Author's note: Hello, everyone! We're getting closer to the ball! Also, this story has a cover now! Yay! As always, please remember to review with your thoughts and criticism. I absolutely love hearing what you all think! Enjoy!
After days and weeks of anxious waiting, the day of the royal ball arrived. Ella was elated at the thought of getting to see Greyson. She daydreamed as she helped her sisters get ready. She thought back to her encounter with Greyson that had happened a great while ago. She remembered that he had been interrupted mid-sentence.
"Ella, I will always be here for you, to help you with your...logistics whenever you need it. My door will always be open for you. I can't wait to have a wonderful time with you at the ball, because the truth is-"
What was he going to say? What truth was he talking about? It must not have been too important, as the two never had brought it up again. Still, Ella couldn't help but wonder what the baker was going to say...
The Tremaine's dresses had been made just in time and they were just as wild as Ella thought they'd be. They were adorned with massive rhinestones that gave off large sparkles whenever the sisters moved. There was so much glitter and feathers and sequins and ribbons covering the yellow and pink fabric that someone could get lost for days trying to absorb it all.
Ella was in the middle of tying Anastasia's bodice. She was tugging as hard as she could, but no matter how hard she pulled, Anastasia demanded that the bodice be drawn tighter. After Ella had done all she could with the bodice, she helped the sisters get into their crinolines to keep their gaudy skirts in a round, solid shape. The sisters were already practicing for their royal encounter.
"Marry me?" gasped Drisella. "Why of course!"
"Yes, your majesty, of course I'll marry you!" cooed Anastastia.
"Marry you?" questioned Drisella to her sister, "He's going to marry me!"
"Nonsense!" responded Anastasia, outraged, "I'm the prettiest!"
Drisella shrieked, "I beg to differ!"
The two went at it with wicked words of wicked tongue. Ella merely rolled her eyes. In a way, she felt bad for these fools. Their opulent and frivolous lifestyle had crafted them into girls whose vanity caused them pick fights about any topic.
Ella had finished all of her chores early so that she could spend her time preparing herself for the ball. With a little help from her mice friends, she was able to get her mother's dress restored just in time. As Ella put it on, she felt her heart swell with pride and a little bit of sadness. Oh, if her mother could see her little girl now! Each and every day Ella strived to the woman her mother wanted her to be, a woman who saw each aspect of life with the utmost kindness. And if her mother could see her now...
The dress was perfect! Its striking light pink color went perfectly with Ella's fair skin. Ella's golden waves were curled and pinned up in the most gorgeous updo Ella could fashion. Ella put on her nicest dress flats and prepared to head downstairs to leave with the Tremaines for the ball. As she left, she smiled to herself as she tried to picture how Greyson would react when they met at the ball.
"He'll probably say I look beautiful," Ella thought to herself. "I'll be in his arms and we'll dance the night away!" she thought gleefully. Maybe tonight would be the night that the two figured out the complicated, unspoken feelings that lay between them. She could only hope.
She arrived downstairs just as the Tremaine's were about to leave. "Here I come!" cried Ella excitedly, causing the Tremaines to look up at the girl. Their jaws hung open, as they were stunned at how beautiful Ella was without the guise of the cinders and ashes from her hard labors. The lady Tremaine began to panic.
"Mother, she's beautiful!" whispered Anastasia in a worried awe. The lady Tremaine began to worry as well. This would surely ruin her plans for her daughters. It was her duty to make sure the prince only had eyes for either Deisella or Anastasia, and that meant eliminating any competition.
She put a coy smile on. "Ella, dear, you can't possibly go to the royal ball. It would be embarrassing! A peasant! In the palace? I shudder to think of such a thing." she purred
Ella knew her stepmother would try to prevent her from attending. She put her foot down. "It is the king's order that every citizen is allowed and encouraged to attend the ball. Do you wish to disobey the king?"
The older woman bit her lip. "Well," she decided. "You can't go in these rags." She gestured to Ella's dress. "Poor workmanship. It's practically falling apart!" And with that, she reached out to grasp Ella's dress sleeve and tugged it down hard, ruining the fabric in pieces. Her daughters began to laugh as poor Ella's world came crashing down. Ella was horrified as she gazed upon her mother's dress, now in shreds. She looked at the vile woman, her lip quivering as she tried to keep tears from escaping he eyes.
"How could you?" she whispered.
"You are not getting in the way of my family." Tremaine murmured. She turned around and brought her daughters out to the carriage that sat outside waiting for them. Ella ran after them and watched them roll down the street, heading for the ball.
Ella collapsed to the ground and wept. She couldn't go to the ball like this, in ruins. Her dress was destroyed and there was no way she could make it to the palace on foot. Her night off was taken from her! She wept into the dirt in front of her home. Greyson would be waiting for a girl who would never arrive. The two would never have their dance together. The night was utterly ruined. Ella continued to sob.
After a while, she decided to pick herself up and dust herself off. She figured that if she couldn't have her magical evening, then she would at least get a head start on her chores for the next day. On her way into the garden, however, Ella was surprised to see an elderly woman sitting by the hen house. The woman sat in an attire of dirty rags and her face was covered in wrinkles and grime. She must have been lost.
