Ash-maiden

[redprayer]

[[CW: This is a retelling of Cinderella, so there will be some references to familial abuse and, in this version, death. There's no mutilation though, which is more than can be said for some versions!]]

“The merchant’s wife had died giving birth to the couple’s only child, a lovely little girl with a meek temperament. The merchant was a traveling one and for many months at a time the girl would be left alone, save for the servants the merchant employed to look after his house and daughter. She was lonely at times, as the servants were expected to keep a certain distance between themselves and the child and her father was away so often, but overall her life was content enough until her father brought home a new wife.”

As the program indicates, when Rezo begins narrating the story proper shadows form in the light the fireball gives off, illustrating whatever parts of the story he is narrating. So a silhouette of a house appears, then the silhouette of a little girl walks out of it and stares off into the distance, then the silhouette of a carriage rolls up and out of it steps the silhouette of a man, a woman in a voluminous dress, and a girl in a dress with a matching shape. The man gets back into the carriage and it rolls away, leaving the three female figures alone. And as Rezo continues narrating, the silhouettes continue to mime out the events of the story.

“The stepmother had a daughter of her own from a previous marriage, and while the two of them were pleasant enough when the merchant was at home, the moment that he left they showed their true colors. The two of them were a haughty, selfish, and petulant pair, who wore the merchant’s daughter and the servants down with their short tempers and constant demands.

“When the servants began to quit, one after another, they made the merchant’s daughter take on all the duties of the missing servants, and when she fell short of their standards the stepmother would beat her. Her stepsister, who had often been jealous of the merchant’s daughter’s beauty, took pleasure in mocking her over her increasingly bedraggled appearance. The merchant’s daughter was often spotted with ashes from her hard work cleaning and tending to the fireplace, and so her stepsister began to call her Ash-maiden.

“On the rare occasion that the Ash-maiden’s father returned home, he did nothing to alleviate his daughter’s ill treatment. His wife filled his head with lies about how badly behaved the Ash-maiden was and that she was in need of strict discipline. In truth, the merchant didn’t entirely believe her, but he did not like to concern himself with ‘domestic affairs’ and so he did not intervene, and the Ash-maiden was left to suffer on her own for several years.

“One cold evening, when the Ash-maiden was in her sixteenth year, she was trying to warm herself by the fire as she had for countless evenings before. She was tired and sad after another long day of dealing with her stepfamily, and her hands were numb with cold from doing the laundry in icy water. No matter how closely she held them to the fire, they didn’t seem to grow any warmer, and as she moved her fingers ever closer to the flames, she heard the fire cry out, “Be careful!”

Not only do the silhouettes play this scene out, but the fireball itself flares up when Rezo cries out the line be careful.

“As you may imagine, the Ash-maiden was very alarmed to hear the fire speaking to her. “My apologies for startling you,” the fire said, “I am a spirit of fire who has taken up residence in your fireplace. I mean you no harm, Ash-maiden. You always tend so carefully to this fireplace, that I decided it would be a suitable place for me to live. Your hands are cold, I see. I know the secrets of fire shamanism, and I can teach you a spell to warm them. Listen closely…”

“The Ash-maiden was uncertain at first, but she paid attention nevertheless. The spell proved to be very effective, and she thanked the fire spirit profusely for its kindness. “You are quite welcome,” the fire spirit said. “I like your manners, Ash-maiden, and it has been a long time since I have had such an attentive student. Come to me in the evenings, after your stepfamily has fallen asleep, and I shall teach you many more spells.” Happy to have a friend in the house that had been so lonely for her for so long, the Ash-maiden readily agreed.

“Over the course of many months the spirit taught her countless spells, from simple domestic charms such as the hand warming spell, to powerful destructive spells such as Burst Flare. The latter did not seem so useful to her, as she lived a quiet domestic life, but she learned them nevertheless and quickly became a powerful sorceress in her own right- though as far as her stepfamily was aware, she was nothing more than a pitiful scullery maid. And soon, the most unexpected opportunity for the Ash-maiden to use her new abilities arose.

“The Kingdom in which the Ash-maiden lived was home to a young prince who was known all throughout the land for his handsome appearance, kind heart, and charming manners. He was as yet unmarried, but the time was coming when he would need a bride. And so the palace would be hosting a grand ball and inviting all the eligible maidens from across the kingdom to come and meet him, with the hopes that the prince would pick out his betrothed from among them.

