{NOT MINE! full credit to: NintendoGal55 on Deviantart}
Cast:
Cinderella: Helga
Lady Tremaine: Brooke Lloyd
Anastasia: Lila (In this, she will be Brooke's child but from a گزشتہ marriage than Rhonda)
Drusilla: Rhonda
Lucifer the cat: Himself
Fairy Godmother: Dr. Susan Bliss
Jack the mouse: Phoebe
Gus the mouse: Eugene
Other mice: Other characters of the series.
Birds: Also other characters. XD
Bruno: Harold
Horse: Patty
The Prince: Arnold
(Gerald will be Arnold's personal servant and best friend)
The King: Grandpa Phil
Grand Duke: Martin (Gerald's father)
Once upon a time, there was a tiny kingdom that lay in prosperity and peace, rich in romance and community. Upon this lovely place, there lay a little chateau in which a widowed man lived with his young daughter, named Helga. She was kind, and very gentle. She was not the loveliest child on the block, but none seemed to care. While her father gave her every kind of luxury, he felt that she needed a mother's care.
So, he married again, to a woman of a good family, with two daughters just Helga's age. سے طرف کی name, Lila and Rhonda.
The tragic accident came and Helga's father had passed on. This was when her stepmother's true nature came through, for she was jealous of Helga's imminent kindness and growing beauty, and used all of the riches of the family on her two awful daughters.
The years passed, the chateau became desolate and lonely beyond repair. The family fell into debts and ruin in result of the luxury of Lila and Rhonda. Helga was abused, humiliated, pushed around, and soon became a servant in her own home. She grew rough, angered, and spoke out of line. But deep down, Helga remained kind, gentle, and still held onto the hopes that one day, her dreams of happiness would come true.
--
Two little birds, سے طرف کی the names of Sheena and Nadine, parted the curtains of the window of the Chateau's tower, which was Helga's bedroom. Helga was still asleep even into these hours of the morning.
Sheena and Nadine flew in, chirping at her sweetly to get her to wake up. Helga groaned and removed her arm from over her eyes as she rolled onto her back. Nadine pulled up one of her pigtails while Sheena chirped into her ear. Helga gently swatted her away and then rolled onto her stomach, placing her تکیا over her head.
Sheena tried to crawl under, but Helga pulled the تکیا down, forcing her away. Nadine flew over and tried again, this time over the pillow, but she didn't see Helga's hand coming behind her, and giving her a gentle flick on the tail feathers. Nadine squealed and jumped a mile onto the bedpost.
"Well, serves آپ right for spoiling my dreams like that." Helga کہا to the birds as she sat up in bed, and smiled a little.
Sheena and Nadine flew to the window sill, pointing out the window at the already risen sun of the beautiful دن outside. From the window, there was a lovely view of the kingdom, with the palace standing tall and grand in the background.
"Yeah yeah, I know it's a nice day." Helga کہا absently as she took out the ties of her pigtails. "But I sure had a nice dream too..." She smiled and sighed happily as she sank back into her pillow. At the bird's insistent and curious chirping, she laughed and waved it off. "No way, I'm not going to tell my deepest secret! But it was a nice dream. And hey, if آپ tell a wish, it won't come true. آپ wouldn't want that to happen to me, would you?"
Nadine and Sheena shook their heads. A few mice came out from their quarters within the holes and hiding places of the room. Phoebe, one of Helga's favourite mice, came out in her little blue jacket, shirt, and a hat with some tiny glasses, going to the window sill as she listened to them all talk.
Helga yawned and got herself out of bed, just as the clock tower along the palace gonged. She glared out the window, waving her تکیا at it angrily.
"You darn clock! Yes yes, get up آپ say! Time to start another day! Criminy, even he orders me around." She sighed, and hugged her pillow. "Well, least there's one thing they can't do! They can't tell me to stop dreaming. Ha!"
She looked over at Phoebe, tossing her تکیا back onto the bed. "Well Pheebs, time to get all washed up. آپ guys care to help me out?"
"Helping! Let's go!" Phoebe کہا to everyone in a high pitched squeaky voice.
All the mice and birds got together, going to work. The birds helped to make the bed, and fluff the pillow, and then carried Helga's گلابی nightgown away to hang it up while she stepped behind a screen. The male mice were shooed from the room, and Phoebe called for the birds to wet the sponge. Nadine and Sheena tried to lift it out, but a wet sponge was so heavy for two little birds! So a few مزید intervened and helped carry it to where Helga was waiting, and they squeezed the excess water from it so she could wash herself.
Phoebe, and some mice going سے طرف کی Sid, Stinky, Lorenzo, Curly and a few other girls, got out Helga's daily attire. It was an old simple dress that had white sleeves, a black سب, سب سے اوپر and waist, and a گلابی سکرٹ, گھیرنا to finish. It went with a simple white waist apron, also. Two مزید mice were taking out a گلابی ribbon that Helga wore just about every day, and as Helga came out and pulled on her clothes, Phoebe helped another female ماؤس wipe her simple white shoes with a cloth before Helga stepped into them.
"No matter how your دل is grieving, if آپ keep on believing...the dreams that آپ wish will come true..." Helga sang softly to herself as Nadine and Sheena brought the white تہبند, برساتی to her, tying it for her in the back. She took the گلابی ribbon from Phoebe, carefully tied her long blonde hair into a braid in the back, using the ribbon to tie it back.
Now she was ready to face the day. یا so she thought.
Sid, Stinky, and Curly then returned from the room, and were all talking at once, with Phoebe joining them in curiosity.
"All right all right, one at a time!" Helga raised her voice lightly to get their attention. "Okay guys, what's going on?"
"They کہا there's a visitor!" Phoebe said.
"Yeah! Yeah! Visitor!" Curly nodded rapidly.
"Oh, what's that آپ say? A visitor? Well well!" Helga smirked, and then reached into the little drawer of her vanity. She was quite a seamstress, and sewed little clothes and accessories for the mice and birds to wear. "Well, then she'll need a dress and..." She pulled out a little گلابی dress.
"Oh! No way Miss Helga, it ain't no girly!" Stinky the ماؤس said.
"It's boy, actually." Phoebe told her.
"Well, that certainly changes everything!" Helga replaced the dress, and pulled out a few مزید items. "Okay, he'll need a شرٹ, قمیض and some shoes...ooh, maybe even a-"
"You gotta hurry, Helga, he was caught in a trap!"
"What?! In a trap?!" Helga burst, standing right up. "Criminy, why didn't آپ say so?"
Helga went to the door, and descended down the stairs with a few of the other mice following after her. The staircase leading up the tower to where her room was located seemed so endless and dark, like remembering the fact that she does indeed live a life like this.
On one of the landing steps, there was a long barred cage with some other of her mice دوستوں surrounding it. There was a little ماؤس inside, shivering with fear.
"Criminy, why did they even do this to you..." Helga murmured, picking up the cage and lifting the door. She smiled tenderly at the shivering mouse. "Ohh...the poor little thing is scared to death. Well Pheebs, آپ should explain things to him."
Helga lay the cage back down on the floor so Phoebe could go inside it to the new mouse.
"Hey now, don't worry about all this. Helga is a little rough around the edges, but she's actually very nice." Phoebe کہا to the mouse. "And we're all friendly, so don't be afraid of us."
The pale ماؤس with a patch of red فر, سمور along his head looked at Phoebe nervously before looking up at Helga's smiling face as she peered down at him.
"Oh, okay..." The ماؤس said. "I-I didn't mean to get caught! I'm okay! Just a little clumsy..."
"Well don't worry, you're محفوظ with us now." Phoebe said. "Come on, Helga will give آپ some clothes." She took the ماؤس سے طرف کی his forepaw and led him out of the cage.
"There we go, see?" Helga said, satisfied. She then placed the شرٹ, قمیض over the new mouse's head, and then his shoes, along with a little hat. "Mm, آپ need a name... well...guess I'll call آپ Eugene. Yeah, that's a good name."
"Eugene...I like it!" Eugene grinned. "Okay Helgie, I'll take it!"
Helga laughed. "Well good! 'Cause that's your name now. Oh criminy, I better go and get the breakfast dishes ready." She sighed, shaking her head. "Well, whatever. Pheebs, دکھائیں him around, will you? Oh, and don't forget to warn him about the cat!" She then descended down the stairs.
"Oh, right!" Phoebe remembered. "Listen Eugene, her step-family have this cat, his name is Lucifer."
"A kitty? Ah! Kitties are fun! I like cats!" Eugene giggled.
"No no, no!" Phoebe shook her head. "Lucifer is bad...he's not funny یا cool. Please just trust me on this, okay?"
--
Downstairs along the سیکنڈ main level of the Chateau, Helga went along the corridor leading to her step-sisters and stepmother's bedrooms. Unlike her, they all had beautiful bedrooms with big beds, and enough clothes and jewelry to feed a poor village.
Helga opened the large curtain having hidden the enormous floor-to-ceiling window before her stepmother's bedroom. She took a breath as she looked outside for a moment, and then went to her stepmother's bedroom door, opening it just a crack, letting a small stream of light toward a little, round, luxurious بستر where a fat black cat with a gray face and tale and paws lay. Even the cat had a nicer بستر than her!
The cat, Lucifer, was snoring away when the light came in. He snorted, opening his eyes as he was disturbed from his slumber.
"Rowr?" He muttered in annoyance.
"Here kitty kitty..." Helga کہا begrudgingly through clenched teeth. She hated the cat as much as her step-family, but she didn't dare say it out loud.
Lucifer yawned, stretching his forepaws before staring at Helga, disobeying her. Sometimes she wore that the cat had a mind of his own and was out to get her, just like the rest of the family.
And she was right.
"C'mon now, come on..." Helga coaxed.
Lucifer turned away from her, refusing to obey still.
"Lucifer! Come here!" Helga whispered loudly in an angrier tone.
With a defeated meow, the devious cat jumped down from his بستر and exited the bedroom slowly. Once out, he stretched on the floor and yawned, but Helga shut the door against him, since he was standing so close to it. Begrudgingly, he followed her downstairs.
"You damn cat..." Helga muttered. "I don't even know why I bother with آپ anymore. Man if that witch of a stepmother wasn't so in charge of me, I'd have had آپ pounded years ago."
She went down to the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ area, where the back door was located, and on a round rug in the middle of the stone floor was a large dog, who was sleeping. He grunted and whimpered, growled, and made a running motion.
"Harold..." She whispered to the dog as she opened the سب, سب سے اوپر half of the bar door to let in the sunlight. When the dog continued to growl and now chew at the carpet, she raised her voice a little. "Harold! Wake up!"
Awaking, Harold looked up at Helga sheepishly, letting the carpet go.
"Hmm, have yourself some doggy dreams? Chasing Lucifer?" Helga smirked lightly, going to get some wood for the hearth.
Harold let out a dog-like laughing noise as Lucifer sat on the steps leading down into the kitchen.
"Well, that's bad." Helga sighed.
Lucifer snickered.
"Come on, I know why آپ feel that way...but آپ know the orders of those damn witches we live under." Helga said, placing the wood in the hearth, lighting it. "I mean, even Lucifer has his good qualities..."
Lucifer smirked proudly as he wandered into the room.
"He..." Helga paused for a moment as she was laying teapots on the three trays she had out for her step-family's breakfast. "Well...um...sometimes he...er... Oh, who am I kidding, there's nothing good about that blasted cat!"