"Hello, Miss?" Ella called, "May I help you, Miss?"
The woman looked at Ella with warn eyes. "Could you perhaps share with me a cup of cream or some old crumbs?" She asked in a crackled voice.
Ella wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded curtly. "Of course." She said, as she went to the pantry. She prepared a fine cut of cream and, though it hurt her heart to even look at the commodity, she cut a slice of Greyson's bread for the woman. The woman took it with great appreciation.
"Thank you so much, dear! This means more than you could ever know."
Ella smiled sadly. "It was nothing, really." she insisted.
The woman finished the cream with a large gulp. "Yes, but kindness...kindness makes it everything." She stood up suddenly. She began to walk toward the center of the garden. "Now then, let's get you to the ball, Ella!"
Ella was rightly confused. "How do you know my name?" she questioned.
The woman looked puzzled. "Why, I'm your fairy godmother dear!" she exclaimed. The woman then observed her own rags. "Oh dear, I do suppose I don't look like myself. Let's change that." And with that, she pulled out a long crystal-looking wand from her robes. With a flick of her wrist, the woman was transformed. She was now this beautiful, youthful being with a large, jaw-dropping, white silk ball gown. She looked at her new trappings. "Now that's better!" she decided.
Ella was stunned speechless. A fairy godmother? She had remembered her mother talking about such a being when the two would walk together in the meadow. She claimed that they were magical, and took care of people when they needed their magical assistance in life. Ella had believed in them as a child, and now as she watched this woman in extravagant dressing putter around get garden. Her felt her faith restore.
"Now, we need something that says 'carriage'" said the godmother as she looked about the vegetable patch. "Squash? No. Peppers? No. Eggplant? No, not after last time." She turned to Ella. "Do you by chance have any watermelon?" Ella shook her head. "Cantaloupe?" Ella looked puzzled.
"We grow pumpkin?" She offered.
The godmother looked intrigued. "I never have worked with pumpkin before. But I do suppose now is the time to try."
Together the two found the grandest pumpkin in the garden. The godmother said a few words and flicked her wrist. Suddenly, the pumpkin began to transform right before Ella's eyes. It slowly got larger and larger, its outer shell turning into a metallic gold coating. In seconds, a beautiful carriage stood before the pair. Ella was in complete awe. "Wow" she breathed.
The fairy godmother was not finished. "Now, we need horses." She looked around at her resources. Her eyes finally fell on Ella's mice friends. "Perfect!" she cried. And with a flick of the wrist, the four mice blossomed into four white stallions. Ella giggled at the sight of her friends. She stroked their manes.
"Look his magnificent you are!" She laughed as the godmother continued to work her magic. Within minutes she had made footmen out of lizards and a driver out of a goose.
The godmother was getting anxious. "We must get you to the ball now, come on!" She gestured for Ella to get in the carriage.
"Wait!" Ella stopped. She looked at her mother's dress, which now still in embarrassing ruins. "Do you think you could perhaps mend it?" She asked gently.
"Mend it?" The godmother scoffed. "I could make you a whole new dress!"
Ella smiled. "If you could, I would like to wear this to the ball. It was my mother's, you see. I feel like if I wear it, then she's coming with me, in a way." she explained.
The godmother nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, of course. I understand." She held up her wand. "Er, would she mind if I did it up a bit, maybe a blue?" She asked.
Ella laughed. "That would be wonderful." she agreed.
And with that, the fairy godmother spun her wand, aiming at Ella's dress. Ella saw sparkles swirl around her as she was taken by the magic. Her dress now looked stunning! It was a deep gorgeous blue that matched Ella's eyes and it had a grand, large skirt that spun like a dream. It was festooned with a gorgeous, glittering sparkle that glistened in the moonlight. Her golden locks now lay in a perfect dressing. Ella was utterly speechless. No one at the ball would be expecting this. Now, she felt as though her dress was so grand that could be admired by even the prince. However, Ella's focus was on a different man.
Greyson would be so surprised! Ella's cheeks grew red as she thought about how it would be when the two saw each other now. She looked like royalty! Like a princess even!
The godmother looked at her with a warm, proud smile. "Off you go then, dear." She helped her up the carriage. However, she stopped suddenly when she saw Ella's choice in footwear. "Hold on, Ella love, take those off." Ella did as she was told and within a moment her worn-down flats were replaced with stunning heeled slippers.
Ella gasped as she put them on. "They're made of glass!" she observed.
The stepmother nodded. "And they're really comfortable." She smiled, "now hurry! Get to the ball and have yourself a grand night!" She exclaimed as she helped Ella into the carriage.
"Wait!" Ella stopped her departure again. "The Tremaines! When they see me they'll-"
"Ah! Say no more!" The godmother cheered as she waved her want over Ella's face. "Now the Tremaines will be completely unable to recognize you at all!"
Ella was deeply grateful. "Thank you so much!" she cried to the godmother who was waving farewell as the carriage took Ella away. She held a grand, excited smile on her face as she journeyed to the palace, and the royal ball.