The Perfect Plan for a Fairy-Tale Ending

Chapter 2

Part 1: Even the Villain Needs a Happy Ending

Even though I had memorized every line of the story, it probably wouldn’t be of much help now. The book was only a children’s picture book, so the content was extremely simple compared to a novel. Since it had only a few words, there wasn’t much there to explain anything at all. Most of the characters didn’t even have names.

Much of the storytelling relied upon lush illustrations. Even as an adult reader, I couldn’t help but be drawn in by the beautiful images on each page. I recalled them now as I surveyed the girl sitting in front of me. She looked similar enough to the likeness portrayed in the book, especially with that silver hair and those green eyes.

There’s only one way to find out for sure if it’s her… But I did not have the confidence to do what it would take, and my shoulders instantly flinched.

Marcia despised her sister, which was why she was so against coming down to the basement. In fact, her hate for the basement was several times greater than her hate for her sister. That was why she deliberately spent as much time as possible out of the house. She attended every party she could and drank until she could forget the bleak misery hidden within this cursed household.

And look what happened in the end, I mused darkly. I bit my lip as I recalled the ending of the story.

As I did, a surge of nausea hit me, and I fought the urge to vomit. Marcia did not like being here, nor did she like witnessing the state her sister was in.

Suddenly, I heard a clattering noise outside the room and the unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps. Marcia was one of three people who possessed the basement keys, which meant the footsteps could only belong to one of two others: Her father or her older brother.

The door soon opened to reveal a middle-aged man. From his build to his features, he appeared utterly ordinary in every way.

“Marcia? What are you doing here?” he said, blinking. It was her father, Igor Blick, holding a whip in his hands.

Huh… What kind of relationship does Marcia have with her father? But Marcia had gone silent in my head, so I hesitated. Not knowing what else to do, I simply lifted the corners of my lips. It’ll seem as though I’m greeting him with a smile.

Igor strode forward and patted me on the shoulders. “You can’t have been hurt too badly if you managed to make your way down here,” he said. “But it still is best for you to save your strength, dear. Go upstairs and get some rest.” His voice was gentle, but the motion of his arm was rather sharp as he flicked the whip toward the door. “Now, go outside, Marcia.”

Hesitantly, I obeyed, letting the door close behind me. But I didn’t return to my room right away. I heard his voice inside, rising into a furious tirade. “It’s all your fault my business is ruined! You didn’t cry when I needed you to, and the boats all sank!”

As his voice continued to boom from within the room, I thought I heard a small, plaintive cry. Shivers ran down my spine.

Wait… I couldn’t turn a blind eye to this. The girl inside was frail and weak, so small that I could have believed she was far younger than her age. Marcia herself would have stomped back to her room without a second thought, but I was gaining more and more control over this body by the minute.

When I couldn’t bear it any longer, I pulled the door back open and leaped inside. Igor turned, whip in hand, but he did not lower his arm.

“Father!” I shouted.

Finally, the whip was lowered. “Marcia, I told you to go back to your room. I will summon a physician to examine you,” Igor said, slightly out of breath.

His voice was pleasant, doting, even. It was completely different from the irate man I heard a second ago. “I’m sorry I could not summon a physician for you earlier, my daughter,” he continued, “But we will have the money to call for him… as soon as this little brat sheds a few tears.” Igor turned back to the trembling girl and his face grew cold.

I was flummoxed. Marcia and Larissa were both the man’s daughters, but how could he be so fatherly to one yet so cruel to the other? The contrast was stark, especially when both girls were right in front of him.

Has it always been this bad? I grew faint at the mere thought. Marcia had all but forgotten about the abused girl as she carried on with her life upstairs and never ventured underground. Or rather… she had tried her absolute best to forget.

A flash of light suddenly shone down Larissa’s cheek as she lay curled in the corner. A second tear followed, then a third. They bounced off of her tattered clothes and fell to the floor with a ringing sound.

“That sound…” I nearly gasped and whipped my head around to stare at the girl.

Before I could even take a step forward, Igor let out a guttural gasp and rushed ahead of me. He fell to his knees and swept his hands along the dirty floor. His face was triumphant as he cradled Larissa’s three tears in his hand. They reflected the dim lamplight, shimmering in the darkness.

