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(My re-written fairy tale. Thanks bunches to my editors Aiyori, PM, and Bitha.)
~Once upon a time in a land not so very far from here, in a time that is just like our own, there was a handsome prince. He lived in a mansion on 23rd street, and fell in love with a princess on 33rd. Only he wasn’t really a prince. This is the story of Ben White. ~
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Ben’s mother had been a quiet woman as far as he could tell. She had wide eyes, and was always calm in the pictures that they had of her. In some he saw, his father was roving around the house slightly drunk- and his mom was just laughing. A long tan hand covered her mouth and her dark hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail. Sometimes Ben thought he was adopted. His hair was black and neither of his parents’ hair had ever been so. His mother had been Spanish, and his father American, but Ben thought he looked like the walking dead with his skin the color of freshly fallen snow. He loved looking at the laughing picture of his mom, for it was all he knew of her. She died shortly after his fourth birthday in a horrible car accident and all he remembered was her deep red blood in the snow.
As time went, Ben’s father’s heart grew stronger and he fell in love with a blonde, vain, skinny, women named Janice. Janice had two sons from a previous marriage, Richard and Robert. Richard was the oldest and he had hair that grew down to his eyebrows and a piggy face. Robert was the youngest- Ben swore he had a brain the size of a pea- and looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Ben hated them, and they despised him with a passion. He suspected Janice of poisoning his father too because his father had been well until she had married him, and now he was slowly dying from the inside out. Ben suspected Janice of trying to ruin everything he’d ever loved.
“JANICE! Why’d you do that?” cried Ben, slamming open the mahogany door, his helmet in hand.
“Ben, I am your mother,” simpered Janice who sat preening herself on the couch. A black gloved hand smoothed straight blonde hair back into place. Bored, she tore her eyes from her silver mirror to cast Ben a disdaining glance.
“Step-mom, Janice. Step-mom,” he hissed through clenched teeth. He pulled something off of the spotless jewelry case Janice kept in her room. “What the crap is this, you wicked step mother?”
He waved a crumpled piece of paper in her face. Lazily, Janice flicked her eyes over again. She blinked, causing her pupils to swirl in the blue.
“It’s a résumé, Ben,” Janice stated calmly, pulling a brush from a tiny little box.
“Yes, Janice, I know that. But it is my résumé, and I don’t remember applying for any jobs,” growled Ben. Anger pounded in his veins. Janice touched up her make up.
“Well, that’s because you didn’t. I sent that résumé into a couple of places for you. It’s good to work, you know,” stated Janice, with a toss of her hair.
Fire hissed out of his throat. “Then why don’t you, Janice?”
“Your father provides for me and my sons, Ben. Your father’s a wonderful man.” Janice set her mirror down and smiled. “Will you hand me that diamond bracelet over there?”
Ben’s anger grew. “What jobs did you send my résumé to?”
“I sent it to the McDonalds on third, and the Blockbuster on 25th. I sent it here, and I sent it there. But that doesn’t matter. The only job that accepted you was the nursery school. Now, Ben, do hand me that bracelet?”
“You’re going out on a date, aren’t you dearest step-mother?”
“Don’t be silly Ben. I’m a married woman. I’m just going out for some dinner with a friend,” said Janice laughing.
Ben crumpled up the résumé, and tossed it to the ground. He stalked away from Janice, slamming the doors behind him.
Janice teetered over to the door. Yanking it open, she screamed “Your shift starts at seven!”
“Whatever Janice! I’m going skating,” he yelled. With that, he was out in the stormy day light looking like a human snow flake.
Janice made her way across the glossy floor. She picked up the silver hand mirror, and traced one of the pearl embedded roses on the back. A small smile creased her face and her eyes got a dreamy caste. She held her head up high and turned it over.
“Mirror mirror in my hand, who is the most beautiful in all the land?” she asked it, as a tear slid down her cheek. Her reflection cried back at her. “Still me then,” she whispered. Then she re-did her make up again, and straightened her blonde hair. She left the mansion, black heels clacking as they left the glossy floors.

