Authors: Maureen McGowan

Tags: #Fairy Tales & Folklore, #Juvenile Fiction, #Adaptations, #Interactive Adventures

Cinderella: Ninja Warrior (33 page)

BOOK: Cinderella: Ninja Warrior

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Ty disappeared from sight and she was about to step back down when someone grabbed her leg from behind and tipped her forward.

Headed straight for the ballroom floor many feet below, she grabbed for the pillars under the railing, but the stone stung her hands.

In shock, she let go and saw her stepmother backing away, the most evil grin she’d ever sported dressing her face.

Below her, everyone shrieked, and Cinderella tried to tap into her magic to slow herself down. But it was no use.

She landed in Ty’s arms.

“Now, that’s an entrance,” he said. “Are you hurt?”

She’d lost her wind, but shook her head as the crowd pressed in around them.

His thumb caressed her back as he held her. “You must have slowed yourself. You landed as light as a feather.”

“Oh, I doubt that.” But she felt so safe and warm in his arms, she didn’t want to let go. Her hands laced together behind his neck, near where his curls were constrained by the black ribbon.

“What happened up there?” he asked.

She bit her lip. “Why didn’t you tell me you were the prince?”

“Are you angry?” His eyebrows rose.

“Not angry, just surprised.” He’d misled her, but she realized that if he’d been honest from the start, they’d never have had a chance to get to know one another.

“That’s good.” His face softened in relief. “Because I have something very important to ask.”

“What do we have here?”

Cinderella stiffened at the sound of her stepmother’s voice.

Ty tightened his hold on her, but she pushed against him and he let her feet slip to the ground, keeping her close by his side.

“Your Highness.” Her stepmother curtsied.“I am so sorry that you’ve been bothered by this lowly servant girl.”

“Madam, I am not bothered by Cinderella in the least.” Ty laced his fingers through Cinderella’s. “In fact, I’m enchanted.” He raised her fingers to his lips, pressed the lightest kiss onto her knuckles, and Cinderella nearly burst with joy.

“You are too kind,” her stepmother said, glaring at Cinderella. “For surely this servant girl nearly killed you with her clumsy fall.” She grabbed for Cinderella’s other hand. “Allow me to escort her from the ballroom. Certainly she took a wrong turn to arrive here.”

“Madam, I assure you there is no need.” Ty tightened his grip on Cinderella’s hand.

“Then at least let me find her a suitable gown.” Her stepmother’s fingernails dug into Cinderella’s flesh as the woman tugged on her arm. The crowds pushed in, eager to see the scene.

“Wait,” Cinderella said. “You will tear me in two.”

“I wouldn’t want that.” Ty dropped her hand.

With that, her stepmother yanked her away, and Cinderella looked over her shoulder toward Ty, but the crowd had already filled in.

“What is the prince thinking, wasting time with a servant?” Her stepmother threw her voice, so the words sounded as though they were coming from several feet away.

“Yes, why dance with
her
, when
our
daughters have yet to meet him?” This time, her stepmother threw her voice in the opposite direction. “Scandalous! Where did that urchin come from? How did she get in here?” Her stepmother continued to throw her voice, creating the illusion that many women shared the idea that Cinderella should be thrown from the room.

Soon, other mothers joined in with cries of dismay and forced their daughters toward Ty, making it impossible for him to break through the crowd without physically knocking some of the young women and their mothers aside. Soon, Cinderella couldn’t even locate him among the huge pack of taffeta, tulle, and tenacity.

Her stepmother continued to drag her out of the room. “You stupid, presumptuous girl.” She glared so hard that Cinderella feared she might burst into flames from the hatred. “How did you break my spell to get here?” She lunged forward and took Cinderella’s chin in her hand, squeezing hard. “You inherited your mother’s magic, didn’t you? I knew I should have killed you years ago. But no, I had to be kind, had to let myself worry what my real daughters might think.”

Cinderella pulled out of her grip and resisted the urge to rub her jaw where her stepmother had gripped her. “Oh, please. You just kept me alive hoping I knew where my mother’s wand was.”

“Where is it?” her stepmother demanded.

“I’ll never tell you. And yes, I do have magic skills. In fact, the royal wizard wants to train me, and he’ll find out about your black magic and—” Panting, she realized she’d shown too much of her hand.

“You ungrateful, horrible child.” Her stepmother spun Cinderella and threw her up against the wall just outside the entrance to the ballroom.

Shards of terror crept up and down Cinderella’s spine.

“You need to be punished for ingratitude and disobedience. Let’s see . . .” Her stepmother pressed the end of her wand into her cheek. “Oh, I have a good idea.” She flicked her wand back through the open doors to the ballroom and a blanket of gray sparks spread over the room and fell onto the crowd.

Cinderella didn’t see anything happen. “What have you done?” She’d been sure her stepmother wouldn’t risk black magic in front of so many people, but she appeared to have been wrong.

“Just cleaning up your mess.” Her stepmother stepped forward, pressing Cinderella into the stone wall behind her. “No one. Not one person. Not even the royal wizard will remember meeting you today. Not one of them will even remember you exist. And I put in a little extra for the prince.”

Cinderella crumpled under the weight of her stepmother’s words.

When she’d woken this morning, all she’d cared about was winning the lessons so she could escape, but now the thought that Ty might forget her was too much to bear. She pushed off the wall past her stepmother and ran into the crowd, looking for Ty, surprised her stepmother didn’t stop her.

“How rude,” a woman dressed in emerald said as she brushed by.

“Who let you in?” a man said in disgust, grabbing her shoulder.