Lucifer glared at her, and then turned around, accidentally bumping noses with Harold, who laughed in reply. Smirking evilly, Lucifer then lowered himself onto his back on the rug, and scratched Harold's face lightly. Harold growled at him, making Lucifer cry out in fright.
"Harold!" Helga scolded him, yet deep down she praised him. She poured دودھ into a bowl, and then went to the dog. "Oh Harold...criminy...come on now, outside..."
She led the dog out the back door, where he miserably walked out.
"It's not easy, but for the sake of all that is good here....try to get along." Helga murmured. She then placed the dish of دودھ before Lucifer very roughly. "The same goes for you, your majesty."
Helga then stepped into some larger work shoes, took a bucket of feeding seeds and went outside, where she began to feed the chickens. "Okay, all of آپ come on out now! Breakfast time!"
--
"Come on, let's go get some seeds!" Phoebe whispered to her fellow mice. "But, we have to be careful of Lucifer...now, I'll go in there and distract him."
"B-But آپ can't! What if he hurts you!?" Curly hissed.
"Yeah Phoebe...ya sure we can't draw tails?"
"No. I'll go." Phoebe told them. "I'll distract him, and آپ all slip outside while he's paying attention to me."
Before the mice could protest further, Phoebe slowly made her way out of the hole and into the kitchen. Lucifer was laying on his stomach, drinking his دودھ as he stared outside absently. His back was to them, giving them an advantage.
Approaching the large cat, Phoebe smirked to herself. It wasn't often she let herself be a bad, adventurous little mouse, but right now was a good time to let that side out. She swung her small foot and kicked the cat in the ribs.
Lucifer yelped, his face ending up in the dish before he flipped it over سے طرف کی accident. He jumped up, only to get sprayed in the face with دودھ سے طرف کی Phoebe, before she ran off, with Lucifer chasing after her. She ducked into a couple of holes in the wall, too small for the large cat to even think to catch her from.
She peeked out one of the holes, and motioned for her fellow mice to run outside and get the seeds. Eugene giggled loudly, and Sid shushed him before they all sneaked across the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ to get outside.
"Yay! Food! Food! We can finally get some-OW!" Eugene squealed as he tripped over a crack in the floor and fell down.
"Rowr?!" Lucifer meowed in surprise at the small noise, turning around.
The other mice had already slipped outside, but Eugene, having fallen down, got back up. Lucifer spotted him. Vulnerable, clumsy...perfect target. Lucifer immediately forgot about Phoebe and slowly inched his way toward Eugene.
"Ooohh...I'm okay..." Eugene uttered, shaking his head a couple of times to revert the dizziness. He turned around, deciding to head back into the hole and wait for the others instead.
When he came face to face with Lucifer and his wide, roaring open mouth.
"YAAAAAHH!!" Eugene screamed, trying to run away, but Lucifer held his tail down with his paw, preventing escape.
Seeing this, Phoebe acted fast, pushing the جھاڑو sitting near her with all of her strength. Luckily, nothing was holding it back, so it was easier to move. It fell, knocking the cat on the head, stunning him. Crying out in thanks, Eugene slipped away and made his escape as the other mice ran in with their share of the food.
Recovering from the blow, Lucifer's eyes darted about the kitchen, and came to see Eugene's silhouette climbing the میز, جدول cloth. He grinned maliciously and went in for the kill.
Eugene climbed onto the table, panting hard in relief as he sat against a چائے کی پیالی, ٹیاکوپ upside down on a saucer. He didn't notice Lucifer's eyes peering at him over the table, when the cup suddenly lifted away and covered him!
The cat smirked deviously and peered under the cup to make sure he was there, when suddenly, one of the bells in the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ rang incessantly. There were three of them, each of them connecting to the rooms of Brooke, Lila and Rhonda. They would ring them when they wanted something. Like, all the time.
"HELGA!!!!" Rhonda yelled from upstairs as the گھنٹی, بیل rang.
"Oh, criminy! Already?!" Helga groaned as she came inside, slipping the larger shoes off and taking off her bandanna.
"HELGA!!!" Came the yell of Lila, ringing the سیکنڈ bell.
"All right all right, hold on!" Helga placed two مزید teacups and saucers on the میز, جدول before she went off to get some dishes, filling them with the porridge.
Lucifer went to grab the teacup, but saw two مزید اگلے to it. Which one had his meal under it? He checked all three of them simultaneously, finding that the one on the far right was his target.
"HELGA!!!"
"In a minute!" Helga shouted, but not loud enough for them to hear. She placed the three bowls on the trays, as well as the saucers and cups, then went to get the kettle of hot water.
Lucifer came back up to the table, and was once again faced with the سوال as to which cup Eugene was under. Again he checked two of them, coming to see that the same one from before was the one he was looking for. But before he could grab at it, Helga came rushing back to fill the teapots with hot water. All three bells were ringing at this point.
Impatiently, Lucifer waited under the میز, جدول as he waited for Helga to اقدام so that he could get to the ماؤس he had trapped. Finally, he saw her feet اقدام away. Grinning, he came back up to the table, only to find it bare. Angrily he clawed at it, and turned around to see Helga leaving the kitchen, balancing a tray in each hand, and the third one on her head. After years of doing such things, she had it narrowed down to an art.
"HELGA! HURRY UP!"
"HEEELLLGGAAAA!!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Helga grumbled to herself, not at all aware of Lucifer following after her, and then ahead of her up the stairs leading to the سیکنڈ floor.
Watching her come up the stairs, hidden behind the large statue shaped like a typical trophy, Lucifer waited, his eyes on the prize. Helga's shoe slipped off her foot, and she turned around to get it back, therefore switching the cups. Lucifer, not knowing this, reached out and grabbed the چائے cup, only to find the saucer bare. Where did the ماؤس go?!
Helga reached the first bedroom, which was Lila's bedroom. She carefully opened the door and went inside.
"Good morning, Lila." She کہا begrudgingly, disguising it with fake pleasantness.
"Take this laundry and have it done in an hour. I would ever so like that. آپ hear me?" Lila ordered from the bedroom.
"Yes, Lila..."
Lucifer watched as Helga emerged from the bedroom, now carrying a basket of laundry in one hand to replace the tray. Did she still have the mouse? Lucifer followed after her as the blonde girl headed to the سیکنڈ bedroom, which was Rhonda's bedroom.
"Good morning, Rhonda..." Helga said, entering the bedroom.
"It's about time! Take these, be sure to hem them. And don't be all دن getting it done!"
"YES, Princess..." Helga muttered, coming out of the bedroom and shutting the door with her foot. Now she held another laundry basket in her other hand, with the remaining third tray still on her head.
The door closed on Lucifer's nose, which he glared resentfully up at her, not that Helga noticed.
Helga came to the last bedroom, the bedroom Lady Brooke Wellington Lloyd Pataki.
"Come in now, child, come in." Brooke sounded kind, yet condescending.
"Good morning, stepmother." Helga said. She had been told over and over to address Brooke as Lady Wellington Lloyd, but begrudgingly agreed against it when Helga put up a fuss about it, the first time she had ever had an outburst right to her face.
"Pick up the laundry, and do have it done before this evening."
"Yes, stepmother..." Helga groaned, and came back out from the bedroom, avoiding stepping on Lucifer. She now had a laundry bag on her head as she headed to the stairs.
Lucifer let out an annoyed whine, wondering what he was going to do about the ماؤس he was trying so hard to get.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!" Lila suddenly screamed from her bedroom, the sound of dishes breaking ensued.
Excitedly, knowing what this meant, Lucifer ran toward Lila's room, just in time for Eugene to come crawling out from under the door. The cat grabbed him in his paws, happily watching the coming drama.
"Mother! Mother!" Lila cried, coming out of her room.
"What happened?!" Helga yelled as she came back up the stairs.
"You! آپ did that ever so on purpose!" Lila accused.
"What are آپ talking about?! What did I do?!" Helga demanded.
"Mother! Mother!" Lila ran to Brooke's bedroom, not answering Helga.
"What did آپ do THIS time?" Rhonda wanted to know. "Sheesh, don't آپ have anything better to do with your time, Helga?"
"Criminy, will آپ just tell me what happened?" Helga said, trying to calm down.
Rhonda didn't answer her, she just went into her mother's bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Helga groaned under her breath, and then came to see Lucifer, staring up at her deviously.
"All right, آپ blasted cat. Where is he?" She demanded.
Lucifer showed her his paws, which were empty.
"You expect me to fall for that?" Helga grabbed him near the scruff of his neck, standing him upright. "Now اقدام your foot."
Lucifer lifted his foot, no Eugene. But he kept his other foot down.
"Now the other one. Come on. Let him go." Helga ordered. When he didn't obey, she shook him lightly. "I کہا let him go!"
Reluctantly, the cat lifted his foot, revealing Eugene curled in a ball, his arms over his head. When he realized he was free, he ran in a dizzying motion into the nearby ماؤس hole in the wall.
"Well, now I bet you'll think twice before-"
"Helga! Come in here at once." Brooke then called from her bedroom.
"Oh great." Helga muttered, going to her stepmother's bedroom as Lila and Rhonda came out, both sneering at her. Lucifer went into the room ahead of her.
"You're gonna get it now!" Rhonda told her.
"You're in ever so much trouble." Lila کہا smugly.
"Close the door, Helga." Brooke said.
Helga did, and the two half-sisters peeked in through the keyhole. Lucifer went up onto the large canopy بستر of the bedroom. The room was dark, only the glowing green eyes of Lucifer were visible as Helga slowly approached.
Her stepmother, Brooke, sat upright in bed, petting Lucifer as she regarded her stepdaughter with cold, hard eyes.
"Stepmother, I didn't mean to-" Helga began.
"Hold your tongue." Brooke told her. "I can't even begin to understand why آپ did such a thing, Helga. آپ actually had enough time on your hands to place a ماؤس in your sister's cup..."
"I didn't! I was-"
"Silence!"
Brooke poured herself some tea, regaining a calmer composure. "Since آپ have time on your hands...let's put it to better use. Now then, there is a rug in the main hallway. Clean it! And the windows, upstairs and down, wash them."
Lucifer gave Helga a commanding glare, nodding in agreement to his mistress.
"There's also the draperies, the tapestries..."
"But I already-"
"Do them again!"
"There's the garden, sweep the halls and the stairs, clean the chimney, then there's also the mending and the sewing and the laundry."
With an evil smirk, she then accidentally on purpose knocked down an intricate China figurine off her bedside table.
"And clean that up, too. Don't forget to also polish the the china, the vases, and of course the portrait frames. Oh yes, and one مزید thing. See that Lucifer gets his bath."
Cringing, Lucifer glared at his Mistress with disapproval as Helga hid a smirk.
--
While all this was going on in the Wellington Lloyd Pataki household, some matters were also occurring at the grand palace. No one would know of the rather interesting conflict the Royal family was facing.
"C'mon man, at this age, I think it's a perfect time for آپ to find a nice woman and settle down!" Gerald Johansen کہا to his best friend, blocking another blow with his rapier. He was a dark-skinned fellow, and the prince's best friend and personal servant. His father, Martin, was the Grand Duke.
The two of them were fencing together to hone their swordsman skills.
The young prince, Arnold, just sighed in reply. "I know, Gerald. But it's not that easy. I can't just go up to a woman and say 'Hey, will آپ marry me?' like it was nothing. Marriage is sacred and beautiful, I really want to marry someone I'm in love with."
