So This is Love (Disney Twisted Tales) - Elizabeth Lim Page 0,75
whispered as she looked into the mirror. There was no answer. Perhaps the fairy had borrowed too much magic and could not get to her. Cinderella went on, hoping her godmother could hear her from wherever she was. “All is well now—between the prince and me, but I haven’t forgotten about you. I’m going to tell Charles about the ban on magic. Once he hears more about the situation, I know he’ll confront the Grand Duke and talk to his father about reversing it.”
Cinderella paused, gently touching the mirror with her fingertips to seal her promise. Then she made her way out of the servants’ quarters, ready to meet the prince. She did not know what the afternoon would bring, but she had more hope in her heart than she’d had in a very long time.
She was just rounding the hallway with the portraits when she heard it—a familiar voice calling her name.
Cinderella. Cinderella.
Startled, Cinderella came to a stop. The gallery was empty. . . . Where was the voice coming from?
“Lenore?” she whispered. “Is that you?”
The painting to her right shimmered. It was one she had noticed before—of Genevieve and Arthur—and the voice seemed to be coming from the volume under the Duke of Orlanne’s arm, with the obscured title, Enchantments. . . .
“Yes,” whispered her fairy godmother. Her voice was tremulous and faint. “My child—”
“Did you hear me earlier? I have such wonderful news. About Charles.” She blushed. “I mean, the prince. He knows it was me at the ball, and he . . . I think he cares for me. He’ll help you, I know it.”
“Oh, my dear, I know you think you’ve solved it, but . . . perhaps you need to know more about what happened. Why magic is forbidden.”
Cinderella drew closer. She couldn’t see Lenore, but the outline of a pearly white wand glimmered from the spine of the painted book. Her godmother was there. “I’m listening.”
“Years ago, when the queen was born, all the high fairies of Aurelais blessed her with gifts: beauty, charm, grace, kindness, wit—and lastly, selflessness. As she grew up, she brought joy to everyone who met her, most of all to the king. But there were those who sought to take advantage of her kindness, the Grand Duke’s father being one of them.
“One winter, a terrible fever spread across the kingdom. Out of the goodness of her heart, the queen sent all the royal physicians to look after the people. There weren’t enough doctors, so on some days, she went, too. Then things worsened, and the fever took her.”
Cinderella drew a sharp breath. “Poor Charles.”
“It was a dark time,” Lenore continued. “The Grand Duke’s father took advantage of the king’s grief. For years, he’d been threatened by the power fairies possessed, by the influence we could have on the court. He took advantage of the growing distrust and fear already rampant in the kingdom against our kind. He blamed us for making the queen too kind, too selfless. Rallying those who were already rounding up and executing fairies, he hunted the high fairies who had blessed the queen and destroyed their wands. The king, distraught, listened, and he forbade magic in Aurelais and banished all fairies, warning that it we ever returned, not only would our wands be broken, we would be imprisoned for life.” Her voice deepened. “That is why we have been living in exile.”
“Oh, Lenore,” Cinderella whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“I tell you this only so you are careful, my child,” said her godmother. “There are those in this castle who are very content with the way things stand—the present Grand Duke being one of them. I have heard that he has taken up his father’s causes with gusto.”
“What about the Duke and Duchess of Orlanne?” Cinderella asked. “I found something in the library that I think they wrote to one another years ago, about trying to help.”
Lenore smiled sadly. “The Duke of Orlanne did his best to fight the ruling, and he lost much of his support in the council doing so. He and the duchess warned many fairies when the Grand Duke would begin his hunt.”
“The duchess is back now,” said Cinderella. “She could help. And the prince . . .” Cinderella couldn’t give up the idea that things could be different—for all of them.
Lenore’s voice brightened slightly. “The prince’s love is what you deserve, my dear. But the duke will be suspicious of you once he learns of Charles’s affections. Even more so if you