Bippity Boppidy BOO

I'd like to say this was a dreamy Princess fairy tail, but I'd really be lying. No, this is something a little more dark and tortuous. You see, there is a young woman Cinderella, 18 years old, living with two older sisters and her horribly wretched step-mother Dawn. Cinderella was a kind and simple soul, beautiful dirty blonde locks that grew to her lower back. She was mostly average in size, just as she was in looks.

At the age of 9 her father fell ill, shortly after his marriage to his new wife, and passed without warning. He had not been himself for some time, and seemed to worsen each day. During his last weeks Cinderella did not leave his side, she slept on the floor next to his side of the bed, only moving to give him water or grab a new book to read him to pass the time. Finally the day came when he passed, his last breath to Cinderella was to ask her to promise to take care of thier family no matter what.

It took one restless night for Cinderella to come to completely despise her step-mother. For she crawled out of bed to get some water, and overheard her speaking to another woman over some wine about a dark sinister secret.

"You are a Succubus for god's sake Dawn... you could have any man you want... a king! Why did you settle for a duke with a little brat no less!"

Dawn responded with a teasing smile "Because the whole package was... pleasantly surprising." She then took a sip of her wine, tasting the dark red liquid as it flowed past her teeth and onto her tastebuds. "And it's not like I pulled his soul out slow, I was only married four months before I drained him... I think that's actually a record for me." She boasted. "And why did you keep the little brat?" her friend asked. "Simple, so me and my girls never have to lift a finger. She earns her way in my house , that will never change."

Cinderella listened in as she learned her two new sisters were also Succubi, but would not recieve their powers till the age of 18. How her step-mother made a deal with a demon named Araz about 60 years ago, for and her future children's immortality and eternal beauty, at the cost of destroying souls that would then be fed to him. The most horrifying part was realizing how it was Dawn who killed Cinderella's father, after feeding on his soul till he didn't have the energy for life to continue. Where was his soul now? Chills ran down her spine at the thought.

Years had passed, but Cinderella still felt like an outsider and was treated accordingly as said outcast. Her sisters got new clothes and belongings frequently, while she was left with all their old hand-me-downs. Her step-mother did not need to hire help when she had her young obedient step-daughter to take care of house and home.

Cinderella was always the one stuck with the chores while everyone else spent their time lazing about the fair sized home, shopping, and eating their fill of her home baked treats. Her sisters would make a point to intentionally make a nasty mess any chance they could, breaking things, spilling, even going as far as to bully her by spreading cow manure all over her bed and belongings. They made it a game to find as many ways to torture her as possible every day. Dawn would strike Cinderella with a switch when displeased, even allowing her daughters to use physical force to "keep her in line", in which they always crossed the line. So Cinderella spent day and night cooking and cleaning and tirelessly making sure the two story home was spotless as to not gain another scar.

When her father was alive he was in no sense of the word poor. He left a good inheritance to his family after his passing, but after many years of the mother and daughter's frivolous spending it was time to find a new support. The step-mother never remarried, nor did she seem to have any intent on doing so, but she had big plans for her two blood daughters. She would marry them off to wealthy high status men, and live in their castles, spending their treasures freely as she pleased until the life force was drained from them and it would be time to move on.

The step-mother made a point to teach her the girls her disgust for men, but the necessity to have them in their lives. She basically drilled into them the importance of money and status. She lectured them on the art of seduction, and the skills of the Succubi. "Nothing you will ever have a clue about Cinderella." one step-sister snarled. The other giggled behind her hands.

There was news of a Ball coming up in the lands greatest Kingdom Olaria, because the young reclused Prince was finally ready to find his new Princess. Some of the Kings messengers were sent to homes of higher stature, and with whom lived daughters of a relevant age, in search of those who might befit the future Queen of Olaria.

Cinderella's step-mother sat in her old wooden rocker every day by the front door, waiting for tidings of good news for her daughters. Finally the day came, 'KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK'. Cinderella was ushered to her room, ordered to remain quiet until the company left. But Cinderella could hear under the crack of her door.

"Your family is hereby invited to the Grand Ball to present themselves in front of the King and Queen, and their son, Prince William as he finds his desired bride to be." Dawns girls squealed with delight, she threw them a sharp daggared glance and they immediately became still, looking down at the floor and twidling with their toes. "How many daughters do you have attending?" one gentleman asked Dawn. "Two, the third is spoken for." Cinderella spoke under her breath hastily "That's not true!"

