Cinda stood with her stepsisters, each dressed in a black gown, eyes red and noses stuffy, watching three buffed men lower a casket into a deep gash in the soil. Cinda's stepmother was equally distraught, gathering all three of her children into her tight embrace time and time again.

But still, Cinda could sense a slight stiffness from her stepmother in her direction.

She could sense some change in her already.

o0o

Eladorie sobbed as Cinda looked up with wet blue eyes and shining hair, all too similar to her late husband's.

She turned her head away, to look down at her birthright children instead, their glistening hazel orbs gazing up at her, dark locks pulled back into bunches of ringlets that brushed against her arm as she hugged them once again.

With the exception of Cinda.

o0o

After the funeral, the four had traveled home by coach, saddened and depressed, reminiscing the earlier year of living with a new family, one that their father and husband had made a dream.

Then, life went back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get.

Eladorie continued to homeschool the girls, but her nerves frayed thin, teaching the girl who reminded her of her beloved, the victim of a fatal heart attack, how to sew and darn, so she gradually started to find reasons for Cinda to leave the room.

"Fetch us some water."

"How about some biscuits with this tea?"

"How I would love to have a freshly baked apple pie for dessert, oh, Cinda dear, if that's to happen, you better get started right away!" Were just a few of the excuses she concocted.

Her mother began to show up to things, like meals, the girls songs that they would write (all singing, with Cinda playing piano, Dolcie playing the harp and Ana playing the triangle. Ana had a beautiful voice, but was not as skilled in the musical instrument department...) less and less.

As she was working around the house less and less, Eladorie started getting Cinda to finish the chores for her, while she slept and cried, rarely eating, becoming nothing more than a bag of bones.

After a few months, Eladorie started to eat and leave her room more, checking on her two birthright daughters, occasionally checking on Cinda, for no matter how much it hurt to look at her, Cinda was still her daughter of some description.

Cinda also started to retreat from her stepfamily, throwing herself into the housework and her other chores. Though Eldadorie eventually regained some health, her attitude towards her stepdaughter had taken a turn for the worse. She still cared for her, just not nearly as much, more a maid then a daughter, only the occasional act of affection shining through.

Ana and Dolcie grew more worried day by day about their mother and stepsister. Finally, they decided to convince Eladorie to offer Cinda some time to herself, away from housework, to do as ever she pleased, as long as she had finished most of her chores.

It was on one of these days off, mending and shaping her stepsisters formal frocks that she discovered what she could do.

Ana was standing still, arms out, as Dolcie walked around her in circles, pointing out to Cinda places she hadn't pinned up.

"Dolcie, darling, pass me some more safety pins, would you?"

"Of cou-" Dolcie paused as Cinda waved her hand, and three silver flashes flew through the air and landed in Ana's arm, said lady letting out a rather unladylike grunt, then quite ladylike squeal.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Cinda!"

"Oh, sugar puffs! What happened?" Cinda looked at the three pointy ends of the safety pins stuck in the flesh if Ana's arm.

She gently but quickly pulled all three of them out at once, as to get rid of the pain quicker.

Well. They certainly aren't safety pins. Poor Ana.

"Oh, dear. Are you okay, pet?" Ana whimpered and let out a nod, as Dolcie grabbed some tissues and pressed them on the three small wounds.

Cinda looked back at her sewing box, where the pointy culprits had originated.

"Dolcie, did you see what could have made that happen?"

"No. All that happened was that you flicked your hand and-" she let out a gasp.

"Maybe it was you!"

"Oh, Dolcie, don't be silly. People who can control safety pins with a flick of their hand belong in a storybook. Not our home. Or Kingdom even!"

"What...what if you tried again. Without me as a target of course! Just aim at the wall."

"Oh no. Not you too, Ana!"

Two pairs of widened hazel eyes stared at her own blue gems.

"No. It's silly. I will not indulge in storybook whims."

The 'puppy' eyes gazed back at her.

"No..."

The hazel orbs glistened with unshed tears.

"Oh all right, then!"

Ana cheered up immediately.

"Yay!"

Cinda sighed. "Will it make up for me stabbing you in the arm?"

"Yes!"

Cinda turned towards the wall. "So what do I do?"

"I don't know. What you did last time."

Thanks for the great advice, Dolcie.

"I, um. I guess I just wanted the safety pins, and I was gesturing so you knew of their whereabouts." Cinda looked to her sisters for approval.

Dolcie nodded. "Good. Good. Then what?"

"That's it."

"So gesture!" Ana interjected.

"Ana, calm down." Dolcie scolded half heartedly.

Ana sulked.

Cinda sighed and flicked her hand away from her sewing box. After about eight tries with no results, Cinda turned to Ana.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to make up for stabbing you with unsafe safety pins another way."

Dolcie turned a piece of ribbon over in her hands.

"Maybe you have to be designing dresses to do it?"

"Maybe..."

Cinda turned to Dolcie.

Well Ana's dress is almost done, but I haven't started on yours, and I've already stabbed Ana. Three times. Maybe I could try starting on your dress?"

Dolcie hesitated. "I guess..."

With a sigh, Dolcie got into position, and Cinda started to work out wear she wanted the pins to go.

At first Cinda just got back into the swing of things by getting the pins herself, and pinning them in the dress, not the flesh.

After about twenty minutes of being in 'the zone' Cinda started to forget about all pin and remorseful stepmother related things, and started asking for Ana to get her the needed objects.

This continued for another ten minutes, before Ana decided to not get the sticky based gem flowers, used to work out where decorations will be, and instead let Cinda 'direct' them over.

"Ana, love. Would you be a gem and pass me the flowers?"

"Yes, of course. Uh-" Ana hesitated. "Where are they?" She brightened considerably at her carefully selected question of choice.

"Oh, um, just in...ooh I'll stick them there, Dolcie, do you think that would look good? Oh, they're in the box."

"Uh, what box?"

"The green one."

"What green box?"

"Oh, agh, just...in there!" Cinda gestured behind at her dressing table with her hand.

As she brought her hand back, four flowers shot through the air, slowing as Cinda and the girls spotted them, then they stopped just in front of Dolcie, who looked like she was preparing to cringe.

"Don't worry Dolcie, darling. The flowers aren't sharp." Cinda muttered, in shock.

She thought about the place she had going to be placing the gems, and gently waved her hand.

"I need to know how to do this so I don't stab you guys with pins. These won't hurt though, alright Dolcie?"

The flowers floated through the air, before delicately landing in place on the dress.

All three girls smiled.

Ana squealed. "Storybooks only, my arse!"

The other two spun to look at her.

"Ana!"

Said culprit smiled sheepishly.

"I mean, yay. She can do it?"

The girls started laughing. Cinda looked at her sisters and how much fun Ana had created, all by accident. Even without a mother most of the time, the girls were happy.

We have each other.