“Every tale has a darker side,” Theo states. “Let’s take your sister’s predicament, for example.”
I snort. “Charming and his magical slipper that didn’t fit last annus, but somehow does this one?”
“You are right to be skeptical. Charming has the slipper spelled to fit the foot of any maiden he chooses.”
“He’s cheating fate for the lustiness of his loins.”
“Never say that again.”
“Cheating fate?”
“Lusty loins,” Theo says with a mock shiver.
“Greedy groin?”
He casts another look over his shoulder and chuckles. “You have such a poetic way with words. Perhaps you should become a fableist?”
“Those musty old people who write new fairy tales? No thanks, I struggle to manage my own fate, never mind that of many other generations to come.”
“The darker side of Cinderella’s narrative is hidden because most maidens would run away if they learned the truth.”
“Which is?”
Theo stirs the pot and takes a sip of the liquid, nodding in satisfaction at his culinary creation. It smells divine. He turns and takes the seat opposite mine before scooping my feet into his lap and digging his thumbs into my arches. “The original story tells of how Cinderella was downtrodden by her wicked stepmother and ugly stepsisters. They worked her into the ground and made her sleep in the ashes of the fire.”
“That’s common knowledge.”
He nods and sighs. “So the night the prince claims his bride by shoe fitting, the stepsisters try it on. The first cannot fit her toes in, so her mother makes her chop her big toe off. It fits, but the prince spots the blood and returns her to her parents. The next sister’s toes fit, but not her heel, and her mother makes her chop off part of her heel.”
“That is sick.”
“Charming once again spots the blood, and that is when he finds his Cinderella.”
“You are telling me I am going to chop part of my foot off? Because I can guarantee I have no such plans, I do not seek the hand of any prince, and definitely not one as cruel and arrogant as Charming.”
“No, that practice has fallen out of favor, although if maidens attempt to lay false claim, they do risk losing a toe or heel. The dark happens once Cinderella marries. Upon her shoulders will sit two black birds, who, upon leaving the ceremony, peck out the eyes of the sisters at her sides.”
The blood leaches from my face. “That’s horrific.”
“It’s the price exacted for the magic.”
“If Gwyneth marries Charming, I lose my eyes?” I check.
“Yes.” Holy Idol balls. That is a horrific end for a maiden.
“There are no rumors or blind maidens wandering The Hallows,” I point out.
“No, because once the fairy tale has been fed its price, the injured and maimed are sent to So Far Away to live out their lives from the prying eyes of the kingdom.”
He rises and retrieves two wooden bowls from a shelf before spooning the stew into them. He clicks open a container and pulls out a loaf of bread before cutting it into slices, and I marvel at his skill of not stabbing anyone or anything while holding a blade. I could learn a thing or two.
He brings over the bowls and sets two spoons down, plus the bread slices. My mouth waters and I sip the broth, humming in satisfaction. I dip the bread in the stew and delight in the miracle he’s worked with so few ingredients and so little time.
“You enjoying that?” Theo asks. He’s left half of his stew.
“Are you not eating yours?” I wonder.
“I had a snack earlier.”
