Cinderella had to fare all the way to Corona Marketplace, curtsey of her stepmother of course. It turns out Corona was the only place to get certain hats her stepsisters wanted so badly. They were actually quite horrid things, but Cinderella held her tongue and didn’t bother them with her opinion. She knew they would only rebuke her if she did so. The chicken wagon her stepmother so graciously got to escort her to the marketplace stopped abruptly when they reached the bridge leading to the island kingdom. “Be back here at twilight, ya hearing me?” the harsh and weathered driver spat at her, “I won’t wait to pick up no scullery maid! If I don’t pass you later today, you’ll have to walk home.”
“Of course, I understand. I will be here kind sir.” her expression was reluctant, she never imagined someone as mean looking as himself would actually be mean. She always expected the nice looking ones (from past experience) to be the cruelest since they had the power to be cruel and could afford to take care of themselves. “Thank you for the ride sir.”
But he wasn’t listening. He began moving his cart once again while Cinderella was mid-sentence, there was a great cackling of the hens upon the movement of his cart due to the sharp whip to his horse. Cinderella wiped away the stray feathers that clung to her the whole trip and began making her way across the bridge. This place was probably one of the most beautiful that her stepmother actually made her go to by herself. She was quite surprised, she expected a city of dirty shacks but she gazed upon the never ending glimmering ocean in disbelief. Maybe it was all just a dream… well if it was she wasn’t going to let it end here.
She finished crossing the great bridge in a smaller time than she expected. She was now officially in Corona. It was bustling with all kinds of people, but there was one problem… she had no idea where the hat shop was. Was this a cruel joke of her stepmother’s? She decided not to panic for now, she still had plenty of time. Cinderella made her way into the twisting labyrinth that was Corona. She used the towering castle to remember her position so she wouldn’t forget where the exit was either.
