-The Queen-

The prisons were in a dismal state. The Queen made a mental note to reprimand the warden and write up more guidelines for prison upkeep, but all of that would have to wait. The only reason she even ventured to the dismal place was to see if her son had learned his lesson.

She descended the stairs and followed the directions to her son's cell. Charles sat on the floor, leaning against the bars, completely covered in filth. The Queen felt a pang of guilt. Maybe she had gone too far, but the moment her son met her eyes, and he smiled his cocky, self-sure grin, her guilt melted away.

"To what do I owe the honor of being visited by the Queen?" He asked.

Leticia opened her mouth to reprimand her son, but she ended up pacing back and forth instead. What could she say that had not already been said?

"Why?" She asked finally. "Why can't you realize who you are?"

Her son just looked up at her and she grew even more angry. She marched up to the prison door and wrapped her hands around the bars.

"Is this what it needs to come to Charles? Do we need to lock you up? What would your people think of you if they knew you had to be locked in a cell because you hate the kingship?"

Charles stood up and crossed the cell towards her. He stood barely out of reach. She could see bags under his eyes.

"I do not hate the kingship. You have been right this entire time. I am ready to commit completely."

His voice was somber as if he were signing away his life.

"I wonder what lies you would tell me just to get out of this cell." He had already been in there for a day and a half. She thought it would take him a week to crack.

"Peace mother. It is the truth. I'm tired of being a man people can't respect."

Leticia blinked. "People respect you." She said automatically.

"I've acted ridiculous. I don't deserve respect."

He looked sufficiently penitent. She had just planned to speak to him, but her anger from his behavior had subsided.

"Guards, open my son's cell." She stepped back and the door was opened.

Charles was out of his chains and free. He rubbed his wrists, and a spark of glee crossed his face when he looked at her. He approached her, covered in filth, his arms outreach towards her.

"Don't you dare." The queen said in her most severe voice.

His grin was wide and mischievous. "Didn't you miss me mother?"

"Don't press your luck. I am content to leave you here."

"I will let you be then. There is probably much that has happened that I need to catch up on."

"The first thing you need to catch up on is a shower and then you will be attending the Duchesses' garden party this afternoon."

Charles frowned; he would rather spend the rest of the day in prison than to subject himself to an afternoon of trite socialization.

"Perhaps my time would be better spent if I spent the afternoon updating myself with our foreign trade policies."

"Nonsense. I have already promised the Duchess you would be in attendance. Lydia needs an escort and you would be good to remember that as long as you are not engaged, you will be going to every social."

He sighed, "Very well."

-The Prince-

Charles arrived ceremoniously with his sister. He was immediately mobbed by well-wishers who thanked him for attending while his sister left him high and dry to give formal royal thank you's. No one had heard a word about the Crown Prince spending the last day and a half in prison so he was thankfully spared of extra stares and attention.

He made it through the throng to Derrick who was in a similar predicament.

"Charles! At long last." Derrick slapped him on the back cordially and then turned to the women.

"Ladies! I am sorry to announce that we are wanted on the croquet field!"

The women looked disappointed, but they parted, and Derrick and Charles managed to find two mallets.

One the game was under way they were finally alone enough to hold a conversation.

"I hope your secret tryst was enjoyable."

"It was uneventful."

"That is a real shame being as you just spent the last two days in prison for that tryst. That means you did not tell her?"

"No."

"You're an idiot." Derrick said He took his turn while shaking his head.

"I know, but it did not seem like the best idea at the time."

"It sounds like I know more about her than you do."

Charles hit the ball crooked and then looked up at the Grand Duke.

"What do you mean?"

"When we left Bellview I was convinced that there was more going on than Lady Tremaine would let on, so I went to the records hall and I checked on the census records. Specifically who was reported to live in Bellview manor during the time of the last census."

"And?"

"and the last census was right after the flu ravaged the countryside. The residents for Bellview listed were Lady Tremaine, her daughters, and two servants, but if you go back to the last census conducted only nine years prior, there was a whole staff, Lord Treval and his daughter, a miss Ellanore Treval. I'm thinking that Ellanore to Cinderella isn't that big of a stretch."

Charles looked over to the crowd to see if he could find Lady Tremaine in the crowd of people playing games. He found her sitting under one of the awnings. As if she had felt him staring, they looked up and locked eyes for a moment before Charles turned back to his game with Derrick.

"Why would Lady Tremaine lie?" He asked.

Derrick shrugged and took his shot. "It wouldn't be the craziest thing that a mother has done to get her daughters married off. She probably thinks that her daughters have a better chance at marriage if their stunning step-sister isn't showing them up at every event."

Derrick looked up to where Anastasia and Drisella were playing lawn pins.

"I'm sorry to say that it looks like your Cinderella probably will not be making it out into society anytime soon."

