Cinderella has to be one of my favorite fairy tales. I just recently watched the cartoon, and saw how much was missing in the way of characterization, so I decided to write my own version. I've added some twists and more to the story line, so I hope you enjoy it.
More chapters to be uploaded later this week.
Dream Come True
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Chapter 1
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Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny Kingdom; peaceful, prosperous and rich in romance and tradition. Here in a stately chateau there lived a widowed gentleman and his little daughter Cinderella.
Although he was a kind and devoted father and gave his beloved child every luxury and comfort, still he felt she needed a mother's care. And so he married again, choosing for his second wife a woman of good family with two daughters just Cinderella's age by the names Anastasia and Drizella.
It was upon the untimely death of this good man, however, that the stepmother's true nature was revealed. Cold, cruel and bitterly jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty, she was grimly determined to forward the interests of her own two awkward daughters.
Thus, as time went by, the chateau fell into disrepair, for the family fortunes were squandered upon the vain and selfish stepsisters while Cinderella was abused, humiliated and finally forced to become a servant in her own house. And yet through it all, Cinderella remained ever gentle and kind, for with each dawn she found new hope that someday her dreams of happiness would come true.
A kind, soft face floated before her. She reached out and touched the strong jaw. She felt character behind each wrinkle. She felt everything--the hard work, the love lost, the love found.
"My dearest Cinderella," her father's deep voice vibrated from his throat into her hand.
"Yes?" she whispered anxiously, her voice small and childish.
"Cinderella, one day you'll meet the man you love..." he smiled sweetly into her soft face, pulling her hand gently from his cheek and grasping it firmly with his own.
"Will he be a prince," she felt her eyes widening with innocent curiosity, "like in a fairy tale?" His soft blue eyes looked down at her with a touch of pity, and he shook his head silently, a sad smile twitching across his thin lips.
"My dearest..." he turned his face away from her and let his fair eyes rest on the receding darkness outside her window. "Life is not a fairy tale, and neither is love." he lowered his head and closed his eyes. "You will learn this in time."
Her mind filled with confusion and thousands of questions she did not know the meaning to. She could not understand what he meant, and secretly hoped she never would. Her father's unhappiness could not be hidden from her, even as sheltered and innocent as she was. She noticed how her father looked at her stepmother. His glances never contained anything more than simple acknowledgement of the woman's presence. She noticed the distance they kept between each other, and it hurt her to see her father's pride and confidence slip between his fingers with every cutting comment from her stepmother.
Her father sighed, and his thin shoulders rose and fell with effort. He was not well. She reached a hand out and touched the wool of his coat. He flinched and turned towards her, wiping a tear quickly from his cheek.
"Why are you sad?" she noticed the strained smile that spread across his pale cheeks. It hurt to look at him, but her naïve heart kept her from understanding, from feeling too deeply the same pain he felt.
"You know what?" his eyes brightened and his smile broadened in earnest.
"What?" excitement churned in her stomach with her father's sudden burst of glee.
"You will marry a prince." his eyes glittered as she uttered an infectious giggle. "And you'll have the grandest wedding in all the kingdom!" he leaned down and tickled her until her stomach hurt with laughter. He stood and walked to the side of the bed as her giggles subsided. "Now, sleep my darling. Morning is almost here." he kissed her on the forehead, and her eyes closed on their own. His footsteps faded slowly.
She would wait until he reached the door, and then she would open her eyes and sit up. It was a game…a game they used to play…
Chirps of birds filled her ears with what sounded like demands and simple, polite requests for her to get up, but she simply pulled her pillow over her head to try and smother the sounds. Flapping wings beat through the air as birds flitted through her open window. A tiny lovebird landed on her bed and peered under the pillow bravely, chirping in earnest.
She opened her eyes and startled the little bird. She smiled and sat up quickly, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. The birds cheeped in surprise and flew to the windowsill. The one who had flown under her pillow bumped into the bed frame in its rush to get away. She picked up the dazed bird gently and laughed.
"Well, serves you right, spoiling people's best dreams." the birds chirped in earnest this time. The tiny creature in her hands looked up at her and blinked at the sound of her soft voice. She continued talking as if he'd replied to her. "Yes, I know it's a lovely morning, but it was a lovely dream too." she sighed and set the bird down on her bed. The bird regained its composure and flew to the window with the others. She watched as the birds immediately involved themselves in a flurry of chatter. She had no one to talk to, and they served as her only company, so why feel ashamed?
Cinderella stood reluctantly and hummed to herself as she made the bed. It was a daily routine she clung to--the only pleasant way she found to start her mornings. She opened her mouth and let words flow out in a sweet melody, a song her mother used to sing to her. The birds recognized the tune and began to chirp along with her.
