Cinderella: Ninja Warrior

by Maureen McGowan

  Ty pressed a kiss into her hair. “Our love brought my memory back.”

  The royal wizard’s jaw hardened and a wind swirled around him. “It takes a powerful wizard to cast a spell over me without my detection. I will find this wizard and break her black magic spells forever. Her actions will not go unpunished.”

  Cinderella grabbed the royal wizard’s arm. “My godfather was hurt trying to help us. Please, is there anything you can do?”

  “Let me take a look.” The royal wizard crouched down and then, keeping his hands about two inches above Max’s motionless body, he ran his open palms down his torso and legs, then back up again, as if trying to sense where and how badly he’d been hurt. As he scanned his hands back and forth, tiny sparkles of light bounced over Max’s body, intensifying near his head.

  Ty took Cinderella by the shoulders, helped her up, and held her tightly. “Give him room. There’s nothing we can do but let the wizard work his magic.”

  She turned to press her cheek into Ty’s warm, broad chest and inhaled the leather scent of his vest. “Max helped me so much. I wouldn’t have even made it to the competition or the ball if it hadn’t been for him.”

  The royal wizard put his hands above Max’s face. Light spread from the royal wizard’s fingers. It encircled Max’s head and Cinderella fought back her tears. In spite of all that had happened, this should be the happiest day of her life, but if she lost Max . . . she shuddered at the thought. The royal wizard held his hands just above Max’s face.

  Her godfather’s eyes opened, and Cinderella lurched out of Ty’s arms. “Max!” She fell to her knees in the grass beside him.

  Max blinked several times, as if trying to focus on the royal wizard’s face. “Hal?”

  The royal wizard started, then nodded. “Fred? Is it really you?”

  “What’s with the fancy robe, old friend?” Max’s voice was weak and he rubbed his eyes.

  “I was appointed royal wizard ten years ago.” He ran his hands above Max again.

  “Impressive.” Max nodded and then winced and raised his hand to his head.

  “Where have you been, Fred?” the royal wizard asked. “You disappeared—it must have been at least twelve years ago. Have you been living here?”

  Max sat up. “I’ve been doing my best to protect Isabel’s daughter. Quite a challenge, since I was transformed into a cat.”

  Cinderella gasped. Isabel. Her mother’s name and her own name at birth. Although now she couldn’t imagine herself being called anything but Cinderella.

  The royal wizard turned toward her, his brow furrowed. “You’re Isabel’s daughter?”

  She nodded.

  “No wonder you have such amazing powers.” He turned back to Max.

  Max sat up quickly. “Where is Helena?”

  “Helena’s behind this?” The royal wizard stood and looked around the grounds.

  Max stood up, aided by the royal wizard. “She tricked Isabel’s widower into marrying her, hoping to get her hands on her wand. She killed him and kept Isabel’s daughter trapped and enslaved.”

  Cinderella slowly absorbed what the two wizards were saying. Helena must be her stepmother’s name. She’d lived with the woman for so long without knowing. “She got away,” she told them. “And she has my mother’s wand.” She crouched down beside Max. “I’m so glad you’re okay. How did you turn yourself back into a man?”

  “It was harder this time because my feline form was the cost for suspending her other spells, but because I was farther away from your stepmother’s influence, I was able to make it permanent. I hope.” He ran a hand through his hair. “After I got the magic into the wand, I had to figure out a way to balance it on some twigs so I could pass under it.” He shook his head. “I’m glad to be rid of that cat body for good. I only managed to break the spell moments before I got back here.”

  “You saved me, Max.” She reached out and squeezed his hand.

  “Glad I could help, but you saved yourself.”

  “Fred,” the royal wizard interrupted, “why is this young woman calling you Max?”

  A chuckle burst up from Cinderella’s chest. “Max was my cat for thirteen years. He failed to mention his name was Fred, so I picked one for him.”

  The royal wizard tossed his head back and laughed. “You know, I think Max suits him.”

  “I thought so, too,” Cinderella said. She heard a voice calling out, and remembered Gwendolyn.

