Castlecoming—The Not So Wonderful Transformation of Bridget Hearts:
Ella is on her knees scrubbing dirty laundry against a rusted washboard, disappointed that she was unable to attend Castlecoming with Bridget like they've planned.
Rambunctious clicks of heels stabbed the porcelain floor as Anastasia, Drizella and Lady Tremaine approached the opening, on their way to the dance.
"Have fun." Ella said spitefully, trying her absolute hardest to contain her emotions.
"We will." The evil stepsisters said in Unison before giggling and following their mother out the door.
Making sure that they were no longer around, Ella allows a few tears to hit the bucket of warm water filled with soiled garments that weren't even her's.
She continued to silently sob as she scrubbed until her fingers became numb, that's when the sound of a window shattering from behind made her spring onto her bare feet.
Ella shrieks before turning around, Fay standing in the window sill, just as surprised as she was.
"Fay? What are you doing here? And why would you break my stepmother's window?" Ella scolded her classmate, searching around for a broom.
Fay entered her home, "Oh I'm sorry, I tried to do a teleportation spell, but...." She shrugged.
Ella rolled her eyes, "You do know the dance starts in half an hour, why are you lurking around my house when my stepmom isn't here?"
"It's Bridget, she's worried that you won't be able to make it to the dance." Fay said.
"Well, you can tell her that I can't, I'm grounded and I'm stuck on laundry duty tonight, sorry." Ella said, feelings of disappointment and frustration pained her throat.
"B—but she's already at the dance, she's waiting on you—."
Ella cuts her off, "Look Fay, I already told you what my situation is. Even if —ouch." Ella winces in pain, realizing she has accidentally stepped on a broken window shard.
"Look what you did! You shouldn't have come here." Ella shouted in pain.
"Ella please, let me help." Fay sat her down, frantically thinking of a solution.
"Trust me Fay, I think you've helped enough tonight, you can leave now."
Fay positioned her wand on the sole of Ella's wounded foot while whispering her signature incantation before a sparkly, golden light flew from it's tip, repairing the injury completely.
Ella is astonished as well as at loss of words, feeling for the glass in her foot.
"Just yesterday you were chasing down a book because of a failed spell, and now you're a healer....?"
Fay giggles, "I'm just as shocked as you! I had no idea I could do that, I guess I just have to stop trying so hard." She smiles.
Ella sighed, broom and dust pan in hand, "Anyway, I'm sorry I can't go to Castlecoming, all I have are torn, dirty clothes and a floor full of broken glass and nothing to wear."
"I may be able to help with that." Fay cheeses while grasping her wand.
Meanwhile at Castlecoming:
Bridget's ears are filled with the blaring sound of dance music as she sits alone, her head down with her hands in her lap.
Everyone around her dancing and having fun while she mopes, praying that Ella would turn up soon.
"What's the matter princess?" Someone says from behind.
Bridget whips her head to see Uliana and her posse appear out of thin air.
"You're sad because no one wants to dance with a loser like you?" Uliana cackles.
"Actually, my date is on her way, she should be here any minute." Bridget smirks.
"Your date?? You mean the peasant girl? Please, She's probably somewhere making out with that hot Charming kid."
"Yeah, he is pretty hot." Morgie chimes in.
Bridget stands up, "No she's not, she's probably looking for me now so maybe I should go find her, toodles."
As Bridget turns her back to leave, Uliana gives an evil grin, "Yeah you go find her alright, maybe even help yourself to a little.... treat." She says knowing that her perfect revenge will be fulfilled.
"Wow Fay, I never knew you owned a motorcycle." Ella says as she hops off the back of the girl's pumpkin themed vehicle.
"Oh no this is not mine, I borrowed it without asking."
"That's called stealing...."
"Well, it was for a good cause?" Fay nervously chuckled leading Ella into the entrance of the dance.
"Hey!? Who did this to my bike?" Hades hollered, Ella and Fay immediately flee the scene.
