Cinder X Bella ~ Forty-Seven!

“Bella!” Bibbidy screamed in horror, only for Cinder’s furious bellow to drown her out. 

Sparks flew off of him, swirling through the air and bursting into massive explosions all over the area—everywhere except where the Witch stood, holding her dangling stepdaughter. “Ahh, ha-ha-ha-haaa! Don’t even want to char her corpse, prince of flames? Then I have an effective shield, don’t I?”

*Hiss.* A black and white tail lifted threateningly, and Matringa managed only a single step forward before screaming as a spray of foul liquid shot into her face. 

Stella the skunk had finally made an appearance on the battlefield. 

Thanks to being momentarily blinded and in a state of sensory overload, a spark she hadn’t noticed drifted around her… only to dive into the wound Bibbidy’s magical hornet had dug through the nearly-impervious flesh of the Witch. She managed a second step before her eyes cleared, only to go wide…

…as her body was reduced to ash from the inside.

The process was nearly instantaneous, as Cinder had packed a truly immense amount of magic into the spark. The girl dangling in the air fell to the ground, a light coating of soot settling on her, only to vanish as the wind picked up. 

Bibbidy rushed forward, digging frantically through her pack as she ran. Cinder followed at a slower pace, stumbling from exhaustion as his adrenaline began to wear off. What remained of his Royal Guard moved with him as a unit, twitchy and overly aggressive, due to a sudden influx of noise from around the estate washing over them as the starlight barrier fell and allowed sound in once more.

Then everyone recoiled, Bibbidy even letting out a low shriek… when Bella sat bolt upright with a gasp, only to devolve into a horrible coughing fit.

With a shaking hand, she reached up to her neck and pulled away a small body, tears leaking from her eyes as she gently caressed the fallen mouse’s head with one finger. “Mert the Third… you truly were the bravest of all mice. You saved me… I'll never forget you.”

Then Bella was wrapped in a terribly tight hug as Bibbidy fell to her knees next to her, sobbing and babbling apologies. For leaving her alone for so long, with a Witch, how she just couldn't get back in time to warn the prince, all because she’d been kept waiting for an audience with the queen while—unbeknownst to her—the monarch was already sending out the procession. 

Though she felt it a bit strange to need to be the one to comfort her Fairy godmother, Bella shifted in her grasp and pulled her tight with one arm, her other hand busy cradling the broken body of her savior. “It’s… it’s going to be okay, Bibbidy. She's gone, and I’m… I'm free!”

Both of them held each other for another long minute before the godmother gently reached out for Mert. “I have the perfect place to put him until we can have a ceremony. Let me carry this burden, as the death of this little one falls squarely on my shoulders. Also… I'm not the only one who wishes to speak to you.”

After a moment of hesitation, Bella nodded and handed over the mouse, and Bibbidy carried him away with all the care and solemnity that should be afforded a hero who fell on the battlefield.

Cinder stood nearby rather awkwardly, uncertain where he fit into this display. Bella looked over at him, also unsure of how she should be acting in the presence of the prince. Finally, the captain let out an annoyed grumble and nudged his charge forward rather abruptly. 

“Williams!”

“Your Highness, if you're just going to stand there silently, we might as well leave.” The man's beautiful armor was covered in dirt and foul tiger blood, but he moved into a resting position with his eyes on the horizon. “Men, what lovely countryside there is to be seen over there. Don't you agree? You two, go gather the fallen.”

There were general murmurs of assent, and the two young adults were given as much privacy as decorum would allow. Cinder still glared at Captain Williams for a long moment, but his expression softened as he returned his gaze to Bella, who was standing up and brushing herself off. “So… I must say, on behalf of the crown, if there is anything we can do to make up for the terrible life you must have led, being controlled by a Witch right under our noses… please name it.” 

“Yeah.” Bella let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “You think your mother would be open to advancing my class? After being trapped here for so long, I'd like to travel. Anything to get away from… here.”

Both of them glanced over to the estate, Cinder wincing as he saw the extensive damage to the structure, while Bella only looked on with a sad fondness. The prince began to nod. “That will be arranged, on my honor. But that's not enough, so… think about it?”

“We can start there, and I don't know if I'll need anything else.” Bella stood up straight, looking the prince in the eye. “I'm used to hard work, and I think I'll be just fine, so long as I don't have someone locking me away and keeping me from learning and doing. For now… with all this… I'm just tired.”

