Little Red Cinderella and the Three Beanstalks

Previously...

"Relax. You've just got hay all up in your hair. Seriously, Rikki, you're a mess, you know that?" He commented ever so politely.

"You know Ezu, have I ever told you how sweet and sensitive you are before? How you always know just what to say to lift my spirits?" I remarked with saccharine sweetness.

"I know I am." He replied simply. He reached out, and plucked a piece of hay out of my hair. As he did so, his hand brushed the side of my cheek. I automatically flushed and turned my head away.

"Alfred, how much farther is it?" I asked, clumsily changing the subject.

"Not much." He answered.

"How much is not much?" I pressed. The wolf sat up a little straighter, and looked at something above my head.

"Oh, I'd say about twenty feet."

Jack, Ezu and I all spun around, and were met by the sight of a castle straight out of every little girl's dreams looming marble white against the setting sun.

*************************************************************

"...Holy cow," I finally managed to splutter, staring wide-eyed at the magnificent castle before me.

Ezu rolled his eyes and leaned forwards, placing his hand on my chin and closing my hanging jaw while I gaped open-mouthed.

"Er, you okay, Rikki?" Jack asked, looking at me uncertainly. I shook myself from my reverie and gave him an incredulous look.

"Okay? Am I okay? How could you even ask that? I mean... Look at it!" I flailed my arms at the looming castle. "It's Cinderella's castle! Like, for reals! It puts Disney World to shame!" I could barely contain my excitment. The castle was everything I could have imagined and more; there were turrets and towers, and little spindly bits sticking up from every available ledge. The entire building was made out of polished white marble which gleamed like a star in the bright sunlight, and the little girl inside my heart had a stroke just looking at the glorious monstrosity.

"Hey, Rikki, don't have a heart attack," Ezu snorted, patting me non-too gently on the back. "We've still got to rescue the princess, remember?"

"What?" I said blankly, before I remembered the reason why we were here in the first place. "Oh. Oh right. Cinderella." I tore my eyes away from the castle, and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. "So. We've got a princess to rescue. A princess, who now happens to be a pumpkin. We've rescued princesses before, but as far as I know, this is our first time trying to rescue a pumpkin. We know she is in the graveyard pumpkin patch thing, and we know she was transformed by her stepmother, who is at the ball. So I guess we need to... ahem, apprehend the Stepmother, bring her back to the pumpkin patch and... um..."

"And what?" Ezu asked sweetly, batting his mismatched eyes at me.

"Aaaand, that's as far as I've gotten." I admitted sourly. "But if you happen to have any ideas, Mister Better-Than-Thou, feel free to suggest them at any time!"

"Erm, Rikki, what exactly did you mean by 'apprehend' the stepmother?" Jack interjected, a tad uncertainly.

I waved a hand dismissively in the air. "Apprehend, kidnap, it's all the same when it comes down to it," I replied carelessly.

"Ah. That's what I thought you meant." Jack said, his face falling.

"My dear, do you really think that is the best idea?" Alfred added, giving me the same look Jack had.

"I dunno, I kind of like it," Ezu cut in, brightening up for once. "We could storm in and take everybody at the party hostage, and dramatically reveal the great wrong done to Miss Cinderella at the hands of her wicked Stepmother."

"Um, no. It's not going to go down like that." I said, pointing at Ezu. "And you," I directed my glare at Alfred now, "Don't think you're getting off that easily. You're going to help us."

"Me!" Alfred said, looking as astonished as a wolf can. "Why my dear, certainly you can't mean--"

"Oh, I do!" I replied firmly. "What, don't you want to be a hero? Imagine what good publicity your... er, Anti-Big-Bad-Wolf protest movement thing will get if you help rescue a princess!"

Alfred's furry face fell slightly. "I suppose..." He muttered uncertainly.

"That's the spirit!" I clapped him on the back heartily. "It's time to save the world, boys!"

~Cliched Time Lapse~

The man who had so kindly let us hitch a ride on the back of his cart made us pay five silver pieces before he let us get off. After that, we managed to get lost, pickpocketed by a five year old, get yelled at by an old woman after Ezu caught and threatened to beat up said five year old, almost get chased out of town after Alfred was spotted on three different occasions, and then I stepped in horse crap. By the time we reached the crossroads, I was this close to saying "screw it", and run away to the Carribean with Jack and Ezu and let the world suffer.

The crossroads was one of those creepy ones you hear about in stories about the devil. You know the kind, in the middle of nowhere with seven streets converging at one point? The rickety sign post in the center gave slightly mistrustful directions in faded, misspelled writing.

They were, in this order:

Cassl
Tavyrn
Market Plase
Town Skware
Galows
Evrywere Else
Gravy Yard

I assumed "Gravy Yard" was not, in fact, a yard full of gravy, but a cemetery.

"Which way now?" Ezu asked, looking blankly up at the signs.

"Well..." I said, thinking hard. I'd made it this far without thinking of a plan, but we were out of luck this time. We needed a battle plan. "Well, that castle is that way," I pointed down the road to our left, "And the cemetery is that way." I pointed to our right. Alfred, Ezu, and Jack were looking at me expectantly. "And... um..." I stammered, at a complete lost at where to progress after that.