“The Ash-maiden’s stepfamily was very excited when they heard the news, and even the Ash-maiden herself was interested in attending such a grand affair. But when she dared to voice her interest, her stepfamily only laughed. “Let you, the Ash-maiden, attend the ball?” they jeered. “In your ugly rags and bare feet? The prince would be disgusted by your appearance! He’d probably send the royal guard to arrest you for your audacity.”

“That evening, the Ash-maiden sadly went to the fire spirit and told it of all that her stepfamily had said. “It’s true,” she lamented, “That I am not the least bit suitable as I am to attend a ball at the palace- and yet I still wish I could go!”

“Then you should go,” the fire spirit said. “No, don’t look so surprised; if you have the will and the courage, you can certainly go to the ball. Now you may not have the appropriate attire, but I know how you can obtain it without your stepfamily’s knowledge. Listen to me. Outside of this village there is a bandit encampment, and the bandits have a cache of fine jewelry on their hands. When your stepfamily leaves for the capital, you should seek out the encampment, drive the bandits away with your fire magic, and take the jewelry for yourself.

“Deeper into the forest is an old keep which is occupied by a group of trolls and the noblewomen that they have taken prisoner. If you save the noblewomen, they will certainly not mind loaning you a dress beautiful enough for the ball.

“And finally, deeper still in the forest, is a great underground cave where a dragon sleeps. If you impress the dragon with your powers, he will give you one of his treasures. The dragon has many treasures, but of use to you is a pair of enchanted golden slippers that will allow you to move seven leagues with each step you take. You can use these slippers to get to the ball in time, and then return home before your stepfamily comes back. And they are fine enough to wear to a ball.

“I will take care of the house while you’re away,” the fire spirit concluded, “So if you are brave enough to fight then you will have nothing to worry about.”

“The Ash-maiden thought this all sounded very frightening and a great deal to worry about, and yet she did so long to go to the ball. And when her stepfamily set out for the capital a few days later she set aside her worries as best she could, and went to seek out the bandit encampment.

“When she arrived at the encampment, she was terrified to see a crowd of battle-scarred men sitting around a fire and drinking, each of them armed with deadly weaponry. The bandits on their part were confused to see such a young, ragged looking girl approach them. But she seemed an easy target, and one of them went to threaten her with his knife. The sight of the blade gave her chills but, remembering what the fire spirit had taught her, the Ash-maiden launched a fireball in his direction and the bandit fled in terror.

“The rest of the bandits were easily dispatched after that, as the Ash-maiden chased them all about the encampment lashing at their heels with enchanted fire and exploding the scenery all about them with a generous distribution of fireballs. She may have been a bit more violent than was necessary, actually; the Ash-maiden likely had some buried anger issues to work through.

“When the encampment was empty the Ash-maiden found and claimed the treasure for herself. Feeling much more confident, she set out deeper into the woods until she found a moldering old keep guarded by a pair of trolls. They were large, ugly brutes, and their appearances were even more frightening than the bandits had been. Remembering what she knew of their regenerative abilities, the Ash-maiden was terrified to face off against them. But when the trolls went to attack her she again summoned her courage and called forth on ever fiercer and hotter fire spells; and the trolls burned up, one after another, faster than their regenerative abilities could heal the damage.

“When all the trolls were dead, the Ash-maiden entered the keep and freed the imprisoned noblewomen. As the fire spirit had said, they were indeed very grateful to be rescued, and when the Ash-maiden shyly asked if any of them had a dress they could give her, one of the noblewomen happily gave her a gown from off of her very back.

“After bidding farewell and sending the noblewomen on their way the Ash-maiden ventured ever deeper into the forest, until she at last found a great cave where a massive dragon lay sleeping in the entrance. He was a great scaly beast, with sharp teeth like spears, claws as big as the maiden herself, and horns so sharp you could hear them slice the air itself with every movement. And his skin was the bright red color of spilled blood. All in all he was a frightful looking creature, and the Ash-maiden’s blood ran cold when he awoke and looked at her with cold, glittering eyes.

“Who are you?” he asked, “And what business do you have with me?” The Ash-maiden swallowed her fears, and said, “I have come to show you my power, so that you may give me the pair of golden slippers with which one can cross seven leagues with a single step. I wish to attend a ball being held at the palace, and I require your slippers to get there and back, and to have something to wear when I dance.”

“And what power do you have?” the dragon asked. “I know the secrets of fire shamanism,” she replied, “And I can cast a Burst Flare. Let me show you.” And she cast the spell, and all the area for a square mile in front of the dragon’s cave was reduced to ashes.”

As Rezo narrates, the fireball lighting the stage again flares up, even bigger than the last time.