"A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartaches, whatever you wish for, you keep. Have faith in your dreams and someday…" she paused, and the birds finished the melody for her. She smiled and tucked the covers under her pillow, moving to undress and take a quick bath.
"No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing…" a cardinal flew over and plopped into her bath water, splashing cool droplets all over her wings in earnest. "Shoo! That's my water! You may have your bath later, Lady Red." she flapped her hands at the protesting cardinal and dipped the rag into the water, squeezing it full. The chilly water dripped down her bare skin and made her shiver. She scrubbed at her skin gingerly, trying to wipe away all traces of exhaustion.
She hummed to herself, drying her hair with a damp rag. Cool air blew in from the open window, and she hurried to put her clothes on. She stood in front of her small mirror and brushed the knots out of her damp, mousy brown hair.
"The dream that you wish will come true--"
BONG!
"Ack!" The tower clock at the palace startled her, and she dropped the brush on her dresser. The birds fluttered about nervously.
BONG!
"Oh, that old clock…old killjoy." Cinderella picked up her brush once more and braced the rattling mirror and herself for more of the clock's loud protests.
BONG!
"I hear you, I hear you. 'Get up!' you say, 'Time to start another day.'"
BONG!
She finished brushing her hair, and tied it back with a ribbon. "Even he orders me around." the birds fluttered about, chirping and squawking at the loud chimes of the clock along with her.
BONG!
She looked in the mirror deliberately, staring into her eyes, speaking both to herself and the birds. "Well, there's one thing--they can't order me to stop dreaming." she moved over to the window, flashes of the pleasant face from her dream wafting into her mind's eye as the scents of the morning filled her nose.
BONG!
"Maybe someday…the dreams I wish will come true." she whistled to the birds cheerily. "Off to start another day. Goodbye!" she waved and they all fluttered away, chirping and singing the melody to her song.
Her cheery smile faded as the dim prospects of the morning invaded her otherwise wonderful day. She opened the door to the stairwell hesitantly, stifling a sneeze as the dank dusty smell of the stairs rose up to her nostrils. She closed the door and made her way reluctantly down flight after flight of rickety wooden stairs, marveling at why someone would construct such a labyrinth of stairs just to reach the simple room she owned. It was impractical--and she seemed to get enough exercise without having to run up and down these stairs morning and evening.
A horde of squeaking mice jumped up between the stairs and she nearly tripped.
"What's wrong?" her voice echoed loudly against the walls of the tower.
The mice looked up at her frantically and raced down the steps, urging her to follow. A surprising amount of sympathy welled up in her throat. They weren't huge rats, by any means. She let them stay in the house since they hardly made a mess, and she couldn't help but find them rather appealing, with their bright beady eyes and innocent, twitching noses.
She reached the bottom of one landing, gasping for air. Her heart jolted as her eyes fell on the cause of all the mayhem.
"How could they?" she stepped towards the mouse cage, the other mice moving quickly to the side, away from her stomping feet. "She must have put this out…and I asked her specifically not to." Her stepmother's leering face appeared in her mind. She clenched her fists in anger.
Cinderella lifted the latch to the cage, but the mouse inside refused to move. "Oh, you poor thing…" she turned the cage toward the other mice who shied away from the ominous trap. "You better explain things to him, Jacques."
A particularly bold mouse, which she'd become quite fond of, presented himself in front of the others and stood on his hind legs, sniffing anxiously towards the newcomer. She could trust him to help the poor, trembling mouse in any way possible. The small rotund creature inside the cage quickly warmed up to Jacques.
"I think I'll call him Gus. What do you think?" she held out her hand to the small mouse, and he leaned over, biting her index finger gently. "Yes. That suits you very well indeed." a small grin creased her tired lips before she stood and abandoned her dear friends with a heavy heart.
Cinderella flew through the door once she reached the bottom landing. Her heart quickened with every tap of her shoe against the marble floor. She dreaded this part of the morning. A small sliver of light crept across the dusty carpet as she opened her stepmother's door. The light fell on a plump, pampered cat that slept in his cushioned bed. He opened his eyes and yawned at her.
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty." she whispered. "Come kitty. Come on Lucifer." the cat stood and turned his back on her, pretending to go back to sleep. "Lucifer!" she said firmly. He turned his furry face to her, irritation written on every whisker and glint of his eye. "Come here!"
The cat jumped down and slowly walked through the door, pausing in the doorway to aggravate her. She shut the door firmly, bumping his backside and giving him a proper face plant into the floor. He straightened and seemed to gain his composure, prancing in front of her with a waving tail in the air.
