Now it was Cinderella’s turn. It was time to create the perfect dress for the ball. One that would distract the prince. One that she wished for with all her might.
Make Cinderella the belle of the ball.
Put the prince in her enthrall.
Make her and her dress the fairest of them all.
And when he sees the face of the one he loves,
Make him love her most of all,
So deeply that he will follow her every footfall.
But when the moon reaches its height,
Make it so that everything returns to as it was before tonight.
I thought of every detail as I designed the gown. As I waved my wand, white silk and lace encircled Cinderella, accentuating her every curve. I slightly tinted the fabric a shade of silver.
Cinderella watched the dress form itself, her eyes wide with delight.
“It looks just like my mother’s!”
Cinderella gave me a quick hug, which I returned. Gazing down at my dress, she commented, “But you can’t possibly wear that.”
“Just wish me a disguise that no one can see through, and I’ll do the rest,” I said, raising my wand.
Cinderella frowned, unsure, and then closed her eyes, complying.
When I looked in the mirror, the face staring back at me was one I had not seen before. She had long brown hair with blondish streaks. Wide-set green eyes and a full lip. Her skin was paler than mine. Her cheeks higher.
“Who is she?” I asked, taking in the beauty of the face.
“Someone I made up. My father’s eyes. My mother’s nose and the baker’s girl’s cheekbones.”
I felt myself smiling in wonder. Cinderella was a constant surprise.
“You keep thinking your magic has limits. But I think it can go as far as the imagination.”
“You are quite the artist, Cinderella. It is a face that would stop anyone’s heart.”
“And if anyone sees the resemblance, they won’t make sense of it. You can say you are a long-lost Gray from the Ninth Queendom.”
“Are there any long-lost Grays in the Ninth Queendom?”
“If there were, I think they would have sought me out by now . . .”
I smoothed the pretty, pale-peach dress I wore, with its delicate raised floral pattern and crystal shoes, just like Cinderella’s. I exhaled, suddenly nervous. Was it the corset or the prospect of seeing the prince again that took my breath away?
There was one last thing that I hadn’t thought of. One last thing that I hadn’t anticipated. How could I cast a protection spell when I could only grant wishes?
“You can do anything. All you need is a wish,” Cinderella said.
“But not my own.”
“That’s why it was important to have friends,” Cinderella offered.
Friends? Was that what we were? Was that why I had sought her out? Was it more than my guilt for what I first suspected and now confirmed my sisters had done to her? I was beginning to think it was.
I smiled at her and added, “You’re going to have to memorize a spell.”