Chapter One: Dear Reader

Dear Reader,

As many of you know all fairytales begin with the words "Once upon a time" and end with "Happily ever after." This is not a shock to anyone and it is almost these words alone that set our mind in the mood for magic because that is what all fairytales contain. They wouldn't be called fairytales if they didn't have magic.

And yet this story like many others start and end with the same small words but unlike all the others this story does not contain magic.

How, do you ask, can a fairytale have no magic? The answer is simple. The story that I am about to relate to you has been passed down from generation to generation. From my great-great-great-great-grandfather to his son to his son and so on. Now I know that you are all thinking what is this great tale the Muse has decided to tell. It must be very important if it has been passed down so. And right you are! The story that I will tell is called Cinderella.

Before you start scoffing at my going memory (which I would like to remind you is still quite sharp) and asking why Cinderella has no magic when it most certainly does, let me explain to you the circumstances of how this old fable has become so well known today. Many of you expect to hear how the story has changed over time due to word of mouth but that is a lie. The well-known classic was in fact set up to be an unbelievable tale so that no one would really know the circumstances to Cinderella's rise to the throne. Even many eyewitnesses could not say that the story known today is not the real one.

The real story is nothing like the one that you have heard today and after many years of being a well-kept secret it will finally be known to the world that Cinderella was no fairytale. But because the story has settled into that genre there is no point in removing it from its rightful place because even the real events seem to be unreal.

So without further delay, I shall begin.

Sincerely,

Muse

(The Sixth Generation)

Hey to everyone out there reading this and welcome to my fifth story. I was actually planning on doing another one for but then I read some really horrible Cinderella stories and it made me think that I could have done much better and so I decided to write this. Mind you there are a lot of good ones out there (i.e. Queen of Glass by S. ) but I thought I'd give it a try.

Anyways, I normally do the whole introduction thing before I actually start but this time putting it at the end of the chapter seemed more appropriate. Let's see…all the characters, plots, and countries are mine…blah blah blah…anything similar is purely coincidence…blah blah blah…and if you review for me, at the end of my story I'll review for you.

HOLD THE PHONE! Is she promising to review for you if you review for her? Yes, folks that's right! I'll review for you if you review for me when I am finished with my story. Or if I'm lucky and have time maybe even during the story. Well, that's about it. See ya later!