Title: Romantic Confessions and a Wendigo Bite
Relationships: Prince Charming/Anastasia Tremaine (Disney)
Tags: Drama, Glass Slippers (Cinderella), Be Careful What You Wish For
Description: Cinderella's not the only one who can wear her dainty glass shoe.
THIS STORY COMES WITH COVER ART. I cross-posted this story. To see the image, please go to my AO3 (Archive of Our Own) account (under the same username, RainbowSheltie).
BETA: Annabelle
Cinderella was at the ball, dancing with the prince, when the clock struck midnight. She wished this night would never end, but her fairy godmother had given her a time limit and the last thing Cinderella wanted was for the prince to see her for who she truly was. The prince deserved a beautiful princess, not a mere household servant.
She asked to go to the ball, and her wish came true. There was nothing else to do except go home, and remember this night for as long as she lived.
All the guests of the ball gasped and chattered among themselves as they watched Cinderella apologize when she pushed the prince away and ran straight for the front doors.
"Stop!" The prince yelled at her, but she didn't stop.
By the time he called for the guards, Cinderella had escaped. On her way to the gates, she lost one of her glass shoes, but she didn't stop until she jumped in her carriage and was on her way home.
Just before she reached the front gates, her coachmen turned back into tiny mice and the carriage became a large pumpkin, which rolled away and into the trees. Cinderella was thrown across the road, and into the bushes, just in time to see the palace guards and their horses pass by.
She waited a few minutes to make sure no more guards would pass by, then stood up and brushed the leaves and dirt from her old, tattered dress. Only one of her glass shoes remained.
Cinderella sighed. This wasn't the way she wanted to come home, but it was what it was. As she started home, Cinderella winced in pain as the glass shoe grew stiff under her arch, and the sides began tightly squeezing her foot. The back of the shoe started cutting into her heel and Cinderella barely managed to get it off. She saw that her feet were quite swollen, and forwent wearing a shoe altogether as she made her way home.
When Cinderella arrived home, she found her stepsisters and stepmother weren't yet home, so she rushed to her room, put her glass shoe away, let down her hair, and changed into something more comfortable.
Once dressed, she rushed down to the kitchen. Her family would want something to drink, probably some tea, so she put the kettle on the fire. If they wanted food, she would just wait to be told.
A few minutes later her family arrived home, just as the water was beginning to boil. Her stepsisters came in looking beautiful, as if they had never left. Idle talk in town often called them "the ugly sisters" but Cinderella didn't see that. Physical beauty was subjective; but as for their personalities, that was a different story. Publicly, they were loud and selfish, and privately, calmer and marginally more selfless, depending on how much their mother was breathing down their necks.
Her older stepsister, Anastasia, was tall but slight, and many said her build was similar to Cinderella's. She had red hair in long sausage curls that reached past her shoulders to her chest, and bangs in a large curl over her forehead. Anastasia wore a light pink ball gown with a dark pink body, accented with a gold hem along the top of the skirt.
Cinderella's younger sister, Drezella, was short and had a slightly thicker build. She had short, wavy hair that just passed her shoulders, and wore a thick, teal headband with a large bow on top. Drezella's yellow ball gown had a matching teal body and bustle poufs. It was plain in comparison to her sister, but it worked for Drezella.
Cinderella's stepmother, Lady Tremaine, walked in. She looked at her two daughters in their ball gowns, and sighed as she told them to restrain themselves. That's when the conversation turned to the mysterious woman who danced with the prince at the ball.
"Tea, Cinderella," Lady Tremaine demanded. "We'll take it in the dining room."
"Yes, stepmother," Cinderella replied.
Once Cinderella escaped into the kitchen, she couldn't help but grin and softly sing to herself. For once, her stepsisters were jealous of Cinderella, and she had a feeling this situation wouldn't present itself again.
As the night wound down, Cinderella began clearing the table when her stepsisters excused themselves to their rooms. However, her stepmother did not leave with them. Cinderella was not surprised; her stepmother had been watching her all night.
"Have a good night?" Lady Tremaine asked.
Cinderella nodded happily.
"I was able to finish reading my new book, and the ending was absolutely wonderful," she told her. "I started on another book I have been looking forward to reading all week."
Her stepmother wasn't buying it.
"Don't take me for a fool," she stated. "You were a child when I married your father. I've watched you grow into the woman you are. Do you think I can't recognize my stepdaughter when I see her?
"No matter how beautiful the dress, how neatly you style your hair or the amount of makeup you wear, I will always recognize you."
Lady Tremaine stood up and walked over to Cinderella, who placed the dishes back on the table. She stood behind Cinderella and whispered in her ear.
"If the prince does not choose one of my daughters as his bride, then I'll make sure you live the rest of your life regretting what you did tonight."
