A/N: Yay for new chapters!! I'm def in love with how Bella handles this fairy tale! Yay for twists on fairy tales! Well, the Disney version any way.

MyDearLizzie: Thanks! I really hope you enjoy this chapter where we really get to know Cruella Maleficent. Woot-woo!

Chapter 16- Wherein Our Heroine is Captured

Two dark hunch-backed creatures led us to a huge council chamber. Their twig-like limbs held my arms tight enough to bruise.

The council room was crafted from black stone. Gargoyles leered down at us from dark corners in the high ceiling. At the end of the long room was an equally dark dais. The head of the Maleficent family sat upon an elaboratly gilded throne.

Although this family had a large castle and their own throne, no crown sat upon Cruella Maleficent's brow.

Cruella herself wasn't what I had been preparing myself for. From all the stories, I was expecting a frighteningly beautiful woman with lavish clothes. But, the woman sitting before us was made of sharp angels and points. Her nose was tightly sloped and her razor cheek bones were uncommonly pale. More so than even Snow White's complexion (don't tell Snow I said that).

And someone needed to help this woman with her wardrobe. I know my dirty travelling dress was nothing to bark at, but I do have some nice, fashionable outfits. Cruella wore a baggy black dress and a black veil. Her sleeves attached to the lower section of her dress, making it look more like a cloak than a dress. And it was lined with..Oh, no… it was lined with purple fox fur. Purple fur!

In one hand she held a long birch branch. A shining green gem was stuck at the top.

"What do you want?" she asked, pointing a bony hand at us. I cringed as more purple fur was displayed.

Reeve cleared his throat beside me, readying to answer. However, I stepped forward before he could. "I am Bellarosetteress of Kendal," I announced. "I have been sent on a guest to find the Goblet of Truths, which is said to be hidden in these mountains."

Cruella stood as still as stone. Thoughts of jagged cliff faces came to mind.

"Hmph, Goblet of Truths, you say?" she asked. Only it wasn't really a question. Her eyes glinted in the low candlelight white she studied me. It felt as though she was staring into my soul. Her snort broke the uncomfortable silence. "Have you any idea how large these mountains are, my pet?" her tongue curled around the term of endearment. Somehow, it didn't comfort me.

Reeve stepped up next to me. "We are willing to search until we find it."

Cruella looked down at us in disgust. "Ugh, how noble. But, we can't be having this," she announced. Maleficent motioned for her twig-limbed guards. Within seconds, several surrounded us.

"What?" Reeve asked, edging closer to me with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Cruella stopped the guards with a quick hand gesture. "The Goblet of Truths, do you know its power, boy?"

A guard made a grab for my arm, but I yanked it away before he had a good grip.

Reeve took his time to glare at every guard before answering. "It lets the truth be known to any who drinks from it."

Cruella mockingly clapped her hands in congratulations. "Quite right. Once I find that thrice blasted cup, I will finally become queen of Hertle!" She threw her arms above her head (showing even more purple fur) and cackled maniacally.

I grabbed Reeve's hand and held tight. This woman was crazy. The purple fur was a dead give away.

"Guards!" she shouted. "Seize these fools! Put the boy in the tower and lock the girl in the dungeons!"

Immediately the guards jumped on us. Their rough fingers clawed at my dress and hair. With a grunt, a guard unlocked my hand from Reeve's. He tried to draw his sword, but one of the creatures had already cut the scabbard off of Reeve's belt.

With a series of deft tugs, I realized I was being pulled to a small archway on our right. I looked over my shoulder at Reeve. He was held down by four little guards and being dragged to the right.

"Reeve!" I cried. We can't be separated! We needed each other!

"NO!" Reeve bellowed. The guards paused in their surprise. Reeve turned a pleading gaze on Cruella. "Let us trade! Please!" Her face remained impassive except for a slight quirk of a thin eyebrow. "Send Bella to the tower. I'll go to the dungeons."

Cruella simply laughed again. "Righteousness, how utterly disgusting," she called before turning her back on us and sitting back on her throne.

XoXoXoXo

The demon guards threw me into a dark cell. The clanking and creaking of the barred door brought me out of my stupor.

There isn't much I understood about the last 20 minutes.

As much as I didn't want to, I plopped down on the floor, bracing my back against the wall next to the door.

It took awhile for my eyes to adjust to the dismal darkness. But, when they did, I noticed a lump in the far corner. Wasn't I supposed to be alone in here? Were lumps common in jail cells? A.. a brown lump?

I squinted harder, but couldn't make out much more.

Curious, I stood and tip-toed over to said lump. Each mini-step revealed more detail. First I could make out two lumps- a small one lying gently on top of the larger. With a gasp, I realized that the small lump was a head!

