The storyline, new character development, new events, and new characters are my intellectual property. Glorioux
...Lizzie is her sisters' servant, mistreated and overworked. The Prince is looking for a wife. A fairy with self interest, is looking out for Lizzie. Will she get her Prince?
A/n short story. Live Happily ever after, with a few twists. I changed a few things from a previous version. To keep you entertained, very light weight. Lizzie as Cinderlizzie, OC
CinderLizzie
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a country gentleman, his name was Lord Bennet. He lived in a beautiful home and had land to his name. Unfortunately, he was suffered from melancholy and had no desire to work. So his fortune decreased every year, while he stayed in his library reading and living in imaginary worlds. It was an excellent place to escape his wife, a wife he regretted marrying; he had found out her beauty was skin deep.
His wife, once a great beauty, had little sense, some said she was as wise as a hen. Her greatest joy was to show off most of her young chicks. She had five; she loved two the best; they were her pride and joy; as for the other three, she liked two of them, whenever it was convenient.
There was, however, one daughter that ruffled the feathers of this loud cackling hen. The chick in question was the most enchanting of them all. She was not only pretty, but she was smart and always had appropriate remarks. Sadly, she had one great fault; the little chick was quite different from her mama.
So different that the mother often wondered if the child was a changeling, one left by the fairies. Thus, the mother often yelled, calling her child a changeling and other hurtful names. Of course, she was wrong; the sunny child named Lizzie was her daughter.
Lizzie and the Fairy
The mother often abused Lizzie since she was very young, attracting the attention of a powerful fairy. That fairy's love for both mischief and worthy humans was legendary amongst her kind. She was gifted, wealthy, and beautiful, she had it all, but the one thing she lacked was a child. Long ago, an old enemy, had cursed her womb over a worthless lover.
The fairy first saw Lizzie when she was but a tiny girl of three. The little girl already explored the fields around the house, and the fairy started following her.
One day, when Lizzie was four she saw Lizzie, crying after a spanking over some silliness. The fairy was attracted to her gleaming tears and her eyes. You see, fairies loved to collect human tears; they had many magical uses. Through Lizzie's eyes, she could see a shiny soul worth a pile of gold, if not more. Young Lizzie was always kind to the forest and its inhabitants. Thus, she was well-liked and was often followed by many of the forest animals.
The fairy knew that Lizzie was kind and a nurturing nature caretaker, thus worthy of her protection. You could say, the fairy decided Lizzie was hers. It wouldn't be the first time a fairy 'adopted' a human child. The fairy reasoned that the mother had called Lizzie a challenging often enough, that she had given her up. As a matter of fact, the woman would say, "I hope the fairies take you back, it would make me happy." The fairy was grateful and was accepting the kind gift.
At last, she had found the child she wanted, but she would need to wait for a while. Not a problem, human years were but days to her. She had waited for hundreds, probably thousands of years to find her child, and, now, she had found it.
Lizzie was crying when she heard a rustle in the bushes and a small sparkle of light.
"I declare you my beloved child, err," the fairy corrected herself; you never knew who was listening, and there were spies everywhere. The practices of 'adopting' humans were not condoned and could be punished, so you had to know how to do it. In this case, the fairy had already decided Lizzie was hers, and it was just a matter of time before she made her claim known.
The fairy corrected her faux-pass, "I mean, you are my godchild; upon you, I bestow all my favors, and one day you should have your own place and a worthy prince of your own. I shall always protect you against the darkness, never ever give up, for I am here."
Though the little girl didn't hear the words, it didn't make them less magical. When the fairy touched Lizzie's forehead, a small star appeared and sunk into her skin, marking Lizzie as hers, and forever changing Lizzie's nature. In simple words, Lizzie was no longer quite human. The mark would, one day, open doors closed to humans. So it was, through the years that follow, Lizzie always found solace in the forest and her books.
Before leaving, the fairy kissed Lizzie and collected her tears. She would save them for a special gift.