  She backed up to see Gwendolyn still clinging to the weather vane on the roof.

  “Who is that?” the royal wizard asked.

  “My stepsister. Can you get her down?”

  The royal wizard raised his wand and a rope appeared out of thin air. Gwen struggled against it at first, then allowed it to wrap snugly under her arms. The royal wizard lowered his arms and the rope gently brought Gwendolyn off the roof and back to the ground.

  The shrubs rustled a few feet away and Agatha pushed her way out, pulling a leaf from her hair.

  “Thank goodness. We’re saved.” Gwendolyn ran toward Cinderella with her arms wide, as if she planned to hug her.

  Not so fast, thought Cinderella. She backed up and Gwen got the hint and went to Agatha instead.

  “And who was in the bushes?” The royal wizard came up to stand beside Cinderella.

  “My other stepsister, Agatha.”

  “Were you hiding from your mother?” the royal wizard asked.

  “Yes,” Gwendolyn said quickly, and Agatha bit her lip and nodded.

  The royal wizard turned to Cinderella. “Anything I should know about here?”

  Cinderella drew in a deep breath and let it out while considering how to answer. “They’re harmless enough—just misguided.” She resisted the urge to say more.

  Several dazed-looking servants emerged from the house and stood on the steps, scratching their heads and rubbing their eyes. A stout older woman wiped flour onto her apron, and two men in grooms’ uniforms, one with a pipe in his mouth, staggered down a few steps and sat.

  “These people are clearly recovering from an enchantment.” The royal wizard shook his head. “Casting magic to control the behavior of servants . . .” He turned toward Cinderella. “Your stepmother, once apprehended, will be tried in court, and based on what I’ve seen here, she’ll be locked up for a very long time.”

  Cinderella imagined her stepmother locked in a dungeon and thought of what a fitting punishment it would be, after everything the evil woman had put her through.

  “Now, young lady,” the royal wizard said, “before I search for Helena, someone’s got to explain what’s been going on here.”

  Cinderella drew a deep breath and wondered if she could safely tell the royal wizard about her entrapment spell. He’d already deduced that her stepmother had been practicing black magic, and Max had mentioned she’d been held captive, and no one had turned into stone, at least not yet. Still, she hadn’t said it.

  “Can I ask you a question in confidence?” she asked the royal wizard, and he nodded.

  Cinderella looked over to Ty for reassurance and he blew her a kiss as she and the royal wizard walked to the side of the house.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She considered her words carefully. “Hypothetically, let’s say my stepmother cast a spell, and part of that spell was that if I told anyone about it, both that person and I would be turned into stone.” Cinderella paused, making sure she hadn’t been turned into a statue. “Well, I guess what I’m wondering is, could a spell like that be broken?”

  The royal wizard scratched his head with his wand. His long black and gray hair flared back. “Don’t you worry, I can break any spell once I know it’s there.”

  Cinderella smiled, then froze in fear.

  Her body tingled and stung all over. She knew this feeling all too well. She rubbed her arms and looked up toward the royal wizard, then over to Ty, but it was too late. A force lifted her and she flew through the air.

  Wind rush
ing and screaming past her ears, Cinderella tumbled end over end. She covered her face as tree branches and twigs scraped at her arms and legs and tore at her clothes. The air had pressed out of her lungs and she felt them burn as her dizziness intensified. She smashed into one tree branch, then another, and sailed through the leaves to land hard on the ground.

  Her stepmother was surely the one behind her impromptu flight. At least she wasn’t stone and she hoped beyond hope that the royal wizard wasn’t a statue. Gasping for air, she curled into a ball on her side, hoping to protect herself.

  “Coward,” her stepmother said, but Cinderella didn’t move from her fetal position. What chance did she have against an experienced wizard with two wands? Especially when one was her mother’s? Especially without Ty at her side?

  If it made her a coward to protect herself from whatever horrible torture her stepmother planned, then so be it. No way could she battle her stepmother on her own. Her best bet was to hope everyone would head down the path looking for her. For now, it was best to stall.

