Cinders Ella

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a kingdom far away, there lived a young girl. Her mother had died, so she lived with her father, who was a wealthy man. They were very happy for a very long time, best friends. Ella needed no one else in the world. Ella’s favorite memory of her father was when they got invited to the Castle for the prince’s seventh birthday feast. Ella met the prince, who was very cute (she was instantly smitten), but the best part was seeing her father glowing, he was so happy to see she was making something of herself. And she thought he looked just as dashing as the King himself, sitting at the large table with Lords and Ladies. Soon she grew to be a young lady, but proper she was not. Her father got it into his head that Ella needed a woman in her life to help her become the young woman she should be.

Soon after, he “fell in love” with the Duchess, and married her, adopting her two average daughters into his family as well. Ella was far more beautiful than the girls, Anastasia and Drusilla, which made the Duchess angry and mean, but only when Ella’s father was not looking. Eventually Ella’s father took ill, and died, leaving everything to his Duchess.

The spiteful woman took over in a flurry of whims and wishes. They were rich, and she bought her daughters everything, when Ella attempted to be the voice of reason, she would be punished to doing chores. Ella, of course, complained because that’s what the servants were for. Duchess continued to spend on her daughters, occasionally purchasing the plainest, simplest, cheapest dresses for Ella. Still Ella’s beauty shone, and the Duchess only got meaner, and her daughters followed by example.

“Ella, you just aren’t grateful for all I do for you. I buy you dresses, I give you education, I teach you things someone of your station will need to know, like milking cows, cleaning the house, washing dishes, and you are never grateful. If you wretch of a father hadn’t died I wouldn’t need to take care of you.” Duchess’s eyes took on an angry glint, “If fact, I really don’t need to take care of you at all. You are not my daughter, and old enough to be married out or a beggar.”

“Oh, Duchess… Step-mother! Please, let me stay, I’ll… I’ll work my way if you need it.” Ella figured there would always be other servants to help her out, so she would never have to do all the chores herself. She was wrong.

As Duchess continued to spend, their money disappeared, and soon they were in debt. To repay, Duchess began to lay off servants, selling them to make enough money to repay her fines. Ella was soon moved to the attic to keep up appearances of the scullery maid. Eventually Ella was doing all but the cooking in the house with little to no help. She tended the orchards, grew and harvested the vegetables, milked the cows, raised and trained the horses, went into the market to sell goods and buy materials; she learned to sew dresses for Drusilla and Anastasia, cleaned the house and served the food. She quickly earned the name of “Cinder’s Ella” when Drusilla woke her with a kick from the fireplace pit, where she had been catching mice for her cat friends in the alleyways of the market, of course, some she sold to magicians for a cheap ad low price, keeping the money for herself, saving it in a private place in her attic wall. Time passed in the dreary, depressing way it tended to do, and Ella grew into a stunning woman.

Ella soon turned eighteen, and began collecting scraps, snuck into the Duchess’s room and stole her mother’s old wedding dress, hiding it underneath some loose, creaky floor boards under her bed. She was up late into the night making herself a birthday dress she knew would be useful for something… eventually, maybe. It had been four months since she had finished and forgotten completely about her dress when a knock came to the door.

“ELLA!!”

She stood and answered it, and there was a royal messenger. “On behalf of the King of…” Ella’s eyes went wide as the man described the party they were throwing for the Prince’s nineteenth birthday, and how every single maiden was invited, including (the messenger shuddered) Ella. He was to be choosing a bride that night. He then handed her the invitations, four of them, which she took and thanked him, then closed the door, almost in a dream. “Every girl in the kingdom”.

“Who was that?” Duchess asked Ella, who quickly hid her invitation in the pocket of her apron, handing the others to Drusilla.

“The royal messenger.” Ella frowned glumly, “You are invited to the Prince’s ball, he’ll be choosing a wife.”

“Were you not invited?” Anastasia asked cruelly, a smirk on her lips.

Drusilla laughed, and the Duchess held up her hands.

“Now, now girls,” She looked at Ella reprovingly, “If she gets all her chores done, she may go. She might find a man who’ll take her off my hands for me.”

Ella’s eyes went wide, “Really?” The statement proved that Duchess had not seen Ella’s invitation, “But… what would I wear? And how would I get there? I’ll obviously be late, due to all the housework you require me to do.”

Duchess smiled, “Oh, my dear! I don’t know how you’ll even finish in time, not only do you have to do your normal chores, but you also need to help my girls get ready, and prepare them for bed, along with running to market with our vegetables and produce, then I’ll need you to update our dresses a little. Drusilla will be wearing her red satin; Anastasia will be in her pale blue velvet with lace. You know them.”

“O-of course, Step-mother. What about your dress?” Ella bowed her head, her eyes filling with tears; there was no way she’d be able to sneak out with so much to do.

