Cinderella is Dead

That evening, Sophia and Constance gather plants from Amina’s garden to use in the necromancy ritual. However, some materials have to be found elsewhere, including a still-beating heart, which can be from a rabbit. Amina explains that the giant crow in the forest is her familiar, who watches the area and reports back to her. Sophia and Constance also discuss how, even if they find a way to end King Manford, his ideas and traditions are so entrenched in Mersailles’s culture that they won’t suddenly just go away. They’ll probably have to fight for what they want. Meanwhile, the girls’ feelings for each other continue to grow.

The following night, Sophia and Constance discuss the plants they need for a divination ritual, which they’ll complete on a full moon. The sound of horses approaches, and Amina tells the girls to hide in the root cellar. The girls listen as Amina opens the door and King Manford insults her house. She asks why he’s here after not visiting for years and asks him to leave. The king says he wants the girl, and she again tells him to leave. He insults her magic, saying her spells don’t last and that she’s worthless, before leaving.

When the full moon arrives, it’s time to gather plants and brew a tea for the divination ritual. Sophia and Constance go to a pond in the woods because Amina says submerging oneself in water enhances the effects of divination, especially if naked. Amina goes first, then Constance. Both seem distraught by what they’ve seen but don’t share their visions. Sophia then takes her turn and has a vision of King Manford’s face reaching for her own, a ball of light erupting between them, and then a pulling at the center of her chest.

Back in Amina’s cottage, Amina shares that she saw her own death, whereas Constance shares that she saw a body lying in a hallway filled with smoke. Sophia shares her vision as well, along with her doubts about being good enough to defeat Manford. Amina says she’s worthy. She also shares that she’s not special herself, being one of many witches in the forest. Sophia asks if Helen of Helen’s Wonderments is a real witch, and Amina refutes it, saying that she and Erin drank cow urine rather than a good-luck potion.

The day comes for Sophia, Constance, and Amina to travel to Cinderella’s corpse in Lille. The journey is supposed to take four days on horseback, but somehow, following Amina’s direction, they get out of the White Wood with time to spare. They reach the watchtowers and Amina walks straight ahead, unconcerned. When the guards draw their swords, she enchants them with sleeping dust.

Sophia, Constance, and Amina avoid the main road, but a man still stops to harass them. Amina gives him a potion to make him sleep, too. She tells the girls that visions seen via divination are not always set in stone. Constance is carrying a book of fairy tales passed down from her family. Included in it is a version of “Cinderella,” but the drawings are different from the ones in the palace-approved version. The trio reach Cinderella’s real tomb and pry the lid off, but Constance sees the body and says it can’t be right.

Cinderella has been in a coffin for 200 years, but her body hasn’t decayed. However, it is gray and her hair is white, like Liv’s body in the ditch. Sophia mixes ink, writes “arise and speak” (272) on a leaf, and places it in Cinderella’s mouth. She notices Amina’s spell book says that “the conjurer is bound to the raised corpse until death” (275) and that Amina seems scared of this magic. Sophia, Constance, and Amina speak Cinderella’s name three times, and she arises, confused at first. She thinks Constance is her stepsister Gabrielle, but Constance explains herself and says she needs to know what Cinderella was trying to tell Gabrielle before being taken away years ago. Cinderella can’t remember. The trio say they want to stop King Manford, and Cinderella says he did this to her, that he takes something from people, but she can’t remember what it is. However, she remembers a light being involved, like in Sophia’s vision.

Cinderella starts to fade because she doesn’t belong in the mortal world. She tells the trio to find her diary and to not let King Manford hurt anyone else. She returns to being dead, and the trio go to Cinderella’s childhood home to plan their next move.

Sophia, Constance, and Amina reach Cinderella’s childhood home, and Amina goes out for a walk. Constance asks Sophia if she ever thinks about Erin. Sophia replies that she never thought she could love anyone except Erin, but this changed when she met Constance. She still cares for Erin and wants her to be safe, but now sees a different path with Constance, where she doesn’t have to hide or constantly convince her that their affection for each other isn’t wrong. Sophia and Constance then kiss.

Amina returns hours later with a flier that’s been pasted all over town. Every girl in the kingdom is now required to attend a midwinter cotillion as well. Although this event may be intended to draw Sophia to King Manford, the trio reason that it’s also a good chance for them to gain entry to the palace, search for Cinderella’s diary, and try to kill the king.

Each night leading up to the cotillion, Sophia, Constance, and Amina review their knowledge and formulate plans, only to find flaws in them and start over. Amina takes trips to town to eavesdrop and hears rumors that security at the borders has increased due to a rise in disruptive incidents. This gives them hope that other resistors are out there.

Amina wants to examine Constance’s book of fairy tales again. In one drawing, there’s a lump on the ground, which looks like a corpse (Cinderella’s mother). Other details are also different—including Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters being made into monsters in the palace version of the story to take attention away from King Manford’s monstrous actions. Moreover, Cinderella is shown to be sharing a kiss with Prince Charming, but Sophia realizes it’s not a kiss—there’s a mysterious light between them, like in her vision and Cinderella’s recounting.

Constance stuffs some clothes with grass to make a target and teaches Sophia how to use a dagger and fight. Sophia wonders if she can face death and also if she can handle killing someone. She decides doing both is their only hope.