“WHAT IF” FAIRY TALE MADNESS BLOGFEST

“WHAT IF’ FAIRY TALE MADNESS BLOGFEST– PART II, THE ENTRY: CINDERELLA

The prince was unexpectedly hideous.

Visiting princesses fled the ball, unswayed by his wealth. Cinderella accepted his proposal, turning a blind eye in exchange for a royal life.

The challenge exceeded her ambition.

“He’s so ugly, I cannot bear to kiss him,” Cinderella bemoaned while brushing her hair. She paused mid-stroke, and eyed her fairy godmother. “Can’t you do something?”

“Stupid girl,” the fairy said, and waved her bony hand before the princess’s mirror.

Cinderella followed the movement, then startled at her reflection. A plain-faced girl imitated every frantic gesture of her distress.

“What have you done?” she cried.

“Undone.”

“Excuse me?”

The fairy sighed. “Your beauty was a spell, seen only by you—a confidence booster you no longer need.”

“No!” Cinderella protested. “My beauty is renowned, I am much admired by all.”

“Your kindness was renowned, your loving spirit much admired. Now vanity consumes both. Handmaids flee your foul moods, the cook cries because she cannot please you—your prince avoids your ill-concealed contempt. You are what you see,” the fairy replied.

“Old witch, get out of my sight!” Cinderella said.

The fairy gave her a sharp rap between the eyes. Cinderella screamed as the chamber went dark. She stumbled about, blind, before falling into a desolate heap.

Fearing her temper, her maids left her alone. Cinderella curled on the floor, weeping, until a warm hand touched her face and a kind voice lifted her from her despair.

Why did I never notice how rich the prince’s baritone is? she wondered, and cried harder when he hand-fed her dinner.

“My love, why do you weep?” he asked.

“Because you are so beautiful,” she sobbed, then kissed him, willingly. At that moment her sight returned, and the prince saw the truth shining in her eyes.

***

A special thank you to Morgan Shamy, Leigh Covington, Cassie Mae, and Mark Koopmans for producing such a creative and fun blog hop. All four hosts are amazing writers– you can visit their page by clicking on their names. Each of their blogs provide a full list of participants and links to the entries. There are so many great stories, you’ll want to enjoy them all. 🙂 

It’s really hard to write a complete story in 300 words, but I did my best and hope you enjoyed it. 🙂 What fairy tale is your favorite– and if you could change one thing, what would you choose?

“WHAT IF” FAIRY TALE MADNESS BLOGNESS– PART I, THE RULES:

WHAT IF?
Fairytale Madness BlogFest!
AUGUST 13th – 17th  

Outwitting the dry heat this summer has been a challenge, and it seems even this blog could use a little rain. 🙂 I’ve been working on LUMEN during the Nanowrimo summer camps, and trying my hand at flash fiction — the latest being my submission for the Fairytale Madness Blogfest, hosted by  Leigh Covington, Mark Koopmans, Cassie Mae, and Morgan Shamy . Come join the blog hop August 13th through the 17th, even if you don’t write you are sure to enjoy the collection of short stories based on the following categories: Plot Twist, Love Story, Tragedy, and Comic Relief.  If you’d like to try your hand at sketching out a scene of 300 words or less, click on any of the links above to learn more about it and sign up!

I chose the story of Cinderella and the category, PLOT TWIST. There’s so much more I wanted to write– it’s very, very hard to limit a scene to 300 words! My entry can be found in the blog above.