“I’ll be wearing my royal purple and burgundy dress, I like it the way it is, but remember all your other chores as well.”

That’s how my life ended… and started all at once, when the sun rose on that fateful morning.

Ella spent the day cleaning as quickly as she could, spent all night stitching up Drusilla and Anastasia’s dresses, went to the market and sold their vegetables, getting some extras there, along with a burlap sack of mice, getting just enough money to get herself a pair of shoes, glass with inlaid pearl, matching her dress perfectly.

When she returned, she found the other servants having done the chores her step- mother had told her to do. She teared up and thanked the lot of them. The oldest, a robust woman with a commanding voice, informed her that her son would be borrowing a coach for her, driving her to the palace and back whenever Ella wanted to leave. She also informed Ella that she would be all the wiser for not telling step-mother that her chores were prematurely done, even better if Ella could fake a few tears.

Ella spent the rest of the day elated, but pretending to be sorrowful. When it was time for them to leave, Duchess stopped mid-way out the door, “Ella, we’ll be leaving the ball half an hour after midnight, and be back home around one, my daughters and I need the rest, see our beds warmed and turned down for us, will you?”

Ella watched them leave, wiping the false tears from her face. Quickly she ran through the house, turning down the covers and plumping the pillows. She then dashed into Anastasia’s luke-warm, unused bath water, quickly shampooing her hair. The old, robust woman came in with Ella’s dress slung over her arm, aiding Ella as they slipped it over the clean skin. She then put Ella’s long, silky hair into small ringlets that were swept up to the side, a crystal butterfly pin stuck in the front, a few curls looping around her ear. As the last measure, Ella slipped on the glass slippers.

“Oh child, you look fit to be princess! If the prince don’t choose you, he be dafter than I thought he could be.” Ella smiled and dashed into the beautiful white and silver carriage, drawn by white horses in blue harness. Ella daydreamed of what would happen at the ball, would the prince notice her? Surely he would smell the dishwater on her hands. Self consciously, she sniffed her fingers. Lavender and rose wafted into her nostrils.

In fifteen minutes Ella found her self at the bottom of the stairs, a footman helping her out of her carriage.

“A mask madame?”

“Pardon?” She looked at the exquisite masks, breathless.

“This is a Masquerade, the prince demanded one. He wants his choice based on love and chemistry, not politics and looks.” The young boy held out a white mask with glass, pearls and lace strewn about it. It was obviously not an expensive mask, not like some of the ruby and emerald laden ones, or the gold leaf painted ones with sapphires and diamonds, but it matched Ella perfectly.

“Thank you.” She then went up the stairs.

It sounds like such a love story…

As soon as Ella was announced as Elizabeth Cindeirs of Chancellor Square, the whole crowd turned to look at the girl in white. Soon enough, her eyes met the princes, and he drew himself to the bottom of the stairs, taking her hand and kissing it. Without a word the band started and they danced.

It sounds like fate…

After hours of dancing, he took her beneath the stars, out in his garden, his place of thought and solace. He had confided in her so much, but she could hardly breathe a word. Either from the corset, the fact she was holding hands and flirting with the prince, or the fact that he couldn’t tell what she was. They stopped beside a large fountain, swans gliding beneath the soft spray, making them glisten from the silvery light the moon cast.

It sounds as if it were destiny…

“I feel as though I know you.” Ella stopped short, her breath shallowing, her heart speeding up.

“You do?” She guessed she sounded coy, at best raspy.

“I… don’t know why, but I feel as though I’ve known you my whole life.” He looked earnestly into her eyes, and she almost laughed. Not only was he corny, but she had ten pounds on the fact that he never would have said it to her were she in her rags.

And then he kissed her.

He stole my breath with that kiss…

“You look like an angel.” He pulled away, his eyes dark and intense.

Ella smiled and opened her mouth to speak, when the clock chimed. Quickly she glanced to it, midnight. “I must go, my Prince.”

“Wait!” she stopped.

“How will I find you, what’s your name, why must you go?” She looked at him, surprised at the tears in his eyes.

“You can find me by going to Georgington Lane, the blue house with jasmine around the door, Come at noon. Have someone ask for Ella, she’ll know. I have to go now.” The clock chimed, drowning out what he said in return. “Here.” She bent down and removed one of her shoes, “Take this. Remember, ask for Ella!” She then removed her mask and pressed it in his hands, “Remember me, my eyes. Ask for Ella.”

She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and fled through the crowd as best she could, feeling her hair fall out in bunches around her head, the butterfly had fallen out, but she caught it. She was so preoccupied with leaving she ran into Drusilla without meaning to. “Oh, I’m sorry!”

