1st 5 Pages February Workshop- Kunrath Rev 1

Name: Jenn Kunrath
Genre: YA Fantasy
Title: Covert Cinderella

It was my first mission. Still only a student at the Grimmald Academy of Espionage, the opportunity to be pulled for official undercover work was rare and unprecedented. I felt the energy buzz in my fingertips as I slipped on that fated suede shoe. Then, I made an attempt to tuck one of my ornery red curls behind my ear. Of course it didn’t stay there. My mother used to say they were as stubborn as me. I straightened and stood at attention for a final inspection. My team leader, code name Fairy Godmother, took his time examining every detail of my disguise. That evening I was dressed like someone who should be noticed. After so much training on how best to blend in, it felt almost uncomfortable to have orders that required me to stand out.

Fairy Godmother gave me a nod. It was okay for me to go. The air was warm when I stepped outside. Light traced the edges of the horizon as the sun faded behind it. My foot nearly slipped as I moved from the step that attached to our pod. Painted orange, it blended with the fall leaves of the forest around it. I always thought it looked kind of like a giant pumpkin. After several intense days of reviewing the mission, I was happy for the fresh air and the quiet of the forest around me. Inside, the pod could be generously described as cramped and uncomfortable. It made Fairy Godmother’s voice seem even louder when he yelled. The sound bounced from wall to wall in a way that filled the space. 

Still, it was odd to be out on my own. Until that point, I had been kept in close quarters with my team. Together, we plotted, planned, and strategized. Before that, I had been at the academy with a whole assembly of instructors and fellow students around me. Though excited to be going out into the field, I couldn’t help but be nervous that I was on a solo assignment.

This was due to the limitations of our mission budget. Sprice had only commissioned one formal ballgown for what was considered an investigative operation. It was the nicest dress I had ever worn. They had not spared any expense in that. When Fairy Godmother gave me the package in which it was wrapped, I had nearly dropped it, my hands were shaking so badly. It was worth more than all my years of tuition at the academy. If I did well on this mission, I wondered if they would let me keep the dress as a “thank you.” I could sell it and send the money back to my mother who had worked hard to keep me in school.

The Grimmald Academy of Espionage had been founded because as the smallest of the kingdoms, Sprice knew its best defense was to be paranoid. From that, a strong initiative in espionage was spurred. Those parents who wanted to give their children an opportunity to work for the royal military, sent them to the academy for training. 

You had to be good. The royal military was the best but most selective employer in Sprice. They only kept a few highly skilled operatives and open positions were rare. Those who did not quite make the cut, could hope to teach at the academy, but those spaces were limited as well. If I did well on this mission, it would give me an advantage no other student could hope for. I would be guaranteed employment once I graduated. The stakes were high. If I failed, all my years of training would be for nothing.

As I walked, I reviewed the mission in my mind. According to our intel, Arydia, a kingdom with which we shared our southern border, had been spending exorbitant amounts of money during recent months. Reports suggested that a new wing had been added to the castle. The archway to the city had been remodeled with marble. And the royal family decided to host a lavish ball for all the kingdom’s citizens to attend. From what I could gather within the limited conversations I had been able to overhear, there was talk of possible black market involvement and concern that funds were also being funneled into military forces for a possible land grab.

Determined to find out what was going on, the Kingdom of Sprice’s special forces recruited me from the Grimmald Academy of Espionage to serve as a plant at the event. They needed someone young and pretty enough to catch the prince’s eye. There were several other girls in my class that were possible candidates. Though the reason I was selected was not disclosed, I like to think it was a combination of good overall performance in my classes and my excellent conversational skills. Once, I tried carefully to have Fairy Godmother confirm if this was the case. He muttered something about dumb luck, so I did not try to ask again.

I was so excited to have been selected but also very scared because I wasn’t sure I was ready.

The plan was to have me attend a ball the royal family was hosting and maneuver through the room until I was dancing with the prince. Then, the objective was to flirt out the explanation for Arydia’s sudden surge of wealth. We had been taught to interrogate at the academy. Flirting, however, had not been a method included in those lessons, so this part of the mission made me a little nervous.

“Just do whatever it is you girls do.” Fairy Godmother had suggested when I asked him to explain how exactly I should try to flirt. I was too embarrassed to ask for further clarification. Part of being a spy required being able to figure things out. If I was going to impress my team, I would need to prove I could do so.

Once I knew where this new wealth was coming from, I was instructed to determine the extent of Arydia’s resources and whatever further intentions they had in how these would be used. Then, I could leave the ball and return to my team to issue a report. Sprice would use this intel to decide if there was any immediate threat to our kingdom.

The way to the castle was not far. When I got close, I looked for a group of girls I could join so it would not be obvious that I had arrived alone. It did not take long to find one. Everyone was so excited, the air seemed to buzz around me. A flutter of pink, yellow, and lilac drifted across the courtyard. The three girls giggled as they hurried toward the stairs. They seemed suitably distracted, so, I slipped in next to them. The deep-blue ballgown I had been issued shifted behind me. 

At the top of the stairs, everyone was forced into a line.

“What’s taking so long?” I heard someone complain.

“They are announcing each guest,” another voice quipped. 

I gulped. It was a more conspicuous entrance than I had hoped to make. I shuffled along but studied the shadows to see if there was any way I could slip through the door. Determined to find something, I did not notice when it was suddenly my turn. From somewhere behind me, hands shoved me forward. The attendant caught my arm so that I would not trip and tumble into the room, a fact for which I was grateful.