Chapter 1: The Conflict In Anastasia

This is the story of how my stepsister, Anastasia Tremaine finally broke out of her mother's shell and helped me to fix my happy ending, when she tried to take it from me, and how she finally found her own true love. It all began two years ago. For many years, Lady Tremaine and my two Stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia had both treated me horribly. The morning after the ball, my psychopath of a stepmother had now stolen the Fairy Godmother's wand, rewound my 'happy ending' to the moment her troubles began, and used it to enlarge my glass slipper in order to fit on Anastasia's foot. She feared I could go after Kit, so she tried to pre-empt my efforts by altering the Kit's memory to convince him that he danced with Anastasia. However, Anastasia was already starting to wonder if what she was doing was trying to do was genuinely right. Eventually, Jaq and Gus found me and explained everything. Eventually, Jaq and Gus recovered the wand, but not before Lady Tremaine uncovered me. 'You're more persistent than I thought, Cinderella', said Tremaine. 'I can't allow you to get away with this', I replied with a stern expression. 'We already have', she replied, smugly. 'I don't think so, WOMAN', I retorted. For the first time in my life, I was rude to my stepmother, and with good reason. I managed to recover the wand and almost managed to undo the spell, only to be narrowly caught by Tremaine. I managed to grace my hand over Kit's, saying he was under a spell. 'But of course she's lying! You're not under a spell, and I want that lying, thieving, insolent little madam exiled from the kingdom', barked Tremaine. But I think the Prince must have known something was wrong. Anastasia looked on, now starting to feel guilty for going along with Tremaine. Kit, meanwhile was escorted to see the mice, who explained the indoctrination job that had been performed on him by Lady Tremaine. He rushed off to save me from being banished and narrowly managed to board the ship I was on. We touched hands, and the magic faded away. Our love had indeed become too strong for even magic. 'Will you marry me, Cinderelly?', he asked. 'Yes, but actually, it's Cinderella. I take it the mice told you who I was?', I replied. 'Yes, they did', he responded, as we embraced.

Unfortunately for both of us, the Prince had been clocked by Lady Tremaine. Having realized the magic hadn't worked on him, she set about making one final ditch attempt to land Anastasia with the Prince. By now, having realized the Prince truly loved me, Anastasia knew that we were truly meant to be from the beginning, and that she only wanted to be loved for herself. She wasn't even sure if she truly loved the Prince, but she was too afraid to admit it, for fear of infuriating the rest of the Tremaine household. The King was informed of Lady Tremaine's terrible act and ordered the the entire household to be arrested. Lady Tremaine used the wand to teleport the Tremaine family into hiding, just as the guards burst in. As I prepared for my wedding, Lady Tremaine and Lucifer emerged from the shadows, and then, she summoned a visibly nervous Anastasia. Tremaine explained that she had reversed my happily ever after in order to land Anastasia with the Prince, and said that the Prince would be very happy living with this pseudo-Cinderella that she had created, as he would have no idea it was Anastasia. She said that Anastasia had taken the Fairy Godmother's wand because she claimed it would answer to their prayers; she could have a love of her own, and Drizella and Lady Tremaine could have riches and power. I was horrified by the very idea, and I knew Anastasia was feeling apprehensive about marrying the Prince, so I tried to turn her over. 'But, is this, Anastasia? Is this what you really want, to reverse my happy ending to gain your own?', I asked, in an effort to change her mind. 'I want what you had', she replied, broadening her mother's malicious grin. I could see her nervously looking to Lady Tremaine, and realized something was definitely going through her mind. 'But do you truly love him?', I asked, making one final effort to turn her over. 'I…I…', she began to respond. Fearing I could change Anastasia's heart, Tremaine was quick to take action. She used the wand to teleport me into a twisted pumpkin carriage, along with Jaq and Gus. She transformed Lucifer into a human and made him the driver. Tremaine's plan was to have Lucifer take the three of us to our doom, while Anastasia took my place. Jaq, Gus and I managed to conquer over the carriage and threw Lucifer off. 'Bad kitty!', I growled, as he plunged into the river below. 'What're you gonna do, Cinderelly?', asked Gus. 'Well, I'm not gonna miss my own wedding', I told him. I rushed back to my wedding where Anastasia was about to be landed, or in Lady Tremaine's case, hitched with the Prince.

