I don't own Cinderella and all the other legal jargon.
Anyone who thought Elanor Tremaine was unable to express any emotion besides anger was wrong. Now in all fairness, that was her main emotion. But there were those rare times when she was able to express another emotion. Fear, for instance. And the only thing that brought about this radical change in personality was thunderstorms.
It was the only time Cinderella actually connected with the cruel woman that was her stepmother. She had been afraid of storms since she was a small child. But she always found safety in her father's arms. She remembered quite clearly the first thunderstorm that rolled up after her father had married her stepmother. She was six, Anastasia was six, and Drizella was eight.
They weren't afraid of the storm, slept right through it. But Cinderella woke up the first time it thundered. She lay shaking beneath her covers for a few minutes, listening as the storm grew progressively worse. When a particularly loud clap of thunder shook the chateau she jumped up and ran to her parents' bedroom. She didn't expect to see her father awake already.
Usually she had to wake him. But when another flash of lightning illuminated the room, she saw the reason why. Her stepmother was cocooned in his strong arms, shaking like a leaf. He smiled warmly at her when he saw her, and that was more than enough incentive for her to jump straight into his arms. He held her close with one arm, and with the other held his wife.
The storm never let up, but the three fell asleep there, the women safely encased in the man they both loved and trusted. The second time a storm came up it was worse than the first. She again ran to her parents' room, but this time went to the woman. The man smiled at his wife over his child's head, glad the little girl was finally trusting her stepmother. Cinderella saw none of this, as she had hidden her face in Elanor's chest.
Surprisingly, the woman calmed a little when she was faced with the task of calming down the nearly hysterical child. They once again fell asleep protected by the man of the family. Another memory that sticks out in her mind is the first storm after her father had passed away. She had just been relocated to the attic. It hadn't been too long since his passing, only three or four months.
She was sound asleep when the thunderclap woke her. The clock, when lit by the lightning, revealed it to be only eleven o'clock at night, much too late for her to be up. But she thought perhaps her stepmother was awake. Even thought she hadn't been kind to her as of late, she was an adult, and she was her family now. These thoughts in mind, she rushed into her stepmother's sleeping quarters. There was a trembling lump in the middle of the bed, and she approached cautiously.
"Stepmother?" she asked, hoping the woman would poke her head out from the bedclothes. She didn't respond. "Stepmother?" she tried again, and again she didn't respond.
Cinderella couldn't help the little yelp of fear that escaped her as the thunder crashed and lightning struck closer than before. Lady Tremaine did emerge at the noise, but she looked so far form her normal self that the child questioned for a moment whether or not it was really her. But when the next lightning flash came she could see it was indeed her stepmother. Fear shone through her eyes and without hesitation she reached out and pulled the girl down on the bed with her. At that moment, Cinderella didn't question her stepmother's odd behavior, she was just grateful for another person beside her.
She was well aware of the woman's fear of storms and knew it was almost as bad as her own. She concentrated on tucking herself as close her stepmother's body as possible. It wasn't long before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. The older woman was still trembling, and Cinderella laid a small hand on her cheek, something she had never done before. Emerald green eyes met her own baby blue in shock and fear.
Though she was terrified, the child knew she had to ease Elanor's fear.
"It's okay, Stepmother. The storm can't get us. We're safe as long as we're together," she said with a smile.
She received a smile in return. They lay there, each terrified but comforted by the other until they fell into a peaceful sleep. The next morning was drastically different. Her stepmother was cold and detached again. The only proof Cinderella had that the night's events had actually transpired and weren't a figment of her imagination was that she woke up curled into the woman the next morning. This became their routine for the next fourteen years. Her stepmother was cold and cruel to her on a daily basis, but let a storm come up and Cinderella would be right there in bed with her, each gripping the other tightly and trying to ward away the fear. The only exception to this unspoken rule was when a storm blew up during the day. The first time that happened that stood out in her memory, she'd dropped no less than two tea sets and jumped more times than she could count. But her stepmother was far worse.
She was deathly pale and her hands gripped the arms of her high backed chair so tightly that her knuckles were white. As the storm raged on with no signs of stopping, the woman grew paler and paler and her nerves were more on edge. About four o'clock, the sky turned black as midnight and lightning struck every few seconds. Thunder boomed brilliantly. Lady Tremaine began to hyperventilate, and Cinderella, who was trembling herself, noticed.
Anastasia and Drizella could care less, and ignored their mother and her obvious signs of distress.
"Stepmother, you don't look well. Perhaps you should lie down and rest for a little while." Lady Tremaine immediately understood what her stepdaughter meant and feigned illness.
"Perhaps you are right, child. I don't feel well." She jumped as she rose from her chair.
"I'll bring up some tea in a few minutes, Stepmother," Cinderella said, although both knew she would be right there beside the older woman in a matter of minutes.
