Cinderena: A Fairy Tale of the Stars

Chapter 4- Broken Dreams

by Kuroi Tenshi Yuna

February 2003

Disclaimer: Rena, Indalecio, and all Star Ocean: The Second Story characters belong to Enix and Tri-Ace, not me! 

Cinderella belongs to Disney, not me, as I am adapting Disney's version of the classic fairy tale! Once again, I'm not making any money from this!

Note: This is an Alternate Universe fanfic. I have inserted the characters of Star Ocean 2 into a fairy tale, and have altered the plot, relationships, and characters to fit the fairy tale! There will be some spoilers about the game, mostly concerning who the characters are!

The song lyrics that I am using throughout this fan fiction series are the translated lyrics of "Hearts," sung by Saori Nishihata. It's the cute ending song of Star Ocean EX, the Star Ocean 2 anime! 

Is this really me?

Standing in front of the mirror was a young woman dressed in a dazzling lavender gown that subtly complemented the dark sapphire of her short hair and eyes. The dress was simple, with short, round sleeves, a deep v-cut that exposed her small neck, and a slender skirt that just reached the floor. The hem of the skirt was adorned with a deep purple sash and Rena had tied a ribbon of that same color around her waist. She had no gloves or jewelry to wear, but to say that she was satisfied was a definite understatement.

Her cheeks darkened with a faint pink blush. I can’t believe that I look so… pretty. I’m just a poor girl, a girl who cooks and cleans and feeds the animals. I’m always wearing dirty rags of murky browns and grays, so I’ve never worn something so nice before.  At least not since Mother died…

Sighing softly, Rena straightened her crescent hairpin.

I’m just a plain girl… I’ve never looked, or felt like this before. I’ve never felt like anyone would give me a second glance, that anyone would ever notice me. I’ve never felt special…

Her face lit up with a genuine smile.

Just once, I’d like to be the center of attention. Just once, I’d like people to realize that I’m more than just a poor girl. Just once, I don’t want to be ordinary.

I want to shine like a star.

Turning away from her mirror, Rena walked over to the only window in her room in the attic. She was tingling with utter excitement as she watched the townspeople dressed up in fabulous gowns and suits, all ready for the ball that evening. I can’t even begin to count the hundreds of times that I’ve daydreamed that I would go to a ball, wearing the perfect dress, meeting so many interesting and wonderful people, dancing the night away,  and falling in love with the perfect guy…

And what’s more, I would be free… free from my rags and my social class, free from my quiet solitude, free from my masks of polite contentedness with the life that I’ve been forced to live…

I would be free to be myself.

Before, I thought that none of this could ever possibly happen. It was just a sweet, but silly fantasy, after all, one that only existed in my own naively hopeful heart.

But now…

Rena turned her pensive gaze up towards the evening sky. “Tonight is the night,” she softly whispered to the beautiful stars above. “Tonight my dreams will come true.”

Shivering slightly from the cool wind, she reached out and closed the window.

****

“Yay! It’s time to go!!” Precis grinned widely as she walked up the stairs towards Rena’s room. She pounded on the door, calling out “Come on, Rena! We still have to meet up with our dates!”

“Coming!” The young woman opened the door, nearly bumping into her younger step-sister.

“Ow!” Precis pouted as she rubbed the right side of her head.

Rena’s blue eyes grew big. “Oh, I’m so sorry Precis! I guess I was in such a hurry that I was being reckless…”

The brunette laughed. “That’s okay, I think I’m too nervous too! I walked right into the door!”

The two girls giggled as they made their way down the stairs. Chisato was waiting for them, a grin on her face and a hand on her hip. “Are you girls ready to party?!”

“Yeah!!” Precis raised her fist in the air playfully.

Rena laughed. “You bet!” She looked at her two step-sisters, and clasped her hands together, her blue eyes sparkling with awe. “Oh wow, you two look so beautiful!”