Charles shook his head. If what Derrick was saying was true, it meant things were a lot more complicated than he had thought. Derrick's discovery made everything start to click into place. Lady Tremaine's hostile dinner party. The stepmother's cat that was stuck in the tree. Everything down to her fear when she saw the carriage that must have belonged to Lady Tremaine.

"What are you going to do about it?" Derrick asked.

Charles shook his head, "I do not know. The first thing I have to do is speak to her. She deserves to know everything before we go any further."

"Telling her who you are could not possibly hurt your chances."

Charles laughed, "You would be mistaken."

Their last conversation played on repeat in his head.

"Yoo-Hoo!" A woman's voice yelled out. Charles and Derrick both looked away from their game to see Lady Averly Hallows waving them down. Lady Hallows was an unabashed royal chaser. She was one of the fashion pillars of society. Everything she swore was the height of fashion in foreign courts, but it was just her excuse to wear indecently low riding dresses.

At any given event, her breasts were spilling over the top of her dress. Today it was a lime green dress that was thick with layers and layers of lace.

"Run." Derrick said sardonically, but it was too late for either of them.

"Oh my Lord's!" She yelled, stalking towards them faster than should be allowed from heels on damp grass.

"Lady Hallows." Charles said in greeting, bowing low. "It is always a pleasure to see you." Derrick echoed his words and Lady Hallows placed her gloved hand in both of their faces to kiss.

"What a beautiful garden you have. You mother has decorated well. Perhaps you will let her leave to visit Nightenhall. Our rose garden alone is the size of the whole area!" She said. Derrick smiled tightly.

"Thank you for your kind words, Lady Hallows. I will be sure to extend your invitation to the Duchess."

Once she had paid Derrick enough attention, she abandoned him and zeroed in on Charles.

"Prince Charles, it is so good to have you here. The very presence of royals at an event like this just makes you so approachable." Lady Hallows grabbed his arm and he had to mirror her actions to stop her from coming any closer.

"I just had to come over here to get your well-wishes."

In moments like this, diplomacy was always at the forefront of his mind. Diplomacy was the only thing that kept him from asking her to leave him alone.

"You always have my well-wishes Lady Hallows." He said politely. Perhaps if he did not ask her for more information their interactions would end here.

Her arm moved like a snake to his shoulder and her low revealing dress was purposely bent into his face. He looked to Derrick, silently pleading for help, but Derrick threw up his hands in defeat.

"That is so nice to hear Prince Charles. I always knew I was a favorite of yours. The slipper is sure to fit me now that I have your blessing."

Charles frowned, "What slipper?"

Lady Hallows laughed, a high-pitched chittering noise. "The glass slipper of course. The Ladies are all trying it on under the awning. It hasn't fit anyone yet though." Lady Hallows grabbed Charles' arms. "Do not worry Prince Charles. I am going to try it on soon. Your wait for your mystery woman will be over."

"Right." He said, shifting through her words like they were a complicated riddle.

She left him and headed towards the awning.

"This has to be some sort of joke started by Lydia." Charles said, finally noticing the crowd gathering under the awning.

"Do you think that was code for something?" Derrick asked.

Derrick knew about the slipper, but he did not know how it became one of the crowning events of the garden party.

"I am going tol kill her." Charles said before completely abandoning their croquet game and storming towards the awning.

He approached the outer layer, and everyone turned to him laughing and whispering. Charles had a feeling that he was not going to like where the day was going. He cut through the crowd and began to see a semblance of a line that was forming. At the center of everything was his sister and she was holding the glass slipper.

"Lydia! What are you doing?" He hissed while he pushed through the women.

She looked up and saw him coming towards her and her face went white.

"Charles. I am glad you are here. I was just telling everyone about your mystery woman and I just so happened to grab the slipper on my way out, so just a few ladies were trying it on to see if it fit anyone."

He could strangle his sister on the spot. It was one thing to break into his room, but it was another thing to steal his personal stuff and parade it before every woman in the entire kingdom.

"Well I'm putting an end to this entire farce."

All the woman in line gave a cry of disappointment and Charles began gritting his teeth. He only managed to remain civil because they were representatives of the crown, but once they got home, he was going to make her life very difficult.

She pulled the slipper further away from his outstretched hand and held up her other hand in defense.

"Will you hear me out Charles, just for a moment?"

He at the women in line who were all looking as though he had just destroyed all their fun, then he looked to Derrick who was snickering at him behind his back. He sighed.

"Fine, what?"

She stepped towards him and pulled him close so that the other women would not hear their conversation.

"Remember when I tried the slipper on?" She asked.

"Yes, I remember when you broke into my room and stuck your nose into places it didn't belong."

"It's been bothering me for days that it didn't fit, even though it should have. So, yesterday while you were gone I snuck my friends into your room to let them try it on."

