Disclaimer: I don't own Ever After. I only own this Fanfic and Danielle's thoughts in it and what's not in the movie.
My name is Danielle De Barbarac, I'm eight years old, and I love my father, Auguste, very much. We read together whenever he is home. He has grey hair and is very tall, to me at least. I have long, pretty straight auburn hair that comes a little past my shoulders. I'm a pretty average height for my age. Our two maids, Louise and Paulette, are always trying to keep me clean and looking nice, but I always seem to get dirty and soiled. Gustave doesn't help. He's a boy, my age and height, with shorter hair, only to about his ears. He has darker blonde hair, and is skinny, like me. Louise and Paulette look a bit older, but then so does Father. But he's coming home today! And, he's bringing three more people with him! I'm so excited! So excited that I can't sit still while Paulette and Louise are getting me ready, my hair, my dress, everything has to be perfect before he gets back. I was standing in my bedroom. My bed is big, and has beautiful sheets and covers on it. There's a mirror in my room, too, and all sorts of books, the ones that Father brings home from his travels with him. Back to getting ready, though. I was standing there, both of them getting me ready. They had braided my hair in a strip on top like a headband, and my dress was white underneath a dark over-jumper type thing.
"Oh, Paulette, it's just like Christmas! I get a mother, and sisters, all in one day!" I said, and then ran over to the mirror.
"Child, your father arrives any moment!" cried Paulette. She rushed over to where I was. Louise commented, "The master deserves some happiness after all these years, raising up the child on his own."
I sat playing with my hair as Paulette fixed my dress. "I hope they like me," I said.
"Oh, they'll love you," said Louise, "just be the little angel I know's in there somewhere," she finished, lightly tapping her finger on my nose.
"And don't go chewing on the bones at dinner and give yourself away," added Paulette. "Oh, hold still!" She cried as I raced towards the window. I had heard Gustave's signal: stones at the window.
"Gustave, I told you! Not today," I chided.
"You look like a girl!" he replied, shocked by my appearance.
"That's what I am, half-wit!" I said, annoyed.
"Yea, but today you look it," he said.
"Boy or girl, I can still whip you!" I said, chin held high. I was ready for a fight.
"Ha!" he cried, running around the corner of the house. I turned away from the window, rushed past my bed, through the doorway, down the stairs, and out the front door to find Gustave.
As I rounded the corner, I saw Gustave waiting for me with both fists full of mud. Some had dripped out of his hands and onto his pants. "Surprise," he yelled, an evil glint in his eye.
"I don't think so!" I cried, ducking as he threw the clods. They barely missed me. While I was doubled over, I grabbed some chunks of mud of my own: a huge clod in each hand. I jumped up. "Ha!" I yelled, and chucked the mud.
Pretty brilliant attack, with the element of surprise, I thought. The only problem was, he had also grabbed mud while I was down.
"AAH!" I cried, trying to dodge at the last second. The clod barely hit the side of my face. I looked back at Gustave, a cruel look on my face that said 'this means war!'. Then the real fight began. We both picked up large quantities of mud and threw it wildly, not looking up to see if our throws were accurate. As soon as the mud left our hands, we bent down to get more ammunition. Most of my shots hit home, while his didn't. Also, he's really bad at dodging. Soon we were both covered with mud, him more so than me.