*
Ben always came to the skate park. It was the only way he could forget everything he hated to think about- such as Janice. Or how he thought he was adopted. Nobody made fun of his snow white skin there, for everyone was just there for the thrill of skating. At the time no one else was there- except for a girl who sat underneath one large oak tree, watching. She took a long nail and stuck a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. She liked to watch Ben and he probably didn’t even know her name. She liked his snow white skin, and his raven black hair. She liked his board- it had checkers on the bottom. And she liked how even though they’d barely ever talked- he’d always treated her just like he did anyone else. She wasn’t anything special, or amazing, or scary, or spoiled. She was just… normal for once.
*
It was getting late. The sky was as dark as a bottomless pit, and Janice wasn’t so steady on her feet. Her friend had ditched her. He’d ditched her and she didn’t know why. They’d been having such a nice time drinking margaritas and the like. She clattered off down the street, searching for him.
“Henry?” she called. Everything was so foggy. Where was she, even? She stopped. Did she look good? She didn’t know that either. She fumbled with the golden clasp on her black Valentino purse. Her silver mirror was the first thing she pulled out. Janice giggled at the reflection in it. Her lipstick was smeared all over her face, and her cover up was disappearing. Little wrinkles and blemishes were everywhere. She straightened her head.
“Mirror mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in all the land?” she slurred at it, sticking her tongue out. She froze as the image of Ben swooped across her mirror, gliding on his skateboard, raven hair flapping. Her blue eyes widened and she clutched her Valentino bag closer.
“How can this be?” she screeched at the night sky, tears smearing her make up more. “He’s not even a girl!”
People stared at the crazy lady crouched on the sidewalk that smelled like sour booze and sour sweat. Not one stopped to help her.
*

The next day, bright and early, Ben was woken to a smack in the face. He sat up and touched his stinging cheek. Richard stood over him, large bull dog like teeth barred in a facile smile. His squashed-back nose twitched. Richard grunted.
“d**k, what the crap?” asked Ben, touching his stinging face.
“Time to go to work, Princess,” said Richard grunting again. “Mom wants me to drive you.”
Ben did not like this idea at all. Usually when Richard drove him it felt something of a police chase and getting out of the house or into any other place was like getting arrested. The only thing missing was the handcuffs. Richard’s piggy eyes squinted in delight. Ben realized this could very well be the worst day of his life.
“So, Princess Ben, go put on some clothes. Meet me at my truck, got it barf face?” grumbled Richard.
“How nice of you, wicked step-sister Miss,” mumbled Ben still rubbing his face and getting out of bed.
Richard turned around from the mahogany door frame. “What was that Princess?”
“Nothing,” said Ben. “Just a yawn.”
Ben threw on what he’d worn yesterday. There was no point wearing anything clean when all he would do was get tortured by midgets for who knew how long. It was a nice change of pace though; Ben decided he liked walking out of the house on his own. It wasn’t that he hadn’t known that before, but Richard didn’t. The ride in Richard’s red truck was also un-eventful. There was no talking, no speeding, no high speed chases, and no threats. It was strange, and Ben was getting on edge.
They pulled up in front of the nursery school, a little brick building with white doors and white walls, and Ben reached for the door. There was a rustling as Richard lunged. A cold steel blade was pressed against his chest. Ben looked down at it, and felt it pressing and slicing through the skin. He froze. Richard had never tried to kill him before. The blade glittered like crazy under the sun light.
“What the crap are you doing d**k?!” choked out Ben, trying to sound tough.
“Mom’s really angry with you Princess,” growled Richard. “She wants your heart on a platter.”
Ben gaped, and threw his eyes up to Richard. The pig like eyes didn’t even flinch, and his flat piggy nose twitched sending hot breath down Ben’s chest. Richard was shaking. His piggy face turned red, and Ben didn’t know what to do. Ben was scared. His breath was catching. Was this the end?
“GEEZE! I just can’t do this dude,” said Richard shakily, lowering his arm.
The blade scratched through Bens’ T, but only left a scratch. The blade glittered one last time and was folded back up and put away. Ben breathed a shaky breath. His chest stung, but he realized it could have been much worse. Ben stuck his hand to his chest, and looked as the blood mingled with his snow white fingers. His breath caught again, and he remembered the deep blood on the snow floor. The world spun out of focus, and tears pooled at his eyes.
He rubbed his eyes, and quickly looked over at Richard. Richard sat with his big red hands that looked like raw meat covering his face sobbing like a baby. His piggy nose continued to twitch.
“Hey, step-sister d**k? Wasn’t I the one you were trying to kill just now?” glowered Ben.