"Man, I do understand, but I'm afraid that ain't very possible." Gerald said, shaking his head. "You got a lot on your shoulders as Prince."
Arnold sighed again, and then held his hand out in a "time out" manner and placed his rapier aside. He took a towel and wiped his forehead with it. The Prince was fairly young, standing very tall and full of grace. His most distinctive outward feature was the fact he had an oblong-shaped head, with unruly blonde hair to go with it. His eyes were a lovely shade of green, holding such kindness and gentleness. Even though he was perceptively slender, he did have a light tone to him from years of training and practice of various physical activities. Prince Arnold was a kind, gentle, giving, and generous soul who cared very much for his people and those he cared for. He saw the best in everyone he encountered, and never failed to help someone in need when the time came.
Now these days, his grandfather, now the King due to the tragic passing of his mother and father, was slightly pressuring him to get married and settle down. Being the sole heir to the throne, there was a lot of pressure involved.
"Yeah, and that isn't always easy." Arnold murmured. "I just want to be happy, Gerald. I know that's selfish of me to say, but marriage means a lot to me, and I want it to be beautiful, meaningful, and truly something I will enjoy and remember the rest of my life. I want to marry someone I love."
"Arnold my man, there is nothing selfish about wanting to be happy!" Gerald told him, coming over to him and patting his shoulder in assurance. "Trust me, if I could help آپ get the girl of your dreams, I would. But I'm afraid that's all just in fairy tales...because unless آپ do meet a potential wife آپ fall for, then it's impossible."
Arnold smiled sadly at his best friend. "I know... I know. I may not have much time, but with that ball tonight...well, maybe I will have a chance."
"Exactly! Come on, there's gotta be at least one eligible maiden in the kingdom آپ could fall in love with! It's all about meeting under the right conditions."
"Gerald, it's not that easy. آپ don't just fall in love at first sight. Love grows over time, as آپ get to know the person you're with and see who they are inside and outside." Arnold said.
Gerald snickered. "Man, you're one hopeless romantic."
"I guess I am." The Prince کہا bashfully.
"So آپ ready for the ball tonight?"
"No way."
"Didn't think so."
"Gerald!"
"Hey man, I'm just kiddin' around!"
"Hey, short man!" Came the cheery call of the King Phil, Arnold's grandfather. "Havin' some fun?"
"Yeah, I guess, Grandpa." Arnold replied.
"Hey!" Gerald protested.
"Haha! Well good! I sure hope you're excited for the ball tonight, short man!"
"Grandpa, I'm a little over six feet tall. I'm not that short anymore." Arnold told his grandfather.
"Ah, you'll always be the little short man who at nine years old decided to adopt a pig آپ called Abner!" Phil laughed.
Gerald laughed, and Arnold cast an annoyed glance at them both.
"Grandpa! That was years ago..."
"I know I know, Arnold. Now, go get yourself cleaned up and ready! آپ only have until tonight to be ready for the ball! And don't forget to pick yourself a suitable mother!" The King کہا joyfully.
"Grandpa, I need a wife before the mother of my children." Arnold chided gently.
"Whatever آپ say, short man!" Phil کہا with a laugh. "Well I'd better go and inform the Duke to get the last of the preparations going. See آپ later, short man!" The King gave a laugh and left the room.
Arnold sighed, going over to a nearby window and looking out over the kingdom and the horizon. He stared, his eyes often glancing over at the desolate-looking chateau sitting on the ہل, لندن at the end of the village.
"Arnold? ارے Arnold, آپ all right?"
"I'm fine, Gerald." Arnold replied absently. "...I guess you're right. Maybe there really is a girl out there for me..." His eyes fell on the chateau again, sighing softly. "I'd give anything to be able to dance with her tonight..."
--
Back in the Wellington Lloyd Pataki household, Brooke, Rhonda and Lila were in the موسیقی room on the سیکنڈ floor engaged in their daily موسیقی lessons. یا at least, that's what it was considered. Brooke played the grand piano, Rhonda sang-very badly- while Lila played the flute. The موسیقی Brooke and Lila were playing was actually nice, but Rhonda's off-key singing drowned it out.
Lucifer was on the سوفی, لٹانا in the room, clearly bothered سے طرف کی Rhonda's "singing". So much, that he grabbed the cushion and pulled it over his ears to try to tune out the noise.
"Oh, sing Sweet Nightingale...
Sing, Sweet Nightingale...
High above me...
Oh, sing Sweet Nightingale..." Rhonda sang out, very badly, of course.
Lucifer couldn't take it any longer. He left the room, shutting the door. Taking a breather, he then heard the sound of Helga singing from downstairs. He peeked around down the landing, seeing her scrubbing the floor of the foyer. She was singing the Nightingale song to herself, and granted she was a better singer than Rhonda, after years of practicing it since her childhood, it had improved immensely.
"High
Oh, sing sweet Nightingale...
Sing sweet Nightingale, sing
Oh, sing, sweet Nightingale..." Helga sang to herself as she scrubbed, occasionally stopping to pop a few bubbles that would fly around her periodically.
Going down the stairs, Lucifer noticed a dustpan sitting there on the step اگلے to him, already filled with dust and dirt. He grinned devilishly, and then proceeded to jump and walk along the wet floor, leaving his footprints around.
"Oh, Lucifer!" Helga exclaimed, realizing what was going on around her as she snapped out of her daydreaming. She saw the mess he'd made, and threw her washcloth down. "You mean old thing! Criminy, don't آپ have anything better to do than annoy me?!"
Lucifer just jumped away with glee, not at all caring. Helga grabbed her broom, about to chase after him, when there was a knock at the front door.
"Open in the name of the King!"
Helga opened the door to the Royal Messenger, who held out a letter to her. On his back was a huge sack of similar-looking envelopes, probably each containing the same letter.
"An urgent message requested to be delivered to all who dwell in the Kingdom, regarding the grandson of the King, his Royal Highness the Prince!" کہا the messenger.
"Oh, thanks." Helga took the letter, and gave him a coin for a tip before shutting the door.
Phoebe and Eugene, having been listening through one of the little mice secret passages and eavesdrops, came out to Helga.
"Helga, Helga! What's the letter? What does it say?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know...the guy just کہا it was urgent, something about the Prince." Helga کہا with a shrug. She went to the stairs, and looked down at them with a smirk. "Hey, he DID say it was urgent...so I think I'm gonna go and interrupt their...ahem, singing lessons."
Phoebe and Eugene giggled as Helga went upstairs. They slipped into a hole in the دیوار hidden behind a rotating crevice piece, going up after her to see what all the fuss was about.
--
"Oh sing sweet Nightingale, sing sweet Nightingale, hi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i!"
Lila's finger got stuck in one of the holes of the flute, causing it to bump up a few times under Rhonda's chin as she struggled to pull it out. It was an accident, but Rhonda obviously didn't
"You clumsy idiot!" Rhonda grabbed the flute and bopped Lila over the head with it.
"Oh, I'm ever so sorry!" Lila shot back in defiance, not sounding the least bit sorry.
The girls continued to argue, which was something they also had a pretty bad habit of getting into. Especially since they were half-sisters, which led them to try to outdo the other. Rhonda's father was born into the family from Brooke's first husband, Lila was the result from her سیکنڈ husband. Helga was Robert's daughter from his first wife, so she was only related سے طرف کی marriage. It was no wonder they shunned her like they did.
"Girls, girls! Enough arguing!" Brooke scolded her daughters, but not like how she scolded Helga. Once the girls quieted down, she raised her fingers to play the piano again when there was a knock at the door. "Yes?!"
Helga opened the door, totally ignoring her stepmother's angry tone.
"Helga! I warned آپ never to interrupt us unless-"
"Yeah, I know!" Helga protested. "But this is urgent news from the palace!"
"From the PALACE?!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"The palace?!" Lila echoed.
The girls ran over to Helga, grabbing the Royal sealed envelope from her and trying to take it from one another, successfully ripping the envelope itself and getting the letter out.
"Give it here!"
"It's mine! I want to see!"
"I'm ever so certain I touched it first!"
"No, let go!"
"I'll read it!" Brooke grabbed it from her daughters and read it over quickly. "Oh...there's to be a ball..."
"A ball?!" Lila and Rhonda کہا unison to each other, excited.
"In honour of the upcoming birthday of his Royal Highness the Prince..." Brooke continued.
"The Prince?!" The girls cried.
"And, سے طرف کی Royal Command, every eligible maiden is to attend!" Brooke concluded, pretty excited about the idea herself. It was a golden opportunity to get her daughters all the money they needed to support their expensive lifestyle.
"Why, that's definitely us!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"And I know that I'm ever so eligible!" Lila agreed.
The Prince! Helga had long heard about the Prince, although she only knew his name, which was Arnold. She'd never seen him before, but having heard a lot of the ladies and young girls around the village talking about him and how handsome he was, she knew a thing یا two. He was کہا to be really nice and sweet, always helping people when they needed it.
He sounded like her kind of guy, for sure. Too bad it was only wishful thinking.
Still, this was perfect! Maybe she would meet this Prince...or even better, maybe at the ball she would meet a man یا two that she could get fall for...
"Then that means...I can go too!" Helga realized, thinking out loud. Hey, she was a woman, and she was not involved with anyone, which of course made her eligible.
"Ha! Her?! Dancing with the Prince!" Rhonda laughed.
"I'd be ever so honoured, Your Highness, would آپ mind holding my broom?" Lila mimicked Helga, holding out her flute like it was a broom.
Rhonda took hold of the flute and started to playfully dance with Lila, laughing along with her.
Normally, Helga would have been the good little girl and walk away from it all, accepting defeat. But this time, it was a true one step to getting out of this place and making her dreams come true, and she would be able to! No, she was not about to let this pass up. Not when she actually had a chance to get closer and closer to her dreams of happiness.
"Well, why not?" Helga demanded. "I mean, I'm still a member of the family after all! And it does say that سے طرف کی Royal Command, every eligible maiden is to attend. And the last time I checked, I'm an eligible girl. So I have every right to attend that ball just as آپ do."
"Yes...it certainly does say that." Brooke کہا condescendingly, obviously catching on to what Helga was insinuating. "Well....I do see no reason why آپ can't go. If آپ get all your work done..."
Helga grinned happily. Finally! The odds were finally set in her favour! "Oh, yes! I will!"
"And, if آپ can find something suitable to wear..." Brooke added, knowing that this portion of the bargain would be harder.
"Don't worry, I will. Thanks, Stepmother!" Helga was too happy to care about anything now, she left the room and shut the door behind her.
"Mother! Do آپ realize what آپ just said?!" Rhonda scolded her mother.
"Of course. I کہا if..." Brooke smirked.
"Ohhh...if...." Lila said, and giggled along with her sister.
--
Upstairs in her room, Helga had opened her تنے, ٹرنک and pulled out a lovely, flowing dress from it. It had rounded puffy sleeves, with flares. The سب, سب سے اوپر half to the waist was pink, and the سکرٹ, گھیرنا was white. She twirled it around in excitement, and then placed it over a bodice.
"Do آپ like it?" She asked her mice friends, who all nodded. "It was my mom's. Yeah, it's pretty old-fashioned...at least سے طرف کی Rhonda's standards. But I think this book here has great ideas!"
