Cinder X Bella ~ Thirty-Five!

Bella was shaken awake a short while later and blinked in surprise as she looked around. She expected to be back at House Vigatori, with the greasy driver tossing her out so he could get back to his own bed, so she couldn't quite believe her eyes when she saw the familiar face of her godmother, Bibbidy.

“You don't have much time, sweet girl.” Her Godmother smiled sadly. “I feel the power of a system oath in your heart. Already it is calling you, reminding you to fulfill its purpose.”

“Bibbidy?” Bella felt as though she were dreaming, but when she reached out, she took her Godmother's hand. “You’re really here? What's happening right now?”

“I'm giving you a gift to help you do whatever you are going to do.” The ageless woman informed Bella. “I can't imagine you haven't figured out how to escape this binding in your heart. All I can do right now is give you a bit of hope and a present that’s just for you, not to be shared or taken by anyone else.” 

Swiping at her eyes, Bella did her best to wake up and focus on the present moment. “I need to get back to the palace. Unless… why didn't I think of this before? Godmother, do you have an Awakening Artifact? If so, I won't even need to risk myself-” 

Already Bibbidy was shaking her head, so Bella went silent to hear the explanation. “No, even I have only seen such things a few times in my life, and always just before they’re used by another. Items like that call to the worthy among those who are seeking them. They can't just be casually found. Listen, time is almost up. I’ve paused the thoughts of the man driving you home, and the horse is moving as slow as I can convince it to go. Still, that will wear off far too soon.”

“She’s evil, Godmother. I don't know any other way to explain it.” Bella burst out, unable to contain herself in front of the one person in her life she trusted. “It used to be that everything she did seemed almost normal, a natural progression. But now that Father is dead, she's given up almost all pretense. I'm escaping tonight, one way or another.”

“No, dear. You must go back.” Bibbidy held up a hand to forestall the explosion of words Bella was about to unleash on her. “Until you are old enough to unlock your Full Class, her being your guardian is not in word only. It’s a binding power, ancient even when I was young. Unless she fails in her guardianship, she’ll always be able to find you and has the legal and magical right to bring you back and punish you. So long as the punishment is commensurate with the rules you broke, no one will even know.”

“Then I have to get the palace to hear me out-”

“I'm certain she's told you many times not to damage the reputation of House Vigatori.” The enigmatic merchant stopped Bella in her tracks. “A rule so long-standing, so potent, would allow her to take you down with her. No, you must be more subtle until she oversteps. You'll notice, you went to the ball tonight, though I'm certain she wanted nothing to do with that? That's because it was ordered by the King and Queen; they would know if someone disobeyed them and come to find out why.”

“There's so much I don't know, and all of it seems designed to trap me.” Bella took a deep, steadying breath, knowing there was no point in being furious about things she couldn’t control. “You said you were going to offer me some hope? I could use a little bit of that right now.”

“Hah! I bet.” Before anything else, her Godmother swept Bella into a hug, holding her tight for a few long seconds. “I'll be waiting out here, carriage ready to rush you to the Spring Palace as soon as you get out. You won't need to count on the charity of strangers, hoping against hope you'll find someone going to the ball hours late. Second…”

She swung her hands through the air, gentle light like that of the stars twinkling for a moment. By the time her fingers had descended to nearly Bella's midriff, they were holding a box. “…a present for you!”

Feeling a bit nonplussed, Bella lifted the lid, revealing a pair of slippers which each appeared to be made from a single piece of sparkling crystal. Her eyes went wide as she lifted the seemingly delicate shoes, then she looked at her godmother in confusion. “Crystal slippers? I can't imagine how much these cost to make, but, Bibbidy… these must be incredibly delicate. Not to mention how they’ll probably chafe, or even perhaps tear up my feet.”

