"Why wouldn't Cinder rather live there?" Cinder asked.
Ralph sighed. Why couldn't they just stay quiet through this? "Cinder probably would like to live there, but he didn't expect that it would happen," Ralph explained. "So, putting that aside, we'll continue on. Cinder did his best to complete the tasks and was about done when his ugly step-brothers started sabotaging his efforts."
"Why would they do that?" the older girl asked.
"Because they didn't like Cinder. They were jealous at how capable Cinder was and how much better he looked than they did," Ralph answered, not as bothered by this question as the other ones for some reason he couldn't quite explain. "So, they would deliberately track mud over floors Cinder had scrubbed so very hard to clean, they would bump into Cinder and pretend like it was an accident, when he fell over. In the end, he wasn't able to make it."
"So Cin-der di'n't make it to th' ball?" the younger girl asked.
"We'll get to that," Ralph said calmly. "So, after Cinder finished the tasks, it had only been five minutes after his step-father and step-brothers left. He was distraught at how he had just missed his chance. He went out to the tree that had started growing the day his father died and told everything that happened to the tree. He wasn't sure what would happen, just that he needed to say everything."
"What happened then?" the older girl asked, drawing an annoyed look from her other siblings, telling Ralph that they wanted to ask that. Which Ralph couldn't help but find amusing.
"Well, Cinder heard a kind voice tell him that his intentions were pure and he would be provided with a carriage, steeds to pull it, and a gown to wear that would be like nothing the others would wear," Ralph said, not hesitating to add the dress in, given how Cinder and his brother were wearing hooded dresses. "But he would need to return at the end of the ball or everything that happened to him would be taken away."
"Where'd the carriage come from?" the older girl asked.
While the younger boy asked, "Where'd the gown come from?"
Yet, the younger girl asked, "Wha' th' gown look like?"
Ralph sighed. He couldn't say when he'd actually get through this story. He hadn't planned on spending much time on it, but it was looking like he might have to play twenty questions while he told the story. Though, he had to admit that he was at least able to make headway on getting them occupied, though he wasn't sure what purpose this was providing.
"First, the carriage came from an acorn in the tree and the horses were transformed from mice that were living in the roots beneath the tree," Ralph replied, not sure if what he was saying made much sense. Though he was happy that it seemed to satisfy his listeners. "And the gown was a sky blue that was trimmed with a royal blue, made from the leaves of the tree. Its sleeves came to the middle of his upper arms and fit him perfectly. The skirt covered him all the way to his ankles and he had golden earrings and golden slippers."
"Gold?" Cinder asked. "Why would he get such worthless earrings and slippers?"
Ralph didn't know how to respond to that. After all, gold wasn't what he would have considered 'worthless,' but it was good to know about another difference in this world. "Because of how they looked with the dress," Ralph said, hoping they wouldn't challenge him on that. He could only come up with crap so fast and he worried that his ability to keep shoveling it wouldn't reach a limit if he got pressed on it. Though a line from song came to mind as he tried thinking of a response. "Besides, anything plain can be lovely."
However, this seemed to satisfy the kid and Ralph let himself take a breath of relief before continuing the story. "So, Cinder rode all the way to the palace, imagining what the palace might look like," Ralph said. "When he arrived, he didn't bother to try and meet with the princess, like all the other guests were doing. He only had eyes for the luxury he saw all around him. He travelled to the gardens, through the halls, and even the throne room even though it was empty and dark."
"Why wou' it be dar'?" the younger girl asked.
"Because they weren't using it, stupid," the older girl replied.
"Don' call me stupi', stupi'!" the younger girl protested.
"Stop it," Ralph warned. "If you don't stop, I'll stop the story."
In a way, Ralph hoped they wouldn't stop. That way he could have an excuse as to why he'd stop telling the story. Primarily because even though he had already decided to tell the story this way, the weirdness of it all was starting to get to him. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to finish without bursting into laughter. Purely because of how ridiculous he thought this whole thing was.
However, both girls looked more scared that Ralph would stop. Which actually made him as they quieted down. He was so close to being able to have an excuse to stop this blunder he'd made.
"Anyway, as he wandered through the palace, one person noticed that he wasn't paying any attention to the princess. The person that all the other guests were fawning over and trying to get her attention," Ralph continued after a minute.
"The princess noticed!" the younger two children chorused, delighted.