"It is the kings orders that all single women from the age of 18-21 attend the Ball, regadless of endowement status." Dawn scoweled deeply "We shall be there then." she said as she curtsied and extended her hand toward the door.

The messengers handed them the invitiation and excused themselves. As soon as the door closed behind them the three women let their excitement burst out, already colaberating on dresses and shoes. Cinderella let herself out of her room, a sense of excitement building inside of her. As she walked down the stairs to her sisters she felt the chill down her spine, dead silence, piercing stares. "This will not be anything more than a trip to support your sisters for you. Obviously the Prince will have no desire for an ordinary girl like you." Dawn bumped into her shoulder as she brushed past into the other room.

Cinderella knew her step-mother was right, with her sisters powers she would have no chance. She felt a pang of guilt hit deep inside her chest as she thought about the poor Prince and what they were going to do by seducing him then destroying his soul, she couldn't handle the thought of it. And it wasn't fair. She was a good person, she had never hurt anyone, and she should have just as fair a shot as anyone. She deserved a good life and a decent husband, but she was too afraid to stand up to her step mother about it.

She went up to her room and looked in her closet, she had one dress from one of her sisters old dances. It wasn't a bad dress, white with shimmering sequens running along the side, making three lines that formed into one. But the strap on the left shoulder had torn and was pinned back on, and there was a small orange stain on the lap where someone had once spilled punch. She wondered just for a split second if she would get a new dress for the occasion but quickly shut the thought out of her mind, knowing it was a pointless daydream.

She went to her dresser, where she pulled out the top drawer, and in it a little wooden box that had a flower hand-painted on the front. It was small and beat up, but held much value to her, for it belonged to her mother, and in it so did the little pair of pearl earrings. It was the only items her step-mother allowed her to keep before discarding everything else to the trash. She put them in her ears and looked at herself in the mirror. Wow, her dad was right, the resemblence between her and her mother were uncanny. If only he could see her now. "These are perfect." she thought.

Twas only one night till the ball, and Cinderella was picking a pumpkin for that dinners soup. Fog lightly covered the garden patch, the moon just starting to light the night. "Bippidy Boppidy BOO." a voice said from behind the barn. Cinderella fell back, dropping the pumpkin as it splattered all over her shoes. "Oh no, now what shoes will you wear to the Ball?" the man said coyly as he stepped into plain sight. He was well dressed, clean, obviously not a commoner. "Who are you?" she said while trying to clean the mush off herself. "The name is Araz... does that ring a bell?" Cinderella's mind shot straight back to that dreadful night.

"What do you want?" she asked with part fear, part curiosity. "To offer a helping hand." he replied, the moon light hitting his eyes in the most eerie way. "Why would you want to help me?" she asked confused. "Well we would be helping eachother really, if I'm being honest." He took a step closer. "A demon being honest?" she said in a snarky tone, Araz half-smiled. "So you do know me." Cinderella then took a step closer to him "Are you here to make a deal with me like you did my step-mother?" she asked. "I'm here to help you secure your new Prince charming." he responded while giving a gentlemens bow. "I don't need your help." This made Araz laugh uncontrollably. "Cute girl."

"Look Cinderella, I can give you the power you need to seduce the Prince, even stronger than your sisters and moth-" "Step-mother" she interjected. "Right, step-mother... anyways I know you want love and happiness and blah blah blah... so here is the deal, you can drain his life slow, live his full life out with him; but then his soul is mine. And you will be future Queen, immortal, beautiful, and unstoppable... what do you say? Would you like to be more than just a slave? More than ordinary?"

Cinderella pondered quietly for a moment, it was almost a tempting offer. Eternal beauty, status, freedom, wealth. "I appreciate your offer Mr. Araz, but I must politely decline as I don't need to cheat to find love." Araz was not used to being turned down such an offer, he was captivated by Cinderella's resolution. "A fun wager then?" he suggested. "You know I can just make you a Succubus right now, I don't need your permission. In fact that was my intent when visiting tonight... I need more souls. But let's say I give you until mid-night, night of the Ball, for the charming young Prince to fall in love. You go there as... well you, and if you win his heart then I will leave you be. If not, well you will be my new best Succubus and him another victim of your family." Cinderella saw in his eyes he wasn't bluffing, and this was her only chance of staying herself and saving the young Prince from an otherwise nightmarish fate.