They're stopped at the entrance by a tall handsome figure, decked out in a gold and white suit and a man bun.
"Charming!" Ella said, looking around nervously.
"Well look who decided to change her mind! What happened to Castlecoming being an outdated, elitist tradition?"
Ella began to fidget with her butterfly charm bracelet to take her mind off the butterflies in her stomach.
"Well, I was sure I was going to pass on tonight until I was dragged here by a certain somebody—." Ella turned around to see Fay swiftly scurrying away.
Charming laughed at the annoyed look on Ella's face, "Um, you look beautiful by the way, I love your dress." He says.
Her cheeks instantly turn red, "Really? This old thing? Stop it."
"No I'm serious, you wanna go get a drink or something?"
As he clasps Ella's hand she completely forgets why she came in the first place.
"Sure." She replied in delight.
Various assortments of lights filled the school's gymnasium as speakers blasted and kids rushed around from all areas, except Bridget.
She patiently waited for the DJ to call on her to perform her routine that she's been working on for weeks, The shuffle of love.
All she had was her deck of cards and the hope that Ella would show up, enthusiastic to see her performance.
To remain optimistic, Bridget walked over to the snack table to only find a single cupcake left, which was strange.
"Wow, these kids sure can eat." She said to herself, her actual accent slipping.
Before she walked back to her seat she could see Ella in the distance, absolutely gorgeous as she knew she'd be.
Before Bridget had the chance to wave and call out to her she could see the Prince, the same boy Ella has been gushing over since freshman year.
Bridget's heart sank to her toes, the only reason she was here in the first place was to hang out with her best friend, only for her to ditch her for a boy.
Even more lonely than before, Bridget took a bite out of the sugary dessert in an attempt to cheer herself up when the DJ spoke from a microphone.
"And now, by popular demand, we have a special performance from a special student that we all know and love. Bridget Hearts of Wonderland and her song Shuffle of love!" His echoey voice spread throughout the whole room.
Bridget, naive as usual, swallows the huge clump of frosting in her mouth and makes way for the stage, unaware of what was about to happen.
Before she could blink she was in front of the entire school, Uliana devilishly staring at her from the crowd which gave Bridget a strange feeling in her gut.
"Go Bridget!" Ella randomly yelled in the mix of people, Bridget gave an awkward wave to her.
The music started up as Bridget prepared to sing the first verse when a pain sprouted in her stomach.
She grabbed her diaphragm in agony but was determined to push through, she thought maybe she could shake it off when she reached the chorus.
Bridget continued singing when two green horns pierced through her forehead.
As she fell to the ground while her complexion turned to a muddy green color the crowd erupted in laughter, even Ella.
"Is this part of the performance?" Charming whispered to Ella.
"It has to be." She replied, ignorantly chuckling with the crowd.
The one laughing loudest of all was of course the young sea witch as her evil agenda was a huge success.
In an attempt to stand on her feet and regain control of her limbs, Bridget started violently vomiting a pink, foamy liquid all over the stage as she watched her friend laugh at her just like the rest.
Bridget felt as if her heart was being ripped from her chest through her throat, she then covered her mouth and ran off the stage in pure humiliation as mushrooms continued to form all over her body, she was a monster.
At this point Ella knew for sure that this was not part of the show but the work of a certain someone.
Ella angrily stomps towards Uliana to confront her, who is laughing to the point of tears with her gang.
"You mind explaining what you just did to Bridget?" Ella demanded.
Uliana was caught off gaurd and spawned her tentacles, "You mind getting out of my face, peasant girl?" She pushed Ella.
Ella was furious, she took off her glass shoe and bashed it against a nearby table and held the shard against Uliana's throat.
"What did you do to her!?" She yelled.
At this point, everyone in the crowd is staring at them, curious to see what's about to go down.
Uliana snickers for a brief moment, "Look around peasant girl, You're out of your league, you're outnumbered, I'll have my buddies torch you to where no amount of scrubbing, cleaning or medical treatments could reverse the damage." She whispered in Ella's ear.
