Peter Pumpkin and his two daughters, Margaret and Melody, had started becoming a natural part of Claus' life after Peter had married into the family. Claus interacted with Peter's family only in short momentsー as they never truly created a bond outside of basic small talk. However, after the death of Peter's spouse, their already growing social walls had quickly become solid borders. 

As life lived on, Peter's true colors started to bleed into the air as he eased his way into spending the inheritance fortune on his daughters, all the while Claus was downsized into serving the three of them as a maid would. The girls got new glittering outfits and fashionable shoes. Claus' wardrobe was ragged, his shoes tugging and undoing themselves at the seams from years of running around the manor. There was very little that could be done to care for them. The most carefully kept item of clothing he had was his halfway apron that tied around his waist while he worked because he didn't have a choice otherwise. While he lived a life where most dreams went to die, a single fantasy stood out to him: The dream of living in a fairy tale world. 

Yes. Just a single day was all he asked, just to feel a release from the emotional choke hold his situation had him in. With so many tasks piled up, Claus was often struggling to muster the strength needed to continue on, but even if he were on his knees he knew he couldn't stop as he had no choice. With every passing day, Claus' sleep schedule only worsened, and it was no thanks to the work burdens he had to take on for the others he lived with. 

"Claus! Make us a breakfast!" Peter called out one morning. "And mop the floor when you're done!" 

"And help me pick a dress!" Melody added. 

"And comb out my hair!" Margaret chimed on queue with the others. 

Claus let out a frustrated sigh. He was already mopping... But he still had to fix a breakfast, so he got up and did it quickly. While the breakfast was being made, he helped Melody pick out a dress, to which she picked out any dress Claus didn't. Once Claus had actually finished making the breakfast, he assisted Margaret with combing her hair, which proved itself to be a challenge due to the locks she had all over. Once he felt he was finally finished with the demands, he went back to get his mop when Peter stopped him where he was. 

"Why is it taking you so long to mop?!" Standing tall over Claus, Peter's eyebrows pressed downwards as he narrowed his eyes. "Stop being lazy! We have things we need to do today!" 

Claus didn't understand what he meant, until he started with, "Prince Andy is hosting a ball tomorrow and the three of us, Melody, Margaret and I... Are all going. I want you to clean this house!" 

"A ball?" Claus asked, feeling a spark of hope as he glanced up to the evil stepfather. "Could I go too?" 

Peter cackled. "Without an outfit for the ball? Nonsense!" 

"Well, what if I could have one ready in time?" 

Peter regained his composure. "If you can make an outfit that DOESN'T make you look like a laundry bag, then you can go to the ball." He then clasped his hands together. "If not, you can stay here and do the cleaning while we're out, and I want every inch of the house clean by the time we return!" 

Claus took a sharp inhale and faced himself to where his eyes met Peter's. "Okay." 

When the day was done and the night was arriving, Claus had finished his cleaning and serving for the day. He headed up into his cold, rocky bedroom, and drew back clothes in the closet until he rediscovered a tailor's manual. He flipped around the pages, frantically searching for an outfit worthy of making and taking to the ball. It took a minute, but he found one that stuck out to him: This shiny white suit, with glistening pink accents and matching shoes. Claus decided it would be the perfect thing to wear and got to work as soon as he found his needle. All night's work fitted itself into the suit he was planning to wear, but he still wasn't finished. There were still details that needed to be added and seams needed to be sewn. 

During the day, Claus didn't catch the time to finish his suit, and instead had to help the girls get their outfits ready for the ball because the ball was supposed to be that night... He was beginning to feel a nerve that he couldn't find the materials he would need to really pull his own look together in time for the ball, so he did his chores faster and finished everything early so he could dedicate every second of the evening he had to spare fixing his look. Once he finally felt confident enough that it was ready, he fitted himself into the suit and prepared to leave with the girls and Peter. 

Claus stepped out of his room to where Peter and the girls were, in their expensive gowns made from refined silks, and Peter in his own luxury suit of a plum color. Claus stepped out of his room to stand with them as they stared at his outfit in disgust. Peter did the same, and took a deep breath. 

"I asked you nicely to have something ready for the ball and, well," Peter stated as he lifted his chin up slightly to stand his ground. "I'd say it's quite lovely, wouldn't you say girls?" 

The girls gasped in a staged shock. "You're wearing the same shade of pink as my dress!" Margaret screamed. 

"You made THIS the same color as MY nightgown!" Melody shouted as well. 

"And- is that my sash?! Did you use my sash?!" Margaret called back to him as they both balled their fists. 

Claus stood for a moment in confusion trying to work out what was going on, but not for long, as the girls started to lunge themselves at him and tear up all of his effort to go to the ball. All the seams had come undone and the fabrics had been shredded. Everything Claus had spent hours and nights fixing had been unraveled in a span of 5 minutes. When the girls had finally given up, there was nothing claimable left for Claus, and he sank to the ground in dismay. 

"Well, it looks like Claus couldn't keep to his promise, so then..." Peter's smug smirk spread across his face. "It looks like there's no ball for Claus. Come along, girls." 

Claus took a moment to process whatever it was that happened. The first moment, he felt himself and his dreams becoming true, and his life finally attained meaning for the first time in years. The next moment, everything he had worked towards had been destroyed in a fraction of the time it was built up. A sense of hopelessness filled the void where his dream should be, and he couldn't find a sliver of life left worth living. He covered his eyes and let the tears spill into his hands as a bright white light occupied the space next to him. 

Looking over, Claus noticed what seemed to be a fish creature in a light blue robe, holding a stick with a star on the end. Said creature rested a hand on Claus' shoulder on an attempt to comfort him. 