Upon closer examination (one more step), I realized that this head hadn't been washed for a long time. Lucky for this lump, it didn't look like anything other than dirt was caked in his hair.

After another step, I was close enough to touch. Was he dead or sleeping? I had made that mistake with Reeve and don't wish to repeat it. Especially if this lump ends up dead.

After several moments of debate, I finally decided to just tap him with my foot.

I sighed with relief when the lump moaned and stirred. "Oh, thank Mischa, I thought you were dead. It would be horrible to be stuck in here with a dead body," I babbled, unable to stop myself. "Why are you down here?"

The man lifted his dirty brown head and squinted up at me. "Aurora?" he asked. He pushed an old potato sack off his body and shakily stood up. He came closer and touched my face, hope lighting his handsome features. I stood still, afraid this man was mad. He dropped his hand and sighed. "Not Aurora."

His look was crushing. I felt the urge to apologize, even though I didn't do anything. "Terribly sorry," I mumbled to the straw strewn stone floors.

He sighed again. "No, it is I who should apologize." He clapped a big calloused hand on my shoulder. I nearly fell with the force. "I've been here too long."

"You haven't lost your strength." I rubbed the spot he had pounded.

He let out a soft laugh. Well, an almost laugh, more like an amused cough. "Sorry, Lady…?"

I dropped into a wobbly curtsy (Give me a break, I haven't practiced for weeks). "Lady Bellarosetteress of Kendal. Just Bella, though, please," I flashed him a winning smile, though perhaps it was too dark for him to notice. Not like it mattered, he was in love with this Aurora. It was too easy to see it.

And I liked someone else anyway.

Wait, no! Ugh. It's not Reeve.

Honest.

Alright, so I'm a big liar. Celica was right. I don't know when and I don't know how, but some way or another I had begun to think of Reeve as more than just a friend. I mean, who could resist that cute face? Or even those toned arms. Whatever Reeve did, it kept him in good shape.

With a shock, I snapped out of my ramblings. What am I thinking?! This is neither the time nor place to discover feelings about my only friend. It needs to happen in a beautiful garden on a beautiful spring day. Birds are supposed to be chirping, instead I just hear prisoners coughing from some deadly disease.

Just perfect.

A hand was thrust in my line of vision. Startled, I looked up from the straw and at my cellmate. With an air reserved for nobility, he took my hand and laid a gentle kiss on it. "Lady Bella, I am Prince Phillip. Weren't you engaged to Prince Franz?" he asked.

Just the mention of that pig's name was enough to make me want to bash my head against the walls. If it wasn't for the incredibly innocent look on Phillip's face, I probably would have.

"Well," I stretched the word out buying for time to come up with a suitable answer. "We're on a hiatus?"

This time Phillip really did laugh- very, very loudly. It echoed around the cell, assaulting my ears from every possible direction. It would have been a pleasant laugh, I'm sure, but only in a large room.

"How is one on a hiatus from the one's true love?"

I struggled with this one. I never loved Franz. I was just the girl picked to marry a prince.

Well, a fake prince. Not to mention I was the real child of the king and queen.

"I'm… I'm on a quest to find my true identity," I hesitantly explained. I guess it was the closest I could get to the truth without revealing any information that can hurt my country. My country- literally. I liked the sound of that. This princess thing won't be so bad.

Phillip took a moment to run a critical eye over me. A skeptical expression took over his features. "A little girl like you on a quest? And you've made it so far."

I puffed out my chest and put my hand son my hips. "You best remember me, because I'm going to do great things."

"Well, for now you are stuck in here with me. Welcome to our humble abode," he spread his arms out, indicating the dank cell.

My lip involuntarily curled as I took in my new home. I kept my eyes away from the crusty chamber pot stuffed in another corner. Instead, I focused on my cellmate's ragged appearance.

I think his tunic had once been gray. Now it was more of a molten brown. Unfortunate because the material looked like silk.

I sighed and looked around for a clean seat. Upon finding none, I just sat down where I stood. "So, what did you do to get in here?" I asked, patting the ground next to me.

Phillip sat down on the spot I indicated and buried his head in his hands. "I failed trying to save my beloved."

"Aurora?" I asked while offering mummers of sympathy. So the Maleficents had kidnapped the Briar princess? Interesting…

He looked back up at me, his face surprisingly void of any sadness. "I've been here for weeks. Aurora is locked in the tower and I'm stuck in a dungeon with no weapons or chance of escape."

"The tower, you said?" I asked. Hadn't Reeve been sent to a tower?

"Yes, the tallest tower on the other side of the castle," he pointed in some vague direction.