The two sisters didn't inquire after their mother, simply continued reading their books. Approximately ten minutes after Elanor was upstairs, Cinderella was as well and they sat propped against the headboard of the bed, as close as they could get to the other. Cinderella was twelve now, and far too big to fit in her stepmother's lap. They remained there the rest of the afternoon until the storm blew itself out around seven. They then went back downstairs and resumed their normal attitudes.
The most recent memory that entered her mind was of last year, not long before she had married the Prince. It was two weeks before the Ball, and it was after midnight. The only reason Cinderella was still up was because her stepmother had given her a lot of extra chores that she expected to be done before morning. The woman knew she should hate her stepmother, and had several good reasons to. But she just couldn't.
She knew that the older woman had indeed loved her father, and loved her too, at one point. Maybe she was just a painful reminder of the life that could have been. And then there were the nights spent curled together, riding out bouts of thunder induced terror. When she remembered that, and sometimes saw another emotion flash in the woman's eyes, she couldn't hate her. In fact, she didn't even dislike her.
If you wanted the truth, she loved her. Loved the woman, who for so many years, helped her through the terrible storms they were both so frightened of. As she was musing through these thoughts, something outside the window caught her eye. It came again, and she recognized it as a flash of lightning. She gulped and continued on her way, desperate to make it up the stairs and into her stepmother's room before it fully developed.
She slipped inside the room just as the first peal of thunder sounded. She cringed and started trembling. Lady Tremaine sat upright in bed at the noise, eyes wild. She caught a a glimpse of her stepdaughter as the next flash of lightning died away.
"Well what are you waiting for, child?" she asked in a shaky tone. "Get over here."
The young woman obeyed quickly, wanting to escape the sense of fear choking her. As odd as it sounded, as soon as she felt the older woman's arms slide around her waist, she felt some of the fear melt away. Such a sharp contradiction to the slight fear that usually accompanied her stepmother's presence. She wrapped her own arms around the woman's waist and felt her trembling calm slightly. They lay there like that for ages, though sleep did not seem to be coming for either of them that night.
And Cinderella desperately wished for sleep, for by this point she had been up for twenty-one hours and had to get up again at five. She could feel her body protest to staying awake, but it seemed as if she couldn't close her eyes. The storm raged on with no signs of stopping. She shifted to her side and looked into emerald green eyes that showed fatigue as well. It struck her then that though her stepmother appeared as a perfect picture of graceful aging, keeping her figure and her regal air, she was almost to the age to be considered elderly.
She found herself wondering what would happen when the woman passed away. Any hopes of sleep she had were dashed after that thought. Eventually, by rubbing a soothing hand up and down the older woman's back, she was able to get her to go back to sleep. It was still storming when she rose at five, and she realized with a start that it was the first time in fourteen years she had not woken with or next to her stepmother after a storm.
Tiredly, she made the breakfast trays, fed the animals, and was gathering the trays when the bells began ringing. She gave her stepsisters their breakfast and realized that her stepmother's bell had not rung and decided to check on her. The woman was awake and trembling, and Cinderella realized that a window had been blown open by the force of the wind and that the storm could easily be heard. She rushed over and shut it quickly before seating herself on the edge of the bed. The older woman looked at her with sad eyes, and even though Cinderella didn't know what she had done, she immediately felt guilty.
"You weren't here when I woke up," the regal woman said in a whisper. "It frightened me to wake up alone. You know how I hate storms."
Cinderella leaned over and wrapped the woman in a hug, something she rarely did. "I'm sorry Stepmother, but I knew Anastasia and Drizella would be waking up soon. Besides, I saw no point in laying in bed and staring at the ceiling when there were chores to be done." She stifled a yawn as she remembered her sleepless night. The young woman jumped when the next round of thunder ripped through the air, louder than most of the storm.
Her stepmother laid a surprisingly gentle hand on her arm. "I'm fine, it's just...well, the storm and...you know how I get." The older woman nodded. "Perhaps I'd better bring you your breakfast. Then I have the laundry to do, and it is a perfect day for it."
With that she stood and resumed her daily routine. She insisted her stepmother stay in bed because of how she tended to behave when she was downstairs during a day like this, and the woman didn't protest because she hadn't slept well the previous night. But she did stand at the window and watch as her stepdaughter went to the creek in the thunderstorm and did her laundry. Cinderella's chores were finished in record time, and before three o'clock she was back in her stepmother's bedroom, curled under the blankets with the woman. The storm and lack of sleep had taken a toll on the young woman, making her much more jumpy than normally was the case on a day like this.
Cinderella relished the warmth emanating from the other woman. Today's rain was cold, and she remembered its icy fingers as it ran down the back of her neck and soaked her through earlier in the day. She shivered involuntarily at the memory. But she was also trembling from fear, so it was hard to notice the extra motion. But her Lady Tremaine noticed and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her closer to her body. And finally, as the storm was ending, Cinderella fell asleep.
