It was a harsh procedure but it was what Eloise knew she had to do if she ever had a chance of ruling. The bone saws and sharp instruments where laid out across the table, markings already made halfway up her calfs. She had never had the chance to enter or be elected as a head of land or a ruler in her years of being a child, her parents had never supported the system, they forbade her from involving herself in anything of the sort and unlike others, sent Elosie to the naughty step or held her palm against the stove if she were naughty. Children where seen as sacred throughout the land, creatures that were never to be harmed or scolded, Elosies parents didn’t think so.

They had once found a woman giving Eloise money on the streets because she seemed skinny and starving, Eloises parents had taken the money for themselves and slapped her round the face, locking her upstairs in her room for a day or two. Her parents had always been strict, and nasty. Now was her chance to have a spin at ruling, to do what other children where permitted too. She knew that other people had done the surgery before, some forced by their parents because the pay was so good there was no point in growing up past childhood, some wanted to rule where they had never been allowed to rule before others took it as a second chance.

Eloise didn’t know where her parents where and quite frankly she didn’t care, her op would be enough to turn her back into a child, turn back the clock, give her a chance. A man dressed in a long trailing white coat, large seeing goggles and a gas mask entered the room.

He began to speak, voice muffled by the mask “Miss Eloise we want to make sure your OK with the following before we continue. The changes made to your body are permanent they will secure that you are child for the rest of eternity, we will remove part of your legs, as you can see we’ve marked what parts are coming off, we will be performing plasticised surgery around you face, body and arms to give you the “child aesthetics” we will be removing each of your teeth and replacing them with milk teeth and will provide you with appropriate child clothing when the operation has finished is that all good with you?” Eloise nodded eager to get things over with, “OK.” The doctor said nervously, “I’m going to fill the room with gas and in less than ten seconds you should be drugged enough so that we can begin.”

Eloise was not afraid, after all Cinderella’s sisters had their heels surgically removed so they could fit inside glass slippers, how was this any different? She was just keeping up with the latest fashion and beauty standards. She watched intently as gas filled the room, seeping into her lungs and sending her off into a more ideal dream world.