"He'll choose one of them, I'm sure," Cinderella replied. "He has no reason not to, right?"
"Right," her stepmother remarked.
She stepped back and turned away.
"Clean the table and the dishes before you go to bed," Lady Tremaine commanded.
"Of course, stepmother," Cinderella informed her. "Right away."
Once her stepmother was out of sight, Cinderella couldn't stop the grin that returned to her face. Whatever consequences may come, for tonight, she would revel in the memory of dancing with the prince and spending one perfect evening in his arms.
The next day, Cinderella got up at sunrise and groaned as she moved her feet. They were still a little swollen, but not nearly as much as last night. She shook it off and got dressed, and went down to the kitchen to make breakfast. She thought her family might sleep in, after their long night, but it wasn't a guarantee.
Cinderella's morning started as usual, and everyone came to breakfast at the normal time. She was still riding the high from last night, though how long it would last was to be determined.
Just before noon, news came that the prince was going through the kingdom trying Cinderella's glass slipper on every young woman in the kingdom. It's why Cinderella spent most of the morning helping her stepsisters get properly dressed to entertain royalty.
The prince was coming and her stepsisters knew it was the last chance either one would have to marry the prince.
By the time the prince and his entourage arrived at their house, everyone was prepared and waiting at the door. When the prince knocked. Lady Tremaine welcomed them in by exchanging royal pleasantries.
Two royal guards entered first, followed by a tall man in a royal outfit, who appeared to be the person in charge. Next was a short man holding a pillow on which there was a glass slipper. The prince and two more guards were the last to enter.
Lady Tremaine brought out a table chair at the tall man's behest. Before he could say anything else, the prince interrupted.
"Let's start with her," he announced, pointing at Cinderella. "She looks familiar, I have a feeling it must be her."
Her stepmother tried changing the prince's mind, suggesting he start with Cinderella's stepsisters, but he was firm.
Cinderella was excited—this was her chance. If the shoe fit, the prince would recognize her as the woman at the ball and Cinderella would finally be free from this place.
"Come, come, please sit down," the tall man beckoned.
She sat on the chair and slipped her foot from her shoe. She had forgotten how much her feet hurt from last night. They were slightly puffy, and to her horror, when the man tried the shoe on, it didn't fit.
The prince looked panicked.
"This can't be right, this girl—I could swear it's her," the prince insisted. "You're not trying hard enough."
No matter how much they squeezed the shoe onto Cinderella's foot, it just wasn't having it.
"Move, move!" Anastasia told her, shooing her out the chair and kicking Cinderella's shoe aside.
Cinderella almost fell, but caught herself in time and stood back.
Anastasia delicately removed her shoe and held it out for the man. A collective gasp echoed in the room as the shoe slipped onto Anastasia's foot easily. Cinderella knew her sister was similarly built, but this was impossible; how could someone so tall have such dainty feet?
More importantly, how could Cinderella not have noticed this, after years of handling Anastasia's clothes and shoes? How?
The prince stumbled back.
"But she doesn't look like the woman I danced with at the ball," he admitted. "It simply can't be."
"Excuse me, Your Highness," the tall man began, "but you did decree that you would marry the woman who fit the shoe. That was the condition you gave your father. The shoe must fit."
The man pointed to Cinderella.
"Whatever you feel for her, the shoe did not fit, and I will not lie to your father by saying that did," he finished.
The prince nodded.
"You are right, of course," the prince answered.
He kneeled down before Anastasia, who was appropriately bewildered.
"My lady, what is your name?" the prince inquired.
"Anastasia," she replied hesitantly. "Anastasia Tremaine."
The prince reached up and stroked her cheek.
"How beautiful you are," he told her. "Together, let us put the ball in the past, and look forward together. Will you be my bride, and rule the kingdom by my side?"
Anastasia's smile lit up her face.
"Yes, yes of course!" she responded as she slipped off the chair to throw her arms around the prince. "Yes, I will be your bride!"
The prince and Anastasia held each other, grinning and laughing. Before long, the prince withdrew from her hold and stood up.
"Then come with me, and let us leave this place," he offered, holding out his hand.
Cinderella had never seen her sister so happy and in the moment, couldn't be jealous.
Anastasia grasped the prince's hand and he helped her up.
The men around them were happy—and most notably, Lady Tremaine. The short man took off Cinderella's glass slipper and helped slip on her original shoe. The tall man then moved to the door, bowed slightly and motioned towards the carriage.
"Your carriage awaits," he told them.
Anastasia and the prince looked at each other fondly, before they turned toward the carriage and walked away. Lady Tremaine taunted Cinderella with her self-satisfied smirk, and simply watched the tears fall down her stepdaughter's face.
Cinderella wished to dance with the prince at the ball, and that's exactly what she got.