“The dragon was greatly impressed and went to fetch the Ash-maiden her slippers immediately. She was deeply happy and relieved to have the final item within her grasp, and the dragon kindly informed her of a spring she could stop by along the way to the palace where she could wash away the ashes she was stained with. She did as he suggested, and when the Ash-maiden had bathed and changed into her new finery she was so exquisite to behold that one would never have thought she had spent the past five years serving as a scullery maid for her stepfamily.

“At last, the Ash-maiden arrived at the ball. The glittering palace was a grander sight than anything she had ever seen before. She was awestruck by the appearance of the ballroom and the prince, when he laid eyes upon her, was equally awestruck. To the Ash-maiden’s delight, the prince approached her and asked for a dance.

“To her surprise, his fingers were icy when they joined hands. The prince blushed at her cry of surprise, and apologized. “I’m afraid my hands are often cold,” he explained. “It’s quite a problem at times like this.”

“It’s no problem at all,” the Ash-maiden declared. “I happen to know a spell for dealing with such a thing.” And she cast the hand-warming charm upon the prince, who was pleased and astonished to feel his hands grow warmer than they had been in years.

“The two of them danced long into the night, speaking of everything and nothing, and both were happier than they had ever been before. The Ash-maiden wished that night would never end but alas, time passed on and on, until midnight came and all the clocks in the palace began to chime. The Ash-maiden was startled and, remembering that she must get home before her stepfamily did, was much alarmed. She let go of the prince’s hand and fled, but in her haste one of her slippers fell off. She had to hop the rest of the way home and was thus exhausted when she returned, although she fortunately was still able to arrive before her stepfamily did.”

(And yes, the silhouettes do show the Ash-maiden hopping for her life during this part.)

“After the ball, the prince was positively despondent. He had fallen in love with the Ash-maiden, but nobody seemed to know anything about her and the only clue he had to go on was the golden slipper that she had left behind. When he took it to the palace sorcerers, they determined that it was an enchanted item, and that only the rightful owner would be able to wear it. The prince proclaimed that he would marry no one but the maiden who could wear the slipper, and he set out to find her.

“The prince traveled across the kingdom, searching for the Ash-maiden in every town and village. Countless young women tried on the slipper, but of course none of them could wear it. At last, he came to the village where the Ash-maiden lived, and when her stepfamily heard that the prince was coming they hastened to lock her into her room.

“When the prince arrived the Ash-maiden’s stepsister eagerly took the slipper from him but try as she might, she was unable to make it fit. Somehow, she could not even wedge a single toe into the slipper. After numerous attempts the prince finally thanked her and took away the slipper. “And you are sure there are no other unmarried women in your household?” he asked. “Of course not!” the stepsister said. And that is when the Ash-maiden blew up the door to her bedroom.”

Rezo narrates this bit nonchalantly enough, but the startled reactions of the silhouette characters as bits of wood fly at them are comically extreme.

“Excuse me,” she said, “But I believe that is my slipper.” The prince handed it to her, and of course it fit perfectly. She produced the second slipper and put it on as well. The prince laughed and took her ash-stained hand in his, and led her out of the house before the eyes of her astonished and chagrined stepfamily.

“The prince and the maiden were married a few days later and lived together in the prince’s grand palace. As for the maiden’s stepfamily, they were unable to find any servants who were willing to take on the work they’d previously forced the maiden to do, and had to take care of the housework themselves. But they did such a poor, lazy job of it that the fire spirit grew enraged, and it burned the house down to ashes, along with the stepfamily.”

And there is one final flareup of the illusory fireball, as it swells within a second to twice, four, five times its original size. It’s so bright that the shadow silhouettes vanish, and for a few seconds after the fireball subsides there aren’t any visible.

But then Rezo picks up the story again, and the shadows reform to show the prince and the maiden side by side.

“And so the maiden never heard from her stepfamily ever again. She and her prince lived the rest of their lives sharing each day with one another in love and joy, as well as with their eventual children and grandchildren. The maiden never had any particular reason to use her more destructive magic ever again, although she passed her knowledge on to the rest of the family. And at the very least, none of them ever had to bear with cold hands.”

Rezo dispels the illusion and the fireball and its shadows vanish, cueing the stage lights to turn on once again. Rezo inclines his head towards the audience, and says, “Thank you all for listening. I believe our next act is to be a musical performance by Mr. Genjo Sanzo. Sir Sanzo, won’t you take the stage?”

Rezo replaces the mic on its stand, and finally leaves the stage to retreat into the relative anonymity of the audience.