Hello! I'm going to try my hand at fanfiction after I had this idea of a somewhat alternate Cinderella story. I saw the movie in theaters and was surprised to have loved it! The beginning of this story is incredibly similar, but hang with me and we will get to the new events. All the original Cinderella storyline belongs to Disney, but my characters are my own. Please review! This is my first story and I would love your comments! Thank you!
Chapter 1
Once upon a time there was a small family who lived on a quaint estate on a hill. They were a very happy family who though themselves to be very blessed. They consisted of a loving couple and a beautiful baby girl named Ella. Ella was a playful young thing with gorgeous gold locks. There was never a child who was more loved by her parents. She was the princess of the household, despite her family holding no royal title. As she grew older Ella turned into a smart and kind little girl. Her parents would let her help with the house work, her favorite activity was helping the workstaff tend to the animals. She believed that, in a way, the animals could talk. She felt that they had a language all her own and that if one simply were to listen, they could hear the fantastic things they had to say. She was gentle to all creatures, and could be found leaving a bowl of cream or small pieces if cheese for the house mice, because she decided that if they were to live in her home, they should be treated as such. Ella held in her heart the value of kindness that her mother would often teach to her on their walks amongst the wildflowers in the meadow.
"Ella," she would say, gazing down at her beautiful child, "sometimes life will seem rough and unfair, and sometimes the sun won't shine as bright, but it'll be alright if you just remember one thing: hold kindness in your heart, always." She smiled
Ella smiled back at her mother, "Kindness." She tasted the word in her mouth. It gave her a warm feeling in her chest.
Her mother's face shone. "Yes, my love, kindness. You can confront any calamity the world throws your way if you simply face it with the utmost kindness. If you remember this, you're bound to live a beautiful life."
Ella grew excited as her child-like energy burst, "I will, Mama!" She exclaimed, holding on to her mother's soft hand. "I will always be kind! All my life I will the world with love! I will be like you!"
The proud mother beamed as she scooped up her child into her arms. "Oh, Ella!" She sighed heavenly, "You don't how happy I am to hear you say that!" And the two would continue their walk as normal, through the meadow of wild flowers.
A few months later, Ella got her first taste of the sunless sky her mother warned of. Ella's mother grew very sick. It was almost unnoticeable at first. Sometimes she would have to take a nap or sit down, having to miss her daily walk about with her daughter. Then, it grew more severe, as Ella's mother would seldom leave her bed. Ella watched her mothers condition through her father's face, as the man who almost never was without a smile would begin to frown, his eyes damp with worry.
Eventually a doctor arrived at the household. That is when Ella began to suspect that things were taking a dire turn. On her mother's last day, Ella's father brought her by the hand to say goodbye. Ella's mother was on the bed, looking more delicate than she once was. Ella tried to hold her composure, but she could not do it for very long, as she rushed into her mother's arms and began to weep.
"Ella, my dear Ella, my precious princess. Promise me something before I leave." Ella's mother said in a hushed voice.
"Yes, Mama, yes!" Sobbed Ella.
"Please remember to hold kindness in your heart, always. Treat the world with love as your father and I have loved you." Her mother kissed the forehead of her daughter.
"I will, Mama! I will!" Ella cried. "I will do this for you!"
Ella's mother passed that night. Leaving her and her father alone to live in the estate. Their bond grew stronger, and no one ever loved each other as much. A few years later, Ella blossomed into a young woman, but she still had as much love and kindness and appreciation for the world as she did when she was a child. The mice of the household never went underfed or unloved. Her mother's love was still felt in the house despite her permanent absence.
A few years later, Ella's father expressed an interest in remarriage. While Ella had missed her mother terribly, she had noticed that her father had been rather lonely. She decided that as long as it made him happy, she would be alright with the remarriage . Her father was delighted, gushing to her about the woman who would be her step mother.
"She is such a fantastic person, Ella!" He exclaimed, "You will surely love her, and she will love you!" His eyes shone. " Oh! And wonderful news, she has two daughters exactly your age! Won't that be lovely! You'll have to sisters to play with!"
Ella was fascinated at the idea of having sisters. She'd show them the meadow where the wild flowers grew. They'd collect flowers together and make bouquets to display in their rooms. She'd introduce them to the mice and teach them their separate personalities. Ella grew excited at these thoughts.
When the new family members arrived, Ella dressed herself in her finest dress and got the house spick and span. Everything looked beautiful. As she and her father were waiting in the front of the manner a gaudy coach arrived.
"Ah ha!" Exclaimed her father, "They're here!"
From the carriage, three women stepped out. There were two young girls Ella's age who were dressed in the most brightly colored elaborate trappings she'd ever seen. They busted out if the carriage awkwardly, pushing each other out of the way. Once they were out they looked at Ella in her finest dress and her beautiful house and their once giddy expressions dropped into a look of confusion.
"I thought mother said he was rich!" The red-haired one loudly whispered to her sister. "This house is a dump!"
"I know!" Whispered the other, unaware of her obnoxious volume. "What disappointment!"
A third woman, this one older, gracefully stepped out of the carriage. She had on elegant, yet dark colored clothing of fine material that suited her quite well. Ella's father greeted the women with great excitement, offering his hand to assist her. She glazed her eyes over the house and her eyebrows raised ever-so-slightly.