“Well, you can't sleep here.” Cinder hesitated for a moment before allowing a weak smile to appear on his lips. “In fact, you can't stay here. Her Majesty the Queen has directly requested your presence, to explain your Breakthrough Skill and… I'm sure she'll also want to know what was going on here. Let's try to find a carriage that wasn't absolutely destroyed, and get you back to the Spring Palace. You can sleep there.”

“Prince Cinder.” Captain Williams leaned forward, appearing gravely concerned after one of his men had run over and whispered in his ear. “The youngest fledgling Witch, Cattiva… she's nowhere to be found.”

“What?” Cinder waved at the surroundings. “Find her! She can't have gone far; there was Fairy magic keeping everyone in here.”

“No… we found markings of someone escaping through what appears to be a tunnel under the lawn. When the hedges were ripped up, it was exposed. Here, we found this as well.” The Captain handed over a sparkling glass slipper, which had a bloody handprint on it. “We think she grabbed this, and it cut her. There are droplets of blood leading into the tunnel.”

“It comes out across the road.” Bella pointed in the direction of the tunnel's exit. “I dug that. Look for the opening under a bush shaped like a brooding owl.”

The motion caused the utterly exhausted young woman to stumble, and she nearly fell, only to be caught by Cinder before she could slump to the ground. “We need to get you some rest. Captain, send out a search party. She must be found. Bella… I'm not sure if you could ride a horse-”

“I'd be happy to offer you a ride.” Bibbidy called as she began walking over, an intricate jewelry box held between her hands. “First, Bella, where should we put your little friend to rest?”

“Not here,” Bella stated firmly before she swallowed, hard. “I promised them I’d take them away from this place when I went.”

“Perfectly understandable.” Bibbidy turned to the prince, meeting his eyes steadily. “With her parents gone, and the Witch slain, as her Fairy Godmother, I assert my right to be the guardian of Isabella Vigatori. Until she is of age to unlock her Full Class, she is under my protection.” 

“So long as Bella is happy with that arrangement, I see no reason to complain.” Cinder shrugged, uncertain why she was making such a big deal out of the situation. Captain Williams’ annoyed grumble caused the prince to glance at his guard, only to find that there was a deeply annoyed expression on the man's face. Still, he didn't speak out. 

“Good.” Bibbidy wrapped an arm around Bella's shoulders and guided her to the carriage. Only after Bella had been seated and was comfortably resting did she motion for the prince and his retinue to follow. Captain Williams and Cinder stepped into the carriage, sitting on a comfortable bench as the other soldiers mounted their horses and provided an honor guard as they began their journey back to the palace. 

For Bella, no time seemed to pass between getting into the carriage and being gently shaken awake to get out and enter the palace. Very groggy, she walked up the marble staircase she’d fled that very morning, though it seemed like ages ago. The beautiful decorations were ignored in favor of working hard to stay awake, but luckily, she wasn’t led directly into the throne room. Instead, she was given a guest suite, and a bath was drawn for her.

Bella awoke once more, barely remembering the time spent cleaning up and getting dressed before collapsing into the softest bed she’d ever had the pleasure of sleeping in. Bibbidy was waiting for her and joined the young woman in breaking her fast. Food was brought in, empty plates were taken away, and soon Bella was fidgeting restlessly, fighting the urge to do something. She looked at the last plate, wondering if she should take it somewhere or clean it herself, only to have a servant interpose and whisk it away, after quickly wiping down the small table. 

“You seem distracted. Do you want to talk about it?” Her godmother offered a kindly smile, but Bella only shook her head.

“Just… ingrained work habits. Hard to get out of routine, you know?”

A gentle knock at the door halted their conversation, and a servant poked her head in to inform them to prepare themselves for their audience with the queen. Bella quickly dressed in a gown which had been laid out for her, while Bibbidy didn't bother changing out of the comfortable clothes she could usually be found lounging around in. Soon, the two of them were walking into the reception area of the throne room…

Then they were led in, to meet with the queen. 

Bella bowed, and to her great concern, Bibbidy only gave the slightest of nods. “Liora, always a pleasure, dear.”

