Selene had only been gone for two hours. The fact that she was returning at all meant that Charmaine hadn't eaten her alive. But two hours was too short for her meeting to have been successful.
Helios had been pacing the hallway floor for the entire morning, leaving a trail of mud and foot scuffs on the floor Elliot had cleaned only a few hours before. It would have to be done again before he left for tonight's ball. Elliot sighed. The fact that he would even be attending the ball felt like a dream come true. The knowledge that he would get to see Charmaine again had his stomach in knots. He would definitely get to speak to her again. The mystery of his sudden disappearance would have been weighing on Charmaine's mind all day. She would be desperate to find out more; he would have to be careful if he was going to avoid slipping up and revealing his true identity. He wasn't sure he was ready to do that yet. If he would ever be.
"Well? How did it go?" Helios stopped his pacing to accost his sister in the doorway. Selene breezed passed him with a lazy wave of her hand. She was humming. "Selene! Details, please! Does she want to meet me tonight? How soon can you introduce us? Did she send a message?"
Elliot nearly felt sorry for his step-brother at the desperate tone his questioning had taken.
"Give up, Heli. She's not interested. I tried my best, but she says you're not her type." There was something about the wording of Selene's answer and the carefree way in which she crushed her brother that set alarm bells ringing in Elliot's head. What game was Charmaine playing with his step-sister?
Still humming, Selene barged straight through Elliot as she passed him and ascended the stairs.
"But what did she say?" Helios demanded frantically as he followed her up. "Is there absolutely no hope? Why did she want to see you if not to talk about me? What else can I try tonight? It can't be too late. It can't." His pleas were cut off by the slamming of Selene's bedroom door.
She didn't emerge for the the rest of the day. When she did, it was in a dress very different to the one she'd had Elliot collect from the seamstress and press for her. This dress had a plunging neckline and clung to Selene's body like molten gold. Sky-high heels lengthened her legs and a ruby the size of a duck's egg hung from her neck.
Helios spat the huge gulp of cinnamon beer he had just taken back out, staining his dinner jacket a luminous shade of orange. "Hoping to catch yourself a husband tonight, sister? I thought the ball was for the princess to window-shop, not all of the kingdom's unmarried maidens."
Selene rolled her eyes at her brother. "So behind the times, Helios; not that I'd expect anything else from you."
"Ready at last," Lord Lebroski said, without passing comment on his daughter's strange outfit choice. He had vanished into her room after her reappearance from the palace and hadn't reemerged until sometime later, his forehead creased in thought. Whatever Selene was up to, her father had sanctioned it.
But what, Elliot wondered, could have left Selene and Lord Lebroski so relaxed about Charmaine's disinterest in Helios? His step-brother was beside himself; his hair dishevelled and the shoes Elliot had polished at 3am that morning were already scuffed. He didn't even seem concerned with the stain on his jacket. Nor did his father, who was apparently no longer seeing him as an eligible match for Charmaine. But Lord Lebroski would never give up on the crown that easily. Not unless Selene had a spectacular marriage option of her own on the horizon. But who could be a bigger prize than the Princess?
Elliot's jaw dropped as the pieces clicked into place. Whatever Charmaine has said to Selene over tea had clearly left his step-sister believing that she had a shot at the crown. But Charmaine would never be interested in Selene as anything other than a play-thing, and a short lived one at that.
He should warn her. Whatever Selene was expecting to happen at the palace tonight, Charmaine would be planning the opposite. He needed to convince Selene that she was making a mistake before she walked straight into Charmaine's trap.
"Selene-" he began, but she cut across him.
