Categories > Original > Fantasy > A different Cinderella Story
Chapter 2
Stepmother easily got to Ella. Within a day she was at her beck-and-call, terrified of being beaten. Forcing her to wear rags while the piglets (my name for Annelise and Ruby. It suits their gluttonous nature, although I am quite fond of pigs and respect them as intelligent animals, I can't help myself. The name gets to them, and I took every oppertunity to get back at them for what they were doing to my sister! I know, I'm a cruel little thing, but you don't mess with family!) took all her fine things and showed them off. She was also forced to do all the housework, espicially the cleaning and laundry. Meanwhile, I appeared to have been sucessful in instilling fear into Stepmother and the Piglets as they kept me in the farmyard where I was "useful" and, more importantly, not there to defend my frightened sister. So while Ella was scrubbing floors, I was out in our little garden and taking care of the stable. The years passed and We adjusted to our miserable lives, although we secretly began to stash away any money we could earn by taking on extra jobs for the townsfolk. Surprisingly enough, they were pretty supportive of us, though they dared not cross Madame. It had something to do with all the times we'd helped everybody out and such.
Anyway, about 4 years after Stepmother took over, a royal proclimation appeared in the streets.The people read it out loud to themselves proudly. Ella and I had taught a couple of people to read whenever we had a spare moment over the years and they had taught others (I swear the book seller practically kissed our feet whenever we walked in he was making so much more money!) The proclamation was also delivered to our house. I was helping my sister out inside that day as it was raining and I had finished my other outside duties. Ella meekly took the letter from the poor messenger who was soaking wet and took it to Stepmother and the Piglets who were making an attempt at painting. While it pains me to admit it, Ruby was actually...not...that bad.
"I told you never to interrupt us!" Stepmother shrieked.
"B-but this seal...it's from the palace!"
"From the Palace?" suealed the Piglets in unison.
"Fork it over Cinders!" Annelise said, cruelly using the the harsh name they had given her for the cinders that now often stained her frock.
"Don't call her that!" I snapped (Stepmother snatched the letter from Ella at this point, just in case you care)
"Shut up Horse-breath!" Ruby retorted
"At least I actually have a sense of smell. Yours must be gone, because frankly, the stuff you spray drives everything but the vermin away." Stepmother gasped.
"Girls, girls! This is exciting news! The King is holding a ball at the palace, and by royal decree, every eligable maiden of status and marrigable age is to attend!" The piglets squealed. I shrugged and muttered,
"Must be getting desperate."
Big deal! A bunch of squealing female idiots in dresses they can barely breathe in showing off for some stuffed-shirt prince-ling! However, my sister seemed thrilled at the prospect. Picking up the invitation she double checked that the statement was what she'd heard it to be.
"But that means I can go too!" The piglets burst out laughing.
"But it says: By Royal decree, every maiden is to attend."
"Good for you, you can read that." Ruby said in a demeaning tone
"Which is more than can be said for you." I murmured ruefully.
"What was that you wench?" Stepmother scowled as she turned on me in a fury. However, I was in no mood.
"Oh, bite me! Besides, Ella's right! She has just as much, no scratch that, more right to go to that ball than any of you low-life scavengers. She is after all, the daughter of an Earl. And no, piglets. Daughter by marriage doesn't count, not when all you did was use him!"
The piglets and I traded barbs for a few more minutes, ( A fight which I won sufficet to say)before stepmother finally said to Ella,
"Very well, you can go. IF you finish all your duties and find something suitable to wear." Then she turned to me, "I suppose you will want to go too-"
"Ha! Yah right! I don't like dancing, and I hate those dumb ball gowns! You could make a tent just out of the ribbons, bows and ruffles on those things!" I scoffed on my way out after an ecstatically happy Ella. However, just as I closed the door, I heard Ruby and Annelise start complaining at their Mother.
"Mother could you hear yourself? Do You know what you just said?" (Or something like that anyway. They babbled almost incoherently)
"Of course." she purred, "I said if" Right then, although I couldn't see it, I knew the piglets were sniggering.
"Oh." they giggled. "If"
So that's the game is it? I thought furiously. 'Well, your forgetting one thing...You said if, so when she does have the stuff, you have to let her go. Ohhh we've got you now!'
