“We’ll locate the glass slipper soon, your majesty.”
Cinderella’s eyes instantly dried. “You’d better.” She turned back to the mirror and made sure her makeup wasn’t running. Thankfully, she still looked fairest of them all.
Her golden hair was tied up in a neat bun; her tiara was big and sparkly. Really, she was the most beautiful woman in the Four Kingdoms. Her head tilted. Maybe this dress wasn’t so bad, after all.
“How do I look?” She demanded.
“Perfect, your majesty.”
Of course she did. Cinderella smirked at her reflection. Charming was lucky to have her instead of some ugly stepsister. If he knew the truth he’d be thanking her. Any man would be thrilled to touch her.
She was the real princess.
Cinderella lifted her hands to cup her breasts, singing a cheerful song as she stroked her own nipples through the bodice of the dress. Her stress level was high, thanks to everyone being so endlessly cruel to her. She could use some release and there was one surefire to achieve it.
“How long do we have before the cake tasting?” She asked in a sultry tone.
Gustav met her eyes in the mirror, already anticipating what she wanted. His whole demeanor changed, trained to perform his role whenever she asked. If he didn’t there would be hell to pay.
“Enough time for you to do some chores, wench.” He said harshly.
She gave a shiver of pure lust. “Yes, sir.” She went to gather the supplies, her body already humming.
Cleaning was the only thing that ever turned her on, but, to make the experience truly erotic, she needed her mice guard watching. She was so pristine and important. A true princess. Subjugating herself in front of lesser beings was just delightfully twisted. She loved the feeling of being submissive to something as useless and ugly as these rodents. It completely violated the natural status quo.
It was so wrong.
So… hot.
At least once a day, Cinderella was on her knees in front of her men, cleaning the floor and panting for release, so she kept her scrub brush and bucket close at hand. The stupid palace maids didn’t understand that. She was always screaming at them to stay out of her room and let her do the cleaning herself.
She soooooo enjoyed chore time.
Kneeling in her wedding dress, she looked up at Gustav and waited for his orders. It had better be something really depraved or she’d make him suffer later.
Luckily, he knew what was expected of him. That was the benefit of properly training your pets. “I’m going to come on the floor.” He began unbuttoning his pants and she nearly purred. “Clean it with your dress. I want you to remember how dirty you are on your farce of a wedding day.”
Her eyes grew heavy as she watched him work a hand over his erection. “I’m a princess.” She whispered, her eyes on the swollen flesh. “You can’t treat me this way.”
“You’re nothing by a cleaning wench.” His eyes glowed as he rubbed himself harder and faster. “You’re only good for scrubbing up my leavings. And your work had better be spotless or next time I’ll make you wash it with your tongue.”
“You wouldn’t dare. Not again.”
“Again and again, until you learn to do your chores properly.”
She licked her lips in anticipation. “Couldn’t you just come in my mouth, sir? It would save me so much time.”
Occasionally, he allowed that, but only when some of the other men were there to see her lower herself. The sexual humiliation got her off. Especially when he refused to let her come. Gustav didn’t relish chore time the way some of the men did, so he often got creative about carrying it out. Sometimes, he’d order her give him a blowjob and then leave her aching, while the other guards laughed at her frustrated cries.
It was no wonder he was her favorite.
“Beg me and I’ll consider it, wench.”
“Please, sir.” Cinderella whimpered as she saw he was getting close. “Please let me suck you. Don’t make me scrub your seed from the floor.”
“You don’t deserve the taste of my cock.” Gustav head tiled back, the tendons of his neck straining. “Remember, I want it all spotless or you’ll be sorry. The men like to see me punish your disobedience.”
Oh yes… And she liked to be punished.
The degradation of someone like her at the mercy of these low creatures…
She gave a shudder as he came all over the marble. It was a euphoric release for her to see the sticky mess and know she has to clean it. She almost wanted to do a bad job of it so he’d make her do it again, this time with her mouth and with the others all watching her shame. God, she needed this after the day she was having.
“Now, do your chores, wench.”