Ella stared deep into Uliana's cruel, psychotic eyes, moved the jagged shoe from her larynx and ran to go find Bridget.
"Ella wait!" The prince called from behind.
By the enchanted lake is where the Princess of Hearts sat, bawling her eyes out as the bright pastel pink in her hair and appearance faded to a bloody, crimson pigment, establishing her wicked transformation.
Shaking, she finally started to feel the control of her body come back to her as the magical effects of what she just consumed wore off.
The sick, nauseating feeling still lingered in her body as she heard foot steps approaching.
"Bridget! Bridget are you ok?" Ella called out several feet in the distance behind her.
"Bridget?" She repeated, not receiving a reply.
Though the silence was deafening between the two, so much was being said.
Ella noticed Bridget's natural aura slowly withering away.
"Bridget say something, please"
"You laughed at me Ella, you laughed at me just like everyone else did." She sniffled over her words.
"B it's not like that, we all thought it was a part of your routine, I promise."
"You promise? Like the way you promised you'd come to Castlecoming with me but instead you stood me up then ditched me for some guy?"
"What? No! I wouldn't ever do that to you, just let me explain." Ella came closer to comfort her, "Bridget look at me."
Bridget turned to face her friend, Ella jumped backwards in fear at the sight of Bridget's sweet, bubbly image decaying as the final sparkle of kindness in her eyes died out.
"You know what Ella, there's nothing for you to explain, I now realize you see me as a joke, you all see me as a joke, but I won't tolerate it any longer." Bridget now spoke in a posh, English accent.
"Bridget why are you talking like that?" Ella was uneasy, timidly walking backwards as Bridget walked towards her, vigorously shuffling those god damn cards.
"You know what else Ella?" An unhinged wickedness polluted Bridget's demeanor and countinesnce.
"Ever since I got here, I so desperately wanted to be liked by you people so much so I changed my diction, made myself more friendly and took up baking as a hobby, now I'm wondering if it was all worth it."
"Bridget calm down, you're scaring me—." Ella pleaded.
"You should be scared! You all should be scared! You will all give me the respect I deserve, one way or another." Bridget's eyes pouring as she angrily fixed a card to be launched at Ella.
"Bridget wait!" Just then Charming pushed Ella from the cards direction as it landed on him, sending a magical shock throughout his lower body, destroying his left shin bone.
"Charming!" Ella desperately cried out, rushing to his side.
Bridget was still sobbing when she let out a deafening screach-like cackle, she knew she was going insane and she enjoyed the feeling with every inch of her being.
Ella glanced at what used to be her best friend, "I loved you Bridget, you were my friend, I stuck by your side when everyone treated you like garbage, how could you do this to me?" Ella cried in despair as the love of her life was trying to hang on to reality.
"Oh don't make this about you, It seems that you love him more than me, but let me tell you something, Ella."
Bridget gathered herself to walk away as she felt her own soul rotting from the inside out, she never felt more alive.
"Love and kindness is for the weak and the naive, it is better to be feared than loved." Is what she said to Ella before disappearing into the night, never speaking to each other ever again.
Bridget, in her new wicked attire challenges Uliana to a duel, the winner becomes leader of the Vks.
As arrogant as ever, Uliana accepts the deal and is surprisingly defeated by the fragile girl she took enjoyment in torturing just last week.
The vks accepted Bridget with open arms as their new leader, Uliana becoming Bridget's new friend/partner in crime.
Uliana, Bridget and the vks united in terrorizing Merlin academy up until graduation, when Bridget stabbed Uliana in the back by gaining Uliana's trust after all this time then ripping off her tentacles in revenge for what she did to her, for stealing her innocence and turning her into the great evil she now was.
Ella and Bridget never had the chance to reconcile with each other, their friendship went up in flames and nothing was left but a huge pile of crimson ash.