Charles pulled back, ready to ream her for her continued invasion of his privacy, but she pulled him back to her.

"It didn't fit any of them. Of course, that bothered me even more, so I decided to bring it here and this shoe will not fit anybody's foot. It is not possible."

Charles looked at the glass slipper in her hand. His frustration was beginning to be overcome with curiosity.

"How many people have you had try on that slipper?"

She smiled, "after the last one it's been thirty-six."

His eyebrows went up, "It really has not fit anyone?" He asked.

His sister shook her head triumphantly.

"Not even close. No matter what your shoe size is, it will not even let you slide in an inch."

Charles looked back to the throng of women standing behind him and shook his head. Even though this was all Lydia's idea, his mother would still find him at fault for the farce they are going to make. He did not love the thought of spending another night in prison, but his sister was finally onto something.

"My dearest sister, the princess, has told you all about the glass slipper?" He asked.

The women all nodded emphatically.

"Has she told you that I plan on marrying the woman who fits this slipper?"

Mouth dropped open and screams went up from all around him. Derrick just folded his arms and smirked at his sister. Lydia had her hand to her chest and she was looking up at him with eyes as big as the moon.

"Our mother is going to kill you for that!" She hissed.

"Our mother is going to kill us. You brought the slipper here. You are an accomplice. You better be sure no one will fit that slipper." He whispered to his sister. Her face morphed into horror as she realized the truth of what he said. Charles turned to the women still waiting in line.

"Ladies, I wish you all luck!"

He pulled Derrick out of the wild crowd that was now fighting for spots in line.

"You're crazy!" Derrick said with wonder in his voice. He could not even imagine what had overcome his friend.

"I am not. I already know who the slipper will fit."

Derrick was frozen in place. His friend had completely lost his mind.

"Do we have a game to finish or not?" Charles asked.

Derrick followed him shaking his head the whole way.

-Cinderella-

Her soon to be betrothed was coming today.

Ella spent the day getting ready. Her dress was tailored to perfection. She had picked a more conservative dress in color and style. It was the one dress begging to be rescued from the gaudy wardrobe.

She curled her hair and struggled through the trial and error of accomplishing a difficult hairstyle alone. She had to borrow a pair of her stepmothers shoes when she realized that Anastasia and Drisella's shoes were not even close to her own size.

She worked until not a hair was out of place and then she waited. When they returned from the garden party, Lady Tremaine climbed up all the stairs to evaluate her.

"Ella." She said in greeting after opening her door.

Ella stood, exposing herself to the critical eye of her stepmother. Lady Tremaine crossed the room and they stood in a tense moment of silence before Lady Tremaine finally spoke.

"You look passable." She said, and then that was it.

Lady Tremaine left her alone to wait for her guest in silence. She was battered with questions and scared. She did not have to wait long before she heard footsteps up the stairs. The door opened and Anastasia poked her head through.

"You're wanted downstairs."

Ella stood. Everything was shaking from her hands to her knees as she descended the stairs behind her stepsister.

"They are in the drawing room." Anastasia said before leaving for her room.

She heard from the other side of the door. Her stepmothers voice intermingled with a male voice that sounded alien.

She took a deep breath knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" her stepmother called out.

"It is me, Ella." She said through the door.

"Come in sweet child!"

Ella hesitated. Her stepmother had called her that in the beginning when she first moved into Bellview. She had been treated in a sickly-sweet way for years until her father passed away and the reality of the situation shone through. Hearing her say those words now brought back bad memories. Ella opened the door and stepped into the drawing room.

Lady Tremaine sat at the settee. She sat tall, holding a cup of tea in her hand smiling at Ella in a familiar way. Ella stared at the man. This was the man who was supposed to be her betrothed.

He was barely taller than her, his hair was a golden blonde color. He leaned against the fireplace mantle in an overly familiar way holding a glass of whisky. His jaw line was rounded and pretty, it matched his pretty clothes and his pretty hair. Despite all of that, the one thing that caught her attention was the look in his eyes.

He eyes were predatory. They inspected her slowly and lingered in certain places longer. She felt exposed to him. The curve of his mouth grew wider and wider until Ella could not look at him anymore. She focused on Lady Tremaine who was watching the exchange with great interest.

"Ella dear, come sit down over here. This is Lawrence Seaver."

Ella kept her eyes lowered. She didn't want to meet his lingering eyes again if she could help it. She gave him a small curtsy.

"Mr. Seaver, good day."

She crossed the room towards her stepmother, but in doing so she walked too close to Mr. Seaver, and he stepped in front of her forcing her to look at him again. He reached out and grabbed her hand. He looked at her hand briefly before he held it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Ella did not step back. She did not retreat. She could not do anything that would embarrass her stepmother.

"Your stepmother has told me a lot about you. I wonder exactly how much of it is true." He said.