“That's where you're wrong, my sweet.” Bibbidy cupped Bella's cheek in one hand, “You know I'm a Fairy, yes? Do you have any idea what that truly means? I see you don't, so I'll explain. It means I've achieved maximum rank with my Full Class skills from the system and gained access to the secondary system. Instead of gaining skills and abilities, I gain reputation with the system. Now I can complete tasks for the system in return for rewards of significant value. For instance, these glass slippers. Not crystal.”

Bella looked down at the shoes once more, feeling a strange pull on her senses as she tried to turn away. “It feels like they want to be looked at.”

“They do!” Bibbidy replied chipperly. “Practically no one will notice them, except for anyone who holds malice toward you. They will only be able to stare at your feet when you wear these, and they won't even realize they are doing it. They'll simply be judging your shoes. Whether it’s a person or an object, if something is meant to harm you, they will only be able to come after these slippers.” 

Bibbidy smiled kindly at her favorite young lady. “I'm certain you have no idea the difference between Magical items and Enchanted items, but I'll explain someday in the future. Just know that these are the latter, granted directly from the system to me, for you, for nearly a decade of my devoted service.”

“It's too much!” Bella immediately tried to return the slippers to her godmother. “You worked more than half my life for these? You musn’t-”

Bibbidy pressed the box more firmly into Bella's hands. “Wear them, Bella. They are meant for you and only you. A system guarantee. If you somehow manage to lose them, they’ll always find a way back to you. Someone else attempting to wear them will experience intense discomfort, in the most egregious cases of theft, possibly even losing their toes. They will protect you… like I should have been able to do.”

“Bibbidy, no, you can't take the blame for the way my life went.” Bella’s words were soft, and she feebly attempted to hand the shoes back once more. 

“We're approaching your destination.” Bibbidy pushed the door of the carriage open. “I'll be waiting for you at the end of the road; don't keep me there for too long! We'll talk more on the trip back to the Spring Palace.”

Moments after her godmother had vanished, Bella almost fell back in her seat as the vehicle sped up. The voice of the driver echoed out, “Hyaa! You falling asleep on me, Trotter? Twenty minutes to the stable; don't give up on me now.” 

A moment later, Bella nearly panicked as she realized her hands were empty. She looked around the small space, unable to find the box with the slippers no matter where she looked. “No! It can't have been a dream!”

The carriage came to a halt moments later, and her door swung open. The driver, clearly exhausted and annoyed, held out a hand for her to grab. “Let's go, missy! I get paid double tonight, so long as I drive you all there, bring you back, then bring them back later. Get a big fat tip for making sure you go into the cellar, for some reason?”

Distraught and confused, Bella took his hand and stepped out onto the road. 

*Clink.*

She froze in place for a moment, glancing down and lifting the hem of her dress to reveal the glass slippers, already in place on her feet. The driver didn't notice, grumbling about late nights, but as Bella led the way, she felt like she was walking with a pair of incredibly comfortable, well-tuned wind chimes on her feet. 

“Alright, there you go.” The driver held open the door of the cellar for her, confusion writ large on his face. “I've done some odd, some might even say questionable, things for a bit extra pay, but this is one of the stranger ones. Everything okay? You, uh… need help?”

Though she fully understood what he was actually trying to say, with Bibbidy’s warning in her mind, and the man being on the payroll of her stepmother, Bella decided to play dumb. “No, I can manage the stairs myself. Thank you for your kindness this evening. I'll see you… another time.”

“Uh. Yeah.” The man lowered the door gently behind her as she stepped down the stairs.

Bella descended into darkness, stepping into her room and feeling a bizarre *click* in her chest as the next portion of her oath came into effect. At the same moment, her left arm began to tingle, and the system whispered about her skills into her mind—though she barely noticed it over the surge of adrenaline flowing through her. 

“Well, it's official. If I go up those stairs before being summoned by Matringa or tea time, I’ll fall dead on the spot. I can only hope the system won't punish me for the loophole I'm about to use.” 

