Cinderella Was A Liar.

I started reading when I was young. Like, really young. I loved books, I loved words and I loved the magic that authors could create on paper. Fairy tales were my favourite, for a very long time. And then I grew up. I realised there was no such thing as magic, or happily ever after, and that nothing in life is free. There are no wishes and magical relations to come and make things happen for you; everything is done off your own back and no one will help you. Not really.

The first time I got called cynical I was so angry; I claimed, and still do claim, that it is not cynicism, it is merely a practical view of the world. I believe I will get where I want to with hard work and determination, and if I don't the fault is entirely my own. I believed in fate, but I believe we make our own fate happen. We have to put in something to gain whatever it is we are chasing. Love, money, success...Everyone is chasing something. But you're going to keep running unless you take responsibilty for your life.

Love was something I had a hard time believing in. I've seen love in its best and worst forms. I've seen commitment and betrayal, utter devotion and a complete lack of trust. I watched someone have their heart broken and completely lose their way. I've watched a misinterpreted infatuation become blown out of proportion and I've seen someone take a backseat while everything they want moves further and further away. There is no set story or standard plot for love to follow, but there is a fundamental structure that all relationshps should be built on. When that is fractured, even slightly, there is no hope. No matter what you tell yourself, no matter how many apologies are uttered or gifts given, you broke something basic. Buildings don't stand once the foundations are broken.

And so here's the thing. Cinderella, she was my favourite. She had nothing. Essentially, she was nothing. But there was something in her that spoke out to the Prince, and yes, she needed her fairy godmother's help; she needed the gown and the pumpkin and everything else to get noticed, and she only had a narrow time frame to work with (a good night is usually in full swing at midnight...who on earth would want to leave then??). But she made it happen. Her Prince Charming fell in love and she left behind her glass slipper (accident?) so he could come and find her. He found her and he loved her and they lived happily ever after. This does not happen in real life. Prince Charming will smash your glass slipper, and smash your heart with just as much ease, and with no obvious remorse at all. The truth is, sometimes it is too much to believe in happily ever after, because when it doesn't come the disappointment is all the more devestating.

Cinderella was a liar.

But I'm intrigued to see how this plays out for that other character, the one not mentioned in the common version: the lesser one who broke it from the start.