She picked up a book sitting near the sewing میز, جدول and flipped through a few pages before setting it down to دکھائیں the mice the page she had selected. The image of the dress in the book was absolutely lovely. It was full length, pink, with straps instead of sleeves, to be accompanied سے طرف کی a white شرٹ, قمیض beneath it, with a گلابی bow sash around the waist as an optional add-on, and around the bottom of the dress would be a darker pink.
(Yes, it's made up like Helga's outfit on the show! XD)
"It's perfect! Just gotta shorten those sleeves, maybe alter the waist a bit, and we can find a neat sash for the waist..." Helga said, above the excited squeaks of the mice.
"It's so beautiful, Helga! آپ would look wonderful in it!" Phoebe told her.
"Yeah, definitely! You'll be the life of the ball!"
"Helga! Helga!" Rhonda and Lila called from downstairs.
"Oh, now what do they want?! Criminy, can't a girl ever have some time to think?! Doi..."
"Helga, get down here now!"
"Helga!"
"HEEELLLGAAA!!!"
Helga sighed and stood back up, playing with the سکرٹ, گھیرنا of her dress. "Well, I guess my dress will have to wait..."
"HEEELLGAAA!!!"
"HELGA!!"
"All right, all right! I'm coming!" Helga groaned angrily, going to the door and leaving the room, heading down the stairs.
Phoebe went to the door, watching her go down through the crack and sighed. "Poor Helga...she just can't get a منٹ to herself... The منٹ she begins to think it, that's when they begin it!"
"HEEELLLGAAA!!" Rhonda and Lila yelled from downstairs, so loud that the door rattled, Phoebe shut it with her foot.
"Can آپ believe them? It's always the same thing...giving her all kinds of chores under the sun...Helga do this, Helga do that, Helga clean my shoes, Helga dust the attic, Helga do the dishes, Helga scrub the floors..." Phoebe said, feeling her دل going out to her friend.
"They're so mean! Why do they have to do that? Why?" Eugene said, and tripped over a needle. "I'm okay!"
"Easy, they want to wear her down..." Phoebe sighed, sitting on a thimble. "Every time she has one منٹ of happiness, they go and stomp on it with their big feet. She's not going to the ball...she'll never get her dress done, and I know they'll make sure of that. She finally had a chance to go and be happy, to make her dreams come true, and now look!"
The mice all sat in silence for a few moments, feeling very sorry for their dear friend. It all seemed so hopeless, all because of Helga's meddling stepsisters and stepmother.
Right then, looking at the book, the dress, and all the sewing essentials, Phoebe was then struck with an idea.
"Hey! Wait a second...we can do it!" Phoebe told all the mice, excited all of a sudden. "We'll make her dress! We'll make it nice and pretty, we'll get it ready for her in time for the ball!"
"Yeah! We can do that!" Sid agreed happily.
"Perfect idea, y'all!" Stinky agreed, slapping a high five with Sid.
All the birds tweeted in agreement, the mice all danced around in happiness, singing and harmonizing in joy for being to help out their dear friend. The years had been rough, but over time it all warmed up, and they were مزید than happy to help their friend find happiness. And hey, once she did, she would take them, too!
"C'mon Eugene, let's go and we'll find some things we can add to the dress!" Phoebe کہا to Eugene.
"Heh heh, okay!" Eugene grinned, going after Phoebe into the hole to go down to the lower floors.
--
Once down there, they pushed open a little square door in the wall, peeking in as Rhonda and Lila were giving Helga some laundry and clothes to mend, sew یا adjust.
"Take this too, it's hideous and needs to be washed!"
"And this one too, it's ever so small!"
"This one too!"
"And this! Don't forget it!"
"Yes...yes...I got it..." Helga groaned, trying to balance the armload of clothes she was holding.
"And Helga, when you're done with your regular chores...I have a few other things آپ can do." Brooke کہا from the doorway of the room before she left.
"Yes, stepmother..." Helga sighed, and left the room through the other door.
"Goodness, and I can't believe I even have this stupid sash!" Lila exclaimed, throwing down a long, گلابی sash to the ground.
"You're telling me! These beads...I'm sick of looking at them!" Rhonda threw a stringed ہار of bright red beads to the floor and kicked it away.
The girls then left the room also, shutting the door behind them. Once the coast was clear, Phoebe and Eugene slipped out from the hole in the wall, looking around the room for some things they could use for Helga's dress. The discarded sash lay on the floor nearby, and so did the beads.
"Ohhh!! Beads! They're so pretty!" Eugene cried in excitement, giggling.
Phoebe gasped and covered Eugene's mouth. "Shh! Eugene, be quiet! Look!"
That was when they saw Lucifer asleep on a little stool. It was strange they didn't see him before. But now they had to be really careful and quiet if they wanted to get the sash and beads.
Quietly, Phoebe led Eugene toward the کہا sash. Luckily, Lucifer had not noticed them yet. She whispered something to him, and he nodded. They then took one end of the sash, holding it over their heads as they ran across the floor to make it back to the other end, where they had come in. The movement must have caught Lucifer's attention because he woke up and saw the sash sliding and then rolling across the floor. He couldn't see the mice, so he was wondering how it was moving all سے طرف کی itself.
Unfortunately, while rolling in it, Phoebe and Eugene couldn't see where they were going, so inevitably they crashed into the wall, where the rolling ended, therefore revealing themselves.
Lucifer grinned maliciously and leaped off the stool, hurrying toward them. Phoebe and Eugene frantically pulled the sash into the hole as Lucifer chased after it, pawing at it. On and on he went as the mice pulled in the sash. Luckily, they pulled it into the hole, causing Lucifer to crash his face into it. Pulling out of the hole, he shook his head to shake off the feeling, and then crouched low in front of the hole, waiting for them to emerge.
Creeaaaaaaakkk!!
This caught Lucifer's attention as he heard a creaking noise from his right. He turned his head, seeing a round piece of the دیوار further down pushing open. Phoebe glanced around, and then pointed toward the beads they were going to get.
"Ooohh! There they are! Oh Helga's going to love those!" Eugene cajoled a little too loudly.
Phoebe noticed Lucifer watching them, and she panicked, covering Eugene's mouth.
"Be quiet, Lucifer heard us!"
Seeing their intention, Lucifer dashed in and sat down on the beads, preventing them from taking them. Phoebe slapped herself on the forehead, wondering what they could do now that their chances of getting the beads were now out of the question. Looking around the room, she saw a discarded old شرٹ, قمیض a few yards across from where Lucifer was sitting. Studying it, she then got an idea.
"Eugene, I have an idea..." Phoebe whispered into Eugene's ear so that the cat wouldn't overhear. "I'm going to go over there and distract Lucifer so that he'll come toward me. When he gets off the beads, آپ go and get them and bring them back to this hole."
"Got it!" Eugene whispered loudly.
"Shh!" Phoebe hissed, and then climbed down from the hole, going toward Lucifer.
Seeing this, Lucifer sneered and held his paw up, ready to strike when Phoebe would walk up. But, she walked past him on his left instead of his right, which confused him. He then heard soft humming, and looked ahead to see Phoebe now biting off the thread of buttons attached to a shirt, and piling them on سب, سب سے اوپر of each other. Perfect...she was out in the open, perfect for him to grab her.
Humming to herself, Phoebe cast glances at Lucifer to make sure he was stalking toward her. Perfect. She continued to bite the buttons off the shirt, and placed them on a little beside her.
Lucifer was now off the beads as he approached Phoebe, but he heard a little noise from behind him. Turning around, he noticed Eugene now making his way toward the beads he had just gotten off of. Seeing this, Lucifer sat back down on the beads, taunting him. He looked back at Phoebe, and could now see he had a dilemma. So, to fix things, he slid his rear across the floor, keeping the beads under him as he made his way to Phoebe.
"Phoeeeeebbeeeeee!!!" Eugene cried to her in warning.
But Phoebe knew what she was doing, she continued to pile the buttons, making sure Lucifer came closer and closer to her...
The cat raised his paw at her, but Phoebe was one step ahead of him. She took a button, and pulled a game of Tiddly-Winks, which caused the button on the floor to fly at Lucifer, which bopped him against the nose. Luficer meowed in rage and then jumped into the pile of shirts to try to get Phoebe, now burying himself under the pile.
With him distracted, Eugene slipped down from the hole and ran to get the beads, carefully trying to pick them up. But they were fairly heavy for a mouse. He drooped them along his little arms and on his head, over his shoulders, and then made a run for it.
Lucifer came up from the pile, and now searched along the shirts to try to find Phoebe, not noticing Eugene yet. But where was Phoebe?
It turned out, she was on سب, سب سے اوپر of Lucifer's head. She peered down at him to make sure he didn't see Eugene, but when she looked up toward the کہا mouse, he had tripped and was now sliding across the floor on the beads! She covered her mouth to stifle a gasp, watching him crash into the wall, with the beads having been broken off the string, bouncing and scattering all over the place.
Lucifer turned his head to see what the noise was about, but Phoebe grabbed his eyelids and pulled them over his eyes to distract him and so that he wouldn't see. Lucifer pawed at his head, and Phoebe jumped back into the pile of clothing. The cat went in after her, and he thrashed through them, trying to find her.
Eugene now picked himself up, and was now putting the beads into his hat, hurriedly picking them up.
Through the clothes, Phoebe finally emerged out from a sleeve, with Lucifer following after her. He was far too big to fit through, so only his head made it out of the sleeve. Phoebe reached Eugene, and was now taking the remaining dropped beads, stringing them through his tail while Eugene took them into his hat. Lucifer crawled to them, going fairly slow since he was stuck, but he was determined.
Hurriedly, Phoebe strung the beads onto Eugene's tail, and just as Eugene reached for the last one, Lucifer had reached them too, and bit at him. But they grabbed the last bead and then fled into the hole, shutting the little door behind them, with Lucifer bashing into it as he lunged at them.
--
A little later, back on upstairs, the mice and the birds were working on Helga's dress. So far so good, they were measuring out the length of the سکرٹ, گھیرنا to cut out the pattern, سے طرف کی drawing little lines with tiny chalk pieces, to which Phoebe and Eugene helped to cut with scissors, narrowly missing another mouse's tail!
The birds helped to carry up the fabric for the skirt, placing it around thanks to some help from string, using stick pins to hold the fabric in place on the skirt. With the help of one mice inside the چولی, آنگی on the other side of the skirt, with another on the outside, they were able to work to sew the fabric to the skirt.
Nadine and Sheena held a measuring tape along the کالر to measure how much they would need to add a white pattern to it. It measured out thirteen centimetres, so Sheena tweeted down to Sid and Stinky, using her wings to indicate the number thirteen. Sid and Stinky nodded and counted out the measurement on the white pattern, allowing the birds to bring it up to the collar, were Curly and another ماؤس known as Peapod added the stick pins to hold it down.
Filling a shoe with some needles and thread, Phoebe signaled up to another mouse, who tugged the string on one side. Sid, Stinky, and two other mice pulled up one end of the string, lifting the shoe up to Curly and Peapod's level, to which they began to sew the pattern to the collar.
Sheena and Nadine then wrapped the sash around around the waist in a beautiful گلابی bow. But it was too long, since one end was hanging down from it, which would make the dress look a little much. So they called to Eugene and Phoebe, who were raised up in the shoe, and cut the end of the bow. From there on, the mice and birds continued to work tirelessly to get the dress done. They only had a few مزید hours, anyway.