"There there, man. I know. I don't like doing the chores either." The fish spoke in a scratchy voice. 

Claus wiped his tears and looked up at it. "Who are you?" 

"I'm Felix, your fairy godfishy for the night," he paused for a moment to roll down a sleeve and read the green marker scribbled on the side of his arm. "I'm here to make your dreams come true and give you..." he tilted his arm, then his head, "...A happily ever after. Yeah. I'm here to help with that." 

Claus stood up. "How are you going to help me? I don't even know who you are-" 

"I just introduced myself though- Don't worry you'll get it eventually." Felix adjusted his sleeves back. "Yeah so, I have a magic spell. Not a spell that can do your chores and all that but a spell that can take you to the ball." 

"I... I can't go to the ball. I'm a wreck now..." Claus' head lowered. "They ruined my-" 

"Yeah they ripped up the outfit, I saw that. I'm talking about an outfit for the ball. I can cast a spell and offer you one, plus," Felix grinned and pointed finger guns to Claus, "I hate doing chores. Win for everyone." 

Claus' hopelessness began to subside a bit, and a light of hope, while very dim, glowed like a sparkling gem. He looked over to Felix who used his wand as a back scratcher, and while he didn't feel Felix could really help, there was more hope in this decision than there was in nothing. He'll have to do for now. 

"How do I...." Claus spoke up, looking toward Felix. 

"Oh well that's easy. All I have to say are the magic words and bam, you'll have an outfit." With that, Felix searched around the messy writing on his arms and found what looked like a spell. "Oh, here we go. Let's try this: Give this man clothes for the ball, to catch the eyes of none but all. Bippity boppety boo!" 

Felix's wand spewed a light out toward Claus, and sparkles surrounded him as his shredded outfit morphed into something new: a light blue gown with a more pastel blue for the accents. The peplum was carefully crafted to part in the middle, his dress was crafted with a large flounce covering his feet, and there were mitten gloves that matched the lighter blue parts of the dress. Claus observed the dress he was wearing and the gloves on his hands. 

Felix let out a snicker. "You look great Claus..." He stifled his laughter, "Just like a Cinderella. Like a- like a Claus-erelly- a Claus-erella!" The laughter set itself free. 

"My, I do look like Cinderella!" Claus took a second to admire the outfit. "But, in the original tale, weren't her gloves white?" 

"Man I don't remember, I've only ever read the story twice." Felix shrugged. "There's no time to lose. You gotta get outta here. Go dance at the ball." 

"I have no way of getting there!" 

"Well, how about a carriage?" The fairy godfishy tapped the side of his head while thinking. "In the original tale, they used a pumpkin, but using your stepdad would be a bit morally grey, no? I can't have a lawsuit. How about..." 

Claus spotted an orange pepper from a basket. "This...?" 

"That'll do." 

With a flash of magic, the pepper transformed into a majestic coach lead by two valiant horses. The door to the coach opened wide and Claus carefully entered, taking a seat and smoothing his dress while Felix stood around trying to remember something. The inside of the coach was lined with a golden garden design of vines, and a bell pepper at the end of each coil. Claus could feel his nerves kicking in again as he imagined the irony of being face to face with his stepfather or step sisters again. Right as he considered the details, Felix broke the silence. 

"One more thing. That spell breaks at midnight. Once the clock strikes, stuff will slowly turn back to normal and it'll be as if nothing happened so you gotta leave like five minutes early so you can get home. Does that make sense?" 

"Why do the spells wear away at midnight?" 

"No clue. Company policies man, I'm telling you." Felix chuckled as he waved goodbye to Claus. "Have fun Claus-erelly!" 

Claus made a mental note to leave earlier than twelve so he would have time to go home, which eased his anxiety just a bit. He also considered the issues with getting home if the carriage was the first thing to change back to normal. By the time he finally reached the ball, he could see people, familiar and not, dancing with who was presumably their partners. Out of the corner of his eye he even saw Melody, and intended to stay clear of her at all costs. 

Wondering around, he realized just how pristine the castle and ballroom just were: the chandelier was as big as if was graceful, with spiraling patterns and gems lining almost every candlestick. The floor felt glossy under Claus' glass shoes, and the walls were of a crisp clean white and kept that way. Most of the people who arrived were in fancy gowns or pre-pressed suits, crafted by fine tailormen. Claus spent a moment or two taking in the fact that everyone there was of high profile, and now thanks to Felix, he was too. He felt someone approach behind them and clear their throat to get his attention. 

"Excuse me," came a voice. "But I was wondering..." 

Claus turned around to see Prince Andy himself, standing there behind him. He felt his heart leap in his chest for a moment before properly straightening his posture. 

The apple prince extended a hand to Claus. "....If we could have this dance." 

Claus stopped for a moment as the hopelessness he felt had completely disappeared. This was really happening- The one dream he truly had was finally coming true, with a prince no less. He nodded as he took Andy's hand, and slowly but surely, Claus stared to gracefully waltz with him. In the moments between the two, the stress and sorrow of the past several years broke loose from Claus completely. He felt his hard work was finally being measured up to, in the course of a single fraction of the night. 

The pair of them glided across the floor all night, and everyone seemed to just be a remnant of the room. The world was melting away until there was nothing besides Claus and Andy, and their togetherness formed a stronger bond in that moment than Claus had ever made with anyone else in his entire life. Andy noticed Claus' hand felt rather soft and warm to the touch, and his heart began to feel the same way. The life lived was seemingly perfect, that is, until the clock struck twelve.