Both girls blushed deeply. Precis looked like a perfectly cute princess in her long carnation pink dress. The top of the dress was rectangularly cut and sleeveless, with a pale pink ribbon tied just under her petite bosom. Her long auburn hair was adorably held up in its usual ponytail with a huge pink bow that was nearly as big as the girl’s head. To finish off her outfit, Precis wore a carnation pink choker and short light pink gloves that just covered her hands.

Chisato looked fabulous in a sea green dress with spaghetti straps that bared her elegant shoulders. She wrapped herself with a stylish dark forest green shawl that sparkled in the light. Her green dress gorgeously complemented her short red hair, which was adorned with a pair of simple silver pins.

“Thanks, Rena, same to you!” Chisato smiled warmly at the other girl. “The whole getup is a bit much for me, but I guess it’s still pretty nice.”

The two girls laughed at their tomboyish sister’s confession.

“Aw, Rena, you look soo pretty!” Precis’ emerald eyes widened with awe at her two friends. “You look soo pretty too Chisato!”

Rena giggled. “Aw, we could go on complementing each other all night!”

Giddy with anticipation, the girls talked nervously about how wonderful the ball was going to be. They wondered what kinds of extravagant foods they’d eat, what kinds of interesting people they’d meet, and what kinds of elegant gowns they’d see. They were so rapped up in their conversation that they didn’t notice Indalecio walk into the room after a day at work.

”Hi Daddy!” Precis ran over to the tall man and squeezed him in a tight hug.

He smiled softly at her and said, “Why dear Precis, you wouldn’t want to wrinkle your lovely dress now would you?”

“Ack! I totally forgot about that!” A wide-eyed Precis pried herself away from her father and hurriedly smoothed out her dress.

Chisato laughed. “Aw, don’t worry dear, your dress is just fine.”

The young brunette let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Daddy, when are we going to the ball?”

“Whenever you two are ready, my little cupcakes.”

“Yay! Let’s go now then!” Precis excitedly scurried outside to her father’s carriage.

“Come on, Rena.” Chisato reached out for the other girl’s hand, but Indalecio stopped her by placing his hand on hers.

“You go on first, precious, for I have something I wish to discuss with that girl privately.”

“Oh, all right.” The redhead gave Rena a soft smile before leaving the two of them alone.

Indalecio’s pale face darkened with a stern frown. “Now, have you finished all of your duties?”

Demurely, Rena nodded.

“Hmm, and I see that you have a dress already. I wonder…” The tall man peered at the young girl. “How is it that you had enough time to finish all of your chores and to make a dress all by yourself? Perhaps you had some… inexcusable outside help? Maybe in the form of that penniless rascal that you waste too much of your time with?”

Rena’s blue eyes flashed with anger at the merciless accusation. “No, sir, I did not have any such help. And please, leave Noel out of this. He has never been anything but a wonderfully caring and kind friend to me, and he does not deserve such harsh criticism.”

Taken aback by Rena’s sudden unexpected boldness, Indalecio was speechless for a moment before he continued, “Fine, I’ll leave it at that. Then I suppose I have to let you go to the ball with us, now don’t I?”

The young woman’s lips almost curved into a smile as a flicker of hope danced in her sapphire eyes. “Thank you, sir.”

“Yes, you should be thanking me,” Indalecio said curtly. “All right, but before we take off, I wish to have a cup of hot tea first.” He sat down in a large, plush chair and waited for his drink.

“Yes, sir.” Rena hurriedly went into the kitchen and fetched the tea kettle full of hot water. She carefully poured out a cup of hot water, stirred in the tea, and walked towards her step-father.

 

“That’s very good of you. I…” Indalecio suddenly extended his long leg out towards Rena, tripping her and causing her to fall forward.

“Ah!!!!” Rena fell, along with the cup of tea, which spilled all over her beautiful dress, soiling it. A few areas on her chest and arms burned from when they made contact with the boiling hot tea, and she had dark bruises and a couple of cuts from her fall onto the hard stone floor.

“Oh my!” Indalecio had conveniently been far enough from the girl when she fell that he was not hurt or dirtied at all. “I am so dreadfully sorry! I cannot believe how unfortunate this all is! I merely wanted to stretch out my legs before the dance tonight, and I must have hurt you in the process!” Feigning guilt, the man stood up and placed a cold hand on Rena’s shoulder.

