This Cinderella Wears Boots

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Angel held her tongue. It was a hard thing to do, but she didn't wish any harm on the poor kid. After all, it was partly her fault she let him tag along (if one could call it that!) And as they drew near the well, she cast a stubborn glare at the witch.

"What?" Angel went on with a small heft to her skirts. "Don't think I can do all of this in my wedding dress?" The reply was naturally curt, but she didn't like this situation anymore than the kid did.

She folded her arms across her chest.
"So you just gonna watch me descend or somethin'? And how will I know I'm not being duped like he had been," she went on, pointing to Ewan and then looking nonplused towards the witch.

[Whim]

"I'll be waitin' up top; can't have you getting tricky, can I? And the boy's got magic in him," she cackled, "He could sniff out any enchantments."

He could certainly tell if something was magical. Why hadn't he seen the clothes as anything more than a folk-charm? He should've known better and now he and this poor girl were going to be killed. "I think I could. If you trust me...," Ewan was blushing furiously.

"Got some farmhands' overalls on the back porch in a trunk. They'll have to do. Fetch 'em, boy, and no mischief."

He was obedient this time. The jog to and from the cottage was only a minute, and the trunk of work-clothes easy to find. Ewan thought he might try and untie shaggy, but could feel his shirt-collar tighten with even a step toward the old stable. The overalls were patched and musty. He tugged the seams, tasted a button, and whispered a revealing charm. There was no magic in them. He hoped there wasn't, at least.

Overalls in hand the the boy came sprinting back, gasping for breath as he presented the garment.

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Over alls or not, Angel set her chin, looking as stubborn as ever.
"What if I refuse those clothing? I could just make some minor adjustments to this thing." She gave the ends of her dress a shake. "Shouldn't be difficult, just would need some scissors. Then I could crawl around in that dark well of yours easier than if I were wearing those stiff, old lookin' things."

It was evident she was trying the witches patience. And was that a growl she heard.

"Well," she faltered a little. "Maybe not scissors, but see?" She bent over, taking a bunch of the dress's skirt ruffles into her hands and giving a hard tug. A layer of ruffles began to rip. "I could just make some modifications... and then we could both get what we want."

She tossed the layer of ruffles aside and eyed the witch before removing a few more ruffles to make the dress much shorter, more breathable and a lot more convenient since her legs were mostly free. But as she looked over the clothing Ewan held, she took a step towards him and plucked the boots he had from his grip.

She made a face. The boots smelled sour, like old manure. SHe looked to Ewan and shook the boots towards him.

"Sniff any magic on these? Cause I could at least wear the boots."
So long as they didn't magically make her feet do things she didn't want to! She hated the idea of any sort of possession, magical or other wise. It was why she ended up here int he first place, after all!

[Whim]

Ewan didn't blame Angel for preferring her dress to the rank overalls. There was no chance of selling it off now, but the dusty road hadn't been kind to it anyway. He wrinkled his nose as Angel presented the boots, tracing a finger over the toe and laces. "They just smell awful, and I'm not a dog. I don't feel any magic in them, though" he added quietly, "if you trust me."

Handing the footware off to Angel, the boy approached the well. It was a pit of blackness. The cursed tunic tensed around his throat as a spell was whispered, calling forth a pair of glow-worms. Ewan clenched his teeth defiantly. "I think I can climb. There's just water at the bottom anyways. Right?

"And how are we supposed to get the shears without getting eaten? Just how big is this thing?"

The boy looked toward the sorceress and Angel. Their answers weren't going to assuage his fears. Feisty as Angel was, the girl surely wasn't a match for the predator. Was it intelligent? Could they reason with it?

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"Stop dragging your feet and be on with it! Its just a pair of scissors. Surely you can think of something."

Angel didn't like the mean smile from the witch, and haughtily secured the boots. Smell of not, they had a job to do.

"Come on. I'll go first," Angel muttered and wasted no time as she began to descend. The dress may have been a poor choice, but even as it bunched and would snag it was better than having her body enslaved. Halfway down, she paused and looked up at Ewan.

"You still hanging in there, kid?"

[Whim]

"I'm fine this time. I promise," Ewan murmured in a small voice. He tried his best to blot his weak arms, the slimy crevices, and long fall from his mind. It was slow going. Maybe a good meal and a night's rest did the trick? Maybe he just did well under pressure? Or maybe...

"Bet this stupid shirt's helping me out. Sure you're okay in that dress?"

Eventually the pair neared the bottom of the well. It was cool and earthy. The glow-worms revealed a pool of dark water, and a rough-hewn corridor branching off it.

"Wonder if its deep enough to jump? Can you see?"

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Angel was panting some before she reached the bottom- though it was hard to tell if it was from exertion, nerves or the smell. At his question, she wrinkled her nose and tried to let her eyes adjust. Despite the glow worms, it was still pretty dark.

"It's hard to see," she hissed. "And you worry about yourself."

She was able to see the water, and closely now- the faint glow from the worms danced off the subtle rippling surface.

"Yes, we're almost there," she spoke through a breath. "Let's just hurry this up."
And with more confidence that they were near the bottom, Angel found herself soon with two boots on the  damp ground.

[Whim]

As he neared the bottom Ewan looked over his shoulder, tensing as he prepared to leap the rest of the way. The boy had second thoughts and scrambled down to the very bottom of the well. It was wet and scummy.  He made a wretching noise and scraped his algae-covered foot against a nearby rock. "Nothin' but rocks here. Can you throw one hard?"

"Dumb idea," he sighed and shook his head "Sorry for getting us killed or enslaved. Should have paid more attention rather than playing along. So you know anything about wrestling giant bugs bare-handed? Unless you think we can chat it up."