"My friend is in there, too!" I shouted. "We must go save them!"

Suddenly, I noticed it was quiet. No more coughing, wheezing, or crying- just silence.

"Do- do you hear that?" I hesitantly asked Phillip. I sat as still as I could, hoping whatever horror that was about to happen would not notice me.

Phillip stood, his hand reached for the spot his sword would've been. "Hear what?"

I carefully stood up, too. "Exactly."

Without warning, a loud POP originated from in front of us. I screamed and dove for the far wall. Even Phillip jumped and backed away.

Finally, I worked up enough courage to open my eyes. What I saw almost made me scream again.

Four small fairies floated in the air- one red, one green, one blue, and one purple. The purple looked strangely familiar.

"Fairies!" Phillip swept a magnificent bow.

I took a hesitant step forward. "Aren't you Darren's fairy godfather?" I asked the purple one.

It yelped and flew around my head. "You remembered me!" he cried. "I knew I liked you!"

It was the equivalent of an annoying fly buzzing around your head. I resisted the urge to swat him.

"Hush!" the red fairy reprimanded. The green and blue flew over to the door and started using their wands to melt the thick metal. "We are helping you escape."

Phillip jumped up and started to run to the door.

"Wait, wait!" Godfather commanded, flying back to Red's side. "We can't let you go empty handed!"

"Your path to true love comes with many obstacles." I was sincerely hoping she was talking to Prince Phillip. I'd like my path to be paved and easy, thank you very much. "Here," Red waved her wand and a plain metal shield appeared on Phillips arm. "A shield of virtue, to guard against wickedness."

Green and Blue had finished with the door and joined us.

Green flew circles around Phillip's right hand. "A sword of truth, it is able to cut through any falsity."

"These weapons will triumph over evil," Red explained.

I gently cleared my throat.

"Um.. do I get anything to fight with?" I asked the fairies. In my mind it's only fair that both of us humans get weapons. What if we get split up? Or we get attacked at the same time? Never mind that I'm not that good with a sword, I think I deserved one, too!

Godfather chuckled, but swirled his wand around anyway. "For you, Bella, a sword of equality."

How fitting.

Red continued the explanation. "This sword shall make you equal to any of your opponents. It is a great gift and is not given lightly."

I heard the threat that Red didn't dare say, being a good fairy and all. "I promise I won't let it fall into the wrong hands."

Red nodded in satisfaction.

Blue strode up to us. Her little wings beating to keep her plump body in the air. "And this," she twirled her wand, pointing it somewhere around my head. "This is the helmet of clarity. With it on, you will be able to detect anything hidden."

A heavy helmet landed on my head. "Ow." I scrunched my eyes in pain and lifted the helmet off to take a good look at it. Unlike my plain sword, this helmet was silver with intricate gold metalwork welded on top. There was a piece that came down right between my eyes. A nose guard? Who knows.

I easily slid it back on my head. Immediately the dark cell brightened. I could easily make out every piece of straw that littered the ground. I turned my gaze on Prince Phillip. I gasped at what I saw. No longer was he wearing dirty, torn clothes, but rather grand silk outfit with a mighty gold crown on his head.

"Whoa."

"I'll say," Godfather whispered in my ear.

The large helmet slipped down my head, obscuring my vision. "Hmph." I tilted my head back so I could see the four fairies.

"Now is your time to conquer!" Red exclaimed.

The four fairies led us out of the cell and into the equally dismal hallway. Red snapped her fingers and whistled.

I stared at her, confused. Was she trying to alert the guards?

To my great surprise, I heard the pounding of hooves on stone. The sound was getting louder and louder.

I unsheathed my sword, prepare to battle whatever monster that fairy had summoned.

Suddenly, a great mass of horse rounded the corner and stopped right in front of me. Herrum nuzzled my shoulder and blew his stinky horse breathe in my face.

"Aw, Herrrum, you really do like me!" I patted the mammoth's neck.

Puzzled, yet grateful, Phillip and I thanked the fairies.

"Now go! Save your true love!" Green called out.

Phillip lept onto Herrum and I managed to climb up behind him. I gave one more grateful look at Godfather.

'We'll talk later,' he mouthed before all four poofed out of sight.

Phillip kicked Herrum and off we went to save our true loves!

a/n: an update within a month! Call me butter 'cause I am on a roll!!

Ugh, but I'm also trying to edit this story from the very beginning. I started writing this my freshman year of high school, so, hopefully, my English has improved. Not to mention scenes that really need to be clarified.

BUT I just want to finish writing the end before I go off on that hideous task.

Buttered rolls to anyone who reviews! haha