Cast:
Cinderella: Helga
Lady Tremaine: Brooke Lloyd
Anastasia: Lila (In this, she will be Brooke's child but from a گزشتہ marriage than Rhonda)
Drusilla: Rhonda
Lucifer the cat: Himself
Fairy Godmother: Dr. Susan Bliss
Jack the mouse: Phoebe
Gus the mouse: Eugene
Other mice: Other characters of the series.
Birds: Also other characters. XD
Bruno: Harold
Horse: Patty
The Prince: Arnold
(Gerald will be Arnold's personal servant and best friend)
The King: Grandpa Phil
Grand Duke: Martin (Gerald's father)
Once upon a time, there was a tiny kingdom that lay in prosperity and peace, rich in romance and community. Upon this lovely place, there lay a little chateau in which a widowed man lived with his young daughter, named Helga. She was kind, and very gentle. She was not the loveliest child on the block, but none seemed to care. While her father gave her every kind of luxury, he felt that she needed a mother's care.
So, he married again, to a woman of a good family, with two daughters just Helga's age. سے طرف کی name, Lila and Rhonda.
The tragic accident came and Helga's father had passed on. This was when her stepmother's true nature came through, for she was jealous of Helga's imminent kindness and growing beauty, and used all of the riches of the family on her two awful daughters.
The years passed, the chateau became desolate and lonely beyond repair. The family fell into debts and ruin in result of the luxury of Lila and Rhonda. Helga was abused, humiliated, pushed around, and soon became a servant in her own home. She grew rough, angered, and spoke out of line. But deep down, Helga remained kind, gentle, and still held onto the hopes that one day, her dreams of happiness would come true.
--
Two little birds, سے طرف کی the names of Sheena and Nadine, parted the curtains of the window of the Chateau's tower, which was Helga's bedroom. Helga was still asleep even into these hours of the morning.
Sheena and Nadine flew in, chirping at her sweetly to get her to wake up. Helga groaned and removed her arm from over her eyes as she rolled onto her back. Nadine pulled up one of her pigtails while Sheena chirped into her ear. Helga gently swatted her away and then rolled onto her stomach, placing her تکیا over her head.
Sheena tried to crawl under, but Helga pulled the تکیا down, forcing her away. Nadine flew over and tried again, this time over the pillow, but she didn't see Helga's hand coming behind her, and giving her a gentle flick on the tail feathers. Nadine squealed and jumped a mile onto the bedpost.
"Well, serves آپ right for spoiling my dreams like that." Helga کہا to the birds as she sat up in bed, and smiled a little.
Sheena and Nadine flew to the window sill, pointing out the window at the already risen sun of the beautiful دن outside. From the window, there was a lovely view of the kingdom, with the palace standing tall and grand in the background.
"Yeah yeah, I know it's a nice day." Helga کہا absently as she took out the ties of her pigtails. "But I sure had a nice dream too..." She smiled and sighed happily as she sank back into her pillow. At the bird's insistent and curious chirping, she laughed and waved it off. "No way, I'm not going to tell my deepest secret! But it was a nice dream. And hey, if آپ tell a wish, it won't come true. آپ wouldn't want that to happen to me, would you?"
Nadine and Sheena shook their heads. A few mice came out from their quarters within the holes and hiding places of the room. Phoebe, one of Helga's favourite mice, came out in her little blue jacket, shirt, and a hat with some tiny glasses, going to the window sill as she listened to them all talk.
Helga yawned and got herself out of bed, just as the clock tower along the palace gonged. She glared out the window, waving her تکیا at it angrily.
"You darn clock! Yes yes, get up آپ say! Time to start another day! Criminy, even he orders me around." She sighed, and hugged her pillow. "Well, least there's one thing they can't do! They can't tell me to stop dreaming. Ha!"
She looked over at Phoebe, tossing her تکیا back onto the bed. "Well Pheebs, time to get all washed up. آپ guys care to help me out?"
"Helping! Let's go!" Phoebe کہا to everyone in a high pitched squeaky voice.
All the mice and birds got together, going to work. The birds helped to make the bed, and fluff the pillow, and then carried Helga's گلابی nightgown away to hang it up while she stepped behind a screen. The male mice were shooed from the room, and Phoebe called for the birds to wet the sponge. Nadine and Sheena tried to lift it out, but a wet sponge was so heavy for two little birds! So a few مزید intervened and helped carry it to where Helga was waiting, and they squeezed the excess water from it so she could wash herself.
Phoebe, and some mice going سے طرف کی Sid, Stinky, Lorenzo, Curly and a few other girls, got out Helga's daily attire. It was an old simple dress that had white sleeves, a black سب, سب سے اوپر and waist, and a گلابی سکرٹ, گھیرنا to finish. It went with a simple white waist apron, also. Two مزید mice were taking out a گلابی ribbon that Helga wore just about every day, and as Helga came out and pulled on her clothes, Phoebe helped another female ماؤس wipe her simple white shoes with a cloth before Helga stepped into them.
"No matter how your دل is grieving, if آپ keep on believing...the dreams that آپ wish will come true..." Helga sang softly to herself as Nadine and Sheena brought the white تہبند, برساتی to her, tying it for her in the back. She took the گلابی ribbon from Phoebe, carefully tied her long blonde hair into a braid in the back, using the ribbon to tie it back.
Now she was ready to face the day. یا so she thought.
Sid, Stinky, and Curly then returned from the room, and were all talking at once, with Phoebe joining them in curiosity.
"All right all right, one at a time!" Helga raised her voice lightly to get their attention. "Okay guys, what's going on?"
"They کہا there's a visitor!" Phoebe said.
"Yeah! Yeah! Visitor!" Curly nodded rapidly.
"Oh, what's that آپ say? A visitor? Well well!" Helga smirked, and then reached into the little drawer of her vanity. She was quite a seamstress, and sewed little clothes and accessories for the mice and birds to wear. "Well, then she'll need a dress and..." She pulled out a little گلابی dress.
"Oh! No way Miss Helga, it ain't no girly!" Stinky the ماؤس said.
"It's boy, actually." Phoebe told her.
"Well, that certainly changes everything!" Helga replaced the dress, and pulled out a few مزید items. "Okay, he'll need a شرٹ, قمیض and some shoes...ooh, maybe even a-"
"You gotta hurry, Helga, he was caught in a trap!"
"What?! In a trap?!" Helga burst, standing right up. "Criminy, why didn't آپ say so?"
Helga went to the door, and descended down the stairs with a few of the other mice following after her. The staircase leading up the tower to where her room was located seemed so endless and dark, like remembering the fact that she does indeed live a life like this.
On one of the landing steps, there was a long barred cage with some other of her mice دوستوں surrounding it. There was a little ماؤس inside, shivering with fear.
"Criminy, why did they even do this to you..." Helga murmured, picking up the cage and lifting the door. She smiled tenderly at the shivering mouse. "Ohh...the poor little thing is scared to death. Well Pheebs, آپ should explain things to him."
Helga lay the cage back down on the floor so Phoebe could go inside it to the new mouse.
"Hey now, don't worry about all this. Helga is a little rough around the edges, but she's actually very nice." Phoebe کہا to the mouse. "And we're all friendly, so don't be afraid of us."
The pale ماؤس with a patch of red فر, سمور along his head looked at Phoebe nervously before looking up at Helga's smiling face as she peered down at him.
"Oh, okay..." The ماؤس said. "I-I didn't mean to get caught! I'm okay! Just a little clumsy..."
"Well don't worry, you're محفوظ with us now." Phoebe said. "Come on, Helga will give آپ some clothes." She took the ماؤس سے طرف کی his forepaw and led him out of the cage.
"There we go, see?" Helga said, satisfied. She then placed the شرٹ, قمیض over the new mouse's head, and then his shoes, along with a little hat. "Mm, آپ need a name... well...guess I'll call آپ Eugene. Yeah, that's a good name."
"Eugene...I like it!" Eugene grinned. "Okay Helgie, I'll take it!"
Helga laughed. "Well good! 'Cause that's your name now. Oh criminy, I better go and get the breakfast dishes ready." She sighed, shaking her head. "Well, whatever. Pheebs, دکھائیں him around, will you? Oh, and don't forget to warn him about the cat!" She then descended down the stairs.
"Oh, right!" Phoebe remembered. "Listen Eugene, her step-family have this cat, his name is Lucifer."
"A kitty? Ah! Kitties are fun! I like cats!" Eugene giggled.
"No no, no!" Phoebe shook her head. "Lucifer is bad...he's not funny یا cool. Please just trust me on this, okay?"
--
Downstairs along the سیکنڈ main level of the Chateau, Helga went along the corridor leading to her step-sisters and stepmother's bedrooms. Unlike her, they all had beautiful bedrooms with big beds, and enough clothes and jewelry to feed a poor village.
Helga opened the large curtain having hidden the enormous floor-to-ceiling window before her stepmother's bedroom. She took a breath as she looked outside for a moment, and then went to her stepmother's bedroom door, opening it just a crack, letting a small stream of light toward a little, round, luxurious بستر where a fat black cat with a gray face and tale and paws lay. Even the cat had a nicer بستر than her!
The cat, Lucifer, was snoring away when the light came in. He snorted, opening his eyes as he was disturbed from his slumber.
"Rowr?" He muttered in annoyance.
"Here kitty kitty..." Helga کہا begrudgingly through clenched teeth. She hated the cat as much as her step-family, but she didn't dare say it out loud.
Lucifer yawned, stretching his forepaws before staring at Helga, disobeying her. Sometimes she wore that the cat had a mind of his own and was out to get her, just like the rest of the family.
And she was right.
"C'mon now, come on..." Helga coaxed.
Lucifer turned away from her, refusing to obey still.
"Lucifer! Come here!" Helga whispered loudly in an angrier tone.
With a defeated meow, the devious cat jumped down from his بستر and exited the bedroom slowly. Once out, he stretched on the floor and yawned, but Helga shut the door against him, since he was standing so close to it. Begrudgingly, he followed her downstairs.
"You damn cat..." Helga muttered. "I don't even know why I bother with آپ anymore. Man if that witch of a stepmother wasn't so in charge of me, I'd have had آپ pounded years ago."
She went down to the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ area, where the back door was located, and on a round rug in the middle of the stone floor was a large dog, who was sleeping. He grunted and whimpered, growled, and made a running motion.
"Harold..." She whispered to the dog as she opened the سب, سب سے اوپر half of the bar door to let in the sunlight. When the dog continued to growl and now chew at the carpet, she raised her voice a little. "Harold! Wake up!"
Awaking, Harold looked up at Helga sheepishly, letting the carpet go.
"Hmm, have yourself some doggy dreams? Chasing Lucifer?" Helga smirked lightly, going to get some wood for the hearth.
Harold let out a dog-like laughing noise as Lucifer sat on the steps leading down into the kitchen.
"Well, that's bad." Helga sighed.
Lucifer snickered.
"Come on, I know why آپ feel that way...but آپ know the orders of those damn witches we live under." Helga said, placing the wood in the hearth, lighting it. "I mean, even Lucifer has his good qualities..."
Lucifer smirked proudly as he wandered into the room.
"He..." Helga paused for a moment as she was laying teapots on the three trays she had out for her step-family's breakfast. "Well...um...sometimes he...er... Oh, who am I kidding, there's nothing good about that blasted cat!"
