Prince Phillip dodged another guard patrol, barely avoiding detection as he slipped behind it. Everything was happening as he predicted. His previous display of athleticism hadn’t gone unnoticed and now almost everyone was on to him, making his quest increasingly harder. If he were captured, he wouldn’t go down without a fight, but his initial goal stayed the same: the less confrontation the better for all players involved.

In another indistinct alley in this never-ending maze of poverty, he exchanged his clothes for something ragged and stinky while also improvising a trembling stride that allowed him to blend in better with the other wretched souls all around. This bought him some extra time, yet he was still lost with no idea where to go or what to do when he got there. He called the fairy for help three times and was always ignored. The more time went by, the more annoyed he became.

He was muttering to himself all sorts of nasty things that shouldn’t be coming out of anyone’s mouth let alone royalty when someone called to him. It was an old woman, older than anyone else that he had ever seen, and dressed as a widow. She sat on a stone step, rocking her torso back and forth. Her wrinkled face was partially hidden by a black veil, and her palms were facing upward, not in a begging position but as if trying to capture a cool breeze. Her right leg was a mess, covered in hardened lumps reminiscent of overgrown fungi, and there was no spark of life in her whitened eyes. She was blind and from the looks of it, she had been so since birth.

“You’re not from around here, young man,” she declared.

“Excuse me?” the prince replied instinctively, regretting his lapse right away.

“Everything about you is strange. The clothes you’re wearing do not mask your true scent. You’re a long way from home, aren’t you?”

“I dare say that’s none of your business, so if you be so kind to leave me be...”

“Ah, I wish I could, but now that our paths have crossed, I must tell you what I see.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but it seems like you don’t see anything at all.”

“You’d be surprised at how different things are when you have to rely on everything else except your eyes. Normal vision is overrated when you have what I have.”

“Which is...?”

“A gift, young man. Even without eyes, I can tell you’re on a quest, a just crusade for the greatest pleasure of all, but I fear love may not be enough unless you play your cards right. I see danger ahead of you. Mortal danger, in fact. You’re getting closer and closer to your true aim, but you may not like what you find.”

“You’re being vague enough to not say anything at all and do you know who does things like that? Thieves trying to prey on good people, so if that’s your angle, you’re out of luck here.”

“I don’t blame you for being suspicious, but the truth remains. You’re going down a dangerous path right now and you should be extra careful when you get to your destination or...”

“Or what?”

“Mortal danger, prince. Remember what I said.”

“What did you just call me?”

“Shhh, your secret is safe with me,” the old woman grinned and then started humming a song he didn’t recognize, a lonely finger pointing to her left. One more alleyway lay past it that and then the road opened up to another section of the kingdom, one where he wasn’t surrounded by the foul stenches of misery and death. He walked through it and came out on the other end, feeling surprisingly rejuvenated.

Phillip took a moment to catch his breath, trembling knees leaning against a gray wall. All the walking, running, and sneaking around of the last couple of hours had taken a toll on him even with his superior training. The darkening sky told him it was dinner time but getting food on his stomach was not something he had the luxury of doing at the moment, so he stopped, reassessed his condition, and examined his new surroundings. The palace loomed in the distance, its overwhelming opulence now mocking him for choosing to go rogue. 

Something about the place he was in now seemed familiar as if he had rode a chariot through the path ahead at least once or twice. It was hard to tell for sure, but the lingering sensation remained and if that was to be trusted then perhaps he was really on the right course. The old woman’s voice still rang in his head, warnings he didn’t want to listen to. That would have been an easy thing to do if he hadn’t met a supernatural creature before. Now, every little thing that seemed off-putting at first could be a clue to something greater. Mortal danger seemed a lot, but it’s not like he had nine lives to spare, so he promised himself to be extra careful going forward.

After getting a much-needed respite, Phillip was on the move again, his feet carrying him along the road that continued to look surprisingly recognizable. The more he tried to wrap his head around it the more he realized that indeed he was somewhat familiar with the surroundings. Lady Tatiana lived not that far from where he was with her two daughters Prudence and Drusilla. He had only talked to her twice but had immediately recognized her ambitious nature and her daughter’s names popped up in court now and then as possible princess material. If he recalled correctly, the Count of Montparnasse was a strong advocate of the widow and her offspring, and he couldn’t stand the man at all. It was strange how all those thoughts were coming to him at the same time. A coincidence or something more? Since he was already headed in that direction anyway, perhaps he could do a little digging around to know for sure.

Hmm, yes... he could very well do just that.

* * *

Meanwhile, Prudence and Drusilla had already returned to the house bringing with them the news their mother wanted to hear. Kneeling on the floor, her ass cheeks sore and red, Ellen stared vacantly ahead, listening to the other three women talk about their nefarious plans.

“What did you find? Tatiana asked, rubbing her hands.