Ralph nodded, struggling to keep a straight face and then the amusement out of his voice when he continued. "Yes, it was the princess who noticed. She was curious as to who wouldn't be trying to get her attention, as the whole point of the ball was to find her someone to marry," Ralph said. "Cinder however, would have fled in fear if he knew that the princess had noticed him. He didn't think that he would have been worthy of notice from the princess at all."
"Wha' the pri'cess' name?" the younger girl asked.
"Uh," Ralph hesitated. He couldn't remember the name of the prince in the original story at first, but then it came to him, though he found it harder to keep a straight face as he said, "Princess Charming."
"Oooooh!" the children said in awe.
Ralph felt his mouth twitch as he chuckled. Partly because of their reaction and partly because of the name he'd given the princess. Though, he was able to quickly get it under control.
"So, Cinder was entering the ball room to look around when he realized that the dancing was about to begin, though he turned to leave, because he didn't have anyone to dance with and was sure no one would be interested in dancing with him," Ralph continued, adding a few details to try and bore himself more than his audience, in hopes that it would ease the weird feeling about it. "Yet, as he turned to leave, Princess Charming stopped him. 'May I have this dance?' she asked him to his surprise."
"What'd he do?" the younger boy interrupted, his eager expression making Ralph feel like he probably should have chosen a different story altogether.
"If you give me a chance, I'll tell you," Ralph said, wondering what possessed him to choose this fairy tale to work with. Even though he knew he really didn't know any others.
"Yeah, let him tell the story," the older girl admonished.
"Sorry," the boy replied, meekly.
"Anyway, yes, Cinder did agree, mostly because he wasn't sure what else to do. I mean, which one of you would be able to say no to a princess right now if she asked you something as simple as that, right?" Ralph asked, earning confused looks from the children in front of him.
After a moment, Ralph sighed, feeling a headache coming on. "So, they danced. While Cinder hadn't planned on doing this, he enjoyed the dancing. Not just with the princess, but in general. Dancing just made him feel so free."
"Does dancing really do that?" Cinder asked, sounding like he was somewhere else in his mind.
"For some people it does," Ralph answered. "So, throughout the rest of the ball, Princess Charming never left Cinder's side. No matter how many others came to try and get her to dance with them, Princess Charming only had eyes for Cinder. Cinder couldn't help but feel like he was living a dream."
"So romantic," Cinder breathed, making Ralph need to suppress a gag. If it was one of the girls, he was sure he'd be fine, but hearing a boy say that made him feel like the weirdness was increasing. Again.
"However, no matter how much he enjoyed his time dancing or at the ball, like with everything, the end came sooner than Cinder liked," Ralph continued, hoping to get through this story and vowing to himself to never repeat this again. To anyone. "When Cinder realized that it was minutes away from the end of the ball, he remembered what he'd been told. He apologized to Princess Charming and started to make his way out of the palace as quickly as he could."
"Didn't anyone stop him?" Cinder asked, his expression showing how wrapped up in the story he was.
"No one knew what to do about him," Ralph said. "Princess Charming hadn't given any orders to have the guards stop Cinder, nor was there any reason for them to deny a guest to leave."
"Cinder should have stayed," the younger boy cried in protest.
"But Cinder had been told that if he stayed passed the end of the ball, that everything would be taken away," Ralph reminded his audience.
"Why would that be?" Cinder asked, looking like his own dreams were being crushed.
"It just was," Ralph answered, not in the mood to shovel more crap into explanations for why things happened in the story.
"So, he never saw Princess Charming again?" the older girl asked.
"I didn't say that either," Ralph asserted. "You're making a lot of assumptions when the story isn't over." Ralph paused a moment, a sadistic glint entering his eyes as he thought of how to have some fun teasing these kids. "Unless you want me to stop here."
The horrified expressions on their faces made Ralph want to laugh out loud. Long and loud. Even though he didn't really care to do this in the first place, he couldn't say that moments like this were actually making this worthwhile.
"Okay then," Ralph said. "Cinder was already halfway down the steps when Princess Charming called out to Cinder begging him to stop. Cinder didn't pause as he continued running, but turned to look back and lost one of his slippers. When that happened, he focused on continuing back to the carriage that brought him there."
"Couldn't Cinder have explained why to Princess Charming?" Cinder asked softly, his face full of fear.
Ralph couldn't help but chuckle as he was sure Cinder was afraid of the story stopping. "Cinder's mind was full of doing what the voice had said and it didn't occur to him to say anything."
"So how did Princess Charming find Cinder?" the older girl asked.
