The Oriental Cinderella

“	According to this note, a giant spider is terrorizing the countryside, and Princess Shan is missing!	”
—Prince in the East, The Oriental Cinderella

The Oriental Cinderella is the bonus gameplay content included in the Collector's Edition of The Final Cinderella. In it, we play as Shan Mao's beloved Prince, who must defeat the Spider Queen and save her from a terrible curse.

This bonus game is based on the Chinese tale of Ye Xian and the Asian myths of Nine-Tailed Foxes, the book Journey to the West, and Jorōgumo.

Menu Screen[]

Travel to the Orient in the past and experience the story of one Cinderella for yourself.

Prologue[]

A long, long time ago, in an Eastern land far, far away, there lived a pure hearted Princess named Shan.

She fell in love with a Prince from another land.

Now, the Prince is on his way to pay Princess Shan a surprise visit.

Thus, our adventure begins...

Plot[]

WARNING: This section contains massive spoilers! (So read at your own risk!)

The game opens with the Prince reading a letter from Princess Shan. She explains that the only thing dampening her joy at their upcoming nuptials is her stepsister, Chi. She fears that Chi would do anything to keep them apart and warns him to be careful. There is also a warning from Shan, written in fire on the ground, warning the Prince to stay away.

Ignoring the warning, the Prince moves on and comes to a small cottage. Inside, he meets Amelia, who introduces herself as Princess Shan's Godmother. She tells the Prince that Princess Shan is locked inside the Blazing Temple and that he must prove himself worthy of marrying Shan by saving her.

The Prince's progress is blocked by a web of large spiders, that have taken over a tree, and captured a Woodcarver in their webs. The Prince kills the spiders and frees the man, who introduces himself as Geppetto. He tells the Prince that he is on a hunt for wood to make his puppet masterpiece with. His next stop is the Blazing Mountain, but the Magical Fan he had to put out the flames there was stolen by a Giant Spider.

Inside a cave hidden behind a waterfall, the Prince encounters Chi in her Spider Queen form for the first time. He scares her away with fire, then explores the cave. He finds the Magical Fan inside and uses it to extinguish the flames on the Blazing Mountain so he and Geppetto can pass. Geppetto catches sight of Amelia on the mountain and falls for her instantly, wanting to be introduced to her.

Amelia meets the Prince at the Blazing Temple, and explains the gravity of the situation. If Shan is not released from the vessel she's being held captive in, she will suffocate. The Prince acts quickly, finding the pieces needed to unlock the vessel and free Shan. However, the Princess is now in the form of a nine-tailed fox, and will remain this way until her stepsister Chi is defeated.

The Prince finds all of the pieces needed to make a legendary Flaming Sword, then takes this to the spider cave, where Chi the Spider Queen is waiting. He attacks her with the sword, which causes her to turn into a Giant Spider. The Prince uses this opportunity to stab her through with the sword, and Chi disappears in a puff of black smoke.

Shan is returned to her human form and Amelia uses her magic to get her looking as good as new in her ballgown, after the ordeal she's been through. Amelia then gives the Prince her blessing to marry Shan, wishing the two of them a happily ever after.

Epilogue[]

Chi and her mother were banished from the kingdom, never to be heard from again.

Princess Shan married her Prince with Godmother Amelia's blessings.

Together with her new love Geppetto, Amelia continued to travel the world, fulfilling her duties as Godmother. Geppetto kept at his quest to find the perfect wood.

Years later, Amelia gave her husband wood from the Forbidden Grove. Thus, the stage was set for the Puppet Master and the evil Godmother to be born.

Parables[]

The Tale of the Spider Witches

Once upon a time, there was a powerful witch who loved spiders. From her spider familiars, she gained the power to create venom and to shape-shift into a spider. The witch desired immortality, and she heard that the neighboring country kept in its royal vaults the secrets of the Tang monk, who was the most powerful monk of all time. Certain that she could decipher the monk's sacred writings, which are rumored to hold the secrets of immortality, she sent her daughter Chi to seduce the Prince of this neighboring country. Chi put on her best finery and wore her best magical charms. Then, she set off to attract the Prince's attention at the ball he was holding in honor of the new year. However, all of Chi's efforts were to no avail. Upon setting eyes on Chi's stepsister Shan, the Prince immediately fell in love and paid no attention to any other girls at the ball. Incensed that her plans had failed, she punished Shan for stealing her Prince by turning her into a nine-tailed fox. She also tried to kill the Prince for slighting her. However, her plans failed, and she was sent into exile.

Connections[]

We meet Amelia inside the cottage. She introduces herself as Princess Shan's Godmother.
- Her cottage is the same as the cottage Pinocchio lived in within the Mirror World.
On the Blazing Mountain, we meet Geppetto, where he is on his worldwide quest for wood to make his puppet masterpiece with. He catches sight of Amelia and falls in love at first sight.
We see much here about Witches, Spiders, and Immortality Potions. All of these things call to mind the Evil Witch. She may or may not have a hand in the events here which is up for debate.