A/N So yea, this story is just a mix of the movie Maid in Manhatten, my personal experiances, and all the classic Cinderella stories out there. Sorry if this has been done to death, but I couldn't resist.

All my life I've wanted to make something of myself. I wanted to be a princess and find a handsom Prince Charming, but I come from a long line of women who work as housekeepers in one way or another, and that is the line I was to stick with.

"Marry a nice maintenance man!" My mother says. "Or marry someone with a postion as noble as ours. Not everyone can be the legs this country stands on. It takes a certain person to fill those rolls. Don't go day dreaming of some ritzy man who will bring you up to the status of that woman you work for."

My name is Elenore, and I work for a wonderful widow who's husband left her millions. My mother is not fond of her, she thinks that rich people are lesser people because they do not work as hard as 'we' do. I think that is a lie. Beatrice, the woman I work for, is the sweetest woman I've ever met. I go clean her house three times a week, and yet she pays me enough to pay my rent and bills. Beatrice lives in the 'upper-class' part of Tacoma in a nicely kept Victorian house. I on the other hand, live downtown, in a flat above a bowling alley. It's not the nicest looking place, or the quietest for that matter, but it's home.

When I head to work, I catch the public bus, and try to keep to myself. One day I boarded the bus, and sat towards the back, and listened to my iPod while reading. I looked up to make sure I knew where I was at, and caught a man looking at me. He was about 5'11", blue eyes, and an army hair cut. The haircut made sense though, because he was wearing an army uniform. When we made eye contact, he walked closer to me and began making conversation.

"So, your reading Jane Eyre? I read that in high school. Do you like it?" he asked, his voice smooth and soft, yet manly at the same time.

"Uh, yea, Jane Eyre. I love this book. I have read it about 10 times already," I replied laughing a little. This guy probably was going to think I was a loner bookworm who had limited to no human contact. I was surprised when he laughed along with me.

"Yea, I've read it a lot too. My name is Chris Howland by the way, may I ask yours?" I was surprised by how much of gentleman this guy was.

"Elenore Sinder. Everyone just calls me Ella though." I smiled and so did he. We talked for the most of the ride, and I felt a huge crush coming on.

"My stop is coming up," I said, as I gathered my things. I looked into his gorgeous blue eyes, and saw a little sadness in them.

"It was nice to meet you Ella," he said, "Uhm, I was wondering, I could have your number? Maybe we could hang out sometime."

I smiled, pulled a pen out of my messenger bag, grabbed his hand, and wrote my name and number on his arm. I pulled the string to signal to the driver I needed off, and stood up and walked to the doors. I looked over my shoulder at Chris and smiled. He smiled back at me, and watched me as I got off the bus.

It wasn't until I watched the bus pull away that I realized that writing my name and number on his arm probably wasn't the smartest idea, because his shirt might rub it away.

I arrived at Beatrice's house on time, and set to work. A few hours later, when everything was done, I joined Beatrice for tea like I do every time I come. I told her all about Chris and how it was like love at first sight. She smiled and continued to ask me all sorts of questions about him. I answered every one that I knew, all the while wondering if Chris would ever call me.

Two weeks went by, and I hadn't heard from Chris. I was begining to loose hope, when I came home one night and saw that I had a message on my machine.

"Hey Ella, This is Chris Howland, we met on the bus, remember? I'm sorry it took me so long to call you, the army kept me pretty busy, and your number got smudged on my arm. I had to look you up in the phone book." he paused and laughed a little, "Anyways, I was wondering if you would want to go see a movie with me sometime. That Wild Hogs movie is playing here on base, and I was really hoping we could go see that if you wanted. Give me a call back at area 543-3221. I can't wait to hear from you."

By the time his message was finished, I was smiling so much that my mouth hurt. I grabbed a pepsi from my fridge and took a few sips from that to allow myself time to calm down, and called him back.

"Howland," he said as he picked up,

"Hey Chris, it's Ella, I just got your message."

"Oh hey! How's it going? Did you want to go see the movie with me? It's playing tonight." he said, I could hear a smile in his voice.

"Yea, that would be awesome. What time does it start?" I replied and allowed the smile on my face to be heard in my voice.

"Uh.." I heard papers rustling, "It starts at 6, and it's, what, 4.30? Would you like me to come pick you up now? Or, what did you have in mind?"

"You can come pick me up, do you know where ParkBowl is?"

"ParkBowl, yea! A few buddies and I go bowling there sometime."

"I live above those, in apartment B. How long will it take you to get here, do you know?"

"Shouldn't take me more than half an hour, want me to head over now?"

"Yea, that will give me enough time to get changed."

"Cool. Well, I'll see you at five then," he said, sounding like he had an ear-to-ear grin.

"Yea, I'll see you then." After I hung up with Chris, I did a happy dance around my living room, and ran off to get changed.

- - - -A month Later - - - -
Chris and I have been spending every day possible together, and it's amazing! When I go to work at Beatrice's house, I tell her about everything we do. She loves hearing these stories, and I love telling them.

"I'm so glad you have met such a nice young man!" She tells me every day I see her, "I'm also glad that you are as happy as I once was Ella. Love is truely an amazing gift, cherish it, and do not let anyone steal it from you." Her words are caring, protective, and comforting. I've long since come to see Beatrice as my grandmother, and she sees me as a granddaughter.

Everyday I come home from work, I have a message on my machine from Chris. Today was no differant.

"Hey Gorgeous! It's Chris. Uhm, next Tuesday, the army is doing this ball thing for that class I was in, and I was wondering if you would be able to come to it with me. I could pick you up, it starts at eight. Let me know if you want to go. Oh, and did you want to go to dinner with me tonight? I feel like chinese," He said and laughed, "Give me a call back babe," he sounded like he was about to hang up, but thought of something else, "Oh, and I love you Ella." I head the smile in his voice, and smiled too.