“Thank you, sir.” She panted and started scrubbing.
Chapter Six
Benji must build his confidence! Why is the big oaf too stupid to see that?
Psychiatric case notes of Dr. Ramona Fae
“You aren’t rotting in the basement.” Avenant didn’t seem thrilled by the news. “I didn’t expect Dr. White to be smart enough to see through Scarlett’s pitiful Ramona disguise, but I thought at least she’d toss the wolf into the pit for some torture.” He sighed. “Every day in this place is another opportunity for disappointment.”
Marrok flicked him off.
Scarlett ignored them. She sat down beside Drusilla at the arts and crafts table. It was macaroni necklace day, so her sister was carefully stringing brightly painted noodles, a distant expression on her face. They’d drugged her, again. Usually, she and Dru had different craft times and it was disheartening to see her sister struggle with even these simple tasks. Drusilla’s eyes were unfocused and glassy, all her attention on choosing just the right blue rigatoni. It was going to take her awhile, since she couldn’t focus enough to thread the yarn through the hole.
Scarlett had to get Drusilla out of the WUB Club before it killed her.
She reached over to gently touch her sister’s wrist, helping Dru hold the pasta in the correct position, and then glanced over at Esmeralda. The witch was still disguised as Scarlett, so it was kind of disconcerting to look at her own face with someone else wearing it.
“How long can you keep this spell up, Ez?”
If Ramona’s Esmeralda mask disappeared, this whole plan would fall apart really quick. When the doctor woke up in the dungeon and started ranting that she was really Ramona, chances were the guards would just ignore her. If she actually looked like Ramona, though, her story would have a bit more credibility.
“I can keep the glamours up until tomorrow, maybe.” Esmeralda already had three pasta necklaces looped around her neck. All of them were painted black. “Anything more than that, I’ll have to use more power and it’ll set off the magic alarms.”
So they had a day.
Scarlett let out a long breath. Okay. She could do this. She wasn’t sure how yet, but her grandmother would expect her to take charge and think of something. Villainy was in her blood, not matter what Marrok might think.
“Well, we have Ramona’s keys.” Scarlett told the group, trying to sound positive. “We just need to find a way to use them to get all of us out of here.”
The seven of them were crowded around one of the craft room’s repurposed picnic tables. The gloomy space was about half the size of an average school cafeteria and painted in a particularly lifeless shade of prison gray. Add in the bars on the windows, and the fact that the only two “crafts” the inmates were allowed to make were edible jewelry and cotton balls glued into the shape of white rabbits, and Scarlett had never felt particularly inspired by the room.
Right now, though, she needed some creativity.
Fast.
Benji crunched his way through a handful of dry noodles. “Well, you look like Ramona, Scarlett. You can just walk right out the front door. Maybe you could tell the guards we’re all going on a fieldtrip and just take us with you when you go.”
“A fieldtrip?!” Rum
pelstiltskin hissed incredulously. “There are never any fieldtrips around here except to the dungeon.” He gave his scalp an agitated itch, smearing yellow paint in his hair. “As soon as we try to leave the grounds, we’ll be gassed.” His eyes went up to the stained acoustical tiles of the ceiling, already scanning for the telltale clouds of purple smoke.
Marrok was staring at Esmeralda. “I just cannot get used to looking at you looking like Letty.” He frowned like the witch’s Scarlett façade annoyed him for some reason. “You two need to switch faces again, because it’s creeping me out.”
“Focus.” Scarlett ordered.
“Will Ramona’s keys access the weapons locker in the front security office?” Avenant inquired. He thoughtfully added a red rigatoni to his necklace and studied it for a beat. Changing his mind, he switched it to a green one. For some reason, he always took craft time seriously. “If we could get into that, we could acquire some guns and force our way out of here.”
Rumpelstiltskin and Esmeralda looked intrigued by that idea.
“We’re not using guns.” Scarlett snapped. “I told you when we bombed the security cameras, we’re doing this so no one gets hurt.”
