‘This doesn’t seem like a very good idea to me,’ Sparks said as they trotted up to the trees at the edge of the Dark Forest.

‘It doesn’t seem to me like we have a lot of choice,’ Cinders said, high atop Mouse the horse. ‘Unless you want to go back to the palace and live in the dungeons.’

‘It’s you they want to lock up,’ he reminded her. ‘Not me.’

Mouse squeaked in agreement.

Even though Joderick had said to ride away from the mountains, something still drew Cinders in their direction. Before she realised it, they were right at the foothills, surrounded by tall trees that grew up and up and up until they blocked out any stars in the sky. The air was as cold as ice and the sky was pitch-black, and Cinders began to feel a little afraid. But, even so, she knew this was the right direction in which to travel.

‘We have to go this way, Sparks,’ she said very, very quietly as one golden, glittering tear slipped down her cheek. ‘I can feel it in my bones.’

‘It’s not your bones I’m worried about,’ he muttered. ‘It’s mine.’

‘I just wish we could see a bit better,’ said Cinders. ‘And had some kind of help.’

For the first time, she was beyond thankful when the sparkles shot out from her hands and lit up the forest around her.

Or at least she was until she began to float up out of her saddle and hover in mid-air.

Sparks covered his eyes with his paws and Mouse ran round and round in circles until he collided with a low tree branch and promptly fell over.

‘Oh me, oh my! What’s occurring?’

The sparkles subsided and Cinders opened her eyes to see Brian standing in front of her, wearing a neon-pink tracksuit and lime-green wellies.

‘Ah, it’s you,’ the fairy said. ‘What do you want? I was halfway through mowing my lawn.’

‘Where have you been?’ Cinders gasped. She was relieved to see her fairy godmother, but she was still very upset with her. ‘I have had the worst day of my entire life.’

‘Did you not just hear me?’ Brian asked. ‘I said I was mowing my lawn and it’s not one of those fancy ride-on mowers so don’t go acting like you’re the only one who’s had a rough day. What’s the matter with you?’

‘I went to the ball, I met the prince, then the prince asked me to marry him and I had to go and live at the palace and then I accidentally wished a roasted pig back to life and it bit the king on the bottom!’ Cinders paused to take a deep breath. ‘He accused me of being a witch, we ran away and now we’re stuck out here, in these woods, with no idea what to do or where to go.’

‘You did all that in one day?’ Brian looked surprised.

‘Blimey.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Cinders yelped. ‘It’s been a week!’

‘Are you sure?’ Brian asked, frowning in concentration. ‘Definitely doesn’t feel as though it’s been that long to me. Two days tops. I mean, I have a big garden but still.’

‘It’s been seven very long days,’ Sparks corrected her, nodding. ‘Trust me.’

‘Hmm.’ Brian raised a glittery eyebrow. ‘Interesting.’

‘And now the king wants me locked up!’ Cinders threw her tingling fingertips into Brian’s face. ‘And, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m currently flying!’

‘Of course you’re not a witch,’ Brian scoffed, patting Mouse the horse on the rump and then giving his mane a sniff. ‘You’re a fairy. Now is it me or does this horse smell like cheese?’

Cinders began to float slowly back down to the ground.

‘I’m … a … what?’ she asked slowly.

‘You’re a fairy,’ Brian replied. ‘Or at least you’re a half-fairy. Your mother was a fairy and your dad was, well, a bit simple but nice enough for a human.’

‘I’m a fairy?’ Cinders repeated.

‘Can you grant wishes?’ Brian asked.

Cinders nodded. ‘Mine and other people’s, it turns out.’

‘Do you have a very, very sweet tooth?’ Brian asked.

Cinders nodded. ‘Even now I could murder a chocolate-chip cookie.’

‘And do you own a talking dog?’ Brian asked.

‘I’ll say yes to that one,’ Sparks replied.

‘So if we add in the fact that your mother was a fairy I think we can conclude that you, Cinderella, are also a fairy,’ Brian said. ‘Unfortunately, you also take after your father so you’ve a tendency to be a bit dense. I mean, your mum just told him to keep you away from the palace and he never questioned it? Hopeless. But you? I honestly can’t believe you haven’t worked it out before now.’

‘This explains everything,’ Cinders gasped, finally putting two and two together. ‘And I bet all fairies have really smelly feet, just like me, right?’

‘Um, sure, why not?’ Brian said, wrinkling her nose.

‘They really are disgusting,’ Sparks commented, holding his nose with his paws. ‘Always been foul. It’s not right for a young girl to have such stinking socks.’