"I love you too Chris," I said to the machine.

I picked up the phone, and was about to dial his number, when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Elenore, What is this I heard from Mrs. Beatrice that you met an army boy? How come you didn't tell me? What are you doing with a guy like that?"

It was my mother. Oh no, I moaned, not this. She hates the idea of her daughter with a military man.

"I did meet someone, and his name is Chris. He's a real great guy mom! Maybe I can bring him over sometime so you can meet him. He invited me to an Army ball next Thursday. I love this man mom, he's so, so.. perfect!" I blurted out. I knew it was the truth, but would she?

"Elenore, I don't want you to see this Chris," she said his name like it was poison, "I don't want you to see him ever again. You hear me?"

"Mom, I'm 23. I should be allowed to see who I want to see!"

"Not while I'm the head of this family. You will do as you are told. If I catch wind that you are still with this boy, you will be in big trouble. And I'm serious Elenore."

"But mom!" she cut me off,

"ELENORE! I am SERIOUS! Never see him again!" She was shouting now, and with that, she hung up, leaving me in tears. I had no choice but to obey her. She was right, she was the head of the family, and I was raised to obey her. Not doing so would mean being shunned for life. It sounds so midevil, but that's how my family is.

I called Chris, still crying.

"Hey Gorgeous! I see you got my message," he began sounding so happy, but he paused and heard me crying, and became serious, "What's wrong babe? Are you okay?"

I choked back a sob so that I could speak, "Chris, I'm sorry, but, my mother says that I can't ever see you again," I broke down and cried on the phone. "I have to obey her," I sobbed, hating that my mother was making me do this, "I love you, but I can't ever talk to you or see you again."

I quickly hung up, and threw myself on the couch and cried. I felt as if my heart was breaking, and nothing I did was going to save it.

- - - - A week Later - - - -
My heart is still broken from having to break up with Chris. I go to work every day hoping to see him on the bus, but he's never there. I told Beatrice what happend, and she felt horrible for having told my mother.

"Oh darling," she said, wrapping me in a hug, "I'm sorry I opened my mouth. It's my fault you are no longer with Chris. Would your family really disown you if you didn't do what she asked?" I gave a sad head nod at this, "The Army ball is tonight, right?" again, I nodded.

She lifted my head up in her hand, and made me look into her face. She had a smile, why was she smiling?

"You know what we need to do then, right?"

I gave her a confused look, and she laughed.

"I will buy you a new dress and bring you to this ball. If you mother disowns you, I will take you into my family as my granddaughter."

"But what if he is upset with me? What if he has a differant date? What if," I stopped and started to cry, "What if he doesn't love me anymore?"

"Darling, He truely loves you, that I know for sure. He will be going alone tonight, but if he did have a new date, she would be swept aside like nothing when he sees you. Now come on, forget the cleaning today, let's go find you a beautiful dress."

- - - - A few hours Later - - - -
Beatrice and I were walking out of the dress shop, both feeling ecstatic. The dress she bought me was gorgeous. It was a maroon halter top dress that complimented me perfectly, and had sequins and beads along the neckline and hemline in a floral design. I had shoes and a shrug to match it, and was on cloud nine about being able to see Chris again.

As we were coming out of the dress shop though, we ran right into my mother, who knew what we were doing.

"Elenore, I hope you are not planning on going to go see that army boy," she said, her hands on her hips, "You know what I will be forced to do if you disobey me."

I opened my mouth to speak, and was shocked when Beatrice beat me to the punch.

"Rosa, if you disown this child, I will take her as one of my own. I intend to right the wrong I created, and she will go to the ball. She will see Chris, and someday, I am sure that those two will marry. Now, what course of action will you take with your daughter?" She looked into my mothers eyes, and both women had a fierce determination on their faces.

"She is no daughter of mine," my mother said, her words cutting like a knife. They did not hurt, they severed the tie that bound me to her, and prevented me from being with Chris. As soon as she left, I smiled and hugged Beatrice.

"Oh, Thank you, Thank you!" I cried, happy that I was free to do as I pleased after her help.

"You are very welcome darling. Now, lets go see that Grandson of mine, Shall we?" She looked at me, with a twinkle in her eyes. I was speachless.

"Your... Your grandson? Chris is your grandson?" I stammered, but begining to understand why she knew that he still loved me.

"Yes, he is. He called me after you told him what your mother said, and asked me to try and find a way to bring you to the ball. He's waiting. Come, let's go get you ready!"

- - - - At the Ball - - - -
Beatrice drove me to the base, and brought me to where the ball was. It was being held in a large room, that looked like it was used for a mess hall when it wasn't a ball room, and was decortated with nothing other than a few banners and streamers. When I walked further into the room, I noticed that I was dressed more elegantly than the rest of the women in the room, and everyone else seemed to have noticed at the same time.

Heads turned to look at me, and a few soldiers came up to ask if I would join them. I didn't care about anything other than finding Chris. I would ask the men who came up to me if they had seen Chris Howland, or knew where I could find him. None knew.

I was begining to fear that he had decided to not attend the ball, when an arm wrapped around my waist from behind. I turned around, and started to cry when I saw it was Chris.

"Shhh... It's alright gorgeous. The worst is over. I asked Grandma B to make sure of that." and he just held me. I could feel everyones eyes on us, but didn't care. I was with Chris again.

I had my Prince Charming, and I was his princess.

Needless to say, Chris and I lived happily ever after.

w00t. A cinderella knock off. YAY! Thanks for reading this! Leave me a review letting me know what you thought of it. :D Thanks to Hollie for helping me out with the name Beatrice! I bow to your greatness, laughs