"Very well then, you have a deal." It was sealed with the shake of a hand.

"I'm feeling generous right now, you have no shot in those rags you're planning on going in, so here is a little good luck token. Don't worry, I won't bust out in song, it will just be up in your wardrobe. Goodnight my little flower." And just like that he disappeared into the night.

She went up to her room and found in her wardrobe a beautiful blue dress made of lace shoulders and a pearl-like hue. And with it, a pair of slippers.

The night of the Ball had come and Cinderellas step-mom entered her room. "I don't know where you think you are going or how you managed to get that hideous dress, but you will not be attending. I will not be seen with you and you will not ruin your sister's night." Before she could posit that the messenger explicitly stated she was to join, Dawn stomped out of the room, heels clacking on the wooden floor.

Without her families carriage there is no way she would make it that far, she felt hopeless and broke into tears. The poor Prince, and what about her future? She fell to her knees and started to pray to whoever might be listening. No one answered back, she heard nothing. Her heart sank.

Just then she heard a mouse run across the floor, and right after, the house cat Lucifer chasing it down the stairs. She screamed at Lucifer to stop and hastily followed. He chased the mouse in circles in the living room until Cinderella opened the front door to let the scared thing free. They both darted out as she chased them. But she stopped dead in her tracks, as in front of her by the garden sat a giant metal pumpkin on wheels, two horses from the barn had been fastened to the front, making an odd but beautiful carriage. The mouse ran straight behind the wheel, and moments after a man appeared, looking quite... rodent-like. "You are not alone...Whenever you are ready My Lady."

She climbed in and sat down as she began to stare dreamily out the window... she was on her way. When Cinderella arrived at the ball she was in wonderment at the beauty of the castle she beheld. Parents and daughters were still making their way in to the castle, the daughters adorned with beautiful dresses and fancy jewels. Cinderella lifted her hand to her ear, lightly rubbing her Mother's pearl earring, and mustered up the courage to proceed into the Castle.

She was disheartened to see that her oldest Step-Sister had already locked herself on to the Prince, both smiling and laughing in unison. "Oh no!" she thought to herself, was she too late? Even if she made it over to him what would she say? She felt more ordinary than ever.

She happened to glance over at a table as that little mouse was racing right on top of it, straight past the fruits and cheeses, and straight for... a candlestick? "DON'T!" her mind screamed out, but plunge at the candle the mouse surely did, knocking it right into the decorative linens and ropes hanging from high from the ceiling. Panic immediately set in as Cinderella's eyes followed the linens up, and all the way to the center of the room, where hanging from it, was a pristine crystal chandelier. Directly underneath that chandelier was the Prince! Without thinking about it Cinderella slipped her slippers off and charged the unsuspecting Prince, "Look out!!" The startled Prince looked over long enough to see her face, then felt as she shoved him to the side.

CRASH... was the next thing people heard, glass shattering every direction, daughters screaming for their parents in hysteria. The drapes had fallen and the fire had been squelched out by the guards, so smoke was covering the room. All eyes went to the Prince as his men helped him off the ground, he looked seemingly unharmed. Next all eyes shot to the girl who lay lifeless, her leg under the mighty glass frame of the chandelier. She layed there face down, her hair covering her face, unable to identify her. As the Prince got his bearings he turned and saw the still girl, gasping as he reached towards her, his guards pulling him back.

Suddenly they heard a small muffled cough. As Cinderella came to she felt the gaurds pulling the chandlier off her, and sheer pain run through her ankle. She froze... she had just ruined the Princes Ball! She was horrified and certain she would be arrested for knocking him to the ground. Without a second thought she bolted up, keeping her head down in a way that allowed her hair to remain covering her face. She stumbled to her carriage and ordered her rodent faced driver to take her home.

Cinderella cried all the way up to her room fearing she had just ruined any chances of winning the Prince, that her sister had beat her to it. She let the weight of her eyelids take over as her tears flowed into her dreams. She woke up early the next morning to the sound of sinister laughing in her ear, now conscious the weight of what had happened hit her like a ton of bricks. Before she could think much more on it Dawn charged in the room looking straight to her ankle. She called for the doctor, and then scolded Cinderella for ruining her sisters night with the prince, making sure she knew she would be paying back this debt for the doctor to tend to her injury.

