Faeiria Glassboria's Arc

Chapter 1 of 11

Faeiria folded her wings into something smaller, something that wouldn't crack the walls of the crumbling cottage. She could see Cinderella through the gaps in the pumpkin shell, curled on a pile of straw, still wearing the ash-stained dress from this morning. The girl didn't know she was being watched. She didn't know that tonight's invitation would turn to dust at midnight, or that someone had been sent to make sure she could use it. Faeiria stepped through the portal she'd opened in the forgotten pumpkin patch. The swirling light cast shadows across the overgrown vines and wilted flowers. She pulled her true form tighter, pressing down wings that wanted to unfold, dimming eyes that saw in directions mortals couldn't name. The wand in her hand pulsed once, its celestial glow too bright for this dark place. She made it softer. She made herself softer. The cottage door hung crooked on its hinges. Faeiria pushed it open with two fingers. Inside, Cinderella sat up fast, her eyes wide and red from crying. She scrambled backward against the rotting wall. Faeiria stopped in the doorway. She didn't speak yet. The girl needed to see her first, to understand she wasn't a threat. Cinderella stared at the wand, then at Faeiria's face. Her breath came quick and shallow. Faeiria held still and let the light from the wand fill the space between them. When the girl's shoulders finally dropped, when her hands unclenched, Faeiria spoke. "You have an invitation to the ball tonight," she said. "I'm here to make sure you can use it."