May Your Dreams Come True: Cinderella's Journal

[Kara Winters]

About The Family

Kara Winters: Cinderella's mother, by adoption, she is an angel by race and a teacher/inn keeper/potions maker/magic user by trade. She is the one who taught Cindy how to create potions in the first place.

Donovan Lau: Donovan... one could call him her foster father, however he became part of the family nearly a year after she was adopted. She doesn't call him father, but recongizes him as part of the family.

Winters Siblings: While most people would agree families tend to get big, but this family is huge. Cindy has over a dozen siblings, and the numbers change as time goes on. They range from many different species, from angels to human.

Nieces and Nephews: Cindy has watched her younger siblings grow up and gain families, the first being Triton who adopted (oddly enough) and then Yue and Yukito with their adopted children, though Yue has two biological children. Her adopted elder sister (elder in terms of years) has adopted six children.

Daemon Winters: Daemon is Cindy's grandfather, who has been missing since her mother was very little. He's currently sealed inside a sword, and has been lost in the Four Lands over a lot longer than anyone has been alive.

Lau Clan: While Donovan's family has normally nothing to do with the Winters' the existence of Lin, her little sister might change things. Clan politics though do not affect Cindy beyond the fact she's technically the 'eldest' child in terms of first adopted.  

[Kara Winters]

The Cafe

Of Angel Wings and Devil Tails Cafe and Bar is actually the place where I live and work. When I'm not busy in other parts of Gaia. We all live in the upstairs part of the Cafe, which is pretty big actually. There is also a backroom to the place as well.

Things that occur often happen there, well at least when things get a bit strange.

 

[Kara Winters]

Introduction: My Dream

I guess in order to understand the events that led up to me getting this strange feather, whom the seller called Cinderella is to understand my own life. Where do I start? It's kind of complicated, but I'll try.

I had grown up, in a place much farther away from Gaia, I had lost my parents due to conflict, but gained a love in that same conflict, which caused him to go away again. I won't name him, because I am not ready for that yet. I've raised Treyz alone for so long, and when I moved to open the cafe in hopes to forget. It's hard though, Treyz looks up to his father I guess.

I brought in pets to fill the void, and began to reguarly browse the stalls. Then one day, I came across this very small stall. Instead of creatures, or eggs or plants that would grow, it sold feathers. Strange feathers that, according to the caretaker's manual should be put out during the full moon. I was bewildered at such an odd thing, these were clearly unusual feathers, of different colours, all in pretty little boxes. When the store owner asked me what I was looking for, I was not sure myself.

Only that I wished to be able to dream again, without having to hold myself back. I think the lady knew this and presented me with a feather of icy blue colour which came with a pretty single glass slipper. She told me, that this feather came from the Magic Kingdom and that it would help me along with my dreams. What could I do but accept the feather and take it (or as the store owner called her) along?

I felt a tugging in my heart towards this little feather, and so I'll take her home and look after her the best I can. Maybe the store owner is right, that this feather can help make my unknown dreams come true.  

[Kara Winters]

March 3rd, 2006: A Startling Discovery

It seems that what I didn't know about the small feather that I brought home from market with me, Lily Mist the other new addition in our family did. For a new Fluffy Lily is a full grown adult and she had already heard of the Hououza from customers passing by her display window, and she told me this.

Lily Mist

That is a Hououza you were given silly, mistress don't you know what that is?

Kara Winters

I'm afraid not, the lady who gave this feather to me called it Cinderella, and told me that it, or she would help me realize and make my dreams come true.

Lily Mist

The Hououza are also known as Phionix children, you know those right? If you take good care of her and put her out by the window when the moon is full she will turn into a child for you to raise. They grow with every full moon provided you look after them well.

And so that's how it came to be that I realized I was holding a child to be in my hands. For a good moment I panicked, I already was looking after Treyz, but after a while... I came to accept I would have another child to look after. Inside though, I know I want to have a family and children to look after.

Now it comes to spending to day planning on the things that a little girl will need. If she really does grow once very full moon (and panickly enough it being only two weeks away) I need to plan now. I want to teach her everything I can, even the things I never admited to anyone I knew about. Just to make sure she can get what she needs to know to live as an adult.  

[Kara Winters]

March 4th, 2006: Meetings, Discoveries and Wake Up Call

People closest to me are slowly finding out about Cinderella, mainly my sister and Miyuki at this point. Treyz is still missing so he doesn't know yet about her. I've begun to wear her around my neck using a red thread. Around my neck to keep her close to my heart and using a red thread, because red is a lucky colour and is said to keep away evil spirits. With all the odd things that happen around me it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I took her out for a walk in the park to play the flute to her. I heard classcial music was good for unborn babes, so perhaps the same applies for feathers too. There I met D.B. who just got her feather too, we talked about them and hers began glowing and what seems to be talking to mine. Perhaps they understand more than we realize, perhaps I should start thinking about reading to Cinderella at night as well.

Currently Cinderella at night sleeps in a Chinese style jewellery box that I got from my grandmother at one poitn. It has a pretty jade bird inlay, perhaps when she grows older she can use that for her jewellery, though in the meantime that is her home until her room is finished.