“Except for Dr. Ramona.” Benji reminded her guilelessly. “You hit her in the head with that chair. That probably hurt a lot.”
“Fine. New rule: Hitting with chairs is, okay. Guns are not.” Scarlett looked over at Marrok. “I don’t want to kill anybody.” She insisted, already anticipating his eye roll.
Instead, he nodded. “Shooting our way out the front door won’t work. It’s not just getting out, it’s staying out.” He leaned forward, his body very close to hers. For some reason, it made her heart speed up. “We have two options: We need to slip away quietly, so they don’t have the flying monkeys on our ass right from the jump, or we need to leave so big that they’ll be distracted.”
The monkeys were the best trackers in the Four Kingdoms. As soon as Dr. White found them missing, those flying bastards would be hunting for them. Marrok was right. They needed to be very careful not to raise any alarm bells or they needed to set off every single alarm there was and slip away in the confusion. Otherwise, the escape would be all over before it even began.
Scarlett winced at bit, both at the idea of being tracked by winged chimps and because she was suddenly noticing Marrok’s stunning profile. Why did he have to be so handsome?
She seriously was going insane and it was all his fault.
“Right.” She cleared her throat. “Well, no matter what, we have to go tonight, when it’s dark. Everyone on board with that?”
“How?” Esmeralda asked. “We’ll be locked in our rooms.”
“It’s too bad Charming isn’t here to help us plan.” Dru mused hazily. “He could get us out. He’s very smart, Letty.”
“Charming is under a spell.” Scarlett told her. “But, I know he’s doing everything he can.”
Marrok shot her a brooding look. “Yeah, he’s really come through for you so far.”
“He’s under a spell.” She insisted. “Like that other prince was when the mermaid gave up her voice to win his heart and what’s-her-name tried to take her place by hypnotizing him.”
“Oh Jesus, you bought that story?”
“The point is, Charming is trying.” There wasn’t a doubt in Scarlett’s mind, but she didn’t have time to wait for him to get things done. “Even when he isn’t enspelled, it’s hard for him to get through the bureaucracy of the Westlands, though.”
“That’s why I banished all bureaucrats, lawyers, politicians, and sports stars from my kingdom.” Avenant agreed. “They all want to steal my power.” He looked pointedly at Marrok. “Especially, the sports stars.”
“And that plan worked out great for you.” Marrok drawled. “How’s the view from your lofty throne? Oh wait… better ask the new ruler of the Northlands.”
“Ask quickly, because that usurper won’t be sitting on my throne for long.”
Scarlett ignored the bickering. “What’s important is Charming’s on our side and working to free us.”
“Sure he is.” Marrok refocused his snark on her. “Which is why he’s organizing a dream wedding with your mortal enemy. I guess it’s all part of his master plan.”
“He doesn’t want to marry Cinderella.” Scarlett was starting to get annoyed. “He’s been brainwashed! He’ll be thrilled when we show up to save him. Believe me.”
“Oh, I do believe you.” Marrok assured her. “But, he’s still an asshole.”
“He is not! Charming is a deeply noble man.”
Dru nodded. “And handsome, right Letty?”
“Of course.” Although, it was hard to call any man handsome when she was looking at Marrok. The wolf just reset the bar. Charming was studious and clean-cut and… kinda vanilla when compared to the jackass currently glowering at her.
Where had that thought come from?
Scarlett cleared her throat and refocused on Esmeralda. “Anyway, like I was saying, we can use Ramona’s keys to get out. I’ll unlock your cells tonight and we’ll all go together.”
“And we’re just supposed to believe that you’ll come and save us?” Avenant scoffed.
Marrok looked over at him. “We all know she will.” He said with flat certainty. “You and I would leave everyone else to rot, but she’s not like us.”
“I’m not Good.” Scarlett insisted.
Avenant glanced at her skeptically and then looked back to Marrok. “Even if I buy she’s one of them --Even if I accept that she’ll let us out of our rooms tonight-- then what do we do? How do we get free?”
Scarlett had no clue.
