Slippers and Secrets: the True Story of Cinderella
Okay, so you think you know the story of Cinderella. Well, whatever you've been told was a lie. It was made up because no one wanted to believe a girl could take charge of her life and even (gasp) decide she doesn't need a guy! Well, I'm your so-called "Cinderella" and this is my story.
My name is Cynthia Lacee, but everyone calls me Cindy L. I grew up as the only child of my parents. The truth was they were both alive. The part of my story where I was always working was true, though, but I didn't work for my (truly non-existent) step-family. My mom was a maid and my dad was a glass-blower, and I helped them both out a lot. I know that it sounds weird for a kid to actually want to do chores and stuff, but we really needed the money. One day, we were visited by one of the King's messengers. "All of the unwedded females of this" he paused for a moment and then continued on, but sounded like he was mocking us "estate are expected to attend the ball held for the Crown Prince of the land. He is searching for a bride. There will also be other nobility there who are also searching for a wife. The ball shall start at 10 p.m. The most beautiful girls there will probably get the hands in marriage of the men who are bride-searching." I wanted to go. If I married an even remotely rich man, my parents and I could move into their mansion or castle and live a life of luxury. Plus we would get some respect. My mom was actually a total slob and my dad hated glass-blowing. I would happily take over his job, because I absolutely love glass-blowing, but there were laws against women doing most jobs besides cooking and cleaning. As for my mom, she had a choice between cooking and cleaning. She tried cooking and almost burned the house down, so she became a maid. If I became someone in nobility's wife, they wouldn't have to work so hard. I decided to surprise mom and dad with the chance to live well. Partly because if they never knew I tried, they'd never be disappointed if I failed and partly because I wasn't sure if my parents would let me go to the ball.
I made my dress out of one of my mom's old cleaning outfits and snuck into my dad's shop one night to blow myself some glass slippers for the ball. My only other pair of shoes was some old boots that were falling apart and I couldn't afford to buy more shoes, so the slippers were my only choice. As for the Fairy Godmother-I wish! I would have been happy to have gotten any help at all! Now, I probably looked strange in a shapeless, grey, rag-like dress and slightly lumpy glass shoes, but I managed to dress up my outfit a little by unraveling an old sweater of mine. I used the string to tie a bow around my waist, my messy-looking hair, and the heels of my shoes. This is where the pumpkin and mice part of the story comes in. I also wanted to add some color to the dress, so I mashed up a pumpkin and used some to color my dress orange. Some mice then came to nibble on the pumpkin seeds. The night of the ball, I waited until my parents were asleep and snuck out. I decided to wait to put on my "new" clothes until I was very close to the castle, as I did not want to get them dirty.
Once inside the castle, I saw that there were many people. I was looking around when someone approached me. It was the Prince, who asked me to dance! Then he added that he thought I was very pretty. I said that I would dance with him and thanked him for the complement, but privately wondered how he thought I was pretty considering how messy I must have looked. I internally shrugged, but decided maybe he had bad vision or just a weird taste in girls. Prince Charming (literally) asked me my name. I tried my best to speak clearly, but I was shy so it isn't my fault my name was misunderstood to be Cinderella. "I am Cindy LUhhh…My real name is Cynthia Lacee" I realized I should give the Prince my full name, but I was nervous about my mistake, so I mumbled my full name. I don't think he heard me, though. That's because the Prince (is he blind and deaf?) said, "Greetings, Cinderella, I trust you know I am Prince Charlie Charming. You should consider yourself lucky to be dancing with the most handsome Crown Prince in history." I was starting to think that the Prince was kind of vain. "Don't you just love me? If you're lucky, you could be the girl I marry." Okay, make that very vain, but he was cute and we did need the money. Then the clock chimed midnight.
Midnight! My dad has trouble sleeping and will sometimes walk around while trying to tire himself out so he can sleep. He might check on me and see that I'm gone! I jerked away from the Prince and ran. I stopped and changed behind the bush as quickly as I could, not even noticing I dropped one of the slippers in my hurry. It seemed to take years to get home, but I finally made it…to find my parents waiting fretfully. Shoot.
"Where have you been?" my dad asked, at the same time as my mom said "We were so worried about you!"
"I was at the ball." I mumbled.
"Why?" my dad asked.
"I wanted to surprise you guys with the luxury, money, and respect we could get if I married a noble man." I said.
"You would be so unhappy with some guy you didn't know. Did you get one of them to marry you?" my mom asked worriedly.
"No, but I did dance with the Prince. Then I ran away because I was worried you guys had woken up." I sighed.
"Cindy, you didn't need to do that just for us. We're happy just the way we are, living with our daughter." My parents said. I gave a small, sad smile, still disappointed that my efforts had been for nothing.
A few days later everything changed, however. We found out that the Prince was going around, looking for the owner of the fallen and forgotten glass slipper. Someone had suggested my dad's shop. I was ecstatic. I knew my parents wouldn't be happy if I agreed to marry him, but I still wanted to put them first.
The next day the Prince came with the shoe. "Is there anyone here who went to the ball?" he asked.
"No, it is just my husband and I here, so we stayed at home." My mom lied.
"Did you sell this shoe to anyone, then?" Prince Charming asked.
My dad replied. "No, we did-"
"Wait! It's mine! I went to the Ball!" I called as I ran to the door with the other shoe.
"Cindy, don't marry him!" my parents yelled.
"Huh? Who said I wanted to marry her? I just wanted the second shoe so that I could give them to my fiancée, Princess Edlynn Enchanting. She wants to wear them to our wedding. After you left the ball early, I wasn't going to sit around watching my fingernails grow. So I danced with a lot of other girls, including Princess Edlynn. I just liked her better than you. We're going to cover the castle walls with mirrors so we can both see our attractive selves. Now can I have the shoe?" the Prince said.
I was stunned. My dream of helping my parents was trampled. Without thinking I raised my hand and slapped the Prince. Then I ran to my room and cried. My parent snatched the slipper from the Prince and then slammed the door in his face before running to comfort me. "Cindy, it's okay." My mom said, trying to comfort me. As she did, my dad was looking at the glass slipper I had made for the ball. "You know this is some fine workmanship. You should market them." he said.
I tossed the idea around in my head for a bit before deciding that my dad was right, I should make and sell glass slippers. I made many shoes, as they were in constant demand. I could also sell them at a higher price. Soon my family started getting some respect, because we became rich from selling so many shoes. Maybe you can buy happiness with money. Inside I knew that wasn't true, though. We did get respect from the money, a big step from before, but what really brought me happiness was the fact that my parents supported me through it all.
So there you have it. Prince Charles and Princess Edlynn Charming (soon to be King and Queen Charming) are both happy in their castle of mirrors. My parents can happily do whatever job they want, as the glass slipper business is still going well. As for me, well, I absolutely love my career as a glass slipper maker. So I guess everyone got their happily ever after.