Unfortunately when it comes to Cinderella's future we got a really nasty wake up call. Kitsune Kafe, the place where I hang out when I'm not running my own cafe I had always deemed safe. Sure there have always been a few (or a lot) of supernatural things going on, but that's what happens when you don't specify who walks through the door. However trouble starts brewing when a horde of demons decides to attack the place. I was afraid for Cinderella, having her near me if anything happened to me, she could have gotten hurt. Unfortunately... I am one of the few humans attending the Kafe regluarly and I have little fighting skills. I had given up fighting after I moved with Treyz, so I never bothered. If I hadn't taken up potion making instead I would have been in trouble.

I gave Cinderella to Lily to keep close and told her to keep out of the fighting, though with them crawling all over the place that was near impossible had Wulf not helped her and the later Wish protecting both of them. I've never felt so helpless before, and it has occured to me now that I cannot take Cindy everywhere with me, or I would have to stop going to my usual haunts.

Though I can't keep her safe forever, Gaia is full of unusual creatures naturally speaking. I most certainly wouldn't want to keep her from the Kafe, it is full of such nice people most of the time. I guess the only thing I can do is brush up on my potion making and more importantly, when Cindy is old enough, I want her to learn how to defend herself.

In the light of what happened, if something like that were to happen in our own cafe, I wouldn't be able to fend them all off and keep both of the children safe. So to teach Cinderella how to defend herself would be by far my best bet.  

[Kara Winters]

March 5th, 2006: A Bed for Cinderella
Not much else has occurred... well at least occurred in terms of Cinderella. DB visited the cafe and I hope she and Belle will become friends once grown. It would be nice for her to gain some friends at least.

Though I do have now an interesting story to tell Cinderella when she's older. As it turns out I had some interesting guests in the cafe today, namely Vincent. Vincent, a wanderer who happened to wander into the cafe, very old though does not look it he carried a sword that weighed 85 pounds and was 100 inches in length. He was practicing with his sword outside the cafe after helping teach me to use the dagger. He asked if he could cut down a large old tree near the cafe, since it was really a fire hazard and I've been meaning to make it into a bed (or some type of furniture) I told him he could and that I was thinking of making a bed.

So not only does he chop it down in one swing, but he also chops it up into boards within seconds. What an interesting story to tell Cinderella wehn she gets older eh?

About the man who was so strong that he made the boards for the bed within seconds, by cutting down a tree with one blow. Hopefully Vincent will stay around when Cinderella gets older, but a wanderer is a wanderer and who knows if he'll still be around when she is old enough to hear the story.  

[Kara Winters]

March 6th, 2006: Story Reading and Wards

A irony would have it, I had chosen to read the story of Cinderella to Cindy as a bed time story. Her room is almost complete so I chose to read to her there by her window. In all honesty with the events that haven been occuring I look forward to reading to Cindy at night. It is one of the few moments of calmness that occurs in the cafe now. Things are becoming more difficult with the past cropping up. It's kind of funny how it all happens shortly after Cindy arrived, not that I'm blaming her for the hardships, but rather for the new friends that are being made.

I've been setting up mirrors near her window, small ones, and carefully making potions for wards. I want both Cindy and Treyz to be safe so I've been creating wards for both their rooms.

I still keep Cindy close to me though, since she's still a feather. Her sleeping box is on my night stand near my bed for good measure.  

[Kara Winters]

March 8th, 2006: And So Life Goes On....

The cafe itself has been under great change for the past thee or four days now. With the day of the full moon coming fast I finally got off my lazy butt to revamp the cafe in general. Though this is done for several reasons. One, I had already in the past been firm about the fact the upper part of the cafe is the living area for my family. Unfortunately events (and the fact I there are times I can't put people out.) I have currently three guests staying in the Cafe.

The first is Talin, who unfortunately for one annoying Council of Angels has no place to stay. The second is Ian, my former enemy, now turned employer. Don't ask me how that happened I don't know. The third, though I don't know if he'll be a permament guest is Lestat, what appears to me as a young boy, though strangely famliar.

Cinderella's room, at the current moment is being built across from Talin's, since the other closest is taken up as workshop, library, Treyz's room and Kyoko's room. So right now the cafe is a mess, I don't know if that is even healthy for Ciindy at the moment.

Otherwise life moves on, at a normal rate more or less.  

[Kara Winters]

March 13th: Fuzzy Memories and Moving

We are moving today, away from... well I can't really remember where now we are moving from. Everything seems to be kind of fuzzy, like I should know more, but I don't. Wish says, it is for mine, Triton and Cindy's good that I can't remember right now.

I don't even know where we are, I think it is an old school house. Wish suggests I should... set up an inn near here. She tells me that as Cindy grows, my memories will come back in the form of people. I really don't know what she means by that. Cats are so secretive at times.

It was Wish who somehow got people to move things into the Inn. There is a bed for Cindy, there is something about that bed, but I can't remember now. Triton's room is also being made. Oddly enough, there are... two other rooms that are put into place in the family living floor. Wish says, that those rooms are for people close to me.

When this inn opens, I hope to remember again.  

[Kara Winters]

March 16th: Gathering and Growing

I know it is quite late (two days late in fact) to write about Cindy's growth but I thought I should. Like Wish had predicted, Cindy's growth brought not only Cindy herself into this world, but many people into the inn, many whom knew me. Who were, are close to me. Though I think Triton was a bit responsible for that.

I remember seeing her for the first time when she transformed in the moonlight. She has these cute little blue wings that seem to sparkle. Her dress was plain, but it suited her in a way. Whether or not everyone gathered because of Cindy I'll never know, but seeing her brings a smile to my face.