She opened her mouth to say something vague and reassuring, only to hesitate when one of the craft room nurses meandered by.
“Everything okay, Dr. Ramona?” The heavyset elf named Harriet asked without much interest. She looked as bored and hopeless as most of the inmates. The WUB Club staff showed up every day to work at a place where people were sent to be forgotten and decay. Not surprisingly, they weren’t a joyful lot.
Scarlett tried to look professional and calm as she smiled at the woman. “Yes, thank you. I’m just bonding with my favorite share circle.”
Rumpelstiltskin slid down in his seat, trying to disappear.
Harriet shrugged like she didn’t see why anyone would bother with any of them. Then, her gaze fell on Marrok. She preened a bit. “If you don’t want to waste your time with these nuts, Wolf, I could probably find you something more… interesting to do in the back room.”
Scarlett’s eyes narrowed at the nurse. “He’s fine right where he is.” She snapped.
Jesus, did everyone try to proposition the guy? The corruption at the WUB Club was sickening. They were supposed to be helping to rehabilitate Marrok, instead they were using their positions to exploit him. Scarlett had spent every day of her incarceration irritated at the wolf, but now she was starting to see him a whole new light. His amazing looks made him a victim in this place.
And even when he got outside, he wouldn’t be free. Not if he went back to his old life of playing Wolfball for the Eastlands. The wolves were virtual slaves no matter where they went, especially the ones who brought in money for their teams.
Why was there no place for them to go and be safe?
Marrok’s gaze stayed on Scarlett, not even glancing Harriet’s way. “I’m fine here.” He agreed simply.
The nurse didn’t appreciate the rejection. Her mouth thinned. “Suit yourself.” She looked down at Benji’s half eaten necklace and scowled. “Do we have to go through this every other day? Stop eating all our craft supplies, fatty!”
Benji swallowed the skein of yarn he was chewing on. “Sorry.” He whispered.
Harriet made a disgusted face. “The next time I catch you, you’ll be spending craft time in the library.” She went marching off to another table to break-up a shouting match over which looked prettier: penne or garganelli.
Marrok’s jaw ticked.
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Benji looked down at the tabletop, close to tears.
“Well, we could at least kill her, right?” Avenant looked around the group with new enthusiasm. “Who was that pussy who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor and everyone praised him for his thievery? Well, ridding craft time of that woman would be the same principle. On the surface it’s a crime, but it’s really for the greater good. The only moral choice.” He nodded eagerly, agreeing with his own argument. “Shall we vote on it?”
“I vote yes.” Esmeralda muttered. “I hate that fucking bitch.” She reached over to pet Benji’s furry arm comfortingly.
Rumpelstiltskin sat up straighter and scowled down at the yarn in his hand. “Back home I could spin this into gold and make real jewelry.” He said randomly.
Scarlett didn’t even hear them, her mind racing with a new idea. The WUB Club was designed to be a miserable hole, but the library was the very worst spot outside the cells in the basement. It was a dank, moldy, rarely used room full of decades old magazines and “scientific” treatises that explained why Baddies were genetically inferior. Every single book in the place was a manifesto of hate and Good folk superiority.
No one went to the library. Even crossing the threshold was a punishment. And its unbarred windows overlooked western side of the property. All that lay beyond the dirty glass was the vast Lake of Forgetting and the Enchanted Forest on the opposite shore.
…The endless, creepy, maze-like woods that could hide anyone.
Letty’s eyes narrowed in deep consideration. It might be possible to get outside the hospital through the library windows. From there, they could make it to the lake… but the water was poisoned. If even a single drop touched your skin, you’d develop permanent amnesia. You ended up just sitting down on the shore and waiting for the guards to come and hustle you back inside, your entire life a complete blank.
The Lake of Forgetting worked even better than a wall, because it curved around the entire side of the WUB Club. Several hundred acres of black water, specially enspelled to keep Baddies in.
But, then, no Baddie had ever been quite as motivated as Scarlett was to get out. If she could cross the lake and get to the forest, not even the flying monkeys could find her.
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