The young princess lay in the castle remembering these things, hoping to distract herself from the particularly horrible storm raging outside the castle at that moment. She placed a hand on her stomach absently, wondering if all this stress and fear was good for the baby. She wasn't too far along, only a month or two, but there was already a small bulge. She trembled as the thunder crashed again. Normally, her husband was there to comfort her, but he and his father were away on business to another kingdom.
Thank goodness Prudence and the Grand Duke were running things because at this rate she'd fall asleep in her breakfast. 'I wonder how Stepmother is handling this,' she thought as she rubbed circles on her stomach. Her eyes widened. 'Stepmother! This isn't the first thunderstorm we've had, but it's certainly the worst.'
'How could I have left her there like that? Knowing how terrified she is?' Perhaps it was the lack of sleep or the onslaught of memories that made her get up, slide on her shoes, run out to the stables and saddle a horse. She was right, the storm was horrible. She couldn't see more than five feet in front of her face.
If she didn't know the way to the chateau by heart she would have surely gotten lost. The ride took a little longer than usual, though she galloped all the way. She remembered on her way there that Anastasia had married the baker, and that Drizella had married some lord. At first, she was glad because she wouldn't have to worry about waking them up. But then she began to feel even more guilty. Not that the sisters would have helped their mother had they still lived there, but at least the elderly woman wouldn't be alone. Cinderella put the horse in the barn and entered through the kitchen. She was soaking wet and winded, but didn't slow down on her way to her stepmother's bedroom. She opened the door without hesitation and went straight to the woman curled up and trembling beneath the covers. She noticed the coldness of the room, and realized the woman hadn't been able to chop any firewood.
She made a mental note to see to it she got a maid first thing the next morning. She sat on the bed beside the woman, who tensed and shifted further away from the unknown presence. She laid a hand on what she assumed to be her back and felt the slight jump she gave.
"Stepmother. Stepmother, come out. It's just me, Cinderella."
Lady Tremaine slowly pulled down the covers. "What are you doing here?" she asked, not in anger, but in disbelief.
"The storm," the young woman replied, and that was all it took for the older woman to slide over.
She slid off her shoes, and laid down beside her stepmother. The woman gasped as Cinderella's cold skin touched her own, but pulled her close anyway. Cinderella cooperated, grateful for the heat as she was now shivering from the cold air in the room.
"Why are you wet?"
She blushed, though of course her stepmother couldn't see it. "I rode on one of the palace horses. I came to make sure you were okay."
The words caused Lady Tremaine to realize what she had known all along: she had been treating her stepdaughter unfairly all these years. She really did love her, but she reminded her too much of her beloved Charles, who died a mere year after they wed. But she saw now that she shouldn't have taken her grief out on his daughter, the only piece of him she had left. She looked at the woman beside her who shivered with not only fear, but cold from being in the rain. She truly didn't mind that the sheets were wet, they could be changed later.
But she was concerned for her stepdaughter. The room was cold and the girl could easily catch a chill. But Cinderella was gradually becoming sleepy, finally comforted by the knowledge of how normal this was. But her stepmother felt she needed to apologize.
"Ella," she called the girl by her real name. This caused the blonde to wake up. She hadn't been called that in years. "I want to apologize for everything I've ever said or done to you these past fifteen years. I really do love you, you just remind me so much of your father that it hurts sometimes."
"But that is no excuse for the way I've treated you. And you've been nothing but kind to me. For years you would help me with my fear of thunderstorms, and yes I know that it helped you as well. But what you did tonight, that was what finally made me come to my senses. I mean, child, you rode through a storm just to make sure I was okay."
"That is undoubtedly the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. And I just want to tell you that I'm sorry and I love you."
"Oh, Stepmother, that's all I've ever wanted, for you to say you loved me," Cinderella said with tears sliding down her cheeks. They reflected in the lightning, and Lady Tremaine reached over and wiped them away. Cinderella fully forgave her stepmother, and decided she should tell her she was pregnant, since she was going to be the only grandmother her child had. "I forgive you, and I think you should know- I'm pregnant."
The older woman's hand went down to cradle the princess' stomach. She could just feel the tiny bump. "This is wonderful, Ella."
"Perhaps you could move to the castle now. Or I could just get you a maid," the young woman said with a yawn.
"I would like that very much," Elanor replied. "But now is not the time to discuss such things. Now is the time for all expectant mothers to be asleep."
"Goodnight, Stepmother," Cinderella said, and kissed the woman on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Ella," she replied, placing her first kiss on Cinderella's forehead since her father died fifteen years ago.
And Cinderella thought as she fell asleep that perhaps it wasn't too late to have a loving relationship with her stepmother.
AN: Okay, this is just a piece of fluff because I believe that if you live with someone as long as Lady Tremaine did with Cinderella, you can't not love them at least a little. This was definitely not supposed to be eight and a half pages, but it was supposed to be a one shot. R&R