Lucifer glared at her, and then turned around, accidentally bumping noses with Harold, who laughed in reply. Smirking evilly, Lucifer then lowered himself onto his back on the rug, and scratched Harold's face lightly. Harold growled at him, making Lucifer cry out in fright.
"Harold!" Helga scolded him, yet deep down she praised him. She poured دودھ into a bowl, and then went to the dog. "Oh Harold...criminy...come on now, outside..."
She led the dog out the back door, where he miserably walked out.
"It's not easy, but for the sake of all that is good here....try to get along." Helga murmured. She then placed the dish of دودھ before Lucifer very roughly. "The same goes for you, your majesty."
Helga then stepped into some larger work shoes, took a bucket of feeding seeds and went outside, where she began to feed the chickens. "Okay, all of آپ come on out now! Breakfast time!"
--
"Come on, let's go get some seeds!" Phoebe whispered to her fellow mice. "But, we have to be careful of Lucifer...now, I'll go in there and distract him."
"B-But آپ can't! What if he hurts you!?" Curly hissed.
"Yeah Phoebe...ya sure we can't draw tails?"
"No. I'll go." Phoebe told them. "I'll distract him, and آپ all slip outside while he's paying attention to me."
Before the mice could protest further, Phoebe slowly made her way out of the hole and into the kitchen. Lucifer was laying on his stomach, drinking his دودھ as he stared outside absently. His back was to them, giving them an advantage.
Approaching the large cat, Phoebe smirked to herself. It wasn't often she let herself be a bad, adventurous little mouse, but right now was a good time to let that side out. She swung her small foot and kicked the cat in the ribs.
Lucifer yelped, his face ending up in the dish before he flipped it over سے طرف کی accident. He jumped up, only to get sprayed in the face with دودھ سے طرف کی Phoebe, before she ran off, with Lucifer chasing after her. She ducked into a couple of holes in the wall, too small for the large cat to even think to catch her from.
She peeked out one of the holes, and motioned for her fellow mice to run outside and get the seeds. Eugene giggled loudly, and Sid shushed him before they all sneaked across the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ to get outside.
"Yay! Food! Food! We can finally get some-OW!" Eugene squealed as he tripped over a crack in the floor and fell down.
"Rowr?!" Lucifer meowed in surprise at the small noise, turning around.
The other mice had already slipped outside, but Eugene, having fallen down, got back up. Lucifer spotted him. Vulnerable, clumsy...perfect target. Lucifer immediately forgot about Phoebe and slowly inched his way toward Eugene.
"Ooohh...I'm okay..." Eugene uttered, shaking his head a couple of times to revert the dizziness. He turned around, deciding to head back into the hole and wait for the others instead.
When he came face to face with Lucifer and his wide, roaring open mouth.
"YAAAAAHH!!" Eugene screamed, trying to run away, but Lucifer held his tail down with his paw, preventing escape.
Seeing this, Phoebe acted fast, pushing the جھاڑو sitting near her with all of her strength. Luckily, nothing was holding it back, so it was easier to move. It fell, knocking the cat on the head, stunning him. Crying out in thanks, Eugene slipped away and made his escape as the other mice ran in with their share of the food.
Recovering from the blow, Lucifer's eyes darted about the kitchen, and came to see Eugene's silhouette climbing the میز, جدول cloth. He grinned maliciously and went in for the kill.
Eugene climbed onto the table, panting hard in relief as he sat against a چائے کی پیالی, ٹیاکوپ upside down on a saucer. He didn't notice Lucifer's eyes peering at him over the table, when the cup suddenly lifted away and covered him!
The cat smirked deviously and peered under the cup to make sure he was there, when suddenly, one of the bells in the باورچی خانے, باورچی خانہ rang incessantly. There were three of them, each of them connecting to the rooms of Brooke, Lila and Rhonda. They would ring them when they wanted something. Like, all the time.
"HELGA!!!!" Rhonda yelled from upstairs as the گھنٹی, بیل rang.
"Oh, criminy! Already?!" Helga groaned as she came inside, slipping the larger shoes off and taking off her bandanna.
"HELGA!!!" Came the yell of Lila, ringing the سیکنڈ bell.
"All right all right, hold on!" Helga placed two مزید teacups and saucers on the میز, جدول before she went off to get some dishes, filling them with the porridge.
Lucifer went to grab the teacup, but saw two مزید اگلے to it. Which one had his meal under it? He checked all three of them simultaneously, finding that the one on the far right was his target.
"HELGA!!!"
"In a minute!" Helga shouted, but not loud enough for them to hear. She placed the three bowls on the trays, as well as the saucers and cups, then went to get the kettle of hot water.
Lucifer came back up to the table, and was once again faced with the سوال as to which cup Eugene was under. Again he checked two of them, coming to see that the same one from before was the one he was looking for. But before he could grab at it, Helga came rushing back to fill the teapots with hot water. All three bells were ringing at this point.
Impatiently, Lucifer waited under the میز, جدول as he waited for Helga to اقدام so that he could get to the ماؤس he had trapped. Finally, he saw her feet اقدام away. Grinning, he came back up to the table, only to find it bare. Angrily he clawed at it, and turned around to see Helga leaving the kitchen, balancing a tray in each hand, and the third one on her head. After years of doing such things, she had it narrowed down to an art.
"HELGA! HURRY UP!"
"HEEELLLGGAAAA!!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Helga grumbled to herself, not at all aware of Lucifer following after her, and then ahead of her up the stairs leading to the سیکنڈ floor.
Watching her come up the stairs, hidden behind the large statue shaped like a typical trophy, Lucifer waited, his eyes on the prize. Helga's shoe slipped off her foot, and she turned around to get it back, therefore switching the cups. Lucifer, not knowing this, reached out and grabbed the چائے cup, only to find the saucer bare. Where did the ماؤس go?!
Helga reached the first bedroom, which was Lila's bedroom. She carefully opened the door and went inside.
"Good morning, Lila." She کہا begrudgingly, disguising it with fake pleasantness.
"Take this laundry and have it done in an hour. I would ever so like that. آپ hear me?" Lila ordered from the bedroom.
"Yes, Lila..."
Lucifer watched as Helga emerged from the bedroom, now carrying a basket of laundry in one hand to replace the tray. Did she still have the mouse? Lucifer followed after her as the blonde girl headed to the سیکنڈ bedroom, which was Rhonda's bedroom.
"Good morning, Rhonda..." Helga said, entering the bedroom.
"It's about time! Take these, be sure to hem them. And don't be all دن getting it done!"
"YES, Princess..." Helga muttered, coming out of the bedroom and shutting the door with her foot. Now she held another laundry basket in her other hand, with the remaining third tray still on her head.
The door closed on Lucifer's nose, which he glared resentfully up at her, not that Helga noticed.
Helga came to the last bedroom, the bedroom Lady Brooke Wellington Lloyd Pataki.
"Come in now, child, come in." Brooke sounded kind, yet condescending.
"Good morning, stepmother." Helga said. She had been told over and over to address Brooke as Lady Wellington Lloyd, but begrudgingly agreed against it when Helga put up a fuss about it, the first time she had ever had an outburst right to her face.
"Pick up the laundry, and do have it done before this evening."
"Yes, stepmother..." Helga groaned, and came back out from the bedroom, avoiding stepping on Lucifer. She now had a laundry bag on her head as she headed to the stairs.
Lucifer let out an annoyed whine, wondering what he was going to do about the ماؤس he was trying so hard to get.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!" Lila suddenly screamed from her bedroom, the sound of dishes breaking ensued.
Excitedly, knowing what this meant, Lucifer ran toward Lila's room, just in time for Eugene to come crawling out from under the door. The cat grabbed him in his paws, happily watching the coming drama.
"Mother! Mother!" Lila cried, coming out of her room.
"What happened?!" Helga yelled as she came back up the stairs.
"You! آپ did that ever so on purpose!" Lila accused.
"What are آپ talking about?! What did I do?!" Helga demanded.
"Mother! Mother!" Lila ran to Brooke's bedroom, not answering Helga.
"What did آپ do THIS time?" Rhonda wanted to know. "Sheesh, don't آپ have anything better to do with your time, Helga?"
"Criminy, will آپ just tell me what happened?" Helga said, trying to calm down.
Rhonda didn't answer her, she just went into her mother's bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Helga groaned under her breath, and then came to see Lucifer, staring up at her deviously.
"All right, آپ blasted cat. Where is he?" She demanded.
Lucifer showed her his paws, which were empty.
"You expect me to fall for that?" Helga grabbed him near the scruff of his neck, standing him upright. "Now اقدام your foot."
Lucifer lifted his foot, no Eugene. But he kept his other foot down.
"Now the other one. Come on. Let him go." Helga ordered. When he didn't obey, she shook him lightly. "I کہا let him go!"
Reluctantly, the cat lifted his foot, revealing Eugene curled in a ball, his arms over his head. When he realized he was free, he ran in a dizzying motion into the nearby ماؤس hole in the wall.
"Well, now I bet you'll think twice before-"
"Helga! Come in here at once." Brooke then called from her bedroom.
"Oh great." Helga muttered, going to her stepmother's bedroom as Lila and Rhonda came out, both sneering at her. Lucifer went into the room ahead of her.
"You're gonna get it now!" Rhonda told her.
"You're in ever so much trouble." Lila کہا smugly.
"Close the door, Helga." Brooke said.
Helga did, and the two half-sisters peeked in through the keyhole. Lucifer went up onto the large canopy بستر of the bedroom. The room was dark, only the glowing green eyes of Lucifer were visible as Helga slowly approached.
Her stepmother, Brooke, sat upright in bed, petting Lucifer as she regarded her stepdaughter with cold, hard eyes.
"Stepmother, I didn't mean to-" Helga began.
"Hold your tongue." Brooke told her. "I can't even begin to understand why آپ did such a thing, Helga. آپ actually had enough time on your hands to place a ماؤس in your sister's cup..."
"I didn't! I was-"
"Silence!"
Brooke poured herself some tea, regaining a calmer composure. "Since آپ have time on your hands...let's put it to better use. Now then, there is a rug in the main hallway. Clean it! And the windows, upstairs and down, wash them."
Lucifer gave Helga a commanding glare, nodding in agreement to his mistress.
"There's also the draperies, the tapestries..."
"But I already-"
"Do them again!"
"There's the garden, sweep the halls and the stairs, clean the chimney, then there's also the mending and the sewing and the laundry."
With an evil smirk, she then accidentally on purpose knocked down an intricate China figurine off her bedside table.
"And clean that up, too. Don't forget to also polish the the china, the vases, and of course the portrait frames. Oh yes, and one مزید thing. See that Lucifer gets his bath."
Cringing, Lucifer glared at his Mistress with disapproval as Helga hid a smirk.
--
While all this was going on in the Wellington Lloyd Pataki household, some matters were also occurring at the grand palace. No one would know of the rather interesting conflict the Royal family was facing.
"C'mon man, at this age, I think it's a perfect time for آپ to find a nice woman and settle down!" Gerald Johansen کہا to his best friend, blocking another blow with his rapier. He was a dark-skinned fellow, and the prince's best friend and personal servant. His father, Martin, was the Grand Duke.
The two of them were fencing together to hone their swordsman skills.
The young prince, Arnold, just sighed in reply. "I know, Gerald. But it's not that easy. I can't just go up to a woman and say 'Hey, will آپ marry me?' like it was nothing. Marriage is sacred and beautiful, I really want to marry someone I'm in love with."