“This,” Prudence produced a hand-drawn torn sheet of paper detailing an elaborate binding circle for otherworldly creatures, including fairies. A list of ingredients needed to complete the ritual was included at the bottom, and they had already procured most of them.

“We had to spend all our coin to get our hands in these,” Drusilla handed her mother a small brown bag with a variety of herbs, berries, and withered branches. There was also a small clay bowl and a jar with a purple oozing liquid with a pungent smell, which was the first thing that caught Mistress Tatiana’s attention.

“What is this?” she asked.

“A cocktail of wolfsbane and belladonna. It won’t kill a fairy, but it should render her even weaker once inside the circle. You said we needed all the advantages we could get, so...” Prudence replied.

“Hmm, yes... this is excellent, indeed. You outdid yourselves, girls. It fills me with joy to know that my trust in you in this subject wasn’t misguided at all.”

“We aim to please, mother, as I’m sure you know.”

“You’ll please me for real if you start preparing the circle right now.”

“What about Ellen?” Drusilla asked.

“What about her?”

“Did you get anything else out of her that we can use?”

“No, but she got her punishment for now. Once the fairy is trapped and under our control, I’ll decide her fate for good. Now get busy. We need to have everything ready before midnight.”

“Yes, mother.”

Prudence and Drusilla cleared a space in her studio big enough for the binding circle and then began the preparations, with the latter being in charge of mixing the ingredients while the former drew the marks on the floor. Unresponsive, Ellen continued staring into the abyss of her shattered mind and drowning in it, with no words, no sounds, nothing coming out of her throat.

The pattern being drawn was quite intricate, circles upon circles intertwined with spirals and runic symbols whose meaning they didn’t really understand. Still, Prudence replicated every curve to perfection, adding in the strategically placed twigs and berries that, once properly displayed, created an irresistible aura in the room that made the hair on the back of her hands stand up.

“Are you feeling this too?” she asked.

“Yes,” Drusilla replied, and her mother nodded, the power of the incantation spreading all around. “It feels so weird to be messing with stuff like this.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, girls. Is it done, Pru?”

“If the indications of the book are correct, yes, but we won’t know for sure until it’s midnight,” she replied, spreading a few drops of the toxic cocktail on each of the major intersections of the circle.

“Still, you better go get some weapons just in case.”

“Yes, mother.”

Mistress Tatiana admired the completed work and smirked. Soon, the world would give her everything she deserved, one way or another.

* * *

Prince Phillip continued to follow the road that drew him closer and closer to the evil stepmother’s house, firmly clutching the crystal boot. He had to be extremely careful with it, for if it fell and shattered, so would his dreams. The night had already fallen, and the borrowed light of the moon above reflected on its surface, creating a vibrant particle effect like no other. It was strange yet quite soothing and beautiful, just like the way he felt when Lady Sin’s honeyed voice so effortlessly challenged his perceptions.

Another odd thing he was noticing as he trekked along was how the boot appeared to grow heavier and heavier with each step, like a strong magnet pulling him toward an inevitable fate. Again, he turned to the skies to ask for Cinderella’s guidance:

“Can you at least tell me if I’m going the right way or not?”

Silence. The Fairy Godmother had really left him to do everything on his own and would only show herself again if her protégé reached out. Her spirit was somewhere between this world and all the others while he had never been more connected to the people of the kingdom and their plights.

“When I’m King, this has to change,” he thought, already envisioning the disgruntled looks of the richest noble families who would try to stop any reformist plans that raised their taxes. It was always like that and they would never change. He understood that now, so that had to count for something.

His stomach growling, Phillip veered off the main road to find a patch of apple trees. Big, juicy, reddish fruits were waiting to be picked, and that’s what he did. He was in the middle of eating his second one, sitting by the roots of the tallest tree when yellow eyes flashed before him, and a lanky black cat purred.

“Hey, little one. Are you hungry? Want some of this too?” he asked.

“Skinny” swung its tail delicately, another purr escaping its whiskered features. The gentle animal approached his hand to steal two bits of apple and stopped to gaze at the prince’s precious possession. It reminded him of his stronger alter-ego that had almost stormed the castle with his enormous presence. The wannabe panther rubbed his nose on the tip of the boot and licked his right paw.

“Now, why did you do that for?” Phillip muttered.

“Skinny” opened his mouth and meowed softly, bright eyes asking for another piece of food before he revealed all his secrets. The prince finished slicing what remained of the apple and watched him eat until he was completely satisfied. Arching his back, the cat rolled on the floor once and then dashed away not before looking back once as if saying, “Come along now, human. The one you’re looking for is close.”

Philip grabbed another apple for the road and ran in his pursuit, surprised at realizing the animal and himself shared the same destination. Midnight was drawing near, and so was the end of his unexpected journey.