The coast of the summer Kingdom.
On the beach, a Mermaid boy surfaced from the sea. Seeing Ariel, Rein, and Aurora, he nervously bowed: "Hello, Princess. Hello, great Magician."
He truly was a cautious and well-behaved Mermaid.
"I heard you fell in love with a human girl. How did you fall in love with her? Where is that girl now?" Rhine inquired about the specific details.
The Mermaid boy shook his head: "I can't go ashore, and I haven't even seen what that girl looks like. I only know her name is Cinderella."
Cinderella… Rhine heard the familiar name and recalled Prince Henry's previous plan for a ball, raising an eyebrow.
So you fell in love with Cinderella?
A Mermaid falling in love with Cinderella, that certainly is something that could happen on this continent!
Aurora was quite surprised: "You haven't even seen her, so how do you know her name?"
"You'll know if you look at those birds," the Mermaid boy said, pointing to the distant sky.
Following where he pointed, several birds flew over from the sky.
The birds chirped in the air, finally landing on a tree by the coast, and astonishingly began to sing in human language:
"Friend of the sea, I've come to tell you about Cinderella's day.
"Cinderella is so sad, for she wishes to go to that Prince's ball, but her sisters' and mother will not allow it.
"They torment her, oppress her, make her do the dirtiest and most tiring work, and still forbid her from attending Prince Henry's ball. For they say, Cinderella has no beautiful gown, nor precious dance shoes, and will only make a fool of herself at that ball!
"Come, come, tell me, friend of the sea, what do you have to say to Cinderella today?"
This scene left Aurora stunned: "Wait, just now, were the birds speaking human language? Uh, singing in human language?"
"That's right. They are all a group of magical birds," the Mermaid boy said.
"Cinderella and I rely on these birds to communicate with each other. The role these birds play seems to be what is called 'letters' in the human world."
"We've been communicating by means of bird messages for several years now. However, she has never known that her distant friend is actually a Mermaid who cannot go ashore."
Ariel and Aurora looked at these singing birds, both extremely surprised.
Rein, however, was not surprised, but recalled many things.
"Birds? The Brothers Grimm version?"
The widely known story of "Cinderella" actually exists in multiple versions. The commonality is that there is a girl oppressed by her sisters' and mother, who, with the help of external forces, is able to attend the Prince's ball.
The most widespread version is Charles Perrault's, where Cinderella receives help from a Fairy Godmother, rides in a pumpkin carriage, and wears a beautiful gown to the Prince's ball.
In the version compiled by the Brothers Grimm, Cinderella's "golden touch" is not a magical fairy, but a large group of birds. In the ending of some versions, the birds even peck out the eyes of the two sisters'.
"So, on this continent, the story of 'Cinderella' is the Brothers Grimm version, or a mixture of multiple versions. Therefore, Cinderella retains the magical ability to command a group of intelligent birds! I wonder if the Fairy Godmother still exists?" Rhine thought.
The Mermaid boy lowered his head, clearly worried about Cinderella in the distance: "Oh my, Cinderella is truly miserable. After her father died, her stepmother and two sisters' have been oppressing her. I really want to help her, but I can't go ashore."
He looked at Ariel and Rhine again: "Can you help Cinderella? She wants to attend Prince Henry's ball. Is such a simple wish really impossible to fulfill?"
Hoping your girlfriend can successfully attend the Prince's ball… Uh, what kind of backup plan thinking is this… Rhine muttered in his heart.
"Alright, I will help that girl named Cinderella," Rhine agreed. It wasn't a difficult task.
The Magician looked at the few chirping, singing birds and fed them some food: "It's a bother, but please take us to Cinderella's home."
...
Soon after, the three followed the birds to a yard and saw Cinderella working outside.
Rhine recognized the girl at a glance because she was covered in ashes, dirty and unattractive, and was sweeping weeds in the yard under the scorching sun.
As for the two sisters', they leaned back in chairs, enjoying the cool. They were quite beautiful, but their expressions were extremely harsh.
"Cinderella, how could you have such a foolish idea? Do you really think that if you complete the tasks Mother set, Mother will allow you to attend the Prince's ball?"
"That's right. You don't even have a presentable gown. You don't even have a pair of beautiful shoes. You'll only make a fool of yourself at that ball."
"Exactly, exactly, as soon as Prince Henry sees you in this state, he'll call his servants and have you thrown out!"
Cinderella was heartbroken, yet she had to admit that her two sisters' were right.
"This girl named Cinderella is indeed very pitiful. So how should we help her?" Ariel sighed.
"Preparing a suitable gown for Cinderella to attend the ball should be enough, it's not a difficult task," Aurora suggested.
Rhine looked at the sisters' scolding and mocking Cinderella, and an idea suddenly popped into his head.
The Little Magician's lips curved slightly upwards; he couldn't help but smile at the thought of the scene to come.
"Ariel, I have an idea. Let's teleport back to the palace and find Prince Eric!"
The three figures rapidly blurred and disappeared from their original spot.
...
At the same time.
In a small grove outside the yard, seeing Cinderella's sad expression because she couldn't attend the ball and was being mocked by her two sisters', a barely audible sigh escaped.
A girl dressed in beautiful clothes, disguised as a fairy, was hiding there.
She used magic to make herself invisible, so ordinary people couldn't see her.
"Cinderella is so pitiful, she doesn't even have a decent outfit to wear outside!"
"Now it's time for my magic to appear."
This gorgeously dressed girl, disguised as a fairy, was none other than the Fairy Godmother!
"When it gets dark, I will sneak into Cinderella's home, use magic to conjure the most beautiful and splendid gown for her, and then conjure a spacious carriage, so she can also attend Prince Henry's ball!"
"I can't even imagine how happy Cinderella will be when she sees such beautiful clothes?"
Fairy Leila was immersed in the beautiful fantasy of Cinderella smiling.
"Oh, so you're the Fairy Godmother who wants to help Cinderella," a clear young voice rang out from behind Fairy Leila.
"That's right… I am… Ah, ah, ah! Who are you? You can see me here? When did you appear behind me?"
The fairy was startled by the silver-haired youth who suddenly appeared behind her.
It seems that in this world, magical birds and the Fairy Godmother both exist simultaneously… Rhine thought, waving to Fairy Leila: "However, Cinderella might not need your help anymore."
"Don't need my help? Why?" Fairy Leila was bewildered, filled with vigilance towards this suddenly appearing boy.
Just then, a rapid sound of hooves approached.
A magnificent carriage stopped in front of Cinderella's yard.
"Wow, it's Prince Eric! The Prince actually came to our town!"
Exclamations came from the crowd on the street.
"Strange, that's the First Prince of the summer Kingdom, why has he come?" Fairy Leila was very puzzled.
Rhine said from behind: "Like you, I will also prepare a gown for Cinderella that is sufficient for her to attend Prince Henry's ball. You can wait and see."
Does this have anything to do with the current situation, and with Prince Eric's sudden appearance? Fairy Leila was even more confused.