The Q-uandary: Trapped in Cinderella's Tale: Act II
Posted on Sat Sep 28th, 2024 @ 11:11am by Lieutenant Alexis Ryan & Ensign Liam O'Connor
Mission:
Into the Qniverse
Location: France, Mont Saint-Michel, Qniverse
Timeline: Past, Present, Future
3502 words - 7 OF Standard Post Measure
Previously on Athena…
As Liam and Alexis were discussing their predicament, two eyes and a wide grin had appeared over Alexis' shoulder, followed by the floating form of a pink cat.
"No, no, no. You're not playing along! You're ruining the party!" it interrupted. "Perhaps the Prince and Cinderella was too obvious. I know! Let's go back to the beginning."
Before Liam could object or warn Alexis, the cat vanished, and the scene around them transformed. Everything seemed unnaturally large, and Liam felt... different. An odd craving for cheese washed over him, and he began to move. To his shock, instead of two legs, he had four very small, mouse-like legs and paws.
Catching his reflection in a broken bit of mirror, he scurried backwards in horror. He was a mouse!
And now the continuation…
The first thing that struck Alex was the cold. Not that being forced to ascend a long staircase late at night hadn't involved at least the hint of a brisk breeze, but she'd underestimated just how much protection her gown had provided. Now, with the room lit only by a few candles and the smallest fire in the grate, she felt every grit of frozen dirt beneath her bare toes and wasn't sure she even wanted to know why her left shoulder felt exposed. Nothing about the dress she was wearing now, if it could be called that, was flattering and, to the best of her ability to tell without a mirror, at least parts of it seemed to be missing. It left her chilled to the point of shivering, or at least would have had she been inclined to succumb to it.
It took a moment of glowering at the wall for her to realise she was holding a broom. Leaning next to a badly-repaired wooden door was a mop in its bucket, full to the brim with grey-ish water. The floor was dotted with the occasional partially-dried puddle, indicative of a recent effort to clean the impossible, and was responsible, Alexis noted, for the pervasive stench of bleach. She closed her eyes in displeased resignation and then lifted them to the ceiling when finally deciding to open them again.
"And what does this prove?"
Liam scurried around the bedpost, his little furry mind struggling to process the latest transformation, all while battling a gnawing urge for cheese. It was clear they had been moved again, but focusing his thoughts was difficult in his current state. He bumped into a very large foot attached to an equally large leg—Alexis's leg.
Squeaking to get her attention, Liam hoped she would notice him. If she did, she would find a tiny mouse dressed in a miniature yellow Starfleet uniform, complete with the tiniest Starfleet pin badge.
Impulse took over first, which lead to a flurried moment of panic that had more to do with the sudden tickle of tiny claws against her bare foot than any specific phobia regarding rodents. Alexis was spared the calamity of breaking her colleague's back by choosing to yank her foot backwards out of the way rather than punting forward to shake loose the offending intrusion, but even then there were a few seconds of uncontrolled stumbling that likely seemed terrifying from a miniature vantage. Eventually, she half-fell onto a wooden stool, which at least gave her balance enough to pull her feet up off the floor and actually survey the room for the culprit.
Liam, now fully a mouse but still very much himself, scurried around in small circles, desperately trying to draw Alexis’s attention without causing her to panic further. His tiny mouse heart raced, and he squeaked again, louder this time, trying to convey that he wasn’t just an ordinary mouse. He wasn’t sure how, but he needed to make her understand.
With a few more frantic squeaks and some exaggerated gestures with his little paws, he tried to communicate his thoughts: I’m not just a mouse! It’s me, Liam! But of course, all that came out was an unintelligible series of squeaks.
The movement out of her peripheral had been lost at first, reliant as it was on Alex's impaired eye that currently had no fallback given Q's reluctance to afford his heroine a visual aid. It wasn't until she rose carefully and turned a slow circle on the spot that the Science Chief became aware of the persistent chittering closer to floor level and, once she spied the creature responsible, it took Alex a moment to fully register what had happened. Gently, she lowered herself to her knees, eyes trained on the flailing mouse lest it pose a threat beyond her ability to predict. When nothing eventuated other than the continued comedic attempt at communication, Alex raised her eyebrows.
"Well, you're in a bit of bother, aren't you?"
