Cinderella, with a Twist
"Where on earth are you going?! You haven't polished my shoes yet, brought the dirty laundry out, OR brought me my tea!!! HURRY UP!!!"
Penny flinched. Cinderella was always yelling at her, from the time she was born. Her mother never saw blinded by her love for M. Raquel, Cinderella's father, only her sister Penniella noticed. Penniella, her twin, who was just as badly abused as she was. Those weren't there real names, Penny and Penniella, their real names were Clara and Antoinette. However, Cinderella liked to call them that, believing that they were both worthless, like pennies, worthless.
Frantically looking for a cloth, Penny began to shine the shoes that Cinderella was going to wear that day, and then looking at the other 102 pairs she decided to simply polish the dirtier looking ones. Scrubbing with all her might, blisters began to form all over her hands, and blood began to slowly ooze out of them, like the juice being squeezed out of a lemon, the blood squeezed out of her hands. And finally her hands raw she decided to take a break, slowly she snuck downstairs.
"Oh Antoinette! Where has mother gone?" she asked, her sister.
"She's out with M. Raquel again. You should know that, they are always going out somewhere with one another, unless he has gone to a meeting of some sort and mother is home resting. Oh, but Clara, what happened to your hands!!!" She exclaimed, noticing the blood all over Clara's hands and over the cloth that she held.
"Oh. I had to polish Cinderella's shoes, my hands got a little bloody is all," soaking them in the bucket of water, Clara looked down at her worn hands. Worn from so much work. She hated to see her sister get so worked up about these things, bloody hands, sicknesses, and constant yawning, and bags under her eyes. Any change in her health and Antoinette picked up on it instantly. What she didn't seem to understand was that putting up a fight would only mean more punishment later, more beatings, more blood, so what was the point.
"Oh, sister!" Antoinette cried, "Here, let me wrap them in this cloth. It is one of mother's I'm sure she won't mind if we use it," slowly and carefully Antoinette began wrapping the white cloth around Clara's bruised hands. And chiding her for working so hard when it was really unnecessary.
The grandfather clock chimed. Bong Bong Bong…as the sun began to sink in the sky. Clara, and Antoinette worked tirelessly in the kitchen, Cinderella sat in her room beautifying herself, Madame Raquel sat in the parlor sewing, while her husband began to sift through the mail.
"Hmm….this is interesting, a letter addressed from the palace." Looking mysteriously at the envelope he wondered what it could be. The palace rarely sent out non-business letters, and this was clearly not a business letter because it had not been broughten to him in person by a servant.
Hearing him, his wife looked up, "From the palace? Well, go on, open it, it surely must be some good news."
M. Raquel slowly opened the vanilla envelope.
"Well, what is it?" his wife asked, laying down her stitching.
"It is an invitation to the Prince's Ball. Addressed to all young ladies of the house hold, for he will be choosing his bride that night. Hmm…an interesting way of picking a bride," M. Raquel commented.
"Oh, a ball, well, we must tell the girls, perhaps we can go to town tomorrow to get some dresses for the girls. They will of course need new ones for such an eminent occasion," Md. Raquel smiled, cheerfully, at the prospect of another day in town, and picking out various fabrics, she always loved ordering new gowns.