When the doctor arrived he assessed her ankle curiously and began to wrap it, also bringing along a pair of crutches. "Use these and keep weight of the ankle." He told her finishing up. Dawn asked why he was grinning so much. "Have you not heard the news?" He continued to explain that the Kings men were going house to house looking for the maiden who saved his life last night, and how she was to be returned to the Castle immediately upon the Princes request. With that news Dawn rushed the doctor out the door.

Dawn looked at her youngest daughter "Fetch the crutches from Cinderella and go wait in my chair." She then looked at the eldest "Go take Cinderella to her room and come back and wrap your sisters foot." The girls jumped on the orders, her step-sister grabbing her arm and dragging her up the stairs to her room. Once shut in her room, the sister joyfuly ran down the stairs to get the supplies for sisters foot. "Do not fail me." Dawn said looking at her youngest "Yes mother." she answered, getting more cozy in the wooden chair.

It felt like hours had passed when they finally heard a knock on their door. Dawn invited them right in and led them to where the young girl was sitting. She explained the nights events and how brave her daughter had been in rescuing the Prince. Her young daughter winced as she pretended to get a pain in her ankle "I would do anything for the Prince." she said with a coy smile. The men told Dawn to go fetch her things, and that the rest of the family would be summoned later. Dawn was delighted. "Oh I almost forgot." said the main guard "I'll need to see your earring miss." Dawn was taken aback "I'm sorry, her earrings?" The guard clarified "The maiden left one of her earrings lying by the Chandelier after she fell, the Prince would like to see the matching one. So pull your hair back please miss." The daughter hesitated "I uh-I put new ones in today" she said as she pulled her hair back and exposed two large ruby earrings. "She has tons of earrings" stated Dawn "If you just give me a moment I will go fetch the other."

Cinderella could hear everything, and her sister had only shut her in, she forgot to lock the door. As soon as she heard Dawn was going to come take her earring she knew she had to act. She burst out the door, held onto the rail, and hopped down the stairs where she pulled her hair back and said "It's mine, the pearl earring belongs to me." Dawn shot Cinderella the sharpest of glares while the guards assessed her ankle and earring. "Shame on you madam, now go and collect her things."

Cinderella was in disbelief at what was happening, she had won! Dawn was told she and her daughters would be collected at a later time. Cinderella smiled inside for she knew that she would not allow them to live in the castle with her, so they would only be coming to visit. She climbed in the carriage and was on her way to her new home...

As she pulled into the Castle grounds she saw the Prince was there waiting for her outside. He grabbed her hand and helped her out of the carriage. She timidly put her hair behind her ear, not even thinking it would expose her missing earring, the Prince took her hair on the other side of her face and gently tucked it behind her ear. "Pearls, my mother's favorite." he smiled as he put the missing one in. "My mother's as well." she said, smiling back.

Cinderella was shown to her quarters and told to get aquainted, she was admiring the room when she heard a noise in the closet, she turned to see Araz step out of it, grinning with that same sinister laugh that had woken her that morning. "Hello my little flower I have come to collect my debt." he said slowly stepping towards her. "But he chose me" she responded with confusion. "He did not fall for you until he saw you today little one, and you had till mid-night... technicalities, you know."

Cinderella's heart stopped...beating, she felt it no more in her chest, a cold chill ran through her body. "I am collecting you now, and will eventually collect your Prince. But I like you little flower, much more than your dreadful Step-mother." He made sure she heard him enunciate correctly. "And I like your style in getting his attention at the Ball, so I will grant you this one choice. His soul is mine, but I will allow you to drain his life force as slowly as you can, so you may still live a 'almost' full lifetime of happiness with your Prince Charming." Cinderella's eyes started to feel with tears. "But once that time is up, I will collect his soul." Araz paused in silence for just a moment. "Or... I will leave the Prince's soul alone, and you will come with me now to another kingdom where you will start taking souls for me right away, never to see your prince again. But he will live a full life and his soul will not be damned."Cinderella did not want to hurt the Prince... but she knew if she did go that path, she could stall and would not have to destroy as many souls. She knew it was the lesser of the two evils.

With a tear running down the smooth skin of her cheek and down her neck, she removed her earrings and put them back in the wooden box, placing it in the top drawer of her new dresser.

"Enjoy your life with your Prince while you can little flower, I'll be back before you know it." Araz said with a bow, gone before Cinderella could glance upon him once more.

TO BE CONTINUED...