By now, having seen Anastasia's apprehension, I was starting to wonder whether she truly loved the Prince, or whether she was being forced to marry Kit against her will. I was now feeling more willing than ever to take a stand against my Stepmother; she may have used magic to turn back the hands of time and undo my happy ending, but I would now fight to the last to restore it. Whilst I had yet to discover whether or not Anastasia truly loved Kit, I knew there was something going through her mind. 'Come on, Major, we're almost there!', I encouraged him, as we neared the palace. We could hear trumpets sounding. I knew, by that signal, that the wedding was about to start, and Anastasia would have to make the life-changing choice of either marrying the Prince for her mother, or giving it all up for me, and having to face the wrath of Lady Tremaine. 'But what should we do if Anastasia doesn't love Princey?', asked Jaq. 'Well, if it turns out to be the case that Anastasia doesn't love the Prince, I'll definitely be in for a shock; and I may have to protect her from Lady Tremaine; I could see Anastasia nervously looking at her mother when I asked her if she truly loved Kit', I answered. 'And if that isn't the case?', asked Gus. 'If her desire for love is strong enough for her to say 'I do', I'll have to stop the marriage myself. In any case, we need to stop this wedding', I told him, as we passed through the castle gates.

At the wedding, Anastasia was becoming increasingly uneasy and reluctant. She was about to have everything she thought she ever wanted, love, riches, and even beauty, but she wasn't herself and she wanted someone to love her for who she was, not as someone else. By now, she wasn't even sure if she would be happy or if she even loved Kit. The King walked Anastasia down the aisle. When she reached Kit, she was able to see Drizella and Tremaine, as they waited for her, disguised as me, to exchange her vow with Kit. I made it back to the palace and saw the two guards standing at the door, both of whom were quickly dealt with, thanks to Jaq and Gus. They crawled up their uniforms to distract them. I then sneaked into the chapel and made it to the part where the Priest said 'Do you, your highness take Cinderella to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and cherish as long as you both shall live?'. 'I do', answered Kit. 'And do you, Cinderella take Prince Kit to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and cherish as long as you both shall live?', the Priest asked. 'I…I…', Anastasia began to answer. The rest of the Tremaine family were waiting on pins and needles for Anastasia to say 'I do'. Their adrenaline levels shot up when they saw me approaching the altar; they were convinced that Lucifer would've disposed of me, but they were shocked to find I had managed to escape. As I drew closer to the altar, Anastasia grasped Kit's hand, unsure whether she would truly feel a special connection to him. She didn't. It finally dawned on Anastasia that she did not truly love Kit. She looked to her right and saw me standing just a few meters from her. Anastasia looked back to Kit and noticed his expression of unease, and then she hastily looked back to me, this time looking me dead in the eye, as I looked back at her. I thought I would have to shut the wedding down all on my own, without even Jaq or Gus, but I arrived just in time...to be stopped. 'I…DON'T', she said, to my amazement. I gasped at Anastasia's reply. Prior to arriving at the Chapel, I was convinced that I would have to stop the wedding myself, but I had arrived just in time to witness Anastasia refusing to marry Kit, to my astonishment. Anastasia gazed at me with a look of sheer guilt on her face, as Kit looked to his left and saw me; the real Cinderella standing only a few meters away from him...

Cast:
Jennifer Hale: Cinderella (Narrator)
Chris Daniel Barnes: Kit
Tress MacNeille: Anastasia
Russi Taylor: Drizella and Fairy Godmother
Susanne Blakeslee: Lady Tremaine
Andre Stojka: The King

(I decided to list the cast just for the sake of doing so)