"'And um' what?" Ezu prodded, eyebrows raised.

"Why are you looking at me?" I snapped suddenly, stomping my foot childishly. "Since when have I ever come up with a good plan? Since when have I ever come up with a plan at all? Stop looking at me!"

Jack and Alfred looked slightly abashed, but Ezu snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Well, that didn't last long." He remarked coolly.

"What didn't last long?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Your sudden burst of leadership. You have been taking charge for the last couple of chapters, and for once, I didn't have to come up with every brilliant plan. But you know what they say, all good things must come to an end."

"If I could just get my hands around your throat-"

"Okay then!" Jack called over my threats. "Did you have any particular plan in mind, Ezu?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." He replied stoically, sticking his tongue out at me as he did so.

"Oh do enlighten us lesser folks Good Sir Ezu, what exactly is this brilliant plan of yours?" I said, my tone driping with sarcasm. In response, he gave a rather wicked grin.

"Huddle up. This is gonna be good."

~Another Cliched Time Laspe, And A POV Switch All In One Convienient Package!~

((3rd Person))

The ball had started out as a splendid success. The prince, while obviously not strictly excited about the turn of events had at least shown up roughly on time and was preforming his princely duties without vigor but passably nonetheless.

All of the eligible young women in the entire Kingdom had shown up, as requested, and quite a few who didn't fit either of those previous catagories had come as well nonetheles. Everyone was dressed in his or her finest, the entire ballroom alight with the glint of pearls and jewels at women's throats, the sheen of soft silks and the rustling of taffeta. The chandelier over head sparkled with a hundred candles shining through the crystal droplets, sending sparkles of light thrown across the gold-gilded room like twinkling stars.

The King and Queen sat in their thrones at the head of the room, surveying the progression of the ball with benevolent gazes. In the middle of the dance floor, the Prince waltzed rather listlesly with a lovely young woman whose cholocate colored hair cascaded elegantly over her slim shoulders. She was beaming up at him through her lashes, hardly able to contain her excitement. His gaze wandered, his eyes slightly glazed with boredom.
All around them, the few men in attendance who had managed to convince a girl to dance were trying valiantly to lead their partners, but every female eye was fixed on the Prince's every move. Those girls who weren't dancing stood along the walls in tight knit groups, trying to look becoming while simultaneously glaring daggers at the lucky girl who the Prince was currently twirling around the marble floor.

Set slightly apart from the others, standing by the open doors that led out into the moonlit courtyard, were three women. Two were young, and while not the most beautiful girls in attendance, still lovely enough that they had been approached numerous times by young men seeking a dance. Everytime however, the men had been turned away-- but not by the girls. The third woman was older, the fine lines of age etched into her still handsome face, and grey streaking her thick, shiny black hair. She was the girls' mother, and the step mother of ayoung woman, named Cinderella, who for rather unusual reasons couldn't be present at the ball that particular night.

The woman peered coldly out across the sea of heads, her piercing black eyes fixed on the Prince.

"Mother!" The eldest girl whined, stomping her heeled foot impatiently. "You said I could dance with the Prince tonight! He hasn't even seen us! How is he supposed to dance with me if he doesn't even know I'm here?"

"And what about me, mother?" The younger daughter pouted, grabbing ahold of her mother's flowing silver sleeve. "I want to dance with the Prince too!"

"You'll both have your chance," the woman snapped sharply, shaking her daughter off her. "I will take care of it. Just keep quiet, else you'll send the Prince running the moment you open your foul mouths. Look pretty, but keep your inane whining to yourselves!"

The girls fell silent, their expressions sour. Their mother narrowed her eyes at them warningly, before turning back to fix her gaze upon the Prince once more.

He was, of course, exceedingly handsome. He had thick, lustrous blonde hair that fell in natural waves across his forehead, occasinally spilling over his bright blue eyes. He was tall and stately, with his brosad shoulders thrown back and a certain effortless elegance in his every movement. His face was young and smooth, his jaw line strong, his eyes quick and appraising. He would be quite the king one day, no doubt.

As the woman watched him dancing, the dark-haired woman in his arms suddenly melted away, replaced by a golden haired beauty, her face alight beneath the glow of the Prince's gaze, her dress floating about her slender legs as if it were as light as the moonlight.

The mother snarled, and the vision vanished. Once again, the Prince held the brunette, his expression bored and aloof. It was all too easy to imagine that Cinderella at his side. He had been so taken with her the past two nights, and the Step-Mother could tell why. The girl had been transformed, from a lowly, homely scullry maid to a Princess. The change had been so drastic the Step-Mother hadn't even recognized her ward the first night. But she had begun to suspect the truth, and then, when she caught her step-daughter in the pumpkin patch...

The woman shuddered. No. It had been an accident. There had been magic in the air, what had happened to the girl wans't her fault. She felt no guilt.
The woman shook the memories off, and stoof up straighter. The song had ended, and the Prince was disentangling himself from the brunette's grasp. It was time to make their move.

"Oh Your Highness!" The woman called loudly, slapping a charming smile onto her face and grabbing her daughters by the arms, leading them like cattle into the center of the dance floor. "Over here, Your Highness!"