Cinderella’s Lost Midnight
On the night of the royal ball, the night sky stirred with sudden gust of wind, catching everyone by surprise. A diligent royal guard patrolling nearby, stumbled upon a mysterious carriage, unaccompanied and glowing in the dark of the night near the palace. As he peaked inside, he found the carriage was empty with no sign of a maiden but only two lizards and a duck. Suddenly as on of the lizard crawled to his hand, he fell with a scream and that’s when he saw the mouse struggling to stay airborne, desperately clutching a delicate ribbon.
But what he found more astonishing were the footprints leading in two distinct directions. With wide-eyed wonder and fear, the guard ran to alert his comrades at the palace. And so, with an air of enchantment, the search for the missing maiden began, setting the kingdom abuzz with a tale of magic and mystery.
As the kingdom was alerted about the missing maiden, Cinderella woke up in a forgotten library. The entrance of which had been hidden by the vines. Her friends Bruno and Gus called out, urging her to wake up. As she woke up confused. She saw her friends pointing to the scroll and an ink bottle on the table. Soon she touched the ink feather to the scroll, a breeze unfurled it, so strong that bruno and gus were clinging desperately not to fly away.. and the scroll unfolded in the maddening chaos revealing the words, “Your Destiny Awaits You, Dear Cinderella.” And before she could react, they vanished into thin air, leaving behind the empty scroll, dried ink and vines covering the table as though it was empty for years.
Soon the guards following the trail, reached the forgotten library. But as soon as they reached when they looked back, the footprints that led them there, vanished like it never existed.
In the vast sea, with strong currents.. sudden Cinderella found herself on a boat in the middle of nowhere. She realised that all the magic was gone except the glass slippers she took it off and looked at it wondering why was still there when all enchantment was gone. She couldn’t control her feelings and teared up wondering why all this happened to her when all she wanted was a night of magic and to meet the prince. Feel free and herself.
Meanwhile a few miles north the royal navy was suddenly caught into the storm. As they struggled to keep the ship in the direction they were headed. Soon they came close to a tiny little boat, finding a girl all by herself. The handsome prince who was disguised as a merchant, climbed down with the help of his crew and asked in a gentle voice, ‘Miss, are you alright?’.
Suddenly the strong waves appeared and Cinderella’s magical slippers fell into the depth of the sea. The vast sea glowed and the stars danced..
Now all it was just her, her true self, kind and brave. There was no magic..but as she looked into the kind gentleman’s eye she thought that perhaps. Who she is, is enough too. Soon the crew got both the Prince and Cinderella onto the boat.
The Prince and his crew rescued Cinderella and her friends. After they got onto the royal navy ship the Prince offerered her warm food and reassuring her safety. His sweet smile, comforted her and she wondered if she was a merchant just like her father.
The gentleman was kind with words and he ordered the guards to ready his chamber to accommodate the guests of the night. Cinderella graciously thanked him for his kindness and promised to return the favor.
As soon as cinderella and her campanions laid on the soft cushioned mattress with soft blanket to keep them warm in the cold of night, Cinderella hymned the lullaby and soon they passed into deep slumber.
The Prince ..pacing outside the cabin. Kept wondering who she was. The crew could tell, he was completely smitten by her. He wanted to know more about her.
The stars danced ..and sparkled .. unaware of who she met that night, Cinderella slept with a smile..feeling herself and safe.
Next morning, the ship reached the shore at the sunrise, cinderella with much grace offered her thanks, waved goodbye and went ahead.
Nearby, two crooks where paid handsomely to abduct the young merchant and kill him. The father & son duo, were not aware of who the young merchant was, but since they were paid in royal gold coins. They agreed.
After a few minutes passed, the prince realized that he forgot to ask her name. So he ran after her, but the two kidnappers suddenly showed up, knocked him out and took him away.
Suddenly the royal guard alex was alerted of princes abduction. And he went after the crooks.
Meanwhile Cinderella reached the town and learned the prince hadn’t shown up to the ball. Maidens of the kingdom expressed their disappointment.
But on her way home, she saw the handsome merchant, with his hands tied, unconscious being taken by two men. She followed them & hid outside a house. Suddenly bruno barked loudly but before she could look behind she was knocked unconscious and was taken in.
Soon after the Prince's abduction, the kingdom was alerted. Alex and his comrades searched every house and abandoned places, soon Alex came across a dog barking at him. And decided to follow him with his comrades.
In the abandoned house, Cinderella was unconscious, dreaming of the ball dance with the Prince., a happy life.. The prince woke up, but seeing her there he was stunned. He held her hand and tried waking her up. Cinderella slowly regained consciousness. And asked him, if he was alright.
Cinderella, told him that she loved being on the royal merchant ship again, brought back memories. And he asked her., how and when. She told her that her father used to train the prince in his trade. And one time he took her and she met the prince. She talked so fondly and the prince was amazed that he finally found her.
BAAM! There was a loud noise outside, Prince and Cinderella were rescued by the royal guard. The two crooks were taken in for questioning. There was a carriage and Cinderella was waiting for the young gentlemen to come. But all she received was a letter saying, 'We will meet again'. She smiled brightly.
The carriage took her back home, and on her way all she could think of this unexpected adventure that had come to her..like magic..
🪶 On her way to her house, Cinderella was lost in thoughts about the handsome merchant she met and how all this has been an adventure, upon return Cinderella's Step Mother and Sister questioned her and punished her with a lot of chores that kept her busy..
Later that day, there was a royal announcement that the king had chosen a bride and the wedding would be held in 2 weeks. Every girl in the kingdom was jealous, curious and sad but Cinderella was smiling thinking about the handsome merchant, and the thought of meeting him again was something hopeful that she looked forward to.
The next morning a royal carriage came and Cinderella was forbidden to come out. So she went out of the backyard, The king who was disguised as the royal guard, came out searching for her when he didn't see her inside. Cinderella looked beautiful in the daylight, with flowers all around her.
Found you, Ella! Startled at someone calling her Ella, she looked to find the handsome merchant smile at her and then he started saying how when he met her in that shop with her father, how he missed her. Ella was trying to understand so much at this moment. The king then held her hand, got down on his knee and said, 'You've been the girl I've loved since we were going and now that I've finally found you, I can't wait to live the rest of my life with you. Will you grant me the honour of being your king, my queen?'
The royal bodyguard came out with the step mother and sisters and they were definitely not happy about it.
2 weeks later, the palace held a week-long celebration. Celebrating a kingdom that was ruled with Courage and Kindness. Spring felt like love. And King Charles and Cinderella lived happily every after.
*fairy godmother, ✨💕*
The END 💫
