Chapter 4

The King had left just yesterday. Already Artemis was feeling lonely. Snow didn’t talk to her much. She somehow liked to spend a lot of time with that servant girl - what was her name again? - Ella. She had been told that Snow’s best childhood friends had been the woodcutter’s children. Maybe it was better that she saw Snow less anyway. It would hurt less.

Snow’s friend Ella, too had a step-mother. An evil one at that. Snow was thankful that Artemis was nothing like Ella’s step-mother. Snow and Ella had grown close recently, bonding over hot coffee and Ella’s tales about her step-mother. Snow now had someone who could understand what she felt like.

It also helped her to appreciate Artemis, who had, these days, begun to act rather haughtily with the servants. But Snow had promised her father that she would take care of Artemis, and she did that dutifully.

***

“Are you going to Prince Charming’s party?”
“No. My sisters have been invited, not me. Actually, I bet the invitation mentioned me too. But you know how they are. It’s not as if they’ll tell me anything.”
“Ella! You can always come with me. I’m sure he invited you. I mean, he invited every girl – and guy - in here.”
“Well, for my sisters, I’m hardly ‘every girl in here’ – I’m just a slave. And when you’re as mean as they are, you don’t take your step-sister to a ball with you.”
“I bet they don’t want you to go because they’re afraid that since you look way better than them, Charming will end up liking you.”
“Whatever the reason, the simple plain thing is, I’m not going to be going.”
“You don’t know that yet. In fact, if I can help it, you will go.”

***

Every self-respecting girl and guy was breathlessly awaiting Prince Charming’s birthday party. Preparations were full-fledgedly on. The event was only 2 weeks away and every hairdresser was booked full a week from the party. Every online designer clothes shop was raking in money like never before. Ella’s sisters had ordered their dresses early, so that they could avoid the rush. Problem was, everyone had thought like that.

Their dresses had arrived in an awful state of folds. FOLDS!! Ella, of course, was made to pay. She had to make sure the Auto-Iron didn’t ruin the engineered crumpledness while smoothing out the folds. And her sisters wanted a custom-made look which meant that they made Ella work into the night sewing in tiny details. Sewing. Who did sewing?

Ella, as you might have guessed, had no new dress. She’d been window-browsing few days earlier and a beautiful little piece of garment had caught her eyes at the ittest online store, www.furnfabric.com. Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford it. And if she thought that asking her step-mother to buy it for her would have done the trick, you might as well strap yourself to a rocket heading towards the Andromeda Galaxy.

***

Dear Diary

I’ve come up with an amazing plan. It was so simple, so really in-your-face, I’d never even considered it. Artemis is generally a beautiful thinker. But this one time, I’ll make an exception.

When you want quick results, you don’t stop to think how it’ll make you look when you’re well-known.

And I want dreadfully quick results this time round. The King returns within a month. I need something that is easy to carry out, fool-proof (for that is what Snow is, a fool) and doesn’t involve me more than I’d like.

I sure love winning.

Artemis