  Her stepmother kicked dirt toward her and it settled over her still body.

  “I knew the wand would be wasted on you,” she cackled. “After all, you’re one half your useless father.”

  “He wasn’t useless,” she whispered into the dirt.

  “Useless, dishonest, and a coward.”

  Rage built up inside Cinderella and she sprang to her feet. “That’s not true!” Her father had been a sad man, a single parent whose wife had died, but—

  Cinderella drew deep breaths to keep from flying forward in a flurry of kicks and punches. Her stepmother was purposefully baiting her, hoping she’d attack, and she would not make it easy for her stepmother to kill her. Even ninjas knew when to hold back.

  “My father was good and kind and generous.” She spoke as calmly as she could. “The only mistake he ever made was marrying a murderous villain like you. If my father knew how cruel you’ve been—”

  “What would he have done? Tell me.” Her stepmother paced in a tight circle around Cinderella, hate wafting off her like the smoke from burned hair. “He wasn’t even a wizard.”

  “Why are you so horrible?” Cinderella glared at her stepmother. “What did I ever do to you?”

  Her stepmother held up the wand in answer.

  “I didn’t even know where that was until two days ago.” Cinderella fought to stay calm. “I was only five when you locked me down in the cellar, and terrified. If I’d known where it was I’d have told you. Any child that age would have caved. You knew that. Why did you keep me trapped, anyway?” Cinderella tried to calm herself, but it was getting harder to control her pounding heart, her rage, and her fists and legs that wanted to punch and kick. And harder still to control the magic she knew was no match for her stepmother’s. Especially alone.

  Her stepmother put a long-nailed hand on her hip.“I couldn’t let you go blabbing my secrets around the kingdom now, could I?”

  Cinderella stepped forward.“Then why didn’t you just kill me?” Even if she was baiting her stepmother to kill her now, she needed to know.

  “Because, darling, you were such fun to torment.” Her stepmother flashed an evil grin.

  Cinderella felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. “Fun?”

  Her stepmother shrugged dismissively.“And good practice, I suppose. Now that I have this wand, it won’t be long before I have control of the entire kingdom.”

  “Never.” Cinderella felt magic energy build up inside her. If her mother had been as powerful as everyone said, then maybe the power inside her was stronger than she thought. She had to believe in herself, believe in her powers. Anything was better than standing here waiting for death.

  Cinderella raised her hand and shot a bolt of energy at her stepmother. Before the wizard could react, Cinderella leaped to deliver a twisting side kick straight into her stepmother’s stomach. Caught by surprise, the evil wizard staggered, but then used her black wand to shoot a flame toward her stepdaughter.

  Twisting as she dove, Cinderella dodged the flame, jumped up to an overhanging branch, and then swung out to land another blow to her stepmother’s arm. She knocked one of the wands away, but it was the black wand, not her mother’s. Better than nothing, she thought.

  After landing on the dirt lane, Cinderella concentrated on her stepmother’s wand that had dropped to the ground, and imagined it going up in flames—and it did, sending charred fragments flying in every direction.

  But from behind, a huge force slammed into her and lifted her high up in the air. Cinderella started to spin so fast she couldn’t see and could barely breathe. Using every muscle in her body, she forced her limbs to move in the opposite direction to the spin, hoping to slow or stop the crushing rotation.

  The blur of trees came into focus. She’d slowed down.

  Her stepmother, on the dirt road below, looked shocked as Cinderella hovered in the air. Cinderella felt a surge of confidence flow through her, and she pushed her hands toward her stepmother. The wizard staggered back. Then her stepmother swirled her mother’s wand in the air. Hundreds of sparks built up, taking form and growing, until they formed the shape of a dragon.

  How could she battle a dragon?

  Losing confidence, Cinderella dropped, plunging toward the ground, but caught herself just in time and landed in a ninja crouch. The dragon, nearly twenty feet tall, rose up and roared. Fire shot from its mouth and burned the leaves in the overhanging canopy to a crisp.

  Cinderella scrambled back a few steps as her stepmother laughed.

