The day of the ball has finally arrived. Ella was in Anastasia and Drizella's bedroom helping them get dressed for the ball. Ella was trying to tighten Drizella's corset while Anastasia was looking at herself in the mirror practicing her talk with the prince. "You want me to be the queen?" "Tighter! Tighter!" Drizella ordered Ella. "Tighter!" With one final pull from Ella, Drizella said, "That's it!" Ella asked them if they would like to get to know the prince before marrying him. "Certainly not, it might change my mind," answered Drizella. "I bet you have never ever spoken to a man. Have you, Moon Face?" Anastasia asked Ella. "I have once," Ella answered. Anastasia and Drizella laughed and then started dancing. As they continue dancing, the stepsisters fought over a tiara Anastasia was trying on. Ella quietly leaves the room to check on Alyssa Rose.
Alyssa Rose was already up in the attic twirling herself across the floor. She was very excited to go to her first ball. Earlier that morning before the girls did their regular chores, they found an old trunk that had two dresses that their mother used to wear. Ella thought that Alyssa Rose would look beautiful in Lady Eleanor's lavender dress while Alyssa Rose thought that Ella could wear Lady Eleanor's pink dress. They started altering their mother's old dresses with some help from the mice.
Later that night, the girls put on their dresses and pulled back their hair in gentle French braids. "Lissie, you look beautiful!" Ella gushed. "So do you, Sissy," Alyssa Rose replied. "Are you ready?" Alyssa Rose nodded. The girls held their hands and went downstairs. Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella were already downstairs waiting for the coach to arrive when they heard the girls coming. Lady Tremaine looked at them from head to toe. "Cinderella. Cinderlissie." "It cost you nothing. These were our mother's old dresses, you see," Ella explained. Drizella giggled, "Oh, la. Cinderella and Cinderlissie at the ball!" "After all I've done…" Lady Tremaine said. "We don't want to ruin anything," Alyssa Rose said. "We don't even want to meet the Prince."
"Oh, and you two won't," Lady Tremaine said with a scowl. "Cause there's no question of you going." Ella tried to reason with Lady Tremaine, "But all of the maidens of the land are invited, by order of the King." "It is the King I'm thinking of. It would be an insult to the royal personage to take you two to the palace in these rags." "Rags?" Alyssa Rose looked at her dress and then at Ella's. "These were our mother's." Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella walked over to them. "Oh, sorry to have to tell you," Lady Tremaine said with a smirk. "But your mother's taste was questionable. These things are so old-fashioned, they're practically falling to pieces." She grabs the left shoulder of Ella's dress and rips it. Ella and Alyssa Rose gasped. "What did you do that for?!" Alyssa Rose said in anger. "Oh, the shoulder's frayed! It's falling to bits." Lady Tremaine then grabs the lace of Ella's dress and rips it. "Stop it!" Alyssa Rose cried as she pushes Lady Tremaine away from Ella. Lady Tremaine angrily looked at the little girl. She raises her hand and strikes Alyssa Rose across the face. "Lissie!" Ella cried as Lady Tremaine ripped off the sash. Alyssa Rose lost her balance and fell on the floor and that gave Anastasia and Drizella the opportunity to ruin her dress, too. Alyssa Rose tried to get up and when she did, Anastasia steps on her dress, causing the poor girl to fall again. Then, Drizella rips the right shoulder and back lace off Alyssa Rose's dress. Anastasia takes her foot off and then when Alyssa Rose got up again, she grabs her by her hair and unties her braid. "No! Stop!" The poor girl cried as she sunk down to the floor and sobbed.
Ella went down the stairs and picked up her sister and hugged her. She looked at Lady Tremaine with tears in her eyes. "How could you?" Lady Tremaine smiled wickedly. "How could I not otherwise? I will not have anyone associate my daughters with you two. It would ruin their prospects to be seen arriving with ragged servant girls because that is what you are, and that is what you will always be. Now mark my words, you shall not go to the ball!" With Alyssa Rose in her arms, Ella watched the carriage leave with Lady Tremaine and her daughters. Then, they went into the garden and began to weep. "I'm sorry, Mama. We said we'd have courage, but we don't! Not anymore! I don't believe anymore!" The girls continued to weep.
"Excuse me," someone said.