"Man, I do understand, but I'm afraid that ain't very possible." Gerald said, shaking his head. "You got a lot on your shoulders as Prince."
Arnold sighed again, and then held his hand out in a "time out" manner and placed his rapier aside. He took a towel and wiped his forehead with it. The Prince was fairly young, standing very tall and full of grace. His most distinctive outward feature was the fact he had an oblong-shaped head, with unruly blonde hair to go with it. His eyes were a lovely shade of green, holding such kindness and gentleness. Even though he was perceptively slender, he did have a light tone to him from years of training and practice of various physical activities. Prince Arnold was a kind, gentle, giving, and generous soul who cared very much for his people and those he cared for. He saw the best in everyone he encountered, and never failed to help someone in need when the time came.
Now these days, his grandfather, now the King due to the tragic passing of his mother and father, was slightly pressuring him to get married and settle down. Being the sole heir to the throne, there was a lot of pressure involved.
"Yeah, and that isn't always easy." Arnold murmured. "I just want to be happy, Gerald. I know that's selfish of me to say, but marriage means a lot to me, and I want it to be beautiful, meaningful, and truly something I will enjoy and remember the rest of my life. I want to marry someone I love."
"Arnold my man, there is nothing selfish about wanting to be happy!" Gerald told him, coming over to him and patting his shoulder in assurance. "Trust me, if I could help آپ get the girl of your dreams, I would. But I'm afraid that's all just in fairy tales...because unless آپ do meet a potential wife آپ fall for, then it's impossible."
Arnold smiled sadly at his best friend. "I know... I know. I may not have much time, but with that ball tonight...well, maybe I will have a chance."
"Exactly! Come on, there's gotta be at least one eligible maiden in the kingdom آپ could fall in love with! It's all about meeting under the right conditions."
"Gerald, it's not that easy. آپ don't just fall in love at first sight. Love grows over time, as آپ get to know the person you're with and see who they are inside and outside." Arnold said.
Gerald snickered. "Man, you're one hopeless romantic."
"I guess I am." The Prince کہا bashfully.
"So آپ ready for the ball tonight?"
"No way."
"Didn't think so."
"Gerald!"
"Hey man, I'm just kiddin' around!"
"Hey, short man!" Came the cheery call of the King Phil, Arnold's grandfather. "Havin' some fun?"
"Yeah, I guess, Grandpa." Arnold replied.
"Hey!" Gerald protested.
"Haha! Well good! I sure hope you're excited for the ball tonight, short man!"
"Grandpa, I'm a little over six feet tall. I'm not that short anymore." Arnold told his grandfather.
"Ah, you'll always be the little short man who at nine years old decided to adopt a pig آپ called Abner!" Phil laughed.
Gerald laughed, and Arnold cast an annoyed glance at them both.
"Grandpa! That was years ago..."
"I know I know, Arnold. Now, go get yourself cleaned up and ready! آپ only have until tonight to be ready for the ball! And don't forget to pick yourself a suitable mother!" The King کہا joyfully.
"Grandpa, I need a wife before the mother of my children." Arnold chided gently.
"Whatever آپ say, short man!" Phil کہا with a laugh. "Well I'd better go and inform the Duke to get the last of the preparations going. See آپ later, short man!" The King gave a laugh and left the room.
Arnold sighed, going over to a nearby window and looking out over the kingdom and the horizon. He stared, his eyes often glancing over at the desolate-looking chateau sitting on the ہل, لندن at the end of the village.
"Arnold? ارے Arnold, آپ all right?"
"I'm fine, Gerald." Arnold replied absently. "...I guess you're right. Maybe there really is a girl out there for me..." His eyes fell on the chateau again, sighing softly. "I'd give anything to be able to dance with her tonight..."
--
Back in the Wellington Lloyd Pataki household, Brooke, Rhonda and Lila were in the موسیقی room on the سیکنڈ floor engaged in their daily موسیقی lessons. یا at least, that's what it was considered. Brooke played the grand piano, Rhonda sang-very badly- while Lila played the flute. The موسیقی Brooke and Lila were playing was actually nice, but Rhonda's off-key singing drowned it out.
Lucifer was on the سوفی, لٹانا in the room, clearly bothered سے طرف کی Rhonda's "singing". So much, that he grabbed the cushion and pulled it over his ears to try to tune out the noise.
"Oh, sing Sweet Nightingale...
Sing, Sweet Nightingale...
High above me...
Oh, sing Sweet Nightingale..." Rhonda sang out, very badly, of course.
Lucifer couldn't take it any longer. He left the room, shutting the door. Taking a breather, he then heard the sound of Helga singing from downstairs. He peeked around down the landing, seeing her scrubbing the floor of the foyer. She was singing the Nightingale song to herself, and granted she was a better singer than Rhonda, after years of practicing it since her childhood, it had improved immensely.
"High
Oh, sing sweet Nightingale...
Sing sweet Nightingale, sing
Oh, sing, sweet Nightingale..." Helga sang to herself as she scrubbed, occasionally stopping to pop a few bubbles that would fly around her periodically.
Going down the stairs, Lucifer noticed a dustpan sitting there on the step اگلے to him, already filled with dust and dirt. He grinned devilishly, and then proceeded to jump and walk along the wet floor, leaving his footprints around.
"Oh, Lucifer!" Helga exclaimed, realizing what was going on around her as she snapped out of her daydreaming. She saw the mess he'd made, and threw her washcloth down. "You mean old thing! Criminy, don't آپ have anything better to do than annoy me?!"
Lucifer just jumped away with glee, not at all caring. Helga grabbed her broom, about to chase after him, when there was a knock at the front door.
"Open in the name of the King!"
Helga opened the door to the Royal Messenger, who held out a letter to her. On his back was a huge sack of similar-looking envelopes, probably each containing the same letter.
"An urgent message requested to be delivered to all who dwell in the Kingdom, regarding the grandson of the King, his Royal Highness the Prince!" کہا the messenger.
"Oh, thanks." Helga took the letter, and gave him a coin for a tip before shutting the door.
Phoebe and Eugene, having been listening through one of the little mice secret passages and eavesdrops, came out to Helga.
"Helga, Helga! What's the letter? What does it say?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know...the guy just کہا it was urgent, something about the Prince." Helga کہا with a shrug. She went to the stairs, and looked down at them with a smirk. "Hey, he DID say it was urgent...so I think I'm gonna go and interrupt their...ahem, singing lessons."
Phoebe and Eugene giggled as Helga went upstairs. They slipped into a hole in the دیوار hidden behind a rotating crevice piece, going up after her to see what all the fuss was about.
--
"Oh sing sweet Nightingale, sing sweet Nightingale, hi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i!"
Lila's finger got stuck in one of the holes of the flute, causing it to bump up a few times under Rhonda's chin as she struggled to pull it out. It was an accident, but Rhonda obviously didn't
"You clumsy idiot!" Rhonda grabbed the flute and bopped Lila over the head with it.
"Oh, I'm ever so sorry!" Lila shot back in defiance, not sounding the least bit sorry.
The girls continued to argue, which was something they also had a pretty bad habit of getting into. Especially since they were half-sisters, which led them to try to outdo the other. Rhonda's father was born into the family from Brooke's first husband, Lila was the result from her سیکنڈ husband. Helga was Robert's daughter from his first wife, so she was only related سے طرف کی marriage. It was no wonder they shunned her like they did.
"Girls, girls! Enough arguing!" Brooke scolded her daughters, but not like how she scolded Helga. Once the girls quieted down, she raised her fingers to play the piano again when there was a knock at the door. "Yes?!"
Helga opened the door, totally ignoring her stepmother's angry tone.
"Helga! I warned آپ never to interrupt us unless-"
"Yeah, I know!" Helga protested. "But this is urgent news from the palace!"
"From the PALACE?!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"The palace?!" Lila echoed.
The girls ran over to Helga, grabbing the Royal sealed envelope from her and trying to take it from one another, successfully ripping the envelope itself and getting the letter out.
"Give it here!"
"It's mine! I want to see!"
"I'm ever so certain I touched it first!"
"No, let go!"
"I'll read it!" Brooke grabbed it from her daughters and read it over quickly. "Oh...there's to be a ball..."
"A ball?!" Lila and Rhonda کہا unison to each other, excited.
"In honour of the upcoming birthday of his Royal Highness the Prince..." Brooke continued.
"The Prince?!" The girls cried.
"And, سے طرف کی Royal Command, every eligible maiden is to attend!" Brooke concluded, pretty excited about the idea herself. It was a golden opportunity to get her daughters all the money they needed to support their expensive lifestyle.
"Why, that's definitely us!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"And I know that I'm ever so eligible!" Lila agreed.
The Prince! Helga had long heard about the Prince, although she only knew his name, which was Arnold. She'd never seen him before, but having heard a lot of the ladies and young girls around the village talking about him and how handsome he was, she knew a thing یا two. He was کہا to be really nice and sweet, always helping people when they needed it.
He sounded like her kind of guy, for sure. Too bad it was only wishful thinking.
Still, this was perfect! Maybe she would meet this Prince...or even better, maybe at the ball she would meet a man یا two that she could get fall for...
"Then that means...I can go too!" Helga realized, thinking out loud. Hey, she was a woman, and she was not involved with anyone, which of course made her eligible.
"Ha! Her?! Dancing with the Prince!" Rhonda laughed.
"I'd be ever so honoured, Your Highness, would آپ mind holding my broom?" Lila mimicked Helga, holding out her flute like it was a broom.
Rhonda took hold of the flute and started to playfully dance with Lila, laughing along with her.
Normally, Helga would have been the good little girl and walk away from it all, accepting defeat. But this time, it was a true one step to getting out of this place and making her dreams come true, and she would be able to! No, she was not about to let this pass up. Not when she actually had a chance to get closer and closer to her dreams of happiness.
"Well, why not?" Helga demanded. "I mean, I'm still a member of the family after all! And it does say that سے طرف کی Royal Command, every eligible maiden is to attend. And the last time I checked, I'm an eligible girl. So I have every right to attend that ball just as آپ do."
"Yes...it certainly does say that." Brooke کہا condescendingly, obviously catching on to what Helga was insinuating. "Well....I do see no reason why آپ can't go. If آپ get all your work done..."
Helga grinned happily. Finally! The odds were finally set in her favour! "Oh, yes! I will!"
"And, if آپ can find something suitable to wear..." Brooke added, knowing that this portion of the bargain would be harder.
"Don't worry, I will. Thanks, Stepmother!" Helga was too happy to care about anything now, she left the room and shut the door behind her.
"Mother! Do آپ realize what آپ just said?!" Rhonda scolded her mother.
"Of course. I کہا if..." Brooke smirked.
"Ohhh...if...." Lila said, and giggled along with her sister.
--
Upstairs in her room, Helga had opened her تنے, ٹرنک and pulled out a lovely, flowing dress from it. It had rounded puffy sleeves, with flares. The سب, سب سے اوپر half to the waist was pink, and the سکرٹ, گھیرنا was white. She twirled it around in excitement, and then placed it over a bodice.
"Do آپ like it?" She asked her mice friends, who all nodded. "It was my mom's. Yeah, it's pretty old-fashioned...at least سے طرف کی Rhonda's standards. But I think this book here has great ideas!"