Richard looked up, looking younger then Ben had ever seen him. His piggy eyes were squinty and leaked tears down his front. They turned his letterman jacket dark. “Ben, what am I going to do?” he howled in anguish. “What am I gonna tell Momma? She’ll kill me if I don’t kill you!”
Ben felt a surge of pity for Richard, feeling he was hardly any better then an animal. “Tell her there were people watching and you couldn’t do it. I mean, it’s practically the truth,” said Ben.
“You know…that might actually work. Dude, thanks,” grunted Richard, a smile breaking across his puffy piggy face.
Ben sighed and got out of the truck. He figured he would be fine by the time he got inside. Richard drove away, and Ben could hear him humming a little tune. Guess my problem is that I’m too nice thought Ben disgruntled. How many other people would let their brothers drive away after trying to kill them?
The white doors opened automatically when he walked through them. Tiny children ran everywhere, pulling and tugging at each other. Some were crying, and some were throwing food at each other. Ben grunted. He didn’t like this one bit. A women wearing pink overalls walked up to him, a vague smile on her face with her eyes saying “Get me out of here.”
“Are you Ben White?” asked the lady in a strained voice.
“Yeah. ‘S me.” Said Ben.
“I’m Sarah. You’ll be working in the room over there. Since you don’t have much experience with this according to your résumé, you’ll only be working with seven children,” said the lady smiling.
She led him over to a room. The room was purple with little butterflies hanging from the ceiling. Seven children sat inside it, pounded on things with little rubber hammers. They were all very scruffy looking.
“Ok Ben, this is Jerry, Gary, Terence, Holden, Jaycee, Sam, and Lynx. They’re here for about five hours so just hold out that long,” said Sarah, waving, and then she left, closing the door behind her.
Ben realized he couldn’t tell one kid apart from the others, at least in relationship to names. There was a little girl with pig tails, and another little girl with scruffy brown hair and glasses. There were two fair headed twin girls too, each still hammering away with their little rubber hammers at little wooden blocks. There were three boys as well, each scruffier then the last.
“Ok guys,” said Ben feeling awkward, “You all look like little dwarves.”
Each and every one of the seven little kids looked up from their hammering this time. The little pig tailed girl jumped to her feet. She took one grubby paw and pointed at him, glaring. Her pink overalls- which were just like Sarah’s- were falling off on one shoulder.
“I am not a dwarf! And no cooty boy can tell me so!” she yapped like an angry little dog.
“Well, I think I’m going to call you Grumpy,” he said.
The little girl gaped at him. “My name is Sam!” she squeaked.
“Well, I’m sorry. You’re Grumpy now,” said Ben. Besides- he’d never remember Sam. It was too much of a guys name in his opinion.
The little girl sulked, ignoring him, and went back to her pounding on the wooden blocks. One of the little twin blonde girls smiled at him vaguely, and blew bubbles from her mouth. The other little twin blonde girl smiled at him, and waved.
“Well, I’m Ben kids. And you two,” he said, pointing at the twins, “are Dopey and Happy.”
The one he had christened Happy’s smile grew. “I like that name!” she cried giggling. Dopey’s smile also widened, seeing her sister happy. She blew more bubbles with her mouth. “Dopey likes her name too, Sir Ben,” giggled Happy, her light blue eyes crinkling up. Ben liked these two. Not much the Grumpy girl though.
Ben’s eyes wandered on. One of the boys was hiding behind another who was slowly falling asleep. The one who was hiding had sandy colored hair and was quickly turning red. The falling asleep one had dark hair, and his eye lids kept closing.
“You two- Bashful and Snoozy, Ok?” he asked smiling.
The sleepy one smiled, and then conked out. The shy one nodded, hiding behind his little hands. These two weren’t so bad either. That left the last two. He looked over. One girl, and one boy. The little boy had red hair and looked like he was trying desperately not to sneeze. The little girl was examining one of her blocks in the light, her little glasses glittering.
“Doc,” he said pointing at the girl. The little girl turned toward him pushing her glasses up on her nose.
“Fine,” she said. Then went back to her study.
“Sneezy,” he said.
The little boy looked up, and sneezed. Ben handed him a tissue, laughing. This wouldn’t be so bad. His step-mother wasn’t there, after all. Sneezy smiled, blowing his nose. Grumpy was the only one who really didn’t quite like him, he felt. At least the feeling was mutual.