Liam squeaked again, nodding as much as his tiny mouse body allowed, desperately trying to show Alexis that he wasn’t just a random rodent. He quickly scurried across the floor, his little paws slipping slightly on the cold, hard surface. Spotting a broken shard of mirror lying nearby, he scrambled over to it, an idea forming in his mind.
He breathed on the glass, leaving a tiny misty patch. With all the focus his small form could muster, he began to trace letters with his paw. Slowly, carefully, he wrote “LIAM” in the fogged-up part of the mirror. Once finished, he pointed at the name and then back at himself with a hopeful squeak.
This has to work, please recognize me, he thought, staring up at her with wide, anxious eyes.
"It's okay, I think I figured that out."
With knitted brow, Alexis stared at the recently transformed ensign and had to force herself from over-analysing the practicalities of squishing a human psyche into a mouse's brain. If he could write, then she'd just have to assume that cognitive impairment was less of an issue than other physical restrictions, such as vocal chord infrastructure. Feeling awkward, the Science Chief knelt slowly and held out her hand.
"Let's see if we can figure out where we are now."
Liam hesitated for a moment, staring at her outstretched hand. His tiny paws twitched with uncertainty. He wasn’t exactly accustomed to being a mouse, let alone being scooped up like one. But what choice did he have? He scurried into her palm, feeling oddly vulnerable but relieved that Alexis had recognised him.
As she lifted him gently, he glanced around the room. The cold, dim space, the rickety furniture, and the unmistakable smell of cleaning supplies began to click into place. This isn’t the ballroom anymore. We’re somewhere else in the story... earlier.
Of course.They were back at the beginning of the Cinderellatale—before the ball, before the transformation. We’re in the part where Cinderella’s stuck cleaning, alone in the house, he realised. This was the part where the heroine had yet to meet the prince, still under the thumb of her wicked stepfamily. And that made Alexis... well, Cinderella.
Squeaking urgently, Liam pointed with his tiny paw toward the old broom and the mop in the corner, trying to get Alexis to understand. If they put two and two together, it was clear they were now at an earlier point in the story.
Liam squeaked again, looking up at Alexis with wide eyes, as if to say: ‘We’ve been pulled back to the start. We need to figure out what Q wants before things get even weirder.’
Though her thought processes weren't identical, due mostly to a lack of similar familiarity with the intricacies of the Terran-based fairytale, Alex had at least determined that the narrative had shifted and the roles modified. From the vague recollection she had, she could recall the dirt-poor damsel reduced to servitude, which was clearly the current state of affairs, but was less sure of how the story got from this point to climbing a staircase in the most uncomfortable shoes she'd ever worn. One thing was clear, as she tried the door and found it locked, exploration wasn't going to be easy. Turning back into the room, Alexis frowned at the meagre furnishings and shook her head. Where was the inherent entertainment in watching her mop a floor?
Very carefully, she set Liam down on top of the makeshift bed and pulled over the piece of glass he'd used previously for communication. Setting it securely on the blanket between them, Alex paused only a moment to exhale in disbelief at the ridiculousness of the situation, and then proceeded to at least attempt to communicate with the only 'person' in the room who seemed to know the flow of things well enough to predict intent.
"What's supposed to happen next?"
Liam had barely begun to process Alexis’s question when the door suddenly burst open with a loud crash. Two figures stormed in, their voices high-pitched and shrill, instantly grating on Liam’s tiny mouse ears.
“There you are, Cinderella!” one of the stepsisters screeched, her voice full of disdain as she pointed an accusing finger at Alexis. The woman was tall, gaudy in a gown that seemed to mock true elegance, and her face twisted in a sneer. “You lazy, despicable girl! Still lounging about when there’s work to be done?”
The second stepsister, equally obnoxious, gasped dramatically when her eyes fell on Liam. “A mouse! How disgusting!” she wailed, grabbing a nearby boot and flinging it in Liam’s direction. “What are you doing with a filthy little creature like that? You’re as vile as it is!”
Liam jumped from Alexis and scurried to the side, narrowly avoiding the boot as it thudded into the bedpost. His little heart raced, but his mind was sharper now, fighting the mouse instincts that tugged at him to hide. Focus, Liam, he thought. He had to stay with Alex—she needed him or more likely he needed her.
