Dreams of Stars (A Once Upon a Time/Jiminy Cricket fanfic)

Dreams of Stars Part 32

Time dragged on in Cinderella's pantry, and Kaelin found that she couldn't keep track of how long it had been. Before long, she began to feel useless to Cinderella too. Yes, she was there and she could sew a bit, but the abuses of the stepmother and stepsisters were relentless. Kaelin felt helpless to do anything about it, but that—that was surely what Cinderella needed to escape from. Having an understanding friend wasn't enough. If things went on like this, her soul would still be crushed.

Of course, Kaelin didn't transfer her discouragement about herself to Gus, and she didn't speak of it either. Gus seemed invulnerable to any discouragement, and he still knew how to make Cinderella laugh. He was surely more help than she was. Though Kaelin began telling herself that she was worthless, she couldn't bring herself to think the same thing about Gus—despite the fact that Gus couldn't get Cinderella out of here either.

The need to find a way for Cinderella to escape this horrible place became a desperate, continual longing in Kaelin's gut—like her mouse's need to gnaw on something. She began to look for ways. But what ways were there? Cinderella could simply run away and try to live on her own, but she had tried that once before, and her stepmother had sent men to bring her back. It had been a terrifying experience for her. Once, Kaelin had suggested that Cinderella might wish to become an animal too, but Cinderella didn't want that. Becoming an animal, she had decided, was the one thing worse than remaining here. Cinderella had always dreamed of finding true love. It was one of the reasons she wanted out. She felt that, if she became an animal like Kaelin, that dream could never happen.

Kaelin hadn't thought of that. While she was in the orphanage, she had been too absorbed in waiting for the return of a cricket to think about finding true love. It hadn't been a factor for her then, and it still wasn't. Cinderella, on the other hand, would always watch the fireworks from the palace on the hill and dream of finding her own prince. It didn't have to be a literal prince, of course. Just someone for her to love. Perhaps that person—wherever he was—could be her escape.

During her time with Cinderella, Kaelin had started on a regular schedule for seeing Jiminy. She had discovered how to hitch a ride on a merchant's cart to travel from Cinderella's village to Geppetto's, and that ride only took a day. Every other month, then, Kaelin went to spend a day at Geppetto's workshop, and in the months in between, Jiminy came to see her. It kept her from having to miss him too much, and she was able to keep up to date on how Pinocchio was doing.

Though Pinocchio seemed to become continually more wild and naughty, Jiminy was surprisingly less discouraged every time Kaelin saw him. Jiminy was becoming calmer and more sure of himself. His character and his understanding of life were deepening beautifully. Kaelin felt that this was from his friendship with Geppetto. Ever since Jiminy had achieved what was most important to him, he had been flourishing under this newfound freedom of forgiveness. Even Pinocchio's constant failure to listen to his conscience couldn't overcome the encouragement Jiminy had from being forgiven.

One month, however, Jiminy didn't come to Cinderella's house. Worried about him, Kaelin headed off for the workshop on the first day of the following month. When she arrived, there was no sign of anyone. Her heart pounding, Kaelin scrambled all through the house, looking behind every beautifully-carved toy, trinket, or piece of furniture in the workshop and store. "Jiminy!" she called, "Geppetto! Pinocchio!" There was no one there.

Calm down... she told herself, They may just be on an outing. Perhaps they've gone to the olive groves. Yes, perhaps Geppetto wanted to take little Pinocchio to see the silver olive trees. She curled up beside the door and waited the rest of the day for them to return. No one came.