Prince Charming's Penance

The clock started to strike the midnight hour, as Cinderella begged Prince Charming to release her. The fairy godmother had warned her of dire consequences if she did not leave the ball before 12 o'clock, but the Prince was unwilling to let her go. With a final push, Cinderella freed herself and ran out of the royal palace leaving her glass slipper on the steps in her hurry. The beautiful carriage which had brought her to the ball had turned back into a pumpkin and four mice squeaked around it, who minutes before was her horses.

Seeing no alternative, Cinderella ran on foot all the way to her house and made her way to the room in the attic. She stood gasping near the small washbasin and splashed water on her face. As she did so, she looked up into the cracked mirror above the basin and acute shock beset her. When she had been warned of dire consequences, it had not been only about the carriage and the horses. She had also been punished. Where before she had smooth porcelain skin with a touch of rose on the cheeks, her skin had now turned pale and wrinkled. A large wart sat on the left of her chin and her golden tresses had turned into a dull brown. Cinderella shook with sorrow and pleaded to her fairy Godmother to help her, but there was no response. After all, she had been punished for her own misdeeds.

The next day her stepmother and stepsisters teased her mercilessly and openly enjoyed the fact that she was no longer more beautiful than them. A few days later the Prince came with the glass slipper. Cinderella was forced to try on the slipper, as the Stepsisters wanted to ridicule her in front of the Prince. The Prince was distressed to find that the glass slipper fit Cinderella perfectly. But he could not reconcile the fact that this ugly crone was the same beautiful rose who had danced with him a few days back. He walked out of the house, with Cinderella on his heels pleading and begging to reconsider.

" Please, your Highness. I begged you to let me go the other night. I had told you that I had to leave before the midnight hour. I was punished for not heeding the time. But, I love you. Do not punish me more. It is the same me inside."

But the Prince was furious. "Begone, you creature," he said. " How can you think that I would consider you to be the Princess of the realm? With my youth and looks, I can have my choice of Princesses. The other night was a beautiful dream, which I am more than ready to forget about now."

There was nothing to be said. Cinderella stood weeping on the driveway as the Prince galloped away on his horse. As the days passed, the taunts of her sisters grew unbearable and so packing her meager belongings, Cinderella left her house.

The Prince, upset with the situation wasted no time in arranging his marriage to a Princess of a neighboring kingdom. The wedding preparations were underway and the invitations were being sent out. One fine day, the Prince, as was his custom, rode through the village where he would speak with his subjects and understand their concerns. As he was talking to the villagers, they suddenly heard screams in the distance. The Prince reached the area to find that a villager's house had caught fire and flames had engulfed the little hut. The villager and his wife were screaming that their little daughter was trapped in the hut.

Seeing that no one else was willing to brave the fire and uncaring for his safety, the Prince ran inside the house to search for the girl. The girl sat crying under the bed and just as he was about to reach her, a wooden beam from the ceiling collapsed and landed on the side of his head and his shoulder. Searing pain ran up his shoulder and he felt as if his face was on fire, but he ran to the girl, dragged her out from the bed, and carried her out of the burning house, shielding her with his body.

He lost consciousness soon after and was rushed to the palace where the Royal Physicians attended to him. Though they tried their best, when the bandages came off, there was a hideous scar covering the left side of the Prince's face. When the Prince saw his face in the mirror, he was repelled. The king, queen, and all the ministers tried to convince him that it was a mark of his courage, but he refused to be consoled. When he saw the mirrors in the palace, he sometimes saw not himself, but the face of Cinderella, whom he had punished for something which was not her fault. Now, the same fate had befallen him. He stopped eating and did not come out of his rooms. Very soon he was a gaunt, thin version of himself and his parents despaired of ever finding their son again.

After a few weeks had passed, the Prince told his parents that he could not bear to be in the palace any longer. He wanted to be outside in the country by himself and he hoped to heal that way. He would be safe on his own as no one would recognize him after the accident and subsequent weight loss. The king and queen, not knowing what else to do, acceded to his request. He promised to return in exactly one year.

For days after that, the Prince roamed in the villages, helping people out and earning a small salary in return. He lived a simple life and lived in a makeshift tent in the woods. The villagers gave him food and other necessities and never once made him feel that there was anything wrong with him. In their eyes, he saw sympathy more than pity and it was a balm to his soul. One day he headed deep into the woods, to gather some firewood when he heard a beautiful voice singing. Hiding behind the trees, he saw a small hut inside a clearing, outside which a young lady was trying to lug firewood into her hut.

To his shock and delight, he saw that it was none under Cinderella. She looked happy and content in her small place and the Prince wanted nothing more than to run to her and beg her forgiveness. But he had to tread carefully. He had hurt her badly and she would still be upset with him. So he went to her and offered her his assistance. Cinderella, who was lonely, was happy to see a friendly face and agreed for him to help her. The Prince was surprised that she showed no reaction to his scarred face.

Very soon they became good friends. The Prince who had looked only at Cinderella's beauty now came to know her true nature. She lived on her own which showed her to be brave and she took care of small animals who came her way, which revealed her tender heart. She told him funny tales which made him laugh and could sing in a sweet clear voice. The Prince then knew what love actually meant. It was not the feeling that he had felt when he saw her at the ball, it had burned out soon enough. But this was love, this enduring feeling which took into account the beauty of another person's soul, so much so that the physical imperfections became insignificant. He now hardly saw her wrinkled skin or the ugly wart on her face. She was now beautiful to him, inside and out.

A month had passed when the Prince decided to confess who he was, beg Cinderella's forgiveness, and ask her to be his bride. Cinderella was shocked and upset, but as she recalled the wonderful moments she had spent in his company, she decided to forgive him. They both set out together to the Palace and were warmly received by the King and Queen who had them married immediately and handed over the reins of the kingdom to them.

The arrogant Prince was now humbled, and with his wife by his side ruled the kingdom justly and wisely. The people of the kingdom loved their new king and queen. Their physical imperfections were forgotten as the only thing that people saw was the love on their faces as they looked at each other, the glow of which suffused the entire kingdom and filled it with happiness and contentment.