Her tears were diamonds. They were more than just ordinary diamonds—they were the most superb gems available in this world, called Tears of the Fairy.

Igor quickly took a velvet pouch from his vest and placed the stones inside. “You should have cried earlier,” he growled. “If it weren’t for your stubbornness, we wouldn’t be made to suffer like this.”

While his voice was rough, it seemed to have softened slightly as he carefully slid the pouch inside his inner pocket. Larissa, however, barely moved.

“Drink as much water as you can. I shall send someone down to care for you.” Igor then looked to me. “Marcia, did you come down here to gather some diamonds as well? Don’t take too many.” He told me again that he would call for a physician, patted me on the shoulder, and left the room.

I stood in a daze, still mesmerized by the incredible sight I had just witnessed. Diamonds… Her tears became real diamonds. Now I knew for certain that this girl was Larissa and that I was within this exact fairy tale.

The heroine of my niece’s book was a young girl whose tears transformed into diamonds. From birth, her family had forbidden her from stepping foot outside. They were pleased with her as an infant, but as she grew and cried less, they slowly began to hurt her to summon a reaction and make her cry as much as possible.

Even in such poor conditions, the girl grew up to be beautiful. When she turned sixteen, a young prince, who had by chance been passing through the region, stayed at their home for the night. He fell in love at first sight, and upon learning of her family’s cruelty, ended their lives by the sword and immediately rescued her. The two married and lived happily ever after.

It was a magical fairy tale about a beautiful girl with diamond tears and her villainous family. A rather common storyline, I suppose… minus the jewels.

I narrowed my eyes in thought. Larissa had spent her whole life being treated as an endless source of funds, beaten and tortured in order to make her cry.

Though other details were not strictly outlined in the story, I could easily sift through Marcia’s memories. Their mother had passed away after giving birth to Larissa. Their father had begun to sink vast sums of money into business after failed business, and their older brother had fallen into the endless vices of drinking and gambling.

But there was never any problem with money. Larissa was an endless treasure mine. Marcia had been the same as her father and brother, living a life of luxury and shameless consumption. The only difference between them was that she sent her old nursemaid downstairs to collect the diamonds rather than beat them out of Larissa herself.

Thus, the happy ending of Larissa’s story was when a hero appeared: a young, handsome and romantic prince who hadn’t hesitated to execute her evil family. She was currently thirteen years of age, so it would still be three years until the prince would come to rescue her from her misery.

I need to gather everything I have and run away before that day comes… That was the only way I could save my life. Or… should I stay a little longer and collect as much money as I can? I still have three whole years…

I looked up as footsteps suddenly approached the basement chamber.

“Lady Marcia? What brings you down here?” It was Holly, my old nursemaid and the only non-family member who was allowed within this room. Based on the basin of clear water and the medicinal chest in her arms, Igor must have ordered her to come down and care for Larissa.

I was surprised, but crossed my arms as I took on Marcia’s typical face. “What? Am I not allowed in here?” I snapped.

“Of course you are!” she exclaimed, looking flustered. “I was merely surprised to find you here, that’s all, my lady. You usually send me in your stead. Will you be doing it yourself this time?”

Do it myself? Is she asking me if I’m going to beat Larissa? This is insane… I shook my head. “No. I have other business to attend to.”

Holly looked puzzled, but she did not argue. “As you wish,” she said.

She bowed her head and went to Larissa’s side. I silently observed as she began applying ointment to her wounds in a mechanical, rather detached manner. Larissa’s small body twitched as she spread the ointment, but that was her only reaction.

It seemed to be an implicit rule among the family to never touch Larissa’s face, no matter how violent the beatings got. Though her face was not harmed in the slightest, the skin below her neck was a network of old, twisted scars. Her limbs, which should have been plump and youthful, were as thin as a spider’s legs.

Just a moment ago, I’d been thinking that I should stay in this house as long as I could before making my escape. But when Larissa and I made eye contact, my heart sank. She trembled.

Can I seriously leave her here like this? How can I allow her to be beaten for three more years? It felt as if I was complicit in a crime, but that was already a foregone conclusion. I was a criminal, along with my whole family.

I bit my lip. How could they? She’s only thirteen…