“And what are you wearing?” the first sister snapped, grabbing a fistful of Alexis’s tattered dress. “Pathetic! No wonder you’re not coming to the ball. You’re not fit to be seen anywhere but scrubbing floors!”
The second sister, still horrified by the sight of Liam, picked up a nearby pillow and hurled it at him. “Get rid of that rodent! We’re going to the ball, and we won’t have you embarrassing us with your… filth.”
Liam squeaked loudly in protest, dodging the pillow with an agility he hadn’t expected from his small form. He darted towards the shard of mirror again, his mind racing. He had to communicate something, anything, to let Alexis know they had to act fast. He breathed on the glass and quickly scribbled, Ball soon. Time running out.
The stepsisters, oblivious to his writing, continued their tirade. “You’ll stay here and clean, Cinderella! We’re off to the palace, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay out of sight!”
With one final haughty glare, they flounced out of the room, slamming the door behind them. The echo of their screeches hung in the air, leaving Liam and Alexis in a stunned silence.
Liam looked up at Alexis, his tiny paw pointing to the message on the mirror: Ball soon. Time running out. His squeaks were urgent now, pleading with her to understand. Maybe we need just to follow the story?
For all she had initially approached the exchange with a scientist's detached interest for gathering information, it hadn't taken long for Alexis to realise she was genuinely irritated by the older women's attitude. More than that, (and this really drove home how alien some of her responses actually were), even as her annoyance flared, Alex found herself incapable of expressing it, going as far as to avert her eyes to glare at the ground. As soon as it happened, she frowned, perplexed by the compulsion to retreat when it was not normally her preference, and the look she shot the closing door might have run the risk of catching it alight had the dingy room not been damp enough to almost count as soggy. Logically speaking, she had very little reason to care about the opinion of two random women but the condescending tone had struck a chord and, with it, the first glimmer of defiance fluttered to life.
The incessant squeaks to get her attention didn't improve her mood, and the Science Chief-cum-Scullery Maid jerked her head in Liam's direction to stare at the frantic mouse with an expression most junior officers recognised as the last warning before repercussions. Begrudgingly, Alex glanced at the scrawled message and took no fresh delight in trying to decipher its meaning. "If that's the case, it's awfully presumptuous for an apparently-omnipotent being to assume all participants even know the story." A glance upwards to the ceiling was positively provocative, to say nothing for the bite in the redhead's tone. "When do you we get to the part where the furniture starts singing?"
Great, now she's frustrated too,Liam thought as he watched Alexis vent her irritation. He understood how maddening this situation was—it wasn’t every day you were forced into a fairy tale by an all-powerful being, let alone one where you were suddenly reduced to mouse size. Still, Liam had to stay focused.
*Furniture singing?* he wondered briefly, then shook his tiny head. *Focus, Liam. We need to figure out how to follow the story. If we miss the ball, who knows what’ll happen next?*
He squeaked again, more insistently this time, and darted back to the shard of mirror. With rapid little paw strokes, he scribbled: Stick to story? Fairy godmother soon?
Liam looked up at Alexis, trying to gauge if she understood. We need to follow the plot. If we’re lucky, the next part will get us out of this mess.
He scurried back and forth on the bed in agitation, gesturing toward the door with his paws. If the stepsisters are heading to the ball, we’ve got to be ready. That means we need the fairy godmother… or at least something that’ll get us there!
Liam continued scurrying around, trying to figure out their next move when a soft chuckle echoed through the room. He froze, recognising that sound immediately. Oh no… here we go.
In a swirl of light and sparkles, Q appeared, floating a few inches off the ground and dressed in what could only be described as a flamboyant version of a fairy godmother’s outfit. A gaudy, shimmering gown, complete with a glowing wand and oversized wings, adorned him, as his smirk spread wide across his face.
“Well, well, well! Look at my poor little Cinderella and her loyal mouse,” Q drawled, clearly delighted by the absurdity of it all. He waved his wand dramatically, sending out a spray of glittering lights. “Isn’t this fun? You two are really living the part, aren’t you?”
Q floated closer, his laughter bubbling up again. “Oh, Liam, dear boy, you do squeak so adorably now. You’re right on schedule! Now, if you want to stick to the story, we’ve reached the part where dear Cinderella here—” he gestured dramatically to Alexis, “—needs a little help getting to the ball, doesn’t she?”
