Happily Ever After, Ltd. - Prologue. Prologue

“Vanished? How could Prince Charming vanish?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you looked in his bedchamber?”

“Of course. He’s not there.”

“Well, he was meant to have a suit-fitting for the ball in an hour – maybe he just decided to do that earlier. Or maybe he went somewhere else. It happens. We thought we had lost Puss in Boots once, but he was chasing a bluebird up in the trees.”

“No, he’s definitely vanished. Here, look at the cover.”

The book cover usually showed Cinderella looking resplendent in her bridal gown, with Prince Charming by her side. But suddenly, Prince Charming was gone, and Cinderella was standing on her own, her eyes cast downwards, wearing a grimy apron over her household rags.

In the book, each page told the same dismal story.

Cinderella was on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor.

Cinderella cleaned the fireplace. She got soot all over her face.

She was in the kitchen peeling potatoes.

Cinderella dutifully pressed her Stepmother’s undergarments.

Until: The End.

No ever after. No happy ending.