‘Right …’ said Brian.

Cinders’s head was spinning. She was a fairy. Her mother had been a fairy. It really was quite a lot to take in on an almost empty stomach.

‘Why don’t I have wings like you?’ she asked.

‘What exactly have you done to deserve a pair of wings, young lady?’ Brian scolded. ‘Kids today, expecting everything on a plate as soon as they snap their fingers …’

‘Okay, I’ll wait on the wings,’ Cinders said. ‘But why does the king think fairies have claws and fangs and that they eat people for dinner? Whatever happened between the Fairy King and King Picklebottom all those years ago?’

Brian rolled her eyes and shook her wings, leaving a circle of glitter all around her.

‘Some people never get over a break-up,’ she sighed. ‘Trust me, it’s just bad publicity. We don’t have fangs, we don’t have claws and we definitely don’t eat humans. Not really much for the savoury options at all, to be honest – we’re definitely dessert people. As you might have noticed, all fairies have a sweet tooth.’

‘Jodders told me there’ve been no fairies in our kingdom for more than a hundred years,’ Cinders said. She had never been so confused in her life. ‘So how did my parents find each other at the palace? They did meet at the palace, right …?’ It was the only thing her dad had ever told her. If that turned out to be a lie …

‘Oh, yes, they did,’ said Brian. ‘Your mum left Fairyland and came over here. Probably passed this very spot on her way. But it’s an awfully long story. Are you sure you want to hear it now?’

‘Yes!’ Cinders exclaimed. ‘I want to hear everything! Why did my mother leave Fairyland? How did she come to meet my father? Please tell me everything.’

‘I would, only I was thinking you might want to get out of the forest before nightfall,’ Brian suggested. ‘Because that’s when the gadzoozles and nobbledizooks come out to hunt.’

‘And that’s bad, is it?’ Cinders asked, looking around nervously.

‘Depends,’ her fairy godmother replied. ‘Do you like being hung upside down and roasted over an open fire?’

‘Not especially,’ Cinders answered.

‘Then I should get a wriggle on,’ Brian said, looking at her watch. ‘The journey to Fairyland won’t be easy for a halfling, but your magic will get stronger as you get closer to home. And, if you’re ever in desperate need of help, you must eat cake. Cake boosts your magic, as you might have worked out by now.’

Staring into the darkness of the forest, Cinders felt herself shiver from top to toe. What she wouldn’t have given for one of Joderick’s chocolate brownies right at that moment.

‘Can’t you take me there yourself?’ she asked. ‘I could help you finish mowing that lawn.’

‘It doesn’t work like that, I’m afraid,’ Brian replied, shaking her head. ‘And because you’re only a halfling you won’t be able to wish yourself in either. You need to quest through the Dark Forest, traverse the Empty Valley and then travel along the mountain pass if you want to make it to Fairyland.’

‘Sounds a bit too dangerous to me,’ Sparks said gruffly. Mouse twitched his whiskers and flicked his tail in agreement. ‘Perhaps we should pop back to the palace and see if all the fuss has died down?’

‘And spend the rest of our lives in the dungeons?’ Cinders reminded him. ‘They wanted to lock me up when they thought I was a witch. Imagine what the king would do if he found out I was a fairy!’

‘Maybe the dungeons aren’t all that bad,’ Sparks suggested, cowering at the thought of venturing into the Dark Forest. ‘Did you even get a good look at them? If each cell has its own telly, I say we give it a try.’

But Cinders had made up her mind. There was no going back – she could only go onwards. If her mother had braved these woods and journeyed through the valley and along the mountain pass – even if it had been in the opposite direction – then so would she.

‘No, Sparks, it’s time to find out who I really am,’ she told her four-legged friend as she climbed back into Mouse’s saddle. ‘We go on to Fairyland.’

‘Righto.’ Brian clapped happily before checking her watch. ‘Would you look at the time? I must dash, but do shout if you need anything. I probably won’t come right away, but I’ll give it a shot. And don’t worry about the munklepoops – their bark is worse than their bite.’

‘The munklepoops?’ Cinders suddenly felt far less bold than she had just a moment before.

‘Yes, big things, lots of teeth, very bad breath,’ Brian explained, wrinkling her nose again. ‘Wait, did I get it the wrong way round? Yes I did. Bite is worse than their bark. Awfully quiet things, they are. You hardly know they’re there and then SNAP, there goes your leg. Anyway, I must dash. See you soon.’

And

        with

                 that

                         she

                                 was

 

 

 

 

 

gone.