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Angel wrinkled her nose.
"Does it look like I'm an insect wrestler? Besides, spiders eat bugs, they ain't one of 'em!" And at his apology, she shook her head.
"Don't worry about it kid. Let's just get this done and over with. I'm sure we can figure this out along the way."
Though she sounded a lot more confident than she felt!

[Whim]

"Well you grew up on a dragon farm. And you ain't exactly dainty," he laughed nervously, his face flushing red. How could he forget such a simple thing? "You know what I meant! Artho- athropod!"

The brick and mortar walls of the well gave way to a rough-hewn cavern. It was cold, cramped, and spiraled downward into the earth. As their journey progressed the duo noticed wisps of old spidersilk in the gloom. Ewan noticed packs of tiny spiders scurrying into crevices, and away from the phosphorescence.

"Might have a spell that'll help. Would stop him from biting us, anyway, if you want to try..." he jabbed a finger toward Angel. "It thickens your skin."

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She swatted the jabbing finger away.
"Thicken my skin? No thanks. I don't exactly feel like playing with magics."
And that from a kid trying to learn how to be a warlock, or something! She gave a shake of her head.

"Can't you think of a spell, I dunno- maybe one that you can do to make hte spider fall asleep? Or reduce it in size or something so we can just step on it?"
It would certainly make this task easier!

[Whim]

"It wouldn't last forever! It'd just make your skin like tree-bark. Used to be a pretty good mage ya know," Ewan replied. "I suppose I could try and shrink her or something. Its easier to magic people who want it."

The boy cracked a small smile, "Ain't as fun as seeing you all leafy, or a giant bear-girl anyhow."

The two crept through the cavern, perhaps not as quietly as they should have. The cramped tunnel began to widen, with a thick thatch of web around the walls and ceiling.

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Angel cut him a look.
"If you so much as wriggle those fingers at me and try muttering a spell, I'll do more than box you on the ears. Now come on," she hissed, her voice low. "We don't know how well this spider.. thing can hear."

Once the web was in view, Angel released the breath she didn't know she had been holding and swore.
"I guess we at least are at the right place," she muttered under a whisper, but hung back around the opening of the room. She wanted to see if she couldn't spot the large spider, first. She did NOT want to be caught by surprise.

[Whim]

"You'll what?" Ewan huffed, falling behind as they crept nearer the room. He nearly walked into a dangling net of silk, but ducked out of the way with a soft gasp.

The widening tunnel opened into an enormous chamber. A plane of webbing stretched on a slant from floor to ceiling. Dozens of silk cocoons were nestled in the web. Some large enough to be men or animals. In the upper recesses of the web lurked a shadowy, spindly shape.

"Do you think it talks? Did have the presence of mind to steal magic scissors..."

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Angel stopped.
"What kind of question is that?" Though she too now wondered the same. Eyes searched the depths of the darkness before them, before she too, saw its twinkling eyes.
"It's all the way up there, see it?" She held her breath. "Keep your eye on it, I'm going to look for the shears." And slowly she crept along the wall, eyes looking for anything scissor like.

[Whim]

"Thought we could negotiate..." he mumbled, staying put while Angel crept along the edges of the web. The girl saw all manner of oddities entombed in silk: a desiccated deer, a stack of old books, a withered old goblin... several yards away, however, there was a glint of metal in the phosphorescence.

Some stray bits of web coating the floor, however, were disturbed by Angel's skulduggery...

Back toward the entrance of the cave Ewan saw the splindly shape stir. Did it see her? Was it even a spider? Bug-eyed, he waved and hissed, trying to get her attention and not the spider's.

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Ewan's words made Angel bristle. Teeth clenched, she flashed him the meanest of looks-

But the spider could see all, and before she knew it-
The spider began to drop.

[Whim]

"Look out!" he shouted. There wasn't much sense in stealth now.

With a chitttering roar the spider spit globules of spidersilk and mucus in Angel's very direction.

Ewan readied what he'd meant to be a shrinking curse, meant to ready the spider weakened and impotent. He cast the spell, but the spider was too quick, it missed leaving a mass of sickly sickly vegetation on the wall where it landed.

He tried again, stumbling over the syllables...

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The webbing hit it's mark and caused Angel to stumble to a halt. Not that she had much of a choice! And the second she was able to, her entire face wrinkled at the displeasuring feeling of the sticky webbing. But that was probably the least of her worries, for the second she caught the spider moving her way, it was upon her.

She was barely able to turn around to watch as the thing rose up, exposing sharp teeth dripping with venom. But in a flash, there was the most strangest of noise- and a moment later, something boney and human sized with human limbs landed ontop of her- naked and having the longest, wildest hair she'd seen.

Angel groaned and squirmed beneath the person.

"Get- get off!" This was so gross! Was it a corpse that lande don her-
but the second she saw it's face, she paled-
and let out a shrill cry-
Which was soon joined by the wicked cackle of a woman who looked most similar to the witch whose errand they were chained to.

[Whim]

"Been asleep for ages I have! Or spider-brained, to be precise!" the woman struggled to her feet. She made no effort to cover herself; likely because the cloak of hair was doing it for her. The filthy and bedraggled woman's gaze locked onto Angel, grinning with something between madness and delight "But not anymore. Not anymore. What year is it my little dove?"

Ewan sprinted over toward Angel and the woman without a second thought. It seemed the spider was taken care of. But who was she? He cursed under his breath for not casting some sort of ward. "A-are you okay?" the boy offered Angel and hand, and the woman a suspicious glance "And you, you're the spider? Or you were?"

The wild-haired woman staired at her hands, flexing and splaying her fingers. "Yes. Yes I was the spider. Have been for years. Wretched business. But the spell is broken now, shattered, unwoven. Do I take this to mean my sister's undone? Hm?"