So This is Love (Disney Twisted Tales) - Elizabeth Lim Page 0,57

age, there were many fairies in Aurelais. Good ones, mostly—we fairy godparents were once emissaries to the human world, using our magic to help keep the peace across kingdoms. But there were a few rotten fairies, ones that caused mischief with their curses and dark magic. Because of them, the people of Aurelais started mistrusting us as a whole. The situation became so dire that they began hunting us, and killing us.” The fairy godmother swallowed visibly, and Cinderella reached out to comfort her.

“I didn’t know,” she said.

“You couldn’t have. The king’s council has done its very best to wipe magic’s existence from the entire country. Most people have already forgotten what it was like.”

“Did everyone have a fairy godmother like you?”

“Not everyone,” she replied. “But your grandmother was good to me even when others began to hunt my kind. She sheltered me so I could stay in Aurelais, and when she gave birth to your mother, I swore to repay her kindness by watching over Gabrielle and becoming her godmother—a connection that is not forged lightly. Sadly, as things grew worse, I had no choice but to leave. When I finally gathered enough courage to return, Gabrielle was all grown up, with a daughter of her own.”

“Is it dangerous still? Should you be here? I don’t want you to get in trouble, Fairy Godmother.”

“Oh, child.” Lenore laughed sadly, not quite answering the question. “I owe your family so much. . . . What I regret most was not being here when your mother needed me.”

Cinderella held her breath as her fairy godmother went on.

“You meant everything to Gabrielle. After you were born, I thought she’d finally achieved her happily ever after. I’ll never forgive myself for that mistake. For thinking I could find some new goddaughters and godsons in other kingdoms, and they could replace your mother in my heart.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Cinderella said gently. “You were forced to leave.”

“I was a coward,” Lenore said. “I was afraid of losing my wand. It becomes like a part of you, magic. And we fairies had decided long ago to leave, or else risk losing our wands . . . or worse. So, we left. I left even before magic became illegal. Others were not quite so lucky, forced to leave their homes—their loved ones—with no plan in place. ”

Lenore removed her hood, letting it settle over her shoulders. “Years later, I sensed something was amiss with my Gabrielle. I borrowed enough magic to make a quick trip back to see her. And lo, upon my return I learned your mother had fallen gravely ill. I arrived the day your father took you away so you wouldn’t catch her sickness. I stayed with her as long as I could, but there was nothing I could do. And for the first time, I could understand why so many resent my magic.”

“Why?”

“Because magic can only aid someone’s fate, not change it.”

Cinderella’s chest tightened. “And my mother’s fate was to . . . to . . .”

“Yes, my child. I’m afraid so.” Lenore turned aside to wipe away the moisture from her eyes. “After Gabrielle passed away, I was so grief-stricken that I did not visit your father’s household for many years. I convinced myself it was just that—the inevitable sorrow that follows a loss—which explained the shroud of darkness emanating from your household. Too late, I learned that it was so much more. I blame myself now for the years you endured under that awful woman.”

Her stepmother.

Cinderella inhaled. She clenched her fists, anger stirring inside her when she thought of all the years she’d endured under Lady Tremaine’s cruelty. And all the years her fairy godmother must have endured because of the country’s twisted thoughts about magic.

“It was not your fault,” said Cinderella, taking her fairy godmother’s hands in her own. “You’ve already done more for me and my family than we could ever have asked for. I am in a better place now.”

“Yes,” said Lenore quietly. She shook her head. “But remember, happiness isn’t just a smile. You can’t force it to come true.”

The words made Cinderella’s heart ache. “I wish I’d realized that earlier.”

Lenore squeezed Cinderella’s hands. “Do what makes you happy, Cinderella. That is what I want for you. That was what I was hoping to help with when I first came to you. Go to this masquerade ball with your new friends, put on a pretty gown, and dance the night away. Sneak out into the royal gardens