Chapter One - The Royal Ball
Have you ever wandered what if Cinderella was a slob? If her step-mother was lovely? If her two ugly step-sisters were the town beauties?
"Mindy!" Mother shouted. Mindy clomped down the stairs, to glumly face her mother.
Her mother was the sort of mother which everyone dreamed of having. Her grey hair was piled up into a bun and she always wore beautiful, floral dresses which were never quite complete without a floral apron tied around her waist.
"What?" She asked and plonked into the nearest chair.
"Dinner is ready. Can you call Ella and Antonia down please?" Mother asked, whilst laying the table with home-woven placemats.
"Why me?" Mindy asked, moaning. "You called me down, so you can call them down too."
"Daniella, Antonia, dinner is ready!" Mother shouted, wearily up the stairs.
No sound was heard as they gracefully waltzed down the stairs.
Daniella was the eldest of the three, she had blonde, long hair which reached halfway down her back. Her brown eyes never needed any make-up because they were surrounded by thick eyelashes which defined here eyes well. She was thin and the dresses which she wore were pretty as well as complementing her figure. Antonia, on the other hand had brown hair which was often tied into a bun which sat on top of hair, though some stray pieces stayed untucked and curled round her pretty face. Her brown eyes were nearly identical to Daniella's though she always had more of an innocent, younger gleam to them.
"Yes, Mother?" Daniella asked, politely.
"Dinner is ready, may you get the drinks?" Mother asked Daniella, gesturing towards the glasses cabinet.
She turned to Antonia, who was smoothening down her skirt. "Antonia, may you get the mail please?" Mother asked her.
"Of course Mother." Antonia replied and scurried off to get the mail.
Once everyone had done their part to contribute to the meal, they sat down and Mother ladled the casserole onto plates.
"Yuck! What's this slop?" Mindy asked, poking the chicken with her knife.
"It's chicken casserole. Now Mindy, don't play with your food." Mother told her step-daughter.
Mother raised Mindy from the age of 9 years old when she married her father, who was the total opposite of Mindy. He was handsome, charming and polite and Mindy was the contrast of her father. Her father died when Mindy was 12 years old and now at 15, she was still the same, horrible girl. Mindy never addressed Mother as the name Mother, she doesn't want to call her Mrs. Shallmore or Sally or Mother, so she simply doesn't want to address her by any particular title, to be honest, Mother thinks that her second name is What.
"Antonia, be a darling and pass me the mail." Mother said, wearily rubbing her forehead.
Antonia passed the mail to her Mother who flicked through. "Bill, bill, bill, bill, bill, bill, bill, ah! This looks interesting." She quickly opened the letter and read it hastily.
"Daniella! Antonia!" Mother said excitedly. "Mindy." She said, less excitedly.
"What Mother?" Daniella asked.
"We have an invitation! To the Royal Ball!" She said, handing the letter to her eldest daughter.
"Dear Miss. D. Eastwood, Miss. A. Eastwood and Miss. M. Shallmore.
I beg you to attend my royal ball. Friends and family are welcome also. At the Royal Ballroom at 6:37 p.m precisely on the 14th of July.
Dress code: Black Tie." Daniella read, her voice growing more and more excited the further she read.
"Mother! Do you know what that means?" Antonia asked her mother.
"That you have been invited to the royal ball! Mother replied, clapping her hands together in delight.
"And that we can go with princes!" Daniella said.
"And then we can live happily ever after!" Antonia finished.
Mindy made a face. "Why would you ever want to get married? Men are pathetic! They're lazy, annoying and down right smelly." Mindy said, slouching in her chair further.
"Mindy, don't be rude now. You are going to the ball, wether you like it or not. You are 18 and you haven't even found half a true love. After dinner, I will arrange something for you." Mother snapped, losing it with her step-daughter.
"Well, I'm finished now. I'm not eating this slop!" Mindy picked up her plate and threw the whole thing in.
"Mindy!" Mother shouted, standing up only to be faced with her step-daughter's back which was leaving out the dining room door. Mother remained standing until she heard the back door shut. She sat down, head in hands and sighed.
"What am I going to do with her? No-one will ever love her." Mother complained.
Daniella patted her mother on the back, comfortingly. "Never mind her. If she doesn't want to get married, that's her problem." Ella said, glancing at Antonia almost signaling for her to say something also.
'Yeah! She's a slob!" Antonia added, unhelpfully, only gaining a disapproving look from her mother.
"Well, that's where you two come in." Mother said, sitting up that little bit straighter.