"I'm sorry if your Highness objects to an early breakfast. It's certainly not my idea to feed you first. It's orders." she opened the door and waited for Lucifer to stroll in as slowly as he pleased. "Come on." she ordered irritably. He always seemed to ruin her mornings.
She stepped down the stairs that led into the kitchen and was startled by the sound of a whimpering dog. The door slammed shut as she bounded down the steps only to find Bruno on the floor, twitching in the midst of a dream. She breathed a sigh of relief. He awoke and sat up anxiously, tapping his tail in greeting. She walked over and bent down, patting him on the head.
"Good morning, Bruno." he yawned lazily at her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a proper hug. She breathed in deeply and rubbed her nose into the sweet scent of his fur. A wet tongue splashed across her neck, and she yelped in surprise, jerking into an upright position. She chuckled at his soft eyes that begged for more attention.
"I'd love to stay with you all day, love, but the cat must be fed, and other chores must be done..." she kissed him on the head and turned to pour milk in Lucifer's bowl.
A deep growl resonated from behind her, and a cat screamed in pain. She whipped around to see Bruno standing above a pitifully whimpering cat.
"Bruno!" He stopped growling instantly and turned his watery brown eyes to her beseechingly.
"Come on, now. Outside." she opened the door, and he walked out, his tail between his legs. "I know it isn't easy, but at least we should try to get along." She smiled apologetically after Bruno.
She turned on her heel towards the cat and smacked Lucifer's bowl onto the floor in front of him, making an extra effort to splash some of the milk onto him. "And that goes for you as well, your Majesty." The cat's glare followed her as she put on her shawl and grabbed a bag of cornmeal.
The wind chilled her bones as she took a step out the door. Her worn shoes crunched on the hard frost in a patch of crabgrass next to the steps, and she felt her heart sink as she realized that cold weather meant she'd have to start chopping firewood. She pushed the thoughts aside as an anxious rooster acknowledged her presence with a loud squawk and a strut in her direction. She threw a generous handful of corn kernels it the rooster pen before making her rounds to the other animals.
"Breakfast!" she called. Chickens ran from their houses and out into the morning air. "Breakfast everyone, come on out now." she threw the corn on the ground for the chickens until the bag in her hands was nearly emptied. A flurry of movement near her feet caught her attention, and she looked down to see all the mice fighting for pieces of corn from the selfish birds.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I almost forgot!" tipping the sack over, she emptied the rest of the corn kernels onto the ground. "There you are." She shooed the chickens away into their houses and moved towards the stable to feed the horse.
"Good morning, Delbert!" she greeted her old horse cheerfully.
He snorted and rubbed his soft nose against her hand. She closed her eyes and let her fingers caress his familiar face. His soft ears and the hair that grew between them, his course face and long eyelashes…they reminded her of the times she'd spent with him as a child. He'd been a gift to her from her father when she was only seven years old. Cinderella cherished Delbert with all her heart, since he was the only pleasant memory from her childhood after her seventh birthday. Delbert pushed her with his head and whinnied impatiently.
"All right, all right…" she heaved a sigh and filled his box with fresh oats.
The ripe stench of horse manure reached her nose, and she cringed inwardly. Even though she'd been responsible for the old bag of bones since a child, the smell of manure still irked her. It was a messy job, and soon she was sweating despite the cold air. A swift breeze greeted her as she strolled out of the musty stable. The sweat was frozen into little ice crystals on her cheeks by the time she reached the water trough.
Cinderella pocketed the scrub brush and heaved the wooden trough onto its side. She realized with a twinge of annoyance that the uppermost layer of the water was frozen, and in her frustration she merely beat at the ice with the hard end of the scrub brush until it gave way. Grunting, she picked up the heavy water trough and walked slowly over to the well, her hands sore from the weight and the ice-cold water that constantly dripped on her hands. Her breath caught in her chest as she stumbled clumsily over a tree root. She cried out in frustration as her numb hands tried desperately to grasp the heavy load on her shoulders, but her foot was caught beneath the root.
Something moved in the corner of her eye, but she could not turn and look, too concentrated as she was to catch her balance. Her numb fingers would not allow her to let go of the wooden trough, nor would they allow her to readjust it, to keep it from sliding down her arm. The trough toppled out of her arms and she fell along with it. She closed her eyes, wincing, preparing herself for a hard blow against the sharp side of the wood and for the snap of her ankle--but a strong arm had wrapped itself around her waist, stopped her fall. She opened her eyes to see the trough merely inches from her head.
"That was close…" a deep voice said behind her. The arm tensed, and she was lifted to her feet.
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