However, that apparently, was easier said than done
Stepmother easily got to Ella. Within a day she was at her beck-and-call, terrified of being beaten. Forcing her to wear rags while the piglets (my name for Annelise and Ruby. It suits their gluttonous nature, although I am quite fond of pigs and respect them as intelligent animals, I can't help myself. The name gets to them, and I took every oppertunity to get back at them for what they were doing to my sister! I know, I'm a cruel little thing, but you don't mess with family!) took all her fine things and showed them off. She was also forced to do all the housework, espicially the cleaning and laundry. Meanwhile, I appeared to have been sucessful in instilling fear into Stepmother and the Piglets as they kept me in the farmyard where I was "useful" and, more importantly, not there to defend my frightened sister. So while Ella was scrubbing floors, I was out in our little garden and taking care of the stable. The years passed and We adjusted to our miserable lives, although we secretly began to stash away any money we could earn by taking on extra jobs for the townsfolk. Surprisingly enough, they were pretty supportive of us, though they dared not cross Madame. It had something to do with all the times we'd helped everybody out and such.
Anyway, about 4 years after Stepmother took over, a royal proclimation appeared in the streets.The people read it out loud to themselves proudly. Ella and I had taught a couple of people to read whenever we had a spare moment over the years and they had taught others (I swear the book seller practically kissed our feet whenever we walked in he was making so much more money!) The proclamation was also delivered to our house. I was helping my sister out inside that day as it was raining and I had finished my other outside duties. Ella meekly took the letter from the poor messenger who was soaking wet and took it to Stepmother and the Piglets who were making an attempt at painting. While it pains me to admit it, Ruby was actually...not...that bad.
"I told you never to interrupt us!" Stepmother shrieked.
"B-but this seal...it's from the palace!"
"From the Palace?" suealed the Piglets in unison.
"Fork it over Cinders!" Annelise said, cruelly using the the harsh name they had given her for the cinders that now often stained her frock.
"Don't call her that!" I snapped (Stepmother snatched the letter from Ella at this point, just in case you care)
"Shut up Horse-breath!" Ruby retorted
"At least I actually have a sense of smell. Yours must be gone, because frankly, the stuff you spray drives everything but the vermin away." Stepmother gasped.
"Girls, girls! This is exciting news! The King is holding a ball at the palace, and by royal decree, every eligable maiden of status and marrigable age is to attend!" The piglets squealed. I shrugged and muttered,
"Must be getting desperate."
Big deal! A bunch of squealing female idiots in dresses they can barely breathe in showing off for some stuffed-shirt prince-ling! However, my sister seemed thrilled at the prospect. Picking up the invitation she double checked that the statement was what she'd heard it to be.
"But that means I can go too!" The piglets burst out laughing.
"But it says: By Royal decree, every maiden is to attend."
"Good for you, you can read that." Ruby said in a demeaning tone
"Which is more than can be said for you." I murmured ruefully.
"What was that you wench?" Stepmother scowled as she turned on me in a fury. However, I was in no mood.
"Oh, bite me! Besides, Ella's right! She has just as much, no scratch that, more right to go to that ball than any of you low-life scavengers. She is after all, the daughter of an Earl. And no, piglets. Daughter by marriage doesn't count, not when all you did was use him!"
The piglets and I traded barbs for a few more minutes, ( A fight which I won sufficet to say)before stepmother finally said to Ella,
"Very well, you can go. IF you finish all your duties and find something suitable to wear." Then she turned to me, "I suppose you will want to go too-"
"Ha! Yah right! I don't like dancing, and I hate those dumb ball gowns! You could make a tent just out of the ribbons, bows and ruffles on those things!" I scoffed on my way out after an ecstatically happy Ella. However, just as I closed the door, I heard Ruby and Annelise start complaining at their Mother.
"Mother could you hear yourself? Do You know what you just said?" (Or something like that anyway. They babbled almost incoherently)
"Of course." she purred, "I said if" Right then, although I couldn't see it, I knew the piglets were sniggering.
"Oh." they giggled. "If"
So that's the game is it? I thought furiously. 'Well, your forgetting one thing...You said if, so when she does have the stuff, you have to let her go. Ohhh we've got you now!'
However, that apparently, was easier said than done
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