The young woman said nothing, felt nothing.

“Allow me to help you wipe some of this off…” The older man took out a pale blue handkerchief from his pocket and tried to soak up some of the tea from her dress. He scrubbed at an especially dark spot too harshly and tore the purple gown. “Oh no! I cannot believe that I have made an even worse mess out of this!”

Rena slowly traced a finger along the long tear in the beautiful lavender fabric.

Grinning maliciously on the inside, Indalecio resisted the temptation to sneer at the poor girl in front of him. In a much colder tone of voice than his fake cheer from before, he said, “I am sorry, but now there is no way that you can accompany us to the grand ball looking… well… as insignificant as you do now.”

“My dress…” Rena just lay on the floor where she had fallen, completely paralyzed with shock at how in a few short moments everything was ruined.

“Well, I must be off now. Wish us a wonderful evening.” After Indalecio exited the cottage, he stopped for a bit, and without turning his head, said some last words, “Oh yes, and do clean up the mess that you made, Cinderena.” With that, he slammed the door shut. 

Rena held her broken dress… and her broken dreams… in her hands.

This isn’t happening… The young woman stared ahead into space blankly. This isn’t the way tonight was supposed to be…

I was supposed to go to the ball… I was supposed to shine in this beautiful dress… I was supposed to meet new people and make new friends… I was supposed to dance for the first time… I was supposed to meet the man of my dreams, and fall in love…

I’ve been looking forward to this night for so long. I’ve been daydreaming about it for the past week or so, imagining how wonderful and amazing it’d be… how it could change my life forever…

And even before I knew about this ball, I think a part of my heart has been crying out for a chance like this all my life… A chance to go out into the real world and find out what I’m made of… find out who I could be.

A chance to be truly happy… maybe for the first time in my entire life.

A tear fell softly on her lavender dress. “No… why can’t I be happy?!” She got up and ran out of the cottage and into the dark night. She had nowhere to go, so she just kept on running and running until she found herself at the end of the stream that ran through Arlia Village. She sank down on the soft earth, too tired to run anymore.

She looked down at the water’s surface and found an image of herself there. “Who am I? Why can’t I be happy?” Rena softly said to her reflection. “Please… tell me…”

I mean, all my life, I’ve only lived for others. I serve them, I comfort them, I protect them… I wait Indalecio hand and foot, being the loyal “housewife” that I am. I let Chisato, Precis, and even Noel cry on my shoulder when they’re sad, when they’re hurt, even though I’d never expect the same from them. I would do anything to make sure that none of them are hurt, like that one time with Noel…

And yet, I do all of this with a smile, even if some days it is forced. I’ll never let them know that on the inside… I’m angry. I’m hurt. I’m sad.

I’m lonely.

All I want is to find that something… That something that will make me happy, that will give my life meaning…

I want to find out who I am. All my life, I think I’ve just been someone else…

“And I’m sick of it!!”

Rena picked up a rock and threw it into the stream with all her strength. It crashed into the waters with a big splash, distorting her reflection…

Changing it.

Why can’t I just be myself? Why can’t I be Rena… and not Cinderena?

 I don’t know if this ball would have given me the chance to change, to show my true colors to the world, but…

It was my only hope.

Sapphire eyes drowned in their tears.

And now it’s gone, just like all my dreams…

Please tell me, someone… anyone…

 Why can’t I be free?  

A soft whisper escaped rosy lips in the cold darkness of the night. “Oh my wish. Press the switch within your heart. I only want to be happy…”

Rena’s beautiful voice became faint as her sobs silenced her song.

~To be continued…~

Author's Note: Hi there! Well, what did you think of this chapter? I hope you all like it!  I'm also planning to or am in the process of writing the following fairy tales as well:

* "Aladdin: A Fairy Tale Fantasy" starring Zidane and Dagger from FF9

* "The Little Mermaid: A Fairy Tale Fantasy" starring Tidus and Yuna from FF10