Cinderson

Preparations

Preparations for the ball were underway. Announcements had been sent to every household in the kingdom and plastered around the town. All sorts of deliveries were arriving at the palace. And every girl in the kingdom between fifteen and nineteen was frantically preparing herself for the chance to win the heart of a prince.

The ball was just about the only thing Carmen, Anita, and Belinda had been able to talk about for days. Seth would have been irritated by the constant babble about such a dumb thing, but he figured that'd make him a hypocrite since all he could think about was the ball— Would Kendra bee there? Would he be able to find her? Would she recognize him? Would he recognize her? And, most pressing of all, how would he get there?

"I bet the food's fantastic!" Anita was saying.

"Too bad we won't be able to try any," Carmen replied absently, holding up her newly arrived gown, clearly distracted by it.

"And why not?"

"If you want to look like a pig stuffing her face in front of Prince Bracken, you're welcome to. But I won't be found dead by the food table," she paused, glancing to her sister's dress. "Plus, what if you spill on yourself?"

"Oh," Anita continued speaking but Seth stopped listening to the vapid scheming of his step sisters. So maybe he was a hypocrite. But at least he wasn't plotting to seduce anyone.

"Seth!" Carmen snapped at him, and he turned from his mopping to face her. She looked frustrated. Probably she'd tried to talk to him— more likely tell him to do something— and was upset that he hadn't responded. It was rather problematic, at times, just how good he was at tuning his steps out.

"What?" He asked when she didn't repeat her earlier request of him.

"I said I want to try on my gown," she huffed.

"Right now?" Seth glared at her.

"Yes." And she left, not waiting for Seth to respond. Because, of course, Seth would follow her. He had to, or risk facing the wrath of Belinda later (whom Carmen would no doubt tattle to). So he put away the mop for later and trudged after her. This was the worst part of it all. Worse than cleaning up after his step family, worse than cooking for them, worse than going on errands for them. Helping his step sisters into their complicated dresses and fixing their hair was the absolute worst of his tasks.

It took some doing to get Carmen into her outfit— first the corset, then the crinoline, then the layers of fine fabric and the dress itself. His step sisters really had no shame— he'd have been embarrassed to have someone help him into clothes, but, in all likelihood, his steps didn't even see him as a person. They'd see it more like being dressed by an enchanted coat stand than an actual human being.

"Now, what should we do about my hair?" Carmen asked, clumsily pulling her hair up in a twist, then in an approximation of a bun, then brushing it over her shoulder.

Seth didn't answer. It was possible she'd just been thinking out loud— talking to herself. He hoped she was. It would be easier to do what she wanted than to cycle through twenty different styles. But she looked at him pointedly, obviously expecting him to answer. Like he knew anything about hair. He scoffed, but replied, "I say we curl it and put it in a low bun, leaving a couple strands of hair loose. You can dress it up with hair ornaments that match your dress. It'll make you look refined but youthful." Okay, fine. He did know a thing or two about hair. But that's because he'd been forced to be the on call hairdresser of the house for almost ten years. You picked stuff up after doing it for that long, whether you wanted to or not. Which is why he was an expert on dresses and hair and makeup.