Cinderella and the Prince: Who is the winner of the game
My stepsister stole my shoe, claiming she was the one who danced with the prince last night.
She didn't know that the prince had killed someone that night.
And I was the only witness.
*****
Sister, please, give me back my shoe. I clung to Emma's leg, begging desperately. Emma grabbed my hair and spat in my face viciously.
"Pfft, you filthy wretch! How dare you covet His Royal Highness? Go back to the attic where you belong, that's your rightful place."
Madame Franklin and Julia each grabbed one of my arms, pushing me towards the attic. I struggled fiercely, trying to lunge for the glass slipper.
"You can't take it out! You really can't!"
A few days ago, I suddenly found myself in a twisted version of the fairy tale, becoming Cinderella. At first, I thought, how bad could a fairy tale world be?
Until I saw the prince slice open the Chancellor's belly with his sword. After the murder, he stood calmly, using his long blade to lift up a section of the Chancellor's intestines, admiring it in the moonlight.
"Ah, how beautiful."
The bright red intestines dripped blood, and the prince's eyes gleamed with an eerie, bloodthirsty light.
I hid in the bushes, tightly covering my mouth, my whole body shaking uncontrollably with fear.
I must have been shaking too hard because the prince suddenly turned his head in my direction, his gaze sharp and piercing like a hawk's.
"Who's there? Come out!"
I gasped, picked up my skirts, and ran. The prince chased after me, sword in hand. The palace was magnificent, with expensive crystal chandeliers hanging from the pillars on both sides, illuminating everything clearly.
The prince laughed softly behind me.
"Oh, it's the beautiful girl who danced with me tonight—"
His tone was sinister. I turned my head to look; the prince's face was twisted with malice, his long sword still dripping blood, leaving a trail behind him. I was terrified, running faster than I ever had before. But the white jade steps at the palace gate were too long, and no matter how careful I was, I still lost one glass slipper.
I knew he wouldn't let me go. Sure enough, the next day, news of the Chancellor's death spread throughout the country. The king was furious and ordered the guards to catch the real culprit.
Along with the obituary, another piece of news spread across the country: the prince was looking for love.
The prince had fallen in love at first sight with a beautiful girl at the ball. He announced that whoever could wear the glass slipper left behind by the girl would be the next princess.
All the women in the city went crazy.
Emma and Julia started dressing up early in the morning, soaking their feet in milk, praying for this lucky glory to fall upon them. It wasn't until Emma came to my room to look for jewelry that she accidentally found the other glass slipper.
?
"You filthy wretch, how dare you sneak off to the ball behind our backs! If you're so desperate for a man, we'll marry you off to a stable boy tomorrow!"
Madame Franklin grabbed my hair and slapped me hard across the face several times.
Emma clutched the glass slipper to her chest and kicked me hard in the stomach. The attic door opened, and I fell down.
Emma giggled. "Thinking you could be a princess? You should look in a mirror first.
"Stay here like a good girl. If you make a sound, you're dead."
With a loud bang, the attic door was locked. I pounded on the door above my head, my face filled with despair.
This is bad. If they take out this shoe, the prince will surely know I'm here. He'll kill me!
Soon, I heard Madame Franklin's fawning voice from above.
"Oh my, Lord Roderick, why have you come personally—
"No need to try it on, this shoe belongs to our Emma. Emma, show the other shoe to Lord Roderick."
Lord Roderick's face was stern as he held a fine velvet cushion with a sparkling glass slipper on top.
"Everyone must try it on. Oh—indeed, they make a pair. Noble lady, please come with me to the palace so the prince can see for himself."
The other maids and guards all offered their congratulations. Emma excitedly hugged Julia and spun around.
Soon, a flurry of footsteps gradually faded away, and silence fell once again overhead.
I slumped to the ground, my face filled with despair.
My sister's foot was bigger than mine. Once they entered the palace and the prince discovered she couldn't wear the shoe, he would soon come to my house. I had to escape before that happened.
But the attic door was locked, and there wasn't even a window. I had no way to escape.
There were many tools in the attic. I found a hammer and started chipping away at the wall. After an hour, I had only managed to scrape off a thin layer of plaster.
Covered in sweat, I angrily smashed the hammer against the wall a couple of times before throwing it to the ground.
A mouse in the corner was startled and scurried to the other side, squeaking.
Looking at that mouse, my eyes lit up as an idea suddenly came to me.
?
In my impression, Cinderella was always mistreated by her stepmother and forced to do chores. Whenever the housework became too overwhelming, she would start singing, and then many birds and small animals would come out to help her.
This was a special ability of Disney princesses. Now that I had become Cinderella, shouldn't I have this ability too?
I cleared my throat.
"Ooooh ooooh ooooh~ Aaaah aaaah~"
No response. Maybe I was doing it wrong. I continued singing.
"Eeee eeee eeee~ Oooo oooo~"
I sang repeatedly for half an hour, until my throat was dry, but I didn't give up. Finally, that mouse crept out from the corner again.
I was delighted and crouched down to look at it.
"Are you here to help me?"
The mouse squeaked, its limbs twitching, and fell to the ground.
Me: "..."
I sat on the ground hugging my knees. Just as I was at a loss, I heard chaotic footsteps from above and Madame Franklin's shrill voice.
"Oh my, Prince Henry, you've come personally! Heavens!"
I looked up through the cracks in the wooden floor. The prince still carried that long sword from last night. He smiled and gestured for his attendant to press Emma onto a chair.
