She opened her mouth to continue and close it abruptly when East shared an opinion out of the blue.
"I always thought that rules in magic are ridiculous. To be held back by such a thing as go home by midnight or else----and they never tell you what is beyond or else. It is an invisible threat that keeps one on their toes all the time."
His words were softer, spoken with more reason. He did not raise as many frowns as Lady Iryne did almost every time she commented.
"Why midnight? Why not 2 a.m? Balls sometimes run long you know. Like Lady Suzanne’s ball last summer, it ended at 3 o’clock in the morning. I came away with a sore hip and two blisters because the dancing just wouldn’t end. If someone ever tells you that they want to dance until they drop dead, tell them not to be foolish for it hurts despite sounding like fun." Lady Iryne thought she had shared words of wisdom. She picked up a cup of sunmint tea and sipped it with a smile.
"Thank you mother for the wisdom." Sigrid said in flat voice which they could all tell held a pinch of sarcasm and some exhaustion. "Now I was at the part when the fairy godmother showed up and made Cinderella an offer. She accepted it and the magic begun. Her shredded rags turned into a beautiful ice blue gown. Her hair was tied up perfectly and her face instantly made up."
Lady Iryne frowned. She had something to say but her husband covered her mouth.
Sigrid was able to continue on. "A pumpkin was turned into a carriage, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman and a lizard into a footman and Cinderella raced off to the ball."
Lady Iryne could not talk as her husband’s hand was still stubbornly covering her mouth but she had hands so she could still make frustrated gestures with her hands.
"Now that sounds like a carriage I would not want to take." Duke Thorin commented.
"I bet it smelled like sweaty pumpkin." Elowin snickered.
Sigrid picked up a pillow and screamed into it. Then she looked back at them and sighed. "If anyone else speaks, I will end the story. I am well and truly frustrated now so one word, just one and I will wrap it up."
She wanted for them to confirm that they would not interrupt her again but no response came. They just looked at her and blinked. The lack of a response somehow frustrated Sigrid too because now was the time for someone to talk.
When twenty seconds of silence went by, she picked up from where she had left off and successfully told the story. As soon as the words the end fell from her lips, about ten people shouted out questions.
Sigrid leaped from the couch dramatically. "Good night, everyone."
With that said, she walked out of the living room, went into her bedroom and sealed the door from the inside. She would be damned if she had to answer more of their questions. And she would even be more damned if she ever again, told a story in the Thorin household.
***
The next morning, before Sigrid went downstairs for breakfast, she was handed a letter by Lanai. Her first thought was that someone else had taken over from Lanai but when she opened it, her jaw dropped open. Her mother had written a letter to the council of fairy godmothers.
[Dear Highly magical Council for fairy godmothers,
You don’t know me but I am Lady Iryne Thorin. I have recently come into knowledge of who you are and I must say that what I have heard has left me deeply concerned. Your practices are very questionable especially the fairy godmother that handled Cinderella’s case. It may be none of my business but I do think that you should review the case and improve on your methods.
First of all, why was Cinderella neglected as a child? What kind of fairy godmother watches her ward suffering and only shows up at the last possible moment? If the fairy godmother had the ability to save her all along, why didn’t she find her a lovely couple to adopt her? If the answer is fate then I hate to break it to you but if she was meant to be with the prince, no matter who raised her, all roads would have brought them together. Your indecisiveness sure wasted four hours of Cinderella’s time on preparing a dress that was ripped to shreds.
Secondly, why involve rules? If you really wanted to help her then why not let the magical evening last until morning? Surely, you could have waited for her to at least share her name with the prince before running off like a naked thief in the night. If spells require some kind of financing to last, increase your budgets. I am willing to donate ten thousand gold coins for the cause.
Thirdly, why would you put those poor animals through such an ordeal? My daughter is a mage, in fact, all of my children are mages. I am not boasting, I am just making a point. My daughter has said to me that some of the most painful magical transformations are from human to animal form. She said bones break and bend and there is always a risk of someone being stuck in that form forever. I can only imagine that the animals felt the same pain as they were forced to take on human shapes. I am of the suggestion that you start using non living objects for such transformations.
Furthermore, I must mention the ridiculous shoe dilemma which was entirely avoidable. The problem could have been solved by putting a magical name tag on the dress which only the prince could see. What would you have done if the glass slipper fit another maiden? It is very short sighted of you to believe that only Cinderella’s foot could fit in the slipper. Trust me, there is no such thing as a unique foot size! Unless you have had toes removed.
Finally, I must demand that a more proactive fairy god mother be assigned to Cinderella, one that has the proper qualifications. I am bound to believe that the poor execution of this task was a result of an unseasoned fairy being put to work. Could this have been her first case? If yes, I can understand why she made many blunders. If no, then I must insist that you send her back for training at the fairy godmother academy before sending her out into the field again.
I do hope that my words do not offend any of you as I hope that my own daughter Sigrid will some day have her own fairy godmother. She is a crown princess you know and have I mentioned that she is a mage! I do hope that you write back and you don’t leave my letter unanswered like my daughter does most of the time. If you have a phone, you can phone me.
My number is **********
My Mitter account name is: Beloved mother of the crown princess.
My Pictogram account name is: Lady Iryne and Lord Rainbow Fluffington. We can follow each other.
Sincerely, Lady Iryne Thorin, fan of fairy godmothers and advocate of competency.]