*
Groggily, Janice sat up and dragged her mirror onto her bed. Her head was pounding, but everything would be ok since Ben was gone. Her hangover would go away, and she’d be the most beautiful person in the whole world again. Henry would come back, and Eugene White would die. And she didn’t even have to do anything about that- Eugene was already dying. He had cancer of the blood and she knew it. She really didn’t even have to speed up the process.
“Mirror mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?” she asked, even though the words made her head pound more.
Another image of Ben slid across the mirror’s silver surface. Ben was wiping the applesauce off a scowling little girl’s face and laughing at her. He wasn’t dead. This just made Janice’s hangover worse.
“Why isn’t he dead?” she screamed at her mirror. It didn’t answer. A flipped image of herself glared back, with dark rings around her eyes.
Tentatively, there came a knock at the mahogany door. “Come in!” she bellowed. “And don’t break the door down!”
Richard came in, a baseball cap furiously being knotted in his hands. Janice set the mirror down, and grabbed an empty bottle of wine. She glared furiously at her son, who she was just realizing was an incompetent fool. Her son stood in front of the door, with his little brown piggy eyes furiously roving from side to side.
“Well?” snarled Janice. Her grip tightened on the bottle.
“Mom, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill him. There were people watching us,” he said.
Janice screeched, chucking the empty bottle at her son. “Incompetence! You incompetent fool!”
Richard ran out the mahogany door. The empty bottle shattered on it. With a groan, Janice slumped back onto her bed massaging her temples. Today wasn’t going as planned. So she’d just make a new plan.
*
The girl adjusted her white shirt, and ran a brush though her auburn hair. Today was the day when she was going to tell Ben how she felt. She had to look her best- but she didn’t want to over do it. She studied herself in the mirror one last time, then headed out of her oak paneled room.
“James?” she called over the intercom.
“Yes Miss. Ming?” he asked.
“I’m read to go find Mr. White,” she said, pressing the tiny black button.
“I’ll be right there Miss Ming. Just head to the limo,” said James voice from, the garden, she supposed. James loved to garden. It was something about his wife- but she didn’t really know what.
*
Ben danced around, getting all of the kids to laugh. Even Grumpy. “I am- hat dance man!” he cried, salsa dancing around the kids. Dopey blew more bubbles, and Happy giggled. Snoozy was even partially awake.
They kids were going to go to lunch soon, which is when Sarah had said he could take his break. He didn’t really have anything to do on the break anyways, so he didn’t really care. He’d left his board at home.
Sarah came and collected the kids, leading them away. Grumpy turned, and gave him the glare that had barely left her face. Her little pig tails bobbed. “Don’t let any strange people come and try to hurt you! Doc says someone already tried! SO DON’T TALK TO WEIRD PEOPLE.”
He felt sort of touched. She was warming up to him- and Doc, well, Doc was a pretty observant little girl. “I promise, Grumpy.” He laughed. Not like anything else was going to happen to him that day anyway, he figured. One by one the kids left, singing a song together. He stretched, and left the purple room himself for the first time in a couple of hours. He rounded a blue corner, going to get some food of his own. He came upon a nasty surprise waiting for him as a wolf waits for it’s pray.
“Ma said I gotta kill you Princess,” grunted the surprise.
Robert stood in the dead center of the hall, his cowboy boots leaving stains on the floor. Ben felt knots in his stomach. So this was gonna happen all over again. This time would most likely be the end. Robert was probably too dumb to have morals. Ben turned, but before he got anywhere, Robert had swung, smashing a tire sized fist into his head. Robert’s silver rings cut into his forehead. The carpeted floor swung upwards, and then everything was gone.
*
Janice trembled. All the mirror had been showing her was Ben. Ben getting punched, Ben falling to the ground. It didn’t show him anymore. But she hadn’t asked anything. She traced a pearl covered rose with her pinky finger.
Shakily, she cleared her throat. “Mirror mirror in my hand, who is prettiest in all the land?”
The first thing she saw was a snow white hand drenched with a sticky mass of blood. Slowly, Ben came into focus raven hair and all. His face was all smashed up, and he was barely breathing. Yet he was still the one the mirror chose.
