Free The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

anything about those dreams? Oh, she could argue all she wanted that her stepmother would never have given her the time to go meet a young man, but in her heart of hearts, she had to admit that if she had tried, she probably could have stolen the time, somehow, to go and meet one of those young men, to flirt a little, as she had seen so many other girls do.
    Why had she never tried? It wasn’t that she was shy. It wasn’t that she had some withered sprig of pride left, that insisted that Elena Klovis was above the common young men she saw in the streets. Perhaps, if she had seen a man that her heart had really longed for, perhaps she would have defied her stepmother and grasped for love with both hands. She sat back in her seat and thought, hard, about all the men, young and old, she had watched, and she had to admit that no, it had never been the man she had longed for—only the escape that marriage, marriage to anyone, represented.
    Well. That was certainly interesting. And perhaps a little disturbing— why was that true? Was it the men? Or was it her? Was she just as cold in her way as the Horrids, who cared nothing for the men who courted them, only the wealth or status that they represented?
    It was a nasty thought, and one that gave her pause as she considered just what all the implications of it were.
    â€œPerhaps,” Bella sighed, “Perhaps for the rest of those others, it was just as well. Every one of them discovered someone she truly loved, and in the end, they were happy. The Tradition works in small stories as well as large, you know.”
    But if I had tried, would I have found a true love? she thought, somberly. It was hindsight, of course.
    â€œI certainly had plenty of opportunity to go that route myself,” the old woman continued, as if musing aloud. “It wasn’t as if I had a terror of a stepmother dogging my footsteps every waking moment of the day. I merely had two spoiled older sisters, and it wasn’t that I was their slave, it was just that they were too bone-lazy to take the task of housekeeper, so I did. I had plenty of time for myself, and I was the only one who decided what I would do and when I did it. My sisters had plenty of beaus haunting our house; I suppose I could have had, too, if I’d been in the least interested, but there wasn’t one of them that I cared to exchange more than a few words with.”
    â€œWhat about—” Elena hesitated “—after?”
    â€œ After I became a Godmother?” Bella laughed. “Heavens, child, when would I have found the time to look out for a young man? I had so much work on my hands I hardly found the time to sleep! Ah—look! Down there! We’re almost home.”
    The old woman pointed down and ahead of them; Elena couldn’t see much; just a faint light, that seemed to be hidden among trees. But as soon as she spotted it, she realized that the light was getting closer, and the treetops nearer, very quickly indeed! She could see what was below them now, instead of it being a vague darkness, and all her fear came back. She clutched at the side and the seat of the cart convulsively, as they skimmed over the top branches, tiny twigs hitting the underside and the wheels, and then, while her stomach lurched with fear, they were above aclearing, in the center of which was a cottage with lights in every window and what was surely a garden surrounding it.
    Then as her breath came short and her heart pounded, they were no longer above it, they were dropping down quickly.
    Too quickly!
    She wanted to scream, but nothing came out of her paralyzed throat, and a moment later, the little horse’s hooves touched the ground in front of the cottage. Then the wheels set down with a bump , the horse halted, the cart rolled to a gentle stop, and there they were.
    Elena felt limp with relief; Madame Bella patted her hand. “There you are, my dear. Safe on the ground.” She laughed.