Around a week later, after Kit and I had had a meeting with the King with regards to putting up a royal portrait of me, we finally received word that Anastasia and Scott had arrived at the Palace. As soon as the door to the main dining room had opened, my jaw dropped open a little to see the poor woman standing there, still mentally exhausted from her guilt, and from Lady Tremaine's horrible treatment. 'Hello, Cinderella', she sniffed. 'Hello, Anastasia. It's such a relief to know you're alright', I replied as I ran over to hug her. 'Thank you so much for inviting me here, Cinderella', she told me, as a few tears started pouring out of her eyes. I myself started to tear up a little as I hugged Anastasia tightly and said 'I'm so sorry, Anastasia, about everything you've had to go through'. But as I expected might happen, Anastasia remained convinced that she should be blamed. 'No, Cinderella, I'm the one who should be apologizing...I did such horrible things to you and I...', but before she could complete her sentence, I pulled her out of the hug and gently told her 'Look at me'. Anastasia wiped her tears away and looked me in the eyes. 'None of it was your fault, Anastasia. You shouldn't blame yourself for *any* of it, alright? It was all your mother's doing, and hers alone...And I want you to know, Anastasia...That I love you dearly'. A weak smile of relief crept across Anastasia's face. 'I can't tell you how grateful I am to hear that, Cinderella. All I've ever wanted is someone to love me for who I am. Thank you, so much', she said as I pulled her back into a hug. 'Of course, Anastasia, anything for my dear sister', I said; my voice full of love and compassion. We then let go of each other as we sat down at the table for a cup of tea with Kit and the King.

As I poured some tea into Anastasia's mug, I said with a warm smile 'I'm so glad you reached out to me, Anastasia, because I know only too well that you and Drizella have suffered as well under your mother, and I'm glad I found you when I did so I could help you find love'. Anastasia, still feeling ashamed, admitted 'I'm glad as well, Cinderella. I hate to say this but I honestly NEEDED someone like you to get my mother out of my life, and I know you were essentially lulled into my mother's plan, but-'. I cut Anastasia off again as I said with a benign grin 'It's fine, Anastasia. I understand completely'. I firmly believed that without me being there, Anastasia and Drizella would have most likely been stuck under Lady Tremaine's influence for the rest of their lives without any good influence to bring them to their senses and help them escape from the cycle of abuse. Anastasia took a sip of her tea as I did the same. Anastasia found the tea far more delicious than any she'd ever had under her mother. 'That's honestly delish, Cinderella'. 'I'm so glad you think so, because I can't even begin to imagine how undernourished you must've been until now'. Anastasia then looked me dead in the eyes, shakingly lowering her mug. 'Well, I'm afraid there's more to it than you might imagine'. 'Oh, dear...', I wistfully said with a hint of dread in my voice. Scott and the Grand Duke then stood up as the latter asked 'Would you like us to give you two some privacy?'. 'Yes, please. I don't think you're going to like what Anastasia has to tell me', I said regretfully. 'But, Sire, I think you and Kit should stay. It might give you a little more insight into what Anastasia and I have been through'. 'Of course, Cinderella. We're always willing to listen', the King replied. Scott and the Duke reluctantly left the room as Anastasia thought of how best to tell me what was really going on.

'Look, Anastasia, you really don't have to tell me if you don't want to', I told her, my voice full of concern. 'No, Cinderella, I think I should. Because I feel you should know everything', she replied, clearly tearing up a little. 'Alright, just take your time, Anastasia. I'm listening', I assured her as I sat forward to listen. 'Well, Lady Tremaine has committed quite a few more atrocities than you might have suspected. First of all, she actually caused the death of my father. My biological father, that is'. 'She really did that?', I asked as the wheels started turning. 'YES', Anastasia said vehemently. 'She told us that we neither needed nor DESERVED a true father figure, and that we were powerless to stop her from disposing of him. She said that he was WORTHLESS, because he didn't believe greed and ambition were good'. 'Oh, Anastasia...I-', I began to say, but before I could complete my sentence, Anastasia cut me off and added 'And she told us that we were powerless to stop her from abducting you and your father'. 'I'm sure you were...', I said, devastated to learn one more thing I hadn't suspected. 'But she also got rid of your MOTHER, of all people, and told us that...'. I gasped before Anastasia could complete her sentence. '...That she wouldn't love us anymore, and she'd kill us if we DARED to try and spare her life', she finished. I gasped again and asked 'And then she did the same to MY biological father?!'. Anastasia nodded, and I added 'And threatened to leave you and Drizella out on the streets if either of you dared to speak out?!', I said, becoming increasingly horrified. 'NO, Cinderella, worse than that!', she cried. 'Each time she murdered either our father or one of your parents she threatened to poison Drizella and I WITH them!'. I recoiled in horror again and cried 'How could she do such a thing to you, Anastasia?!'. 'I honestly don't think there's a single grain of good in her heart, so she could NEVER repent', she said, her voice full of anger and disgust. 'And was that it?', I asked, praying Lady Tremaine hadn't committed anymore atrocities towards her two biological daughters behind my back. 'NO, Cinderella. That WASN'T it', she said, as she began to break down.