She picked up a book sitting near the sewing میز, جدول and flipped through a few pages before setting it down to دکھائیں the mice the page she had selected. The image of the dress in the book was absolutely lovely. It was full length, pink, with straps instead of sleeves, to be accompanied سے طرف کی a white شرٹ, قمیض beneath it, with a گلابی bow sash around the waist as an optional add-on, and around the bottom of the dress would be a darker pink.
(Yes, it's made up like Helga's outfit on the show! XD)
"It's perfect! Just gotta shorten those sleeves, maybe alter the waist a bit, and we can find a neat sash for the waist..." Helga said, above the excited squeaks of the mice.
"It's so beautiful, Helga! آپ would look wonderful in it!" Phoebe told her.
"Yeah, definitely! You'll be the life of the ball!"
"Helga! Helga!" Rhonda and Lila called from downstairs.
"Oh, now what do they want?! Criminy, can't a girl ever have some time to think?! Doi..."
"Helga, get down here now!"
"Helga!"
"HEEELLLGAAA!!!"
Helga sighed and stood back up, playing with the سکرٹ, گھیرنا of her dress. "Well, I guess my dress will have to wait..."
"HEEELLGAAA!!!"
"HELGA!!"
"All right, all right! I'm coming!" Helga groaned angrily, going to the door and leaving the room, heading down the stairs.
Phoebe went to the door, watching her go down through the crack and sighed. "Poor Helga...she just can't get a منٹ to herself... The منٹ she begins to think it, that's when they begin it!"
"HEEELLLGAAA!!" Rhonda and Lila yelled from downstairs, so loud that the door rattled, Phoebe shut it with her foot.
"Can آپ believe them? It's always the same thing...giving her all kinds of chores under the sun...Helga do this, Helga do that, Helga clean my shoes, Helga dust the attic, Helga do the dishes, Helga scrub the floors..." Phoebe said, feeling her دل going out to her friend.
"They're so mean! Why do they have to do that? Why?" Eugene said, and tripped over a needle. "I'm okay!"
"Easy, they want to wear her down..." Phoebe sighed, sitting on a thimble. "Every time she has one منٹ of happiness, they go and stomp on it with their big feet. She's not going to the ball...she'll never get her dress done, and I know they'll make sure of that. She finally had a chance to go and be happy, to make her dreams come true, and now look!"
The mice all sat in silence for a few moments, feeling very sorry for their dear friend. It all seemed so hopeless, all because of Helga's meddling stepsisters and stepmother.
Right then, looking at the book, the dress, and all the sewing essentials, Phoebe was then struck with an idea.
"Hey! Wait a second...we can do it!" Phoebe told all the mice, excited all of a sudden. "We'll make her dress! We'll make it nice and pretty, we'll get it ready for her in time for the ball!"
"Yeah! We can do that!" Sid agreed happily.
"Perfect idea, y'all!" Stinky agreed, slapping a high five with Sid.
All the birds tweeted in agreement, the mice all danced around in happiness, singing and harmonizing in joy for being to help out their dear friend. The years had been rough, but over time it all warmed up, and they were مزید than happy to help their friend find happiness. And hey, once she did, she would take them, too!
"C'mon Eugene, let's go and we'll find some things we can add to the dress!" Phoebe کہا to Eugene.
"Heh heh, okay!" Eugene grinned, going after Phoebe into the hole to go down to the lower floors.
--
Once down there, they pushed open a little square door in the wall, peeking in as Rhonda and Lila were giving Helga some laundry and clothes to mend, sew یا adjust.
"Take this too, it's hideous and needs to be washed!"
"And this one too, it's ever so small!"
"This one too!"
"And this! Don't forget it!"
"Yes...yes...I got it..." Helga groaned, trying to balance the armload of clothes she was holding.
"And Helga, when you're done with your regular chores...I have a few other things آپ can do." Brooke کہا from the doorway of the room before she left.
"Yes, stepmother..." Helga sighed, and left the room through the other door.
"Goodness, and I can't believe I even have this stupid sash!" Lila exclaimed, throwing down a long, گلابی sash to the ground.
"You're telling me! These beads...I'm sick of looking at them!" Rhonda threw a stringed ہار of bright red beads to the floor and kicked it away.
The girls then left the room also, shutting the door behind them. Once the coast was clear, Phoebe and Eugene slipped out from the hole in the wall, looking around the room for some things they could use for Helga's dress. The discarded sash lay on the floor nearby, and so did the beads.
"Ohhh!! Beads! They're so pretty!" Eugene cried in excitement, giggling.
Phoebe gasped and covered Eugene's mouth. "Shh! Eugene, be quiet! Look!"
That was when they saw Lucifer asleep on a little stool. It was strange they didn't see him before. But now they had to be really careful and quiet if they wanted to get the sash and beads.
Quietly, Phoebe led Eugene toward the کہا sash. Luckily, Lucifer had not noticed them yet. She whispered something to him, and he nodded. They then took one end of the sash, holding it over their heads as they ran across the floor to make it back to the other end, where they had come in. The movement must have caught Lucifer's attention because he woke up and saw the sash sliding and then rolling across the floor. He couldn't see the mice, so he was wondering how it was moving all سے طرف کی itself.
Unfortunately, while rolling in it, Phoebe and Eugene couldn't see where they were going, so inevitably they crashed into the wall, where the rolling ended, therefore revealing themselves.
Lucifer grinned maliciously and leaped off the stool, hurrying toward them. Phoebe and Eugene frantically pulled the sash into the hole as Lucifer chased after it, pawing at it. On and on he went as the mice pulled in the sash. Luckily, they pulled it into the hole, causing Lucifer to crash his face into it. Pulling out of the hole, he shook his head to shake off the feeling, and then crouched low in front of the hole, waiting for them to emerge.
Creeaaaaaaakkk!!
This caught Lucifer's attention as he heard a creaking noise from his right. He turned his head, seeing a round piece of the دیوار further down pushing open. Phoebe glanced around, and then pointed toward the beads they were going to get.
"Ooohh! There they are! Oh Helga's going to love those!" Eugene cajoled a little too loudly.
Phoebe noticed Lucifer watching them, and she panicked, covering Eugene's mouth.
"Be quiet, Lucifer heard us!"
Seeing their intention, Lucifer dashed in and sat down on the beads, preventing them from taking them. Phoebe slapped herself on the forehead, wondering what they could do now that their chances of getting the beads were now out of the question. Looking around the room, she saw a discarded old شرٹ, قمیض a few yards across from where Lucifer was sitting. Studying it, she then got an idea.
"Eugene, I have an idea..." Phoebe whispered into Eugene's ear so that the cat wouldn't overhear. "I'm going to go over there and distract Lucifer so that he'll come toward me. When he gets off the beads, آپ go and get them and bring them back to this hole."
"Got it!" Eugene whispered loudly.
"Shh!" Phoebe hissed, and then climbed down from the hole, going toward Lucifer.
Seeing this, Lucifer sneered and held his paw up, ready to strike when Phoebe would walk up. But, she walked past him on his left instead of his right, which confused him. He then heard soft humming, and looked ahead to see Phoebe now biting off the thread of buttons attached to a shirt, and piling them on سب, سب سے اوپر of each other. Perfect...she was out in the open, perfect for him to grab her.
Humming to herself, Phoebe cast glances at Lucifer to make sure he was stalking toward her. Perfect. She continued to bite the buttons off the shirt, and placed them on a little beside her.
Lucifer was now off the beads as he approached Phoebe, but he heard a little noise from behind him. Turning around, he noticed Eugene now making his way toward the beads he had just gotten off of. Seeing this, Lucifer sat back down on the beads, taunting him. He looked back at Phoebe, and could now see he had a dilemma. So, to fix things, he slid his rear across the floor, keeping the beads under him as he made his way to Phoebe.
"Phoeeeeebbeeeeee!!!" Eugene cried to her in warning.
But Phoebe knew what she was doing, she continued to pile the buttons, making sure Lucifer came closer and closer to her...
The cat raised his paw at her, but Phoebe was one step ahead of him. She took a button, and pulled a game of Tiddly-Winks, which caused the button on the floor to fly at Lucifer, which bopped him against the nose. Luficer meowed in rage and then jumped into the pile of shirts to try to get Phoebe, now burying himself under the pile.
With him distracted, Eugene slipped down from the hole and ran to get the beads, carefully trying to pick them up. But they were fairly heavy for a mouse. He drooped them along his little arms and on his head, over his shoulders, and then made a run for it.
Lucifer came up from the pile, and now searched along the shirts to try to find Phoebe, not noticing Eugene yet. But where was Phoebe?
It turned out, she was on سب, سب سے اوپر of Lucifer's head. She peered down at him to make sure he didn't see Eugene, but when she looked up toward the کہا mouse, he had tripped and was now sliding across the floor on the beads! She covered her mouth to stifle a gasp, watching him crash into the wall, with the beads having been broken off the string, bouncing and scattering all over the place.
Lucifer turned his head to see what the noise was about, but Phoebe grabbed his eyelids and pulled them over his eyes to distract him and so that he wouldn't see. Lucifer pawed at his head, and Phoebe jumped back into the pile of clothing. The cat went in after her, and he thrashed through them, trying to find her.
Eugene now picked himself up, and was now putting the beads into his hat, hurriedly picking them up.
Through the clothes, Phoebe finally emerged out from a sleeve, with Lucifer following after her. He was far too big to fit through, so only his head made it out of the sleeve. Phoebe reached Eugene, and was now taking the remaining dropped beads, stringing them through his tail while Eugene took them into his hat. Lucifer crawled to them, going fairly slow since he was stuck, but he was determined.
Hurriedly, Phoebe strung the beads onto Eugene's tail, and just as Eugene reached for the last one, Lucifer had reached them too, and bit at him. But they grabbed the last bead and then fled into the hole, shutting the little door behind them, with Lucifer bashing into it as he lunged at them.
--
A little later, back on upstairs, the mice and the birds were working on Helga's dress. So far so good, they were measuring out the length of the سکرٹ, گھیرنا to cut out the pattern, سے طرف کی drawing little lines with tiny chalk pieces, to which Phoebe and Eugene helped to cut with scissors, narrowly missing another mouse's tail!
The birds helped to carry up the fabric for the skirt, placing it around thanks to some help from string, using stick pins to hold the fabric in place on the skirt. With the help of one mice inside the چولی, آنگی on the other side of the skirt, with another on the outside, they were able to work to sew the fabric to the skirt.
Nadine and Sheena held a measuring tape along the کالر to measure how much they would need to add a white pattern to it. It measured out thirteen centimetres, so Sheena tweeted down to Sid and Stinky, using her wings to indicate the number thirteen. Sid and Stinky nodded and counted out the measurement on the white pattern, allowing the birds to bring it up to the collar, were Curly and another ماؤس known as Peapod added the stick pins to hold it down.
Filling a shoe with some needles and thread, Phoebe signaled up to another mouse, who tugged the string on one side. Sid, Stinky, and two other mice pulled up one end of the string, lifting the shoe up to Curly and Peapod's level, to which they began to sew the pattern to the collar.
Sheena and Nadine then wrapped the sash around around the waist in a beautiful گلابی bow. But it was too long, since one end was hanging down from it, which would make the dress look a little much. So they called to Eugene and Phoebe, who were raised up in the shoe, and cut the end of the bow. From there on, the mice and birds continued to work tirelessly to get the dress done. They only had a few مزید hours, anyway.
