Chapter One: Fate of the Ugly Stepsister
Three girls walked along the village streets. The beautiful Emily led the way, holding her baby sister, Meg's, hand as they skipped down the cobblestone street. Jane followed a couple of paces behind, her nose once again stuck in a book. She paid little mind to the calls of the village people, as they greeted Emily and Meg. No one ever greeted the homely elder sister when they were all together.
I feel like a daisy among roses, so plain and ordinary, no one even sees me. She often thought to herself. Emily was her twin, yet they looked nothing alike. Emily was tall for a girl, with voluptuous curves and golden hair that framed her face with luscious ringlets, that caught the sunlight in their glossy strands as the curls bounced around her waist when she walked. Her face was heart shaped with high cheekbones and full, rose red lips. Her eyes were a sky blue and they sparkled when she was in a good mood. Cute dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth when she laughed. She was every man's dream. The same could not be said for the child who'd been born just moments before her. Jane too was tall, but her limbs were gangly. Her large feet and hands only added to her awkward appearance. She was thin and lacked any kind of womanly curves. Her hair was jet black, long and stringy, her eyes were an equally dull dark brown. Her face was ordinary, neither pretty nor ugly. Her nose was perhaps a little too prominent and her lips were thinner than her sister's with only a slight pink shade to them. When Jane was younger, she had been very jealous of her twin sister's beauty, but as she grew older, she learned to accept it. There was no use wishing for things to be different, when there was absolutely nothing she could do about it, besides she preferred to be in the background. There, everyone just left her alone and she was free to escape into her fantasy world, one where she was fairest of them all.
When the girls arrived home, they found their father still packing for his big trip to the neighboring kingdom. He was a merchant and he often had to go away to distant places to sell his merchandise. Jane's lips set into a deep scowl. She hated it when her father went away. She loved her sisters dearly, but she kind of preferred his company to theirs. He didn't make her feel so out of place. He too was ordinary, average in every way. While Meg and Emily inherited their mother's beauty, she'd taken after him in the looks department. She even acted more like him, quiet and reserved, yet plucky when the need for it arose.
"Are you finished packing yet, Papa?" Emily whined. "I swear this place looks like a storm blew through it every time you leave." She sighed, as she picked up some of his shirts and threw them into his suitcase that sat open on the table.
"Now, now, I'm almost finished. I'll be gone for two weeks this time, there is a lot that I need for the trip." Their father huffed. There was a slight wheezing sound to his breathing as he bustled around.
"Please, sit down, Papa. You're exhausted. I'll finish up for you." Said Jane. She took his hand and led him over to his favorite chair. She worried about her father. In recent years, his health had declined. His enlarging waistline was not helping matters of course.
"Thank you, Child." He smiled as he pat her hand, lovingly.
"Emily, could you make some tea? I think we have a little Earl Grey left in the cupboard. There should be enough for at least one more brew."
"Do I have to? Why can't Meg do it?" Emily complained. She fell back into a chair and started fanning her face, dramatically. "I'm so tired!" She proclaimed.
"Do it, please, Emily. Meg doesn't know how to brew tea. She's too young. She might burn herself." Jane retorted calmly. She was well adapted to her sister's over the top displays. She'd been acting that way since childhood. It was how she got what she wanted.
"Fine." Emily grumbled as she jumped up from her chair. She skipped over to the stove, her bout of exhaustion seemingly forgotten for the moment.
Jane went about folding the rest of her father's clothes and putting them into the suitcase, while she watched her father doze and Meg brush one of her dolls' hair. She smiled contently as a snore erupted from her father and Meg let out a giggle. It were on days like this that Jane was at her happiest. These little moments of every day, peaceful life always warmed her heart. She hoped that one day she could have a life just as wonderfully peaceful with her own family, in her own house, her own husband and children. She didn't need an extraordinary life like the ones she read about, all she really wanted was a happy life. As long as there was joy in her life, she'd be content.
A determined pounding on the door, startled Jane from her blissful thoughts of reading bedtime stories to her children in front of a fireplace, with her husband's arm around her shoulder. "Who on earth, could that be?" Jane wondered aloud. She put down the shirt she'd been folding and hurried over to answer the door.
"Yes?" Jane greeted as she opened the door. "Duke Harrison!" She gasped, her mouth fell open slightly. The young duke was very handsome. He was tall and athletically built. His brown hair was cut short and was nicely groomed. His green eyes were lively and mischievous. His smile could make any girl swoon. Too bad his personality left something to be desired.
"Hello, Plain Jane. Is Beauty at home?" He asked, smirking like an imp.
She had the mind to say "no" and slam the door in his face, but Emily would be terribly cross with her if she found out. She was quite taken with the duke, she and every other woman in the village. "She's making tea." She answered, trying desperately to keep the anger out of her voice. She hated her dreadful nickname.
"Can I come in?" He asked. "I'd like to talk with her."
Jane's lips stretched into a fake smile, "Certainly. Come on in." She stepped aside and aloud him to enter the cottage. "Please forgive the mess, we're busy trying to help Papa pack for his trip."