She struggled in the man’s grasp as she called, “Ty! Over here!” Heads turned toward her, and the crowd parted to reveal Ty at its center, another girl in his arms.

He stepped forward, wondering who’d called him.

She smiled, but he looked straight through her. It was as if he didn’t see her, couldn’t see her. She froze in her tracks, trying to process what was happening.

The man pushed her toward the edge of the room, where her stepmother was standing, her arms folded over her chest.

“Thank you, Sir,” she said to the man. “I’ll take her from here.”

“No, you won’t.” Cinderella broke free from the man. All she needed was some time to talk to Ty. Even if he didn’t remember their past conversations, she’d start from the beginning. He liked her—the
real
her. He might even love her, and no matter what kind of forgetfulness spell her stepmother had cast, it hadn’t changed who he was, who she was. She just needed some time.

She looked up at the huge clock at the end of the ballroom and her heart sank. It was eleven thirty. If she stayed, even if she could fight off all the other girls and their mothers seeking Ty’s attention, it would mean the end of Max. Staying and trying to win back Ty’s affections would be selfish. She had no choice.

Her stepmother laughed, and rage bubbled up inside Cinderella, but this was a battle she didn’t have time to fight. Not if she was going to get home in time to save Max. She turned from her stepmother and started along the side of the room toward the door.

Her stepmother landed in front of her. “Do you plan to walk home? We can’t have that.”

Cinderella stepped around her, but her stepmother kept in stride beside her. “It’s very dangerous out there. Especially at night. If you go into those woods, the wolves will surely eat you.”

Cinderella kept her jaw firm. Getting through the forest at night was not without dangers, that was true, but she’d proved today she could withstand more than she’d ever imagined. Right now, facing her stepmother seemed more dangerous than encountering any wolf or thief in the woods.

“I’ve done my best to protect you, Cinderella.”

She was only twenty feet from the front entrance. Once through, she’d break into a run, and surely her stepmother would let her go. Surely her stepmother would be happy if she were eaten by wolves.

“But clearly,” her stepmother continued, “I won’t have done my motherly duty if I let you out tonight into that dangerous forest.” She tapped her wand against her palm. “I must get you safely home.”

Cinderella stepped out the doorway and turned to her stepmother. “You’ve done enough. I can outrun the wolves and thieves and whatever other dangers are in those woods tonight. Please. Just let me go.”

“Not a chance I’ll risk it. You’re too valuable. You need some transportation.” Cinderella realized her stepmother was worried she wouldn’t go home. Her stepmother had no idea she needed to be back by midnight, and thought she planned to escape for good.

“I’ll not only send you home,” her stepmother added. “ To keep you safe, I’ll make sure you never risk this sort of escapade again.”

Cinderella tried to run, but her feet wouldn’t move. Someone . . . some spell . . . had nailed them to the floor. She tugged on her limbs, but her efforts were useless.

Max.
If she didn’t get away soon, she wouldn’t get home in time.

“I have an idea,” her stepmother said. “One that will keep you out of trouble. From now on, whenever you are outside our home, your tongue will be tied.”

Cinderella opened her mouth to object, but it felt as if it had been stuffed full of cotton. Then a huge flash of light blinded her and she was lifted off the ground. Air rushed around her as if she were being pulled through a long, windy tunnel. She tumbled, spun around, and flailed against her will.

She landed on her bottom with a thud, on something hard. The light around her cleared and her eyesight returned.

“Cinderella? Are you okay?” a male voice said, and then a careful hand fell onto her shoulder.

The world came back into focus—she was in her cellar room—and she stood up slowly. When she turned around and saw Max, she let out a cry of joy and threw herself into his arms.

Over the next five minutes, Cinderella told Max everything that had happened. When she got to the tongue-tying part, a look of fear rose in Max’s normally reassuring eyes.“Quickly,” Max said as he took her hand and pulled her toward the cellar door.“Let’s get outside before midnight, and I need your mother’s wand.”

“What will happen at midnight?” She held back.

Max stared down at the floor. “Just come with me, before it’s too late for us to talk.” He flung the door open and she raced to keep up with him as he dashed outside and then turned toward her. “Try to talk to me,” Max said, nodding his encouragement.

Cinderella opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. Her tongue felt like lead. All she could do was make strange, unintelligible noises. She put her hand in her mouth and, though it didn’t seem possible, her tongue was actually tied in a knot.

She looked up at Max, fear coursing through her body like a flame through kindling.

He held out his hand and said, “Give me the wand.” He cast a spell, but Cinderella’s tongue remained tied. This time her stepmother’s magic was too strong for Max to undo.

“Go back inside,” Max said, “before she gets home.” He checked his pocket watch. “I’ll stay out here.”

She grabbed his arm and shook her head.

“Cinderella,” he said softly, “at midnight I’ll turn back into a cat. That was the cost.”

No!
She tried to yell, but only a garbled sound came out. Max was turning back into a cat? That didn’t seem fair. Nothing that had happened in the past hour seemed fair. Just as she’d thought all her problems were solved, they’d all landed back on her in a huge, messy heap.

In the distance, Cinderella heard the tower clock at the palace begin to strike midnight. Worse, she heard her stepmother’s carriage coming down the path.

“Go inside—now!” Max put the wand in his mouth and ran across the garden. At the final stroke of midnight, Max leaped into the forest, his human form changing to a cat in midair. He landed behind a tree on his soft paws, making not even the slightest noise, and disappeared from view.

Her knees crumpled and she dropped to the ground. The cost had been too high. Max had sacrificed his human form for nothing. She hadn’t won her freedom, and she’d lost Ty.

At least Max had the wand. She hoped he could find a way to use it on his own and turn himself back into a man.