  Wait. She squared her stance. “How dare you use my mother’s wand against me?” Cinderella’s voice was strong and clear. “If that wand was tuned to my mother and I’ve inherited her powers, you can’t use it against me.”

  She had no idea if this was true, but figured it should be.

  “Stupid girl.” Her stepmother flicked the wand.

  The dragon shot fire toward Cinderella but missed, hitting the road about five feet away.

  “See?” Cinderella shouted. “That dragon is mine, not yours.” She lifted her arms toward the magical monster.

  It turned and raised its head to the sky and shot a flame upward. If nothing else, all this fire would pinpoint their location and the royal wizard might arrive in time to help . . . if he hadn’t already been turned into a statue.

  Concentrating on the dragon, Cinderella stepped to the side and raised one arm, and the dragon mimicked her movements. She could control it. Confidence coursed through her, pushing aside her fear.

  She made the dragon rear up in front of her stepmother and shoot fire toward her feet. The hem of her stepmother’s gown caught on fire, and when she bent to stomp it out, she dropped the wand.

  Cinderella reached forward and the wand flew through the air and into her hand.

  Her stepmother, a stricken look on her face, turned and ran down the road.

  Cinderella concentrated, thrust the wand forward, and her stepmother slammed into an invisible wall that sprang up in her path.

  Her stepmother staggered toward the forest, clearly stunned by the impact. Cinderella created invisible walls all around her stepmother, trapping her.

  Her stepmother threw herself against one side, then another, slamming her fists against the invisible walls.

  Panting, Cinderella staggered back a few steps. She’d done it. She’d really done it. Simply by believing in her own powers, she’d defeated her stepmother. Cinderella’s heart filled with joy, but her body trembled with exhaustion.

  She collapsed in a heap on the dirt road, only now registering the stinging pain from her many scrapes and scratches, and the aches of the bruises she’d received from her crashing flight through the forest.

  Horses approached from down the forest path, and she soon found herself being lifted from the ground and into Ty’s arms. She wrapped her arms so tightly around his neck that she worried he might break, but the feel of his strong muscles beneath her hands and against her
body dashed away that fear—and every other fear in her heart.

  Looking up, she saw that the royal wizard was patting his hands against the invisible container she’d built for her stepmother and nodding in approval. He stepped back, raised his wand, and shot a huge stream of sparks toward the evil wizard that swirled up and over the walls of air and down around her stepmother to bind her tightly in ropes.

  “That should contain her,” he said. “Even better, all her previous spells have been broken.” He turned toward them and then looked as if he’d been jolted.

  Cinderella tensed. Had her stepmother somehow cast another spell, after all? But then the royal wizard flashed a broad, genuine smile and approached her.

  “Cinderella. Of course. I can’t believe I forgot you.” He put one hand on her shoulder and another on Ty’s. “I am so happy you’ve found each other and tapped into your true powers. Cinderella, I knew your mother well and am not surprised by your abilities.” He winked. “Perhaps you won’t be needing my lessons after all, my dear.”

  “Oh no,” she said. “I need your lessons now more than ever.”

  A smile spread on his face and he backed away a few steps. “And you have just proven how much you deserve and will benefit from training. Both of you had natural talents on your own, and now that your powers have fused together and been strengthened with love, they’ll only continue to grow. But recognizing that you still require training shows that you will use your powers wisely.” He bowed to them, which made Cinderella extremely uncomfortable, and when he came out of his bow, he spun to check that her stepmother remained secure.

  The next thing Cinderella knew, her stepmother’s carriage appeared in the road. Gwendolyn, Agatha, and Max spilled out of it. Gwendolyn ran forward while Max went with the royal wizard to make sure her stepmother’s bindings remained secure. Agatha hung back and stayed by the carriage.

  “My dearest sister,” Gwen said to Cinderella. “I’m so glad you’re safe and sound.”

  “Thank you.” Cinderella pushed her lips tightly together to keep from snapping at Gwen. Her stepsister might not have any real magic powers, but her cruelty was as vast as the oceans.