"Cinder made it back to his home and as he stepped out of the carriage, the gown disappeared, the carriage and steeds returned to their original form, and Cinder was left back to how he had been," Ralph continued, ignoring the question as if he hadn't heard it. "When his step-father and ugly step-brothers returned, they were so completely immersed in their conversation, trying to figure out who it was that had completely dominated Princess Charming's attention that they didn't even think of Cinder at all. Not even to see if there was anything they wanted him to do before he went to bed, like they did every night."
"Didn't they see Cinder at the ball?" the younger boy asked.
"If they did, they didn't recognize him" Ralph answered. "Days passed and soon word spread that Princess Charming was searching for the one she'd danced with the entire ball. She had found the slipper that Cinder had lost and was going around to see if it fit anyone."
"Why would that be the way to find him?" Cinder asked. "Couldn't the slipper have fit anyone?"
Ralph couldn't help but feel impressed at Cinder's sharp mind. Why indeed? Though, a good piece of crap came to Ralph's mind as he thought of the answer.
"Because Cinder's feet were smaller than anyone else's, not that many realized that," Ralph said, partly wondering where he was coming up with some of this crap. "So, everyone was to present everyone in each household, no matter what position they held for the Princess to check when she came around. Although, Cinder's step-father was determined to get one of his sons to get married to the princess. He couldn't imagine how it would work out any other way."
"That's how Princess Charming saw Cinder again!" the older girl exclaimed.
Ralph nodded. "Yes, but when the princess arrived where Cinder lived, he was busy doing chores, so he wasn't aware of what was going on. He continued working, though his step-father didn't let the princess know that Cinder was even there, despite them being ordered to have every male brought out."
"How did his step-father think that he'd get away with it?" the younger boy asked.
"Some people will do things that you would think that they were too smart to do," Ralph answered, pushing out some of the pranks he'd pulled in the past that suddenly popped into his mind. "So, the princess pulled out the slipper and handed it to the step-father telling him that his sons were to try it on and she would see if it fit."
"It didn't fit, did it?" the older girl asked.
"I'm getting there," Ralph said, feeling like he should have been annoyed at the interruption rather than amused. "Cinder's wicked step-father tried to fit his oldest son's foot in it, but it wouldn't fit. His heel was just too big for it, so he took a knife out to cut the heel off so it would fit."
"How did he not cry out in pain?" Cinder asked, his eyes full of awe.
"Uh," Ralph hesitated. He wasn't sure what to say to that, but quickly came up with something that he hoped would be accepted. "He was just that kind of person. It takes a while for him to actually feel any pain when he got hurt."
"Oh," Cinder said, though Ralph wasn't sure if he understood what Ralph had said or not. Even though Ralph wasn't really sure if that was a thing or not. It was just something he remembered seeing somewhere somewhen.
"Well, as he started walking in the gold slipper, the princess was about to accept the oldest ugly step-brother when she heard the birds laughing at the foolishness of the princess," Ralph continued. "So she looked at the slipper again and saw in the footprints of the oldest step-brother blood where the heel had been cut off. She immediately called them out on what they were trying, so the oldest step-brother took the slipper off and went back to his father, sulking."
"Did his heel grow back?" the older girl asked.
Ralph shook his head. "No, it didn't grow back. His foot was left like that for the rest of his life," Ralph answered. "Anyway, the step-father then took his younger soon and tried fitting his foot in the slipper, but his big toe was too big. So, the step-father cut it off."
"Why did he do that?" the younger boy asked, looking like he would rather be listening to something else, despite his rapt attention to Ralph.
"Because the step-father wanted one of his sons to marry the princess and pull the others to live the good life in the palace as a result," Ralph answered. "So, the younger step-brother walked over to the princess and the princess was about to take his hand when a bird called out wondering why there was blood where the big toe was supposed to be. The princess then looked and saw blood soaking into the slipper where the younger step-brother's big toe used to be. She called them out again on what they had done and demanded for them to return the slipper. She was disgusted that they would do such a thing and when she had the slipper back, she turned to leave."
"What about Cinder!" the older girl blurted. "Princess Charming hasn't seen him again yet."
"Well, it just happens that Cinder had just finished the laundry, and so as the princess was starting to leave, Cinder came out to start hanging up the laundry to dry," Ralph said.
"Why would he do that?" Cinder asked.
Ralph wished he could believe that the kid was just joking, but as he could see how dirty they were, he wouldn't be surprised if they really had no concept of washing clothes. "Because his wicked step-father had told him to do that as part of his chores that day," Ralph answered, hoping they would accept that, even though he couldn't be sure if they would.