- 5 -

 

        Who are you? Cinder asked in her mind. Are you the dead prince? 

        She soon realized that she had asked a stupid question. No, you must not. Are you... Ruby? She remembered the name on the diaries in the basement.

        I'm not. The voice replied. I’m the curse of the tower. I have existed in the world for so long that I become conscious.

        What? You are the curse? Asked Cinder in surprise.

        Yes. I know all the history of the tower, and all the things happened in the tower. Everyone who killed the owner of the tower will be cursed to be the owner, who will be imprisoned in the tower and endure eternal life. When the one is cursed, the tower will return to the condition when the curse was spoken out, and that person will live in the body of the owner who cursed the tower. The Curse said indifferently.

        So that woman was really a prince before she killed the previous owner? And I became the woman because I killed her with the black flower? Cinder asked.

        Yes.

        Is it possible to break the curse?

        You can eat the white flower. It can turn the cursed in the tower back.

        However, you will disappear, right? Cinder sighed. My current face is actually the original owner? Is she the one who cursed the tower? Is her name Ruby?

        Yes. The Curse seemed to be more interested. It looks that you know lots of things. Have you read her diaries?

        No, I haven't. Cinder shrugged. I guess that the ones who rushed in and considered the people in the tower to be witches might mostly be male because in my hometown many men dream to be the savior of a princess who is locked in the tower and marry her. Was Ruby the witch?

        The answer can be yes. The Curse replied in a low voice. However, she used to be a princess. You can read the history in her diaries.

        It stopped for a while. Later it asked in slight bewilderment, You are totally different from previous guys. They all were terrified and anxious when they found out that they became a witch and could never cross the fences to go to the forest. They were submerged in fear, and for this reason, they never find me. Who are you?

        My name is Cinder. Or if you want, you can call me Ye Lan. Cinder said when she went downstairs.

        Cinder? Cinderella? Why you have two names?

        Not really. Cinder tried to explain. My name does not come from Cinderella. The match is just accidental. When I was born, it was just dawn in the winter. My father wanted to replace burned woods in the fireplace, but he found out that one of them was still combustible. A fire that won’t die inside. That’s how my father named me. However, my mother came from the East. Her surname is Ye, and besides the name I use to live here, she gave me "Lan" as my family name because she wanted me to be brave and strong. She told me that in her hometown, there is a legend about Mu Lan, a powerful and brave female general. As for Cinderella, she is the queen now.

        The queen was Cinderella? Did you meet her before?

        Yes. I was picked in a ball held to select a bride for her son, Prince Issac, but I declined to marry him when I met him in the palace. Then the queen came and tried to persuade me to avoid being old like yellow pearls and enjoy the rest of my rich and happy life just as her, by marrying a prince.

        Why she insists on you? I think there will be lots of girls who want to marry the prince. The Curse was perplexed.

        Cinder sighed. Prince Issac was told that he needed to pick a civilian girl rather than an aristocrat to show friendliness to his people. Repeating the Cinderella story would make the party be like fairy tales and attract people to support the king's family, and I happened to have similar traits.

        By accident, it was truly like a fairy tale. Cinder thought. She had to return home by twelve o'clock because as for her job as a housemaid, she needed to wash the clothes of her hosts by the morning. She wore golden shoes to the ball, which she bet with and won from a goldsmith who bragged that with gold he was able to make all kinds of things. On the third day, the prince wanted to catch her hand. When she found out that the heel of one delicate golden shoe was broken, for the convenience of running she threw it out.

        Everything was almost the same as the fairy tale, except for the truth that Cinder had no fairy godmother, got rid of her stepfamily, and won by accident. However, with these similarities, people who were obsessed with fairy tales would not think so. On the day when she got on the carriage, she heard that someone said with a smile, "Then, they will live happily ever after."

        Was that true? Happily ever after?

        The prince was handsome and nice to her, but it was obvious that he didn't love her when they only spent three days together dancing at the ball. He treated her more like a friend rather than a lover. Before the marriage, they could meet only in the evenings. In the afternoon, he should go for horse riding and learned archery and fencing, in order to be a strong and brave man. Ladies learned classes at that time, taught to be elegant, quiet and obedient, as some beautiful decorations on the walls of the palace.

        "There are models for men and women to live properly and comfortably here. Personally speaking, I would rather stay in my room and fold papers. I'm introverted and I like pink, but I can never tell my habits and personalities to anyone in the palace, or I will be commented as unmanly and cowardly. As a prince, I am also expected to marry a princess, just because every prince marries a princess in stories. However, I do not want to marry anyone at all." The prince said to Cinder after she told him that she was not willing to marry him one day when they met, "You come out of the palace, so I guess you won't feel astonished if I tell you my thoughts. I tried to talk to my parents, but they said it was good for my future. Otherwise, I will have difficulty blending in society and be a successful king."

        "I am glad that you still try to control your life and make your own decisions." Finally, he said.

        Cinder thought abstractedly as she opened the door of the basement. So the prince helped you get out of the prison? Suddenly the Curse asked her.

        Hey! You listened in to my thoughts! Cinder complained.

        We use the same body. I don't have choices. The Curse said with a smiling tone. Cinder felt that it laughed slyly as if it had played a prank.

        Alright. Cinder sighed and continued. Yes, he released me after I was thrown into the prison. The queen was startled that I declined the marriage, and she said I needed to calm myself down in the prison.

        He is a good prince. He understands you and thinks from your perspective. The Curse commented.

        Yes, he is. So are you. I thought a curse will be evil and hurt people as stated in tales. Cinder said unbelievably.

        I'm not! The Curse shouted out. I don't choose to be the curse, and I don’t hurt people when I am in their mind.

        No, you are not. Cinder smiled when she opened one of the dairies on the shelf. I guess I will stay here for a long time. After all, it seems that almost no one comes here. Nice to meet you, Curse.

        Nice to meet you too, Cinder. Replied the Curse with a smile, too.