Her dreaming father took an interest in the smart child, at first because she looked like other Bennet ladies before her, she was the only one of his daughters that did. But soon, the attention turned into love and affection. Lord Bennet spent time with Lizzie, educating her in the ways of men, teaching her all he knew.
She learned to read and write other languages, math, history, geography, and much more. She also learned archery, fencing, fishing, and riding a horse, properly. Lizzie refused to learn hunting, and her father was happy since he didn't like to kill the forest inhabitants. They grew very close, and Lizzie took the place of the son he didn't have.
Meanwhile, his silly, and also petty and mean, wife spent her days teaching the other girls the art of getting a rich husband. She taught them what she deemed valuable, such as looking pretty, smiling, flirting, embroidery, singing, dressing up in lace and ribbons, dancing, and making small talk.
Lizzie preferred to read, to walk in the forest, or to spend time with her father. Consequently, she didn't excel in the fields her mother deemed valuable; predictably, the rift between mother and daughter widened.
Before long, as the sisters got older, Lizzie turned into the servant of Jane, her smiling, beautiful sister. Jane was a lot like her mother but disguised it better. Nevertheless, it was clear, Jane loved having her own servant. So from that day on, Lizzie did more and more chores around the house.
Her other sisters complained they also needed help, so Lizzie also work for them. Thus, by the end of any given day, Lizzie was exhausted and had little time to spend with her father. By the time she was twelve, she was a house servant.
Soon she was also cleaning the house and doing many other chores. This way, the money put aside for paying servants, bought more things for her sisters.
As the years passed, Lizzie only wore hand-me-downs, which they were always too short and too broad because the sisters didn't exercise much, growing a bit plump, and Lizzie grew like a healthy sprig.
With the fairy's gifts, she turned out even more beautiful and kinder. Her beauty only managed to anger her mother. The insults increased; she said she was now sure that Lizzie was a changeling, and sent her to sleep in a cold attic. The mother explained that it was to protect her other daughters while they slept. In reality, Jane no longer had to share her room or her wardrobe.
Her father was blind and deaf to Lizzie's continued abuse and never tried to protect her. Sadly, he was afraid of his wife's verbal, and sometimes physical abuse. He had been taught never to hit a woman, and was unable to defend himself.
Lizzie found out that she could understand the language of birds and some other animals, but she kept it a secret. She didn't go hungry when there was little left for her after her sisters ate. Fruits, berries, nuts, honey, mushrooms, and other delicacies were dropped by her bedside by the forest creatures, just not enough since Lizzie worked so hard.
Lizzie made a comforter with feathers dropped by the birds, so she wasn't cold. The forest creatures brought her many presents to make her life more comfortable.
The fairy couldn't intervene, she had enemies and had to wait for the right time to meet her child. She waited patiently, making sure Lizzie didn't starve, freeze, or was hurt doing back-breaking work. The fairy usually sat to watch Lizzie sleep; it made her happy. She brushed Lizzie's hair and put salve on her dry, cracked hands. When the fairy left, she always kissed Lizzie, she loved her child, she meant her godchild. She giggled, correcting herself.
The father's health worsened with time, so the need to find a husband for all the daughters grew more pressing every day. The property was to be inherited by Sir Collins, a male cousin, who was a ridiculous man. He served Lady Catherine the regent Prince's aunt, a disagreeable countess, who wanted Prince Darcy to marry Anne, her sickly daughter.
Lord Bingley's Ball
One day, Lord Bingley, a handsome young lord, took residence in a palace near Lizzie's home. Many were saying that was looking for a wife. The rumor fueled the unmarried young ladies' dreams of marrying a wealthy noble. Lord Bingley's sisters, who came along, were nasty as nasty could be. Caroline, the youngest one, was known for her fondness of orange-colored garb, and her poisonous tongue.
