Hi everyone! Good news! I am feeling so much better today! Feels good to actually breathe a little easier and sneezing a little less today. And, because I am a girl of my word, I will be posting the usual 2 chapters today. Yay!
In town, Cinderette happily made her way to the dressmaker's shop, stopping by to say hello to old friends. Everyone was so happy to see her. Even in her ash covered dusty clothes, apron, and kerchief covering her head, she was still so beautiful. She wore a white blouse with a black overblouse and a pink skirt, the only outfit she had of her former life.
Suddenly, she looked down to see one of her shoes had slipped off her foot again.
"Oh no! Where's my shoe now?" she wondered, "Why do I have to be the only one with small feet?"
"Marinette! Hey, Marinette!" someone called out. She looked over and saw Alya weaving her way through the crowd until she made it with Cinderette's show.
"Lose something?" Alya joked.
"You found my shoe! You're the best, Alya!" she thanked and put it on.
The two hugged each other and caught up on their way to the shop. When she told Alya about her new name, the auburn haired girl stopped and stared at her.
"She didn't. Tell me she did not actually start calling you Cinderette," Alya said.
"Afraid so," Cinderette confessed.
"Ok, that is it! That girl is going down!" she yelled and began going in the other direction that led to Bourgeois Manor.
"No, Alya! Please! It's not a big deal!"
"Yes it is! This is not ok! After everything you've been through and do for them, they should be thanking you! Not embarrassing, abusing, and humiliating you like this!"
"But I have no choice. If there was another way, believe me, I'd take it, but there isn't. Until I have enough money to support myself, I'm stuck with them. Besides, it's not all bad. I have a roof over my head, food to eat, and clothes to wear."
"I know. But I do wish my mom and I had enough room to take you in. It would be like a never ending slumber party, just like we use to talk about when we were little!"
The girls laughed as they walked inside the dressmaker's shop. The amount of fabric and materials was overwhelming! Cinderette spotted some red and black fabric that gave her an amazing idea for a ballgown. When she wasn't baking with her parents, she would be drawing fashion designs and sewing new clothes. But she was given only enough money for Chloe's dress and Lord Bourgeois's new outfit. Alya offered to buy her the fabric, but Cinderette denied it so Alya could have enough to fix up one of her old dresses.
Cinderette ordered a new yellow and black-striped gown with a matching mask the dressmaker promised would be ready in a few weeks.
Next door was the tailor shop where she ordered Lord Bourgeois's new outfit and mask.
"You do realize they are not going to go easy on you, right? They are going to do everything they can to make sure you don't go to the ball," Alya said.
"Unfortunately, I do. But that won't stop me! I managed to save one of Mom's old dresses. I could style it up a bit," Cinderette said.
"Just be careful, Marinette. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"I'll be ok. I have to go now. Give your family my best!" Cinderette ran back to the manor to start her chores. As soon as she walked through the door, Lord Bourgeois demanded to see the receipts to make sure she only bought their clothes instead of things for hersekf. When he saw both receipts were for his and Chloe's outfits, he gave her a long list of chores to do.
For the rest of the month, Cinderette was busy cleaning the house and even more so when the new outfits arrived. She had to "make the look better", as Chloe said and make sure they fit correctly. There were alterations, things to add, take off, and add again.
But every night before she went to bed, Cinderette would stay up for awhile with her animal friends to work on her mother's dress. The dress was a little old fashioned, so she thought altering it to fit the current style would help. But as the night of the ball loomed closer, Cinderette had less and less time to work on her dress that there were times she would go straight to bed. To help her out, her animal friends decided to finish the dress for her. Since she was tired at night, she didn't even notice what her friends had done while she was gone.
Finally, the day of the ball arrived and Cinderette was busy!
She had to run a bath for Chloe and her father, dress her, do her hair and make-up, and put her jewelry on.
After, Cinderette went to help Lord Bourgeois straighten up.
"Tonight's the night, Cinderette. Tell me, how are your chores coming along? Do you have a dress picked out for the ball?" he asked as she straightened his sash.
"Almost done, my lord. But I'm afraid my dress is nowhere near done," she confessed, "If you'll just pardon me from the rest of my chores, I'm sure I can finish my dress before we leave."
"Now, Cinderette. Remember what I told you. You must finish all of your chores and have something to wear. No finished chores. No finished dress. No ball," he reminded.
"Yes, my lord," Cinderette sighed. She gave a small curtsy and went to go finish her chores before going upstairs. The view from her window let her have a great view of the village and castle in the distance.
"Oh well. Who cares about some ball? It'll probably be boring with rich snobby people every where. I didn't even want to go," she sighed. But in her heart, she really did want to go. She saw herself laughing and smiling with Alya and the rest of their friends. Maybe dance with the Prince! She had heard he was so handsome and nice.
If only her dress was done.
Suddenly, candlelight filled her room and turned around to see her animal friends...with her finished ballgown!
"Oh my goodness!" she cried. She ran over and held the newly altered dress in her arms. It was beautiful! The pink skirt swirled around her as she twirled.
She had to put it on!
But first, Cinderette gave herself a quick bath to scrub away the dust and dirt from her skin so she wouldn't dirty her new dress. Once she was dried off, she dressed herself in the new pink gown. It felt light and airy.
Next, she brushed her hair until it shone like the midnight sky, put it in pigtails with shiny ribbon, added a beaded necklace, and some pink slippers. She twirled around for her animal friends, the skirt ballooning a little bit.
Finally, they gave her a pink mask with a feather in it before she left the room.