"Drisella, Anastasia, do give your baggage to the house servant so that she make take them to your rooms." She said icily to the younger girls, gesturing to Ella.
Ella mistook it for a joke and laughed. "You must be mistaken Madam." She smiled. "My name is Ella, and I am no servant." She offered her hand for shaking, but the woman did not comply.
"Ah." She said. She turned to Ella's father. "Your daughter?"
Ella's father nodded eagerly. "Yes! Isn't she beautiful? She takes after her mother!"
"Her mother?" The madam stated. "Ah."
Ella soon learned that the Madam Tremaine and her daughters were not the ray of sun her father had promised them to be. They were rude and incredibly snobbish, critiquing ever little aspect of Ella's estate. Everything from the walls, to the floor, to the yard, to Ella herself was judged with a harsh eye and no filter.
No matter how badly they treated her while her father was away on trips across the world, Ella kept true to her word to her mother. She treated them with the utmost kindness despite their undeserving of such a thing as care. She aided them at every opportunity. She would help Anastasia and Drisella tie their corsets in the morning, she would help the house staff prepare meals, she would iron the Lady Tremaine's skirts. Anything she could do, she would do.
The Tremaines lived an extravagant lifestyle, and soon that caused funds to be tight. Ella's father had to lay off the house staff. Ella was terribly unhappy about this, as the staff were her friends and had loved her like a family member. She sent them off tearfully, with homemade care packages.
To make up for lost finances, Ella's father took to working more and more, traveling across the globe to make ends meet, which meant that Ella could hardly ever see him. One day, however. She would stop seeing him entirely. He'd father had gotten caught in a rainstorm in upper France where he had caught ill. He had passed a few days later. Ella was heartbroken.
The Tremains were also in a wreck, as their money supply was now in ruin. Lady Tremaine had to break into her own fund to keep the household running, which she was not pleased about.
One day, a few months after being orphaned, Ella was taking the laundry out to be washed when she crossed the Lady's path.
"Ella." Tremaine beckoned her step-daughter over. Ella complied.
"Yes, madam?" Ella asked softly.
The stately Lady crossed her legs and reached out to hold Ella's hands. "Ella dear," she purred, " I know times have been rough, but I'm afraid your dear sisters are having such a terrible time adjusting to life here. They often fight about their cramped living space together. However, I was wondering..."
"Oh! Ella exclaimed, eager for the opportunity to assist, "My room is the second largest bedroom, why don't they share that!" She said brightly.
"Perfect!" Cooed the stepmother. "They will share your room and you..."
"I can have the guest room!" Suggested Ella. "We seldom have guests."
"Nonsense!" Chimed in Tremaine. "You never know when guests may arrive someday, it's best if you take the attic, Ella,"
"The attic?"
"Yes, dear, it'll be perfect!"
Ella tried her best to conceal her unhappiness with the suggestion. The attic was a lofty place full of dust that required a length's climb of stairs to get to. Nevertheless, she agreed to appease her stepmother.
Life grew much more challenging for Ella after she made the switch to the attic. Once her new family learned of her inability to say no to an opportunity to help, they abused the kindness Ella offered to them. Ella soon was doing the work that ten house workers once did. She cleaned. She dusted. She cooked. She tended to the animals. She tended to the Tremaines, waiting on them hand and foot. Her once golden locks were soon covered in soot, as she often slept by the fireplace because after a long days work, she was too exhausted to even climb the stairs to her attic.
Never did she once complain, however, as that seemed to her to be against her mother's value of kindness. She continued to care for the mice, at times she could even swear that they looked at her an felt sympathy, as if they were upset at her treatment.
"Don't worry, little friends," she'd say, "If I am kind to them, my world will be beautiful."
Her world grew more ugly, however, as she developed a new name. As she was making breakfast one day, one of the stepsisters noted the dust that clung to Ella's skin.
"Ew!" She cried as she laughed, "look at Ella! Disgusting!"
The other sister noted as well and laughed harder. "Just look at her, a mess of cinders!"
"Cinderella! Cinderella!" Cried the first stepsister. The two girls continued to laugh even harder. The Lady Tremaine smiled proudly at her daughters. Ella's face fell as color reached her cheek beneath the soot
"Oh, you girls are TOO clever." She said with a wicked smile in her face. That smile soon dropped as she looked at the table. On it there lay four sets of flatware.
"Cinderella." She addressed firmly, "Have you no ability to count?"
Ella, who was heartbroken at this point, gave a puzzled look. "No, Madam, why do you ask?"
Lady Tremaine gestured to the table. "Why is there an extra place setting? We require three, darling." She said plainly.
Ella lit up. "Oh!" She chimed. "That's no extra setting!" She smiled as if her stepmother was being silly. "That flatware is for me!"
Lady Tremaine was not amused. "Cinderella." She said curtly. "You cannot sit with us covered in your ash and soot. It is not proper. Besides, I have an extensive list of errands for you to run in the village today, you simply cannot eat with us and still have time for that." She stated matter-of-factly. "Now get!"
Ella ran away to the kitchen downstairs, where she collapsed into a mess of sobs. The cruelty and unfairness in the world had finally broke her as the mice around her watched with great pity in their eyes.
After a few moments, Ella gathered herself and put on her best face. She grabbed a woven handled basket and went out promptly to get her village errands completed. However, she was unaware of what the village had in store for her that might just change her bleak new life.