Janice threw the mirror at the floor. It shattered. “Mirror mirror on the floor, who’s the stupid bore? Mirror mirror all shattered and broken, I AM THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL!” she screamed. She collapsed on her bed sobbing, and bleeding.
*
Miss Ming had found out threw a series of phone calls that Ben had recently acquired a job at the nursery school. He had apparently applied to a McDonalds on 3rd and the Blockbuster on 25th as well. Miss Ming had James drive her to the little brick nursery school, and asked him if he would let her walk through the perfect white door on her own. He consented. So she took a deep breath and got out of the limo. She walked slowly but steadily towards the little white door on her blue high heels. She walked along the blue lined hallway, and stopped in her tracks. The boy she knew from school as Ben’s step brother- Robert- was bending over something on the ground.
Miss Ming didn’t trust Robert. She walked down the hallway trying to be as commanding as she could. “Hey you! What are you doing in my nursery school?” she called as angry as she could. Robert jumped up, and spun wide eyed. He had been crouched over a very bloody person holding a tiny bottle. Blood clung to his fists.
“I’m calling the police!” she told him, pressing a button on her cell which had the police on speed dial.
Robert bolted, dropping the little bottle behind him. As she waited for the police to pick up, she hit her intercom button that she carried on her clothes to talk to James. “James! We have a man running outside. He’s done something horrible. Restrain him!” she barked.
“Yes Miss. Ming,” said James.
“Hello, this is the police department. What can we do for you today Miss Ming?” asked a police man.
“I have a very badly injured person here, and the person who did it to him. I’m at the nursery school on 33rd street and Washington.”
“We’ll be right over Miss Ming,” said the police. They hung up.
She went to inform the rest of the staff about the incident, even as she realized it was Ben on the floor.
*
Pandemonium. That was the only word that described what Ben became conscious too. Someone was crying, someone was screaming, and there were sirens. Everywhere. He opened his eyes, which appeared to be swollen. Ahhh, that’s right. Robert punched me he thought acidly.
“What did I tell you?” screamed a little voice next to him. “I told you not to talk to weird people!” It was Grumpy. And she was crying her little eyes out right next to him.
“I fink you could die,” said another little voice in his ear. There was Doc, shoving her glasses up her nose. “Don’t tell the othersh.”
Ben nodded, becoming distracted. The crying. The really loud crying. He needed to find it. Ben looked up. Aya Char Ming sat bawling her eyes out next to him on the nursery school floor, her perfectly spaced long fingers covering her eyes. Her long auburn hair pooled around her white shirt.
“Aya?” he asked. In truth, he’d had a crush on her for the longest time. He figured she could just be a figment of his imagination, sitting there and bawling its eyes out. He really didn’t know for sure. Maybe Robert’s punch had broken his brain.
“Ben?” she asked sounding hoarse from crying.
She sounded real. But that didn’t mean much to him then, either. Real didn’t seem to have any boundaries today. It was all the impossible vying for his attention. “Is my brain broken?” he asked.
Aya looked at him. She had a troubled tint to her warm hazel eyes- which he’d never really noticed before. “Is it?” she asked shakily.
“Are you really here?” he asked. “This could be my brain shutting down.”
Doc pushed her glasses onto her nose again. Somebody really needs to fix those he thought. She shook her brown mop of hair and gently prodded his head. “Don’t fink your head ith broken. And she’s really here.”
“Ben… this is probably the wrong time to tell you, but I like you,” said Aya. “So you have to hang on!” tears splashed on his face, stinging the cuts and making them bleed.
“I like you too Aya,” he said.
He smiled as they stuck him on a stretcher and stuck him inside an ambulance. Aya promised to come along behind him. He figured this way he’d know if it was a dream if and when he woke up and she wasn’t there. The kids said the wanted to be his dwarves so he’d better come back- or at least, that’s how Grumpy worded it.
When he got to the hospital, his father and Janice were already there. It was something about Janice breaking a mirror and having the shards flying into her back. Ben’s dad was going to send her to a mental institute as the hospital had deemed her mentally unstable. Which she probably was. He also decided that he would divorce her- but pay her hospital bills until he died. Other then that, she got nothing of his estate. Ben was due to heal eventually, and everyone lived happily ever after. Other then normal every day things that don’t include crazy evil step-mothers; such as fights with your girlfriend- which Ben seemed to have enough of with Aya- and orange juice going bad.
~Teh Fin~