CHAPTER 3

Time for Chores

“Cinderella! Cinderella!”

Every time someone called out that name, it took a moment for Cupid to realize they were calling her!

“Cinderella! What is all this? What have you done? You usually just serve us porridge in the morning.”

Stepmother and the stepsisters stared at the breakfast table. Looking at the spread, it occurred to Cupid that she may have gone a little overboard this morning. First off, there were ten vases overflowing with beautiful, freshly picked flowers in the center of the table. They were almost as bright as the bowls of colorful fruit that sat next to tall stacks of fluffy pancakes and towers of decadent waffles. Then there were steaming-hot dishes of scrambled eggs; sizzling, crispy bacon; and jelly-covered toast. And everything was cut into heart shapes! But suddenly Cupid was nervous. Did she overdo it?

“I—I… just thought it might be fun to have something a little different for a change,” Cupid stammered.

“Why is everything a heart?” Prudence asked grumpily as she helped herself to a heart-shaped waffle.

“Hmm, well, I started with the pancakes, and then I guess I really got into it!” Cupid said proudly as she watched Prudence stack some heart-shaped bananas and strawberries on her waffle.

“It’s definitely different, that’s for sure,” Charlotte said, heaping bacon and eggs on her plate. “I’ve never seen scrambled eggs made into heart shapes before.”

The faintest glimmer of a smile appeared on Stepmother’s face. “Well… hearts mean love. And speaking of love, I believe the prince should be throwing another ball very soon! Charlotte, dear, have you decided which dress you will be wearing?”

“Yes, Mother,” Charlotte said. “I decided to go with the yellow one.”

“Cinderella, after you have finished all your chores, Charlotte and Prudence will try on their new gowns, and you will alter them accordingly.”

“Of course,” Cupid replied.

“And, Cupid… about these pink, heart-shaped pancakes…”

“Yes?” Cupid answered anxiously.

“They’re… they’re actually not half-bad,” Stepmother said. “Please pass me another.”

“Sure!” Cupid said with a smile.

So Cupid happily cooked, cleaned, and swept the floor. But after a while her arms started to ache and she realized housework was really difficult without a little magic.

How does Cinderella do it? Cupid wondered, rubbing her arms. Three beds to make up (not even counting her own), the living room and bathroom to keep clean, plus three meals a day for four people. It was simply too much.

“How in Ever After am I going to get through this?” Cupid groaned as she fell back on her bed, hexhausted.

Then she remembered that in the story, Cinderella had helpers! Where were all the cute little critters that always helped Cinderella out? Cupid poked around the entire house until she finally found a family of teeny-tiny doves in their little twig nest on her windowsill. Upon opening the window, the family swooped in and started fluttering about the floor, sweeping up the dust with their little wings.

“You’re awfully cute, but you’re all so tiny! I’m not sure how much help you will actually be,” Cupid told the little doves. But as Cupid went about her chores, the birds followed her.

Much to Cupid’s amazement, all the chores went so much faster with just a little hextra assistance. The birds helped her make the beds, helped hang the laundry on the line to dry, and all the while kept up a steady stream of cheerful chirps to keep Cupid smiling while she finished her work.

“We need to get some of you sweeties on Mount Olympus! I think Dad would just love having you around!” Cupid said as she blew a kiss to her new feathered friends.

Cupid practically danced through the house, completely enchanted by her nonenchanted chores. She danced all the way into Charlotte’s room, sweeping as she went. Trying to reach the tough corner by the back of the bed, Cupid crouched down and saw a pile of clothes hidden under there.

What in Ever After…? she thought as she angled the broomstick to yank out the clothes. It’s fairy strange that Charlotte would be hiding clothes under her bed. The rest of the room was neat and clean. Right as Cupid was ready to wiggle out the mess, Charlotte stormed in.

“Cinderella! What do you think you’re doing here? How dare you enter my room without asking?” Charlotte fumed. Her face was red with anger.

“B-but I was just trying to clean,” Cupid started to explain.

“Never, ever, ever come into my room without checking with me first,” Charlotte said sternly. “Now get out of here. And never look under my bed again!”

“Okay… I’m sorry, Charlotte. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just trying to make everything sparkly clean,” Cupid said meekly, slinking out of the room with her head down.

Cupid felt terrible, as though she had been caught doing something wrong. But had she really done anything wrong? She just wanted to make everyone in this fairytale happy, and she was working as hard as she possibly could—without magic! But even though she prepared everyone’s favorite foods and the house was spotless and shining from top to bottom, the stepsisters always seemed to be in bad moods. Why?

Cupid didn’t have the slightest clue. But she did know that something fairy fishy was going on… and it was her mission to find out what.