“Great Fairy, the pleasure is all mine, as per usual.” Though the tone the queen used was quite warm, her eyes were anything but. “I hear you have taken guardianship of Isabella Vigatori? I'm certain it will be a wonderful opportunity for her to learn from you.”

“Indeed.” Bibbidy’s answer was nonchalant, and she simply remained in place, waiting with what appeared to be a patient expression.

Queen Liora shifted slightly uncomfortably. “Isabella, may I call you Bella? I need to know what has happened here, how a Witch gained so much power in my own kingdom. Amongst my nobility. Please… if you are willing, leave nothing out.”

Slowly at first, but gaining confidence when she wasn't interrupted, Bella told her tale, starting from when her mother had died—apparently been killed, if the insinuation by Matringa held any weight—and ending with the walk up the marble steps of the Spring Palace only hours previous. The entire telling, very explicitly including the locations Matringa had visited to hand over what Bella recognized as cursed objects meant to induce the plague, took quite some time.

To her credit, the queen remained silent for the majority of Bella's speech, rarely interrupting, and even then only to ask clarifying questions. When the young woman had finished speaking, the queen leaned forward and examined Bella very carefully. “If I could be so bold, might I ask about the boons from the system you mentioned? It's very rare for someone to be given something like that, and… I would very much like to know.”

The focus of the queen's questions was not at all what Bella had been expecting, so she took a moment to shoot a glance at Bibbidy before answering. “I… don’t mind. The first is called the ‘Gift of Patience’ and apparently allows me to choose which class to unlock when I finally get a chance to do so. The second was ‘Incorruptible Youth,’ which allows me to see cursed energy and disperse it, so long as the source is destroyed or in contact with me. That's the last of the boons, but-”

The Queen grunted and waved at someone in the distance, nodding at them and making a strange hand sign. “Thank you, Bella. That’ll be incredibly helpful if we’re able to track down the cursed objects you had mentioned. Then, let’s-” 

“I'm so sorry to interrupt you, but I don't want to give an incomplete answer.” Bella gulped as the queen’s full attention returned to her. “The last gift from the system wasn't a boon, exactly. At least, it wasn't called a boon. It was a Unique merit, ‘Apex of the Generation’. Apparently, my next skill will be upgraded to contain at minimum five modifiers.”

There was a long moment of silence as Queen Liora looked between Bella and her godmother, who showed not a hint of surprise on her face. “Fairy, you knew this, didn't you?”

“I suspected.” Bibbidy didn't sound smug, but her tone was right on the edge of it. “I was sure enough that, even if I wasn't her godmother, I would have stepped in to shield her from those who might try to use the situation to their benefit instead of hers.”

“What are you talking about?” Bella’s voice felt tiny in the massive room, as the two incredibly powerful women glared or serenely smiled at each other. “I know that's good, but it'll just be a Basic Skill in an Advanced Class. Is that really so important?”

Liora lifted her hands and smoothed her hair back over her ears before dropping her hands to the base of her chin, folded against each other as she stared into the distance. 

“It is, Bella. That is an extremely notable achievement, and I'll explain in a moment. But first, while there is no official ranking of skills from the system, it is quite easy to see that the more modifiers a skill has, the more powerful the user can become. The kingdom’s definition of skills starts at one modifier, which is the most common among skills. So, that became colloquially known as a ‘common’ skill.”

“I see.” Bella flushed as the memory of being taunted for being ‘common’ reappeared in her mind for a brief moment. 

“Two modifiers is considered Uncommon, three, Rare, then Epic, with five being Legendary. We've never seen it, but there are rumors of a sixth modifier, a Mythical skill.” The queen took a breath, adjusting herself to be staring into Bella's eyes once more. “For reference, Prince Cinder, an incredibly powerful fire mage, has an Epic skill for the control of his flames. As a note, we will be having another celebration in the near future for his achievement of level nine in his skill, Mastery, when he slew the Witch.”

“Congratulations to him,” Bella murmured, her thoughts not in the present at the moment. “You're saying that, when I get my next class, I'll be starting with a Legendary skill? A skill potentially even more powerful than the prince’s?”

“That is correct… mostly.” The queen steepled her fingers, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Bella, the real answer is: that merit does not say your next class skill. It says your next skill. If you were to marry someone, you would gain a Legendary Conjoined Skill… and so would they.”