"What are you doing here, Elliot? Don't you have chores to be getting on with? If you've nothing to do, you can sort out my room for me - I was a bit preoccupied with getting ready and I've left it a little disorganised. My clothes will all need putting away before I can go to bed tonight. And I dropped a bottle of perfume onto the floor. Do something to get rid of the smell, or it will give me a horrible headache over night. I'll need a new bottle by tomorrow, of course, as well as a new dress. The one you picked up for me yesterday just won't do." She paused for breath, glancing at the hallway clock. "If you leave now, the seamstress should still be in her shop. I've left a detailed description of what I need on my bed - under the clothes. You need to take it to her straight away and tell her that it needs to be ready by tomorrow, no matter what the cost. Stay the night if she needs help getting it done. It's not like you have anywhere better to be." With a haughty smile, she swept from the house, climbing into the waiting carriage before Elliot could even consider following her with his warning. She was swiftly followed by her brother and father, who closed the front door with an echoing crash.
The room. The perfume. The dress. Even with a fairy godfather, Elliot's chances of making it to the ball were dwindling.
"So little faith in me, boy, despite everything I did for you last night."
Elliot spun to the stairs his step-sister had so recently descended. His fairy godfather was waiting at the top, a weary smile on his face. "The brat's demands have already been fulfilled. Although I'll admit I did take a little bit of creative license carrying them out: her clothes are in the wardrobe, which appears to have welded itself shut; the perfume smell is gone, a lovely little bottle left in its place which will smell pleasant to her, but like cat urine to everyone else (spoiler alert: that's exactly what I've put inside it); and that monstrosity of a dress she wanted you to get for her I left exactly as she intended - it was horrible enough already without me having to do anything about it." He sighed. "Sometimes I wish their was a spell for good taste - the world would be so much better for it."
Elliot couldn't help but wonder what a world where everyone shared his fairy godfather's dress sense would look like. Tonight, his hair was back in a lilac plait that dropped down to his waist. His suit was a sparkling sea-foam green in the same cut as Helios'. The only thing that remained the same was the shoes, which were still inexplicably made of glass. "Trade secret," his fairy godfather told him with a wink. "Couldn't possibly tell you how I made them. But in answer to your first question, a world with my sense of style would be a much happier, more beautiful place. Right now, however, our main focus needs to be your clothing. As much as I'd love seeing you walk out as my human replica, I think Charmaine's taste is a little more subdued..." The fairy broke off and started to cha cha across the hallway. Elliot realised he probably should have been used to this by now, but he very definitely wasn't. As the fairy reached the door, he spun around and pointed a long, elegant finger at Elliot.
With a swish and a flick, Elliot's rags were once again transformed, this time into a suit that was ebony black, with sapphire detailing running through the cuffs and trousers. His hair had been swept back, his skin scrubbed until it gleamed. The fairy had even concealed the dark circles that hung beneath Elliot's eyes.
The fairy looked at the clock with a frown. "Time seems to be running away from us once more, but there is something more romantic about an escape on horseback, so I'm content to stick with yesterday's form of transport. I'm sure Charmaine will agree with me by the end of the night." Before Elliot could comment, the fairy twirled him into a tango, danced him across the room before dipping him into a low drop. Outside of the front door, a horse whinnied.
"I always expected fairies would use a wand or something," Elliot said, smoothing down his suit as the fairy lifted him back to his feet.
"Oh, most of us do, but I've always found wands rather dull. There's something so much more dramatic about a good dance," the fairy replied, swinging the front door open to reveal a horse that would give a thoroughbred stallion a run for their money. "Now, enjoy your evening," he continued, ushering Elliot through the door. "Don't worry about your chores, I've enlisted a band of mice to help me with the rest of them. Just remember to leave by midnight, or the magic will reverse and you'll be left wearing rags astride a mouse. Not an image that's likely to set Charmaine's heart aflutter, I'm afraid." He winked again before shutting the door firmly in Elliot's face.
{Was Elliot right to try to warn his step-sister? Should he have tried harder? And wouldn't this story be better if I could somehow squeeze the fairy godfather into every chapter? I might have to give him his own story once I've finished this one! Please comment with your thoughts and vote if you enjoyed! I've also entered this story into the fairytale community's Retelling Awards. Voting for the people's choice category opens on the 1st October; please vote for Princess Charming if you are enjoying it! I'll try to post the next chapter when voting opens so I can give you more details.}