Lord Bingley's good friend, Prince Darcy, came along. He was as surly and brooding as Lord Bingley was happy and friendly. Lord Darcy was an imposing presence and not sociable at all.
They had come to the 5th of the kingdom's villages to search for a bride for Prince Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley. Theirs was a secret mission, for you see, Prince Darcy had to find a wife, and he had decided that he would only marry for love, and to date, none of the noble maidens was to his liking.
King George, his father, was a widower. He was sick and feared his days were numbered and wanted to leave his son happily married and ready to assume the throne. His younger daughter, Georgiana, would also benefit from having a queen looking out for her.
Desperate, King George called his council. General Fitzwilliams, his war minister, the Prince's best friend, was in charge of finding a wife for the Prince. After a few ideas were tried and failed, Lord Bingley proposed the idea of going to search for a bride. They would try amongst all the noble fair maidens who lived away in the countryside.
So it was that Lord Bingley announced the big ball at Netherfield, and all those single maidens, of gentle birth, between 15 and 25 were invited to the upcoming ball. The invitation arrived at Longbourn, and the preparations started.
Lizzie's Dreams Shattered
The rumors flew, and most agreed that Lord Bingley was looking for a bride. Immediately, Lizzie's mother decided that he would choose one of her comely daughters. She wanted either Jane, her oldest, or her baby, plump Lydia, both equally gifted, in her opinion, to fill the exalted role in the royal court. You see, everyone knew Lord Bingley was a good friend of their Prince, and he lived in the royal court.
Lizzie worked every evening in her gown. She used scrap pieces of clothes, threads, buttons, and bits of ribbons and lace, collected over the years. She got her ideas from books in her father's library. Her dress was beautiful, made of pieced cloth flowers, in multiple colors. It was beautiful, even more considering what was available. She would adorn her hair with wildflowers. She had no jewelry but found pieces of petrified wood that resembled small flowers; she threaded them and made a bracelet and matching necklace. She mended and repaired discarded gloves, the same with the slippers.
"Mother, I am also invited to the ball? I want to go." Lizzie asked one day in front of her father.
"Of course, my dear," her mother answered in a non-too happy tone, but you will need a suitable gown, and the money is tight." With a sour look, Lady Bennet dared her husband to say otherwise. She might dislike her daughter, but she couldn't deny Lizzie's exquisite beauty. Her looks were added to Lizzie's long list of faults; Lizzie looked like a Bennet. The Bennet aristocrats that thought she was a nobody since her father was a merchant. The reason why he was nearly disowned.
The day of the ball arrived, and Lizzie had to work all day long to help her sisters get ready. Lizzie's mother smiled, knowing she had won, and Lizzie couldn't go to the ball; there was simply no time to get prepared, nor did she own a proper gown. But few minutes before they had to leave, down came Lizzie looking magnificent in the clothes and dancing slippers she had made herself.
Her sisters were overcome with envy and worried that she was prettier than them; she was, and they knew it.
Lydia ran to Lizzie and ripped the ribbon out her hair, crushing all the flowers, "This was my ribbon, the one I lost last spring," she yelled. Not the truth, she had thrown it away because of a small stain Lizzie had removed. So it was that sister by sister tore up Lizzie's clothes, scratching and bruising her in the process.
"You look like what you are, a dirty cinder girl, after all, you clean all the fireplaces," her mother told Lizzie. "You don't look like my daughter; you are a changeling who looks like the ugly Bennet women." Then she dumped a pot full of ashes over her daughter's head, while her sisters giggled and made nasty remarks. Mr. Bennet looked the other way, afraid to make his wife upset. He quickly dried a couple tears at both the cruelty inflicted on Lizzie, and at his cowardice to intervene.
Off they went, and Lizzie stayed behind. She went to the library, picked up a book, and sat down to read and to cry a bit. She didn't deserve anything and had been foolish to dream she would go to the ball.
a/n Sniff, made myself cry. Old fairy tales were sad, much abuse...