"Ah yes, you're leaving tomorrow, aren't you Mr. Winslow?" Duke Harrison inquired.
"Yes, I leave bright and early tomorrow morning." replied Papa. "What brings you here, Mr. Harrison?"
"I'm here to call on your daughter." Harrison announced, confidently.
"Which one? Jane?" Asked Papa.
"Oh no! Not Jane!" Harrison chuckled, laughing as if the very thought was absolutely absurd. "I'm here for Emily." The duke corrected the old man.
Jane felt her face grow red with embarrassment and rage. "Emily, come in here, please. Duke Harrison is here for you." Jane called for her sister, hoping that this visit would be short lived. The sooner he was gone, the better.
Emily scurried quickly into the room. She smiled brightly with excitement when she saw the duke. Her dimples showed clearly, even in the dimly lit cottage. "Thomas!" She giggled. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
Harrison took her hand and kissed her fingers. He bowed slightly to her, as if she were a princess instead of a merchant's daughter. "I'm here to call on you, my dear Beauty, would you like to go for a stroll with me?" He asked, charmingly.
"Of course!" Emily giggled.
Harrison straitened himself and offer her his arm, which she quickly took.
"I'll be back soon!" Emily assured her family as the pair hurried out the door. They didn't even bother shutting it behind them.
Her blood boiling, Jane rushed over and slammed the door shut. "Good riddance to them both." She hissed beneath her breath. "They're a perfect match."
"Now, Jane, don't let what Mr. Harrison said get to you. You're a very pretty girl, any man would be glad to have you." Her father said, seeing how upset his eldest daughter was.
Jane sighed heavily. "You have to think I'm pretty. You're my father. To everyone else, I'm plain. Plain Jane." She shook her head free of the childhood taunting. "Anyway, let's have that tea, while we wait for Emily to return.
An hour later, Emily finally returned and the family sat down to dinner. Jane noticed that Emily's cheeks were a little rosier than normal. She got a suspicious feeling in her gut, but chose to wait until later to prod her. She didn't want to get her in trouble.
"So children, what kinds of gifts would you like from Ginger City?" Asked their white whiskered father. His round face lit up with a smile. Bringing home gifts each time he went away was sort of a Winslow family tradition. Each girl always got one gift. It could be anything they wanted, he'd usually buy it for them, no matter the cost. "Meg?"
The little eleven year old, grinned at her dear father. "I want a doll, one with copper curls just like mine!"
"Of course, Meg, sweetheart. You shall have your copper haired doll. And Jane? What would you like?" He asked, his brown eyes shifting to her.
"A new book would be nice. I think I've read everything we own more than twice now." She answered, thoughtfully.
"Typical." Emily sneered. "You always ask for books. Why don't you ask for something a little more useful, like a new dress? The ones you have fit you horribly. They're all too big and they make you look even more flat-chested than you already are."
Jane's cheeks flushed. "I don't want a dress." She said, biting her tongue to keep from spitting flames at her. What good would a new dress do, anyway? It seemed like a big waist of money.
"What about you, Emily?" Asked Papa.
The beauty tapped her lips in thought. "A rose. I'd like a rose to wear in my hair." She said with a girly giggle. "I bet Thomas, would love that!"
"A rose? Emily, they're out of season. They'd be hard to find, and even if he could find some, they'd be horribly expensive." Jane protested.
"Oh, I'm sure Papa will be able to find one measly little rose! Right, Papa?" Said Emily.
"I will try, darling, but Jane is right. They'll be hard to find out of season." He replied hesitantly.
"Papa, if you really love me, you'll buy me that rose!" Emily said in an overbearing tone. "It's very important."
Mr. Winslow sighed in defeat. "Very well dear, I promise I'll get you a rose, somehow. I won't come home without one."
Emily grinned happily with delight, having gotten her way again.
"Emily, do you really need a rose? It seems like a lot of trouble to go through for one little flower." Jane asked her sister, as they readied for bed.
"You don't understand. I have to have that rose." Emily's lips curved into a grin. Thomas loves roses and I want to look my best when he purposes to me."
Jane gawked at her, her heart skipping a beat. "P-purpose?" She stuttered. "How do you know he's going to ask you to marry him?"
Emily leapt onto her bed and bounced around merrily. "He said he was. In two weeks, when father returns, he's going to ask me in front of the entire village." She giggled. "I can't wait to be Mrs. Emily Harrison!"
"Congratulations, sister. I am happy for you." Said Jane in a quiet voice. She really was happy for Emily, even if she did hate Harrison with a passion. She knew Emily adored him and he had always seemed to like her back. Maybe they would be happy together. She hoped they would be. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that her younger sister was getting married before her. Sometimes she wondered if she'd ever know what it's like to be a bride, to be in love with someone, and have them love her back in return. It seemed like such a faraway dream, like a fairytale that could never come true, not for her at least, not for Plain Jane. Fairytale endings were only for beautiful girls like Emily. Jane was doomed to the fait of the ugly step-sister unfortunately.