'Anastasia, look, you don't have to tell me the rest of the story now. You can tell me later if you prefer', I said with a sad smile, trying to put her at ease. 'No, Cinderella...I have to tell you now', she replied. 'She actually FORBADE us to do any housework and threatened to cane us in the back of the neck if we dared to do the 'dirty work', as she called it. And she forced you to endure the entire burden. And would you believe; she told us that bullying you and never showing any open love towards you was the ONLY way to get ourselves out of public disgrace and into a more opulent and carefree lifestyle. She even went as far as promising to cane us until we DREW blood if we dared to stand up for you. On one occasion where I offered to do the dishes for you for once...She actually caned me so hard that I actually DID actually start to bleed!'. I recoiled in horror once again, along with Kit and the King., having learnt one more thing we could never have possibly imagined. The King even SCREAMED to learn about just another one of Lady Tremaine's atrocities. 'She told us once that she wanted to give us a better life, but that she promised to leave us to rot if we became unfaithful to her in any way'. As Anastasia unveiled more and more things I didn't know about her traumatic upbringing, I could feel my rage and horror escalating more than ever before, along with my concern for my two stepsisters, and at this point all I could ask Anastasia was 'So she's really been THAT cruel to you...All these years?'. 'Yes...She HAS!', she said as she finally lost control and broke down. All I could respond with was a resounding 'Awwwwww...'. I leapt up from my chair and ran over to hug my poor stepsister. I knew everything she'd endured under Lady Tremaine had finally become too much for her to bottle up any longer. 'Anastasia, I'm...I'm so, so sorry you've had to put up with all of this. I promise...I am NEVER going to allow your mother to do any of those horrible things to you again. I *will* protect you, Anastasia. You are a great friend, and you will ALWAYS be my sister', I said, my voice now full of not only love and concern, but determination to protect Anastasia. 'Thank you so much', Anastasia told me as she choked up again. 'Of course, Anastasia. You deserve far better than what you've had to put up with'.

I had grown increasingly horrified and enraged with my stepmother as Anastasia's story progressed, but I had realized that her cruel, icy heart was too strong for anyone to be able to melt, and it was utterly pointless to hold any kind of grudge. I could have done anything to punish her, even as brutal as a life sentence in prison, or even sentencing her to death, but I decided it wasn't worth imposing any kind of punishment on her. Not only was Lady Tremaine too far gone for anyone to bring her back over to the light, but I now knew I could end up sending myself down a darker path if I were to seek revenge. All I could do was forgive Lady Tremaine out of mercy and spare her from being executed or placed in solitary confinement. I decided to have Lady Tremaine banished from the Kingdom, not necessarily as a means of punishing *her*, but rather as a means of protecting my two stepsisters; not only to keep Anastasia safe, but to allow my older stepsister Drizella to find her own freedom. Even the King agreed there was no point in trying to force my stepmother to repent, as it would simply backfire. There had been times where I wished I had tried to find some way to seek revenge on my stepmother for her cruelty; not only towards me, but also towards Anastasia and Drizella, and even Anastasia herself wished she'd tried to bring her mother to justice sooner rather than later, but the two of us agreed there was ultimately no point. For not only would it harden Lady Tremaine's already icy heart, but it would have also caused us to become more bitter and turn back on our suppressed love and compassion. Forgiveness was the only option at this point for Lady Tremaine. But Anastasia still had something else on her mind; her older sister. 'What should we do about Drizella, though? We can't just leave her to rot under her mother', she asked. 'Don't worry, I'm sure we can find some way to help her. But I can assure you that we won't punish her', the King said. 'Thank you, Your Majesty', I replied. 'I really don't think Drizella is such a bad person either. I think she's only turned out the way she is today because of her mother'. I felt that even Drizella had a heart of gold on the inside, and while romantic love probably wouldn't suit her too well, I felt some kind of platonic or family relationship might help her change for the better and find genuine happiness. Anastasia and I sat down again and got back to our afternoon teas a I said 'I'm truly glad you reached out to me, Anastasia, because I know you've never been a truly bad person deep inside, and neither has Drizella, for that matter. I'm not sure what Drizella wants to do once she becomes free from her mother's clutches, but I'm confident that she will eventually try to patch things up with us. And I promise we can put all of that behind us and become true sisters from this moment forward. All you and your sister need is a second chance', I said, finally smiling ear to ear with affection again. 'And in case you and Scott want to, we would happily allow you two to move into the Palace, and Scott can become one of the bakers in the kitchen. It'd be far better if we were all living under the same roof, wouldn't it?'. Anastasia, with a bit of a chuckle in her voice said 'Absolutely, it would. Thank you so much, Cinderella'. I then pulled Anastasia into another hug as I said 'Aww, you're welcome, Anastasia'. Kit then got up and joined Anastasia and I in a group hug. We had now become a true family, and Anastasia and I had finally found our happiness.

And so, that evening, a small platoon of guards pulled up outside the Tremaine estate to arrest Lady Tremaine and have her put on the next ship leaving the Kingdom. Drizella received her own personal message from Anastasia and I letting her know that we forgave her and pardoned her for any hurt she may have caused us under her mother, and she couldn't help but tear up a little, not only at our sweet forgiveness, but also at the knowledge that we didn't think she was purely evil and that she could find a better life for herself. Whilst all we could do for the moment was leave her to her own devices, I was confident that one day she would eventually try to make amends with us. Anastasia was allowed to move into the Palace, and the two of us were now closer than ever, along with her baker boyfriend Scott. The two of them would eventually marry, and from then on we would become ever closer. Our confidence in our dreams allowed us to get to this stage. As I once taught my animal friends...

"Have faith in dreams, and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true"

And so, we all lived happily ever after. The End.