Drusilla turned to her, “No, forgive me, I didn’t see you there. I was in a hurry; we’re leaving at twelve thirty. Eating as much as I can before I go.” Drusilla grabbed her arm as she tried to flee, “You look very familiar…”

“Sorry!” Ella cried, “I must go!” She pulled free and ran, jumping into the carriage. The prince arriving shortly afterwards and watching her leave.

It had seemed so perfect, that night.

Ella pulled it off without a hitch, hiding the dress and the shoe, then going into the stables and cleaning the horse stalls, feeding the pigs and mucking around in the cellar before putting hot potatoes into pans at the foot of the beds. Ella carefully made sure to remove all makeup and ringlets before Duchess arrived.

Drusilla stormed through the door, kicking Ella in the ribs, awaking her from the fire place floor again. Ella felt a blush try to scrawl up her face as Drusilla scrutinized her, “You look nothing like the girl. How could I have thought that-”

Ella hid her smile with a frown, “What are you talking about Drusilla? I’ve just finished all my chores.” Drusilla sniffed and exclaimed her disgust and agreement. No one else had anything to say, but judging by Duchess’s withering glare at Drusilla, she wasn’t very happy for having believed her. Ella went to bed very happy and fulfilled.

The next day Ella woke up early, quietly went into the bedrooms, removed the pots of now cold potatoes, gave them to the cook and started cleaning the inside of the house. By the time Ella had finished, the girls awoke and gasped at the wonderful memories and smell of potatoes and eggs with small slices of ham. Ella’s stomach growled.

Drusilla smiled at her and gave her a small plate. Ella looked astonished, “The prince danced with me twice last night. I’m feeling very sorry for you missing it. Eat.”

Anastasia frowned, “He only danced with me once, the waltz. I stepped on his foot twice.” She wailed, laying her head on the table, “I hate the waltz!”

Ella swallowed her food down, “Thank you Lady Drusilla! I am not worthy!” She removed herself, stepping out into the fields, pulling up vegetables. She had been at it for about two hours, when a hand tapped her shoulder. She felt chills run up her spine, “I am looking for Ella… Do you know where she is?”

“Yes.” She turned around, looking the prince in the face. “Come with me.”

There was puzzlement in the Princes eyes, as if he knew… but wasn’t sure.

“I’ll take you to my step-mother, do you still have my shoe?” The prince smiled.

“Are you really Ella? Dance with me before we go.” She nodded, taking his hand in hers, and they danced to the trills of the morning bird, chickadee, and swallow, in the fresh dirt, around the vegetables. “Kiss me.”

Ella saw him convinced, and did so gladly. “My queen, marry me?”

“You’re not going to see if the shoe fits?”

“If it makes you happy, my bride to be.” He knelt in the dirt, administering the shoe to her soiled, calloused foot beneath the kitchen rags her step-mother clothed her in. “Let’s announce this to your family!”

Ella grin melted as the prince whirled her into her humble cottage. Drusilla noticed first, and glared death at Ella, Anastasia fainted after squealing, and Duchess snapped, literally.

“Prince?! What are you doing with the filthy maid?” Not waiting for an answer, she got so angry her face turned purple, storming into Ella’s face, “What have you done to him? How dare you betray me like this? You weren’t even at the ball last night!!!”

“I was at the ball, I was the woman in white…” Duchess brought her hand around with as much fury as she could muster and back handed Ella.

“Don’t lie to me Cinders Ella!! You fell asleep in the fire place, catching rats and cleaning it out, you were turning down our beds and heating them, you were at the market, cleaning the house, grooming my cat, fixing our gowns-”

“Step-mother…” Ella had tears streaming down her face, “I went to the ball, I danced with the prince. Elizabeth is the name my father gave me. I took “Cindeira” from the name you always call me…” Duchess brought her hand around again.

“Your father, that filthy man. I would have killed him myself if he wasn’t stupid enough to die on his own. I can’t believe he fell in love with me so I could raise you! You were never anything more than burden! And he was just a stupid-”

Ella was crying so hard she couldn’t hear the rest, her eyes shut tight, it was as if there was a warm blanket muffeling Duchess’s cruel words. Ella opened her eyes, and looked into the Princes. He brought a small kiss to her lips, smiling, and released her ears from his hands.

“Where’s step-mother?” The prince looked steely.

“You won’t be bothered by her ever again, I sent her far away from here. I’ll buy you dresses that you can make look beautiful, and perfumes and you can bathe every night. I promise it’ll never be like this again.” He took her into his arms and announced to his servants to get her things, she was moving in immediately.

“Who get’s the house? What happens to my friends?” Ella craned her neck to look over the princes shoulder.

“I will give it to someone who doesn’t have a house, how’s that sound? Or it could be our special get away, how’s that?”

Ella smiled, “Even better.” The ride to the palace was a dream, wrapped in the arms of her prince.

If I only knew how it would turn out to be afterwards, maybe I could have averted this disaster.

Chapter 1, End