"Beautiful Lady Emma, is this pair of glass slippers yours?"
Emma's face turned red, and she nodded shyly.
The attendant tried to put the shoe on Emma's foot, but her foot was too wide and wouldn't fit no matter how they tried.
Emma became anxious.
"I... I'm a bit swollen today."
"Is that so? But you must wear the shoe to become my princess."
The prince's expression was cold. Hearing this, Emma desperately tried to squeeze her foot into the shoe, her instep turning red from the effort.
The prince laughed coldly and raised his sword.
"Let me help you—"
The prince's blade fell, cutting off half of Emma's foot. She screamed and rolled on the ground, clutching her leg.
?
Everyone was terrified, but the prince acted as if nothing had happened and calmly turned to look at Julia.
"Beautiful lady, is this pair of shoes yours?"
Julia's face was pale, but unable to suppress her desire to become a princess, she still nodded.
This time, the prince cut off her heel.
Blood sprayed everywhere, dripping through the cracks in the wooden floor. I was terrified, looking around frantically but finding nowhere to hide.
Madame Franklin screamed and went to embrace her two daughters. The prince put his sword to her throat.
"Are there any other daughters in your house?"
Madame Franklin's lips trembled.
"No, no more..."
Despite their severe injuries, both sisters gritted their teeth and insisted there was no one else in the house. The resolve of the mother and daughters to prevent me from becoming princess was unexpectedly strong.
Thank you all.
"What about young maids? None of those either?"
Madame Franklin continued shaking her head. The prince laughed and sat down in a chair, using a clean white cloth to wipe his long sword.
"Well, isn't that interesting!"
The prince waved his hand, and his attendants scattered to search the house. Soon, Lord Roderick ran to the prince's side.
"Your Highness, the attic door is locked."
The prince looked at Madame Franklin.
"This is your last chance to live. Open the door."
The prince's eyes were sharp, his tense jawline showing that his patience had reached its limit. Seeing Madame Franklin standing still, Lord Roderick drew his sword.
"Kill her. You all, go break down the door."
Only then did Madame Franklin react, screaming and crawling towards the attic door.
"I'll open it, I'll open it, don't kill me—"
The sound of keys and chains clashing rang out, and the attic door was forcefully pulled open. A beam of light shone diagonally into the attic.
In the dusty beam of light, the prince stood before me with a wicked smile.
"Ha, found you."
?
The next moment, the smile froze on the prince's face.
My face was covered in ash, my eyes were crossed, and I asked him with a toothy grin: "Who ya lookin' for, mister?"
Prince: "..."
The prince took a big step back in disgust.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the maid, Cinderella. Ain't you a handsome fella, hee hee hee—"
I reached out to touch the prince's face. He frowned and swatted my hand away.
"Someone, bring her up."
Two guards jumped down into the attic and hauled me up. Thanks to my stepmother's mistreatment, I was wearing old clothes patched all over, my hair was full of straw, and my face had several red handprints, which indeed matched the image of a maid.
Lord Roderick looked disappointed.
"Your Highness, this girl doesn't seem to be the one."
I had just breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the prince coldly order: "Put the shoe on her."
Damn it, he still suspects me. Where's the basic trust and respect between people?
I was pressed into a chair by several guards. Lord Roderick knelt on one knee, holding up the glass slipper. As soon as he lifted my long skirt, Roderick turned his head away in disgust.
My feet were pitch black, covered in ash, with my five toes spread wide like sea anemones.
The prince laughed coldly.
"What happened to your feet?"
I smiled ingratiatingly: "My toes are deformed, they've been like this since I was little."
"Is that so?"
The prince paused for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pinched my calf hard.
"Ah—"
I screamed in pain, and my toes instinctively curled up.
The prince sneered.
"Look, all better now."
"Thank you, you're so kind."
I wanted to cry but had no tears left as I watched Roderick stuff my foot into the glass slipper.
?
Of course, it fit perfectly—not too big, not too small, not too long, not too short. The glass slipper on my pitch-black foot looked as if it had been custom-made for me.
Roderick looked awkwardly at the prince.
"Your Highness, are you sure this girl is the one you're looking for?"
The two sisters, who had been rolling on the ground clutching their legs, hurriedly crawled over and said in unison: "There must be a mistake, she didn't go out last night!"
Madame Franklin nodded along.
"Yes, this is my maid. I locked her in the attic last night; she couldn't possibly have attended the ball. Your Highness, she absolutely cannot be the girl you're looking for."
The prince stared at Madame Franklin for a while, then curled his lips into a smile.
"Liars must swallow a thousand needles.
"Roderick, bring out that box of needles."
What kind of psychopath carries around boxes of needles? Watching Roderick stuff silver needles as long as a pinky finger into Madame Franklin's mouth, I was so scared my legs went weak.
Amidst the wailing of the mother and daughters, I was escorted onto a carriage by the guards.
As the wheels rolled, two guards watched me vigilantly from the side. I couldn't find any chance to escape. Soon, the majestic palace appeared before my eyes.
"My dear Henry, have you found your beloved girl?" Queen Eleanor came out to greet us enthusiastically. Seeing my ash-covered face, the queen paused, a flash of horror crossing her eyes.
"This is—"
"Someone, take her away to clean up."
The prince acted as if he hadn't seen the queen and ordered the people beside him. The queen circled around the prince, asking if his journey had been tiring and chattering endlessly. The prince coldly waved her away, turned to Roderick, and instructed:
"Clean her up and bring her to see me."
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