching surely needed a new tune to smile at.

Instead, one of the wolves leaped out from behind the bushes. After he showed his face, Sunto recognized him as the Bad Wolf. The one that wanted to eat Cinderella and red whole.

"Hello ladies," he greeted with a devilish grin. "Who's ready for dinner?"

Then, the Good Wolf jumped out of hiding and tackled his brother to the stage. He glanced up at Red and Cinderella and shouted, "RUN!"

They started fighting, punching at one another and trying to bite each other's limbs. Once, the good wolf got the bad one in the jaw and made him howl in pain. "Get out of here!" the good wolf ordered.

Cinderella took off like she was at the ball again. In running away, one of her shoes kicked off her feet. But what Sunto saw next made him think that Cinderella ran from more than just the Bad Wolf.

From backstage, three knights on horses appeared. Weirdly enough, the horses looked like they were made out of wood and paint. On a horse near them, the prince from the ball sat with a stern face on.

"Restrain those wolves," the prince ordered. The Knights dismounted and separated the Good Wolf and the Bad one. They pulled out ropes and began tying them up.

"Wait!" ordered Red. The prince and his knights turned to her, unsure of what to think. The good wolf looked at her the way the prince had at Cinderella before she ran from the ball.

Having their attention, Red told them, "The larger wolf did nothing wrong. When the scrawny one-"

"Hey!" he barked.

Red ignored him and kept going. "When the scrawny one tried to attack me and my friend, the other one jumped in to help us. He doesn't have to be arrested."

The knights, unsure, looked to the prince. When he saw them all staring at him, he said, "You heard her. Let him go."

The knights let go of the good wolf and focused on the evil, cannibalistic one. They dragged him off the stage and took their horses with them. Leaving only the prince, Red, and the good wolf on the stage.

"Are you alright?" the prince asked Red, concerned.

"I'm fine," she told him. "I'm just glad my friend was here to help."

Upon hearing her call him a friend, the wolf blushed a bit. Or the light on him turned red. Either one.

The prince glanced about the stage and saw slipper Cinderella left behind. He maneuvered around Red and the wolf towards it and grasped it in his hands.

"I've seen this before," he said aloud.

Red took a gander at the shoe, and then explained, "I saw my friend wearing that shoe. She'd just ran off before you and your knights arrived."

"What she wearing a blue ball gown?" the prince questioned.

"Yeah," Red answered. "The most practical one I've ever seen." To the side, she told the wolf, "I swear, one day some girl is going to get stuck in one of those things or will fall flat on her face from wearing those insane contraptions."

From that, Red recieved a chuckle from the wolf, and a collective one as well from the audience.

The prince held the shoe like it was a brand new video game, or a good report card from his school. "This is Cinderella's shoe..."

The wolf and Red exchanged looks, then turned back to the prince, a tad weary. "And?" they asked in unison.

"If she left this behind, she couldn't have gotten far," the prince announced, excited. "Maybe there's still hope I can catch up to her!"

"What are you talking about?" Red blared, confused and disoriented. "How do you even know her?"

With a lovesick smile on his lips, he looked over his shoulder and grinned, "She owes me a dance."

Like Batman, the prince dashed off into the woods, never to be seen again ... or for the next few hours. You never know with Batman.

Red and the wolf continued to stare off into the distance, their eyes following the trail the prince left behind. Both of them were dazed and befuddled by the royal with which they'd recently exchanged words.

The wolf was the first to speak. "He seems ... interesting."

Red scoffed, "I thought you were weird. Then I met your brother. And then I met him."

Twice in less than a minute, Red got the audience to chortle at her quick sarcasm and wit. Sunto's mom shook her head with a smile on her face. This sent mixed signals to Sunto. Usually, when she shook her head, it was in disapproval. But when she smiled, she was happy - and approving.

What did this mix of expressions mean?

Back to the play, the wolf found himself agreeing with Red. "I only followed you to keep creeps like my brother from eating you. But ... I'm not sure that the prince has the same intent."

Picking up her basket. "I guess we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, let's go visit my grandmere."