When Cinderella's slipper slides onto the foot of her batty-eyed sister what is she to do? What is Prince Charming to do!
Prince Charming's ridiculous idea to find his mysterious princess is doomed when her glass slipper slides on the foot of one batty-eyed miss. Now he is destined to marriage to the wrong girl if he cannot find the girl of his dreams in time. But his mother, the queen, and her feisty twin (Cinderella's fairy godmother) have a lesson to impart--impulsive decisions do not a future king make!
Excerpt
Cinderella hid in the shadows of the darkened corridor praying her light colored frock would not draw the attention of Prince and his cousin.
But, alas, luck was not with her. At least not good luck. Prince strode from the chamber, Sir Arnald fast on his heels. Surprise lit his eyes when they landed on her. His slow smile ignited a pulsating fire through her veins. She dare not dwell on the pleased expression. It did not bode well, at all.
The stick in her hand started to vibrate with a thrumming energy. Reverberating up her arm making its way through her entire body. Before coherent thought rationed through her brain, she held it out—freezing the two men quite immobile. Horrified and shocked by her actions she looked at the stick, dumbfounded, not sure at what she'd accomplished or why? Mayhap, she could make them forget they'd seen her?
Her hungry gaze raked over Prince. Then a positively evil thought took hold. She could test the theory. Of course, if he did remember she would be mortified, humiliated and would generally end of absolution of an untarnished reputation. Her sisters and she had already stacked enough bad deeds against them to have them drawn and quartered—a feat fatal to any commoner. But somehow in the moment she could not seem to make herself care. She just wanted to touch him. Just once more, before the inevitability of his and Essie's impending nuptials.
Was that so terrible?
Of course it was, the prim practical voice in her head screamed even as she stepped toward him.
But one kiss, who would know besides she? Loud silence filled the passageway. One more step found her in touching distance. Spicy soap assailed her senses, and before she could stop herself, Cinderella closed her eyes, tipped up on her toes and touched the corner of his mouth with her lips. The feeling of floating on air enveloped her. Heart pounding furiously, she lowered her heels, opened her eyes. Stepped back. There was a lovely firmness contrasting with velvet softness. She brought her fingers to her mouth.
Time suspended, holding her prisoner. She’d never acted so indecently. She stared at him as if he were Eros, come to life, yet he remained still as the statue, itself.
"Nicely handled, my dear."
Startled, Cinderella jumped back, the stick clattering to the floor.
"Ah, there it is. I wondered where I’d misplaced it."
Shamed burned through her. Her deplorable behavior fastened her in place.
"Oh, Fairy Godmother. I am…I—" Cinderella took another step back.
The distinct crack of wood had her gasping for air. Oh, no. No, no, no. She'd broken the magic stick. This could not be happening. Hands flew to her flamed cheeks. She waited for Prince to snap out of his frozen reverie. Denounce her very life. But not so much as a flicker of his eyelash fluttered. She dare not move. "Oh. I…I…" Her voice croaked in the horror.
Fairy Godmother's dainty palm came up to halt Cinderella mid-sentence. "Did you break it, do you think? My wand, dear? Thank the heaven’s you found it. ’Twould not do for it to fall into nefarious hands.” She dipped forward and swiped two distinct pieces from the ground.
Professional Reviews
A smart Cinderella
After years of collecting fairy tales from many cultures and comparing the similarities and differences, I was delighted to see this modernization of Cinderella's story. While I would like to have seen more character development that supported the action, the story moved along well and the characters seemed believable. I did get a bit lost once or twice as to which royal page or guard or sister or aunt was moving through a scene, but quickly realized I had been reading so fast to get to the end that I misread a section or even skipped one or two. A charming resolution, as might be expected. Fun for young people, not just the girls, to see that it takes two to make a successful pairing that can endure ups and downs.
Really like the twist to this classic
This version keeps you guessing. One moment you feel for Cinderella, the next the prince.. but wait...what about Arnold? My heart most goes out to Esmerald. It took me a few times to realize that instead of a typing error, the prince just can't remember her name for the life of him. :-)
Wonderful,
Such a wonderful version of Cinderella. I have read it several times now and still find it as charming as the first time I read it. And with way the story progresses I wouldn't even minded if my teen age niece reads it...
welcome to AD, I enjoyed reading your informative review, I look forward to reading more of your work ... why not add an article, some short stories and poems ... the more items you feature on your site the greater the opportunity for readers to notice your page, come and read and respond
Book I of Southern Swallow Series – 12th Century scholar Li K'ai-men takes command of his first official assignments during a time of political unrest and barbarian invasions.