"Cinderella would prefer an explanation as to why she needs to attend a ball in the first place, especially considering she was already participating in festivities that involved crowds of people."
Once again, the sensation of not quite being in control of her mood enveloped Alexis in a haze of annoyance she could usually push to the side. There had been a time, in her younger years, where the chaotic gumbo of her emotions remained constantly on the boil and recent events had given plenty of opportunity to relive those days even if only as stories shared between old friends, but Brooke was dead and Ray was hiding and there was no reason for old habits to reassert themselves. It was alarming, how instantly familiar the desire to speak her mind was, how easy it was to embrace the rising heat of her temper until it gathered enough potency to unleash a full-frontal assault on the smug entity currently leering at her. You're an officer. Calm down.
The knowing look in Q's eyes didn't help to quell the urge to punch the smirk clean off his face.
"What's the point of all this, Q?"
“Oh, why dear Alexis,” Q cackled, twirling his glowing wand in the air, “I want you to *enjoy* yourself! What’s so different about this from your primitive holodecks, hmm? Isn’t this just a delightful little escape from your drab reality?” He floated closer, grinning wickedly. “After all, the holodeck’s little simulations never come with quite the same *flair* as my creations, now do they?”
Q's laughter echoed through the room as he spread his arms wide, glittering lights swirling around him. “Come now, Alexis, where’s your sense of fun? This is a ball! Adventure, romance—everything your cold, scientific mind could use more of!”
"Of course, the company's probably not quite what you'd hoped for."
For a split second, the snide tone rebounded inside her head as Q fussed over himself in the freshly-repaired mirror now propped up against the wall.
"Call it a little interlude, we can't always have everything we dream of handed to us on a platter."
Alexis froze, glaring at the back of the charlatan's coiffured head in stony silence as the intrusion on personal matters revealed the extent to which Q could interfere. He was goading her to react, no doubt, dangling private concerns carelessly on a string simply to prove that he could and it was taking every shred of resolve she'd ever trained herself to rely on not to retaliate. The bite of her nails digging into her palms as her fists clenched was a welcome distraction, and coupled with the worried little squeaks of a junior officer who was arguably far worse-off than she was currently, proved just enough to quell the first impulse to lunge. In its place, the cold trickle of legitimate anger left the Science Chief with a cynic's motivation to find the quickest solution.
Unfortunately, right now, that seemed to involve playing along.
"Whatever your intention is, Q, just get on with it. Starting with Ensign O'Connor, who I believe was a far better prince than he is mouse companion."
Q sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes with exaggerated flair. "Oh, very well, if we mustspeed things up for the impatient damsel," he groaned, twirling his wand lazily in Liam’s direction. With a flash of blinding light and a snap of his fingers, Liam's tiny mouse form began to shift and grow. In a matter of moments, he was back to his human self, now standing in full princely regalia—complete with a ridiculous gold-trimmed jacket and polished shoes.
"Ah, much better, wouldn’t you agree?" Q chuckled, watching as Liam blinked in confusion, adjusting to his sudden change. "Now, if we’re going to play along with this little story of yours, do try to make it quick. My patience is running thin, and the rest of your dull cohort is already boring me to tears."
Q floated over to Liam, smirking wickedly. "You, Prince Charming, should act quickly as well," he added with a sly wink. "It seems you’re quite the ladies' man, and if you don't hurry, you’ll have another on the way." He cackled gleefully at the shocked look on Liam’s face before turning his attention back to Alexis.
"Tick-tock, Cinderella. The clock's already ticking. And remember, I’m watching. Don’t disappoint me!" With one final swirl of glitter and laughter, Q vanished, leaving Liam and Alexis standing in the dimly lit room, now faced with their new roles in the story.
As much as Ryan knew the junior officer didn't deserve the look she was giving him, it was beyond the last of her patience to curb it. As a swirl of iridescence started at her feet and moved slowly upwards, the Science Chief shook her head and completely missed her transformation back into ballgown by closing her eyes and counting to ten. From the darkness behind her eyelids, there was a split-second reprieve before the sudden cacophony of music and voices made it blatantly obvious they were right back where they'd started; presumably at the end of the story.
Slowly opening her eyes, Alexis stared at O'Connor a moment and then reached out her hand.
"Time to dance, Ensign."