*Squeak! Suzy sounded off as soon as Bella closed the door behind her, and the mouse was sure the human was alone. Squeaky squeak squeak, squeakers squeak squeak squeak-*

“Whoa! Slow down, Suzy.” Bella shook her head sadly, wishing not for the first time that her Animal Communication Basic Skill allowed for two-way communication instead of only one. “I didn't suddenly figure out how to speak mouse; you're going to have to show me just like usual.” 

It was strange to hear a mouse sigh in annoyance, she had to really listen for it in order to catch the slight sound. The mumbled *squeak* was just extra in Bella's opinion, but she followed the frantically motioning mouse. To her surprise, they didn't hurry toward the escape tunnel—instead, Suzy led her to the opposite side of the room, to an overturned straw satchel. The mouse pointed at it, doing her best to smile up at the human towering over her.

Bemused but happy to play along, Bella pulled the bag open, going stock-still as she saw the glimmering blue and silver fabric within. “Suzy, this is supposed to be hidden in the walls, why did you bring all the scraps of this cloth here?”

The tiny mouse let out a growl of frustration, pointing at the bag several times and squeaking in annoyance. Bella reached in and gripped the shredded fabric, marveling at how soft it still was, and pulled. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she continued to pull, revealing not an armful of rags, but a unified, shaped outfit. 

The dim light worked against her as she held up the garment, but Bella gasped anyway. “It's a dress! You made me a dress? How’d you manage to… look at the stitch work! It's as though the fabric was never sewn together. No, it wasn't! It was woven? That's not… possible!”

Suddenly, her left arm blazed with pearlescent light, shining intensely in the room and turning night into day. For a few, long, glorious moments, she beheld the most wondrous dress she’d ever laid eyes on. It was a simple garment, functional, but would hug against her tightly. The silvery portions of the fabric seemed to drink in the light pouring off of her, and even when the moment passed, the gown glowed softly in the darkness.

“What… what just happened?” With shaking hands, she reached to her left arm and pulled two fingers along the exposed skin, nearly fainting as she saw what the system had in store for her. 

Skill increase! Minor Creature Control [Level 9 (Master) → Level 10 (Perfect)]!

Basic Class: Beast Singer

Basic Skill: Animal Communication: Level 10/10. 

When vocalizing in a melodic manner, animals can [Perfectly] understand your intentions. Unless you do something to enrage them, non-magical creatures will go out of their way to protect you. 

Advanced Skill: Minor Creature Control: Level 10/10.

When communing with non-magical minor creatures—size limit: the tips of your fingers to your elbow in body length. Maximum of five pounds—you are able to exert [Perfect] control over their actions.

You have earned access to your Basic Class Breakthrough Skill. Touch a Class Shrine to activate it!

“I reached Perfection?” Bella shook her head in mute confusion, “How? I was only at level eight the last time I checked, and it's not like the system is subtle in letting me know when I’ve fulfilled the requirements of upgrading. Two levels at the same time, that can't be right!”

She swiped her arm again, reading over the information, nearly in tears as she tried to understand why, how, she’d progressed so suddenly. “It's been so long, then…? Wait, was it at the same time?”

Bella thought back over the events of the night, and realized there’d been another moment where the system had poked at her. Slowly, she tried to piece together when things had changed. “When I got down here, I felt the oath settle in my heart, but I also heard the system whispering. Did something else happen at the same time?”

*Squeak!* Suzy nodded frantically, with great frustration. She began pointing at the other side of the house, where a mole had just popped out of the ground. 

“The tunnel is ready? You made it in time? You did it!” The wheels began to spin in Bella's mind, and a nearly manic chuckle burst from her lips. “You worked with your friends to put my dress together, because I sang a sad little song about needing a dress the other day? At the same time you show it to me, the tunnel is completed? Which came first? Which one of those was the requirement for increasing which level?”

*Ska-wea~ak!* Suzy hopped up and down in agitation.

“You're right! It doesn't matter!” Bella finally shook off the shock she’d been trapped in and stuffed the dress back in the small satchel. Then she rushed over to the tunnel, pulling back the woven, straw mat to expose a hole just large enough for her to squeeze through.

“Tonight, I'm taking my life back!”