Ella pulled her hand away from him and offered him her best smile.

"I am as you see Mr. Seaver." She turned to sit across from the teat table on a single chair that prevented him from sitting next to her. Her hands locked together in her lap and she looked anywhere but the uncomfortable gaze of Lawrence Seaver.

"It's exactly as I said Lawrence. She is as quiet and submissive as a door mouse, but she's a real hidden beauty. Worth every penny."

Ella met her stepmothers' eyes. It cut her like a knife to hear her stepmother's compliments that were so obviously insincere and strategic.

"I don't know." Mr. Seaver said, stepping closer towards them. "It seems to me that you're getting the better deal. You get money and you get Bellview while I get some timid mouse? I am not a man you cannot rip off Lady Tremaine."

Lady Tremaine smiled tightly at Mr. Seaver.

"Of course not Lawrence. I would not take you for a fool. I'll give you a moment alone so that you can... consider your options." She said wryly.

Lady Tremaine stood and Ella went to follow her, but her stepmother stopped her.

"You stay here dear. Mr. Seaver might want some company." Lady Tremaine smiled, and Ella panicked. Lady Tremaine pulled Ella into a hug.

"Don't fight him. Give him everything he wants or I will make you regret it." She whispered in Ella's ear.

The door closed behind Lady Tremaine leaving them completely alone. Ella had nowhere to turn, so she faced him. Her hands were interwoven, and her nails dug painfully into her palms.

"This is quite the quandary for me." He said, putting his glass on the tea table. He stood between her and the door.

"On one hand, a place like this will be very expensive to upkeep especially with Lady Tremaine in control. She looks like a woman accustomed to wealth."

Ella wanted to point out that he looked the same, but she decided it was best to remain silent.

"Then there is you to consider." He said.

Ella was frozen in place when he approached her. He was standing barely a foot away from her, but she kept her eyes downcast.

"Lady Ellanore Treval, the last true born daughter of the late Lord Treval. Where has she been hiding you?" He asked.

His hand reached out and pulled lightly on one of her curls. Ella remained silent. Silence was the only refuge she had.

"Your mother said you are simple. I have no desire for a simple wife. I will only have the best."

She did not reply. Let him think she was simple. He would not get anything from "Lady Treval". Ella had no desire help her stepmother with her schemes.

Mr. Seaver grabbed the corner of her jaw and forced her face upwards.

"You do not look simple to me. You seem too good to be true. You would look stunning on my arm, and you have the right name."

"My name means nothing."

She broke her silence finally. If he still thought he could squeeze some nobility from the Treval family name, he was mistaken. Everything was gone.

"That is where you are wrong. It takes the right person, but names grease wheels in this town, and you have a very old one."

"You want to marry me just because of my name?" She asked.

"No, of course not. There are other items on the table. Lady Tremaine gives a persuasive bargain. She is a woman used to getting what she wants."

It was obvious, Anastasia and Drisella's dowry had finally run dry and now Lady Tremaine hoped that she could lock Mr. Seaver into the family through marriage. Everything made sense except for one thing.

"What do you want?"

"Money. Power. I want to win the game everyone is playing, but those are all beyond you. The only thing I want from you, is a kiss."

He had a lazy grin on his face. Ella cringed inwardly his words left a sour taste in her mouth.

"You want a kiss?" She asked.

"Your stepmother wants me to make my decision quickly and that's what it will take. One kiss."

He stared evenly at her, waiting for her to follow his wishes. She felt awkward, but she stood up on her tippy toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Mr. Seaver grabbed her shoulders and laughed, "You will have to do a little better than that. A cheap, chaste kiss will not sway me to make a decision."

He was just watching her, amused. He was just another person who played games that Ella could never win. He would get his way eventually. She knew her stepmother would retaliate ten-fold on any wish she denied him. She looked into his eyes and tried.

She found herself trying to imagine it was Charles. She tried to imagine his easy smile and the way he made her feel. She rested her hand on his chest, and leaned into him. She had gotten this close to Charles the day before but now something felt so cold. Her throat constricted painfully in her chest. Ella tried to push away all the ways in which this was different. She really did try to push herself forward to meet his lips, but he ruined her progress the moment he touched her.

It was just one hand, but then both his hands felt their way down her body. She her skin was crawling all over like she was being swarmed by spiders. His arm was instantly around her back and she tried pulling away.

"No? You do not want this? Perhaps you are more than blind submission and silence." She struggled a little harder and he just laughed.

He forced his mouth against hers and his arms were iron against the her back and neck forcing her to remain while he bit her bottom lip and forced his tongue down her throat.

She struggled harder and harder until she screamed. She pushed him so hard that they both fell against the desk. He flipped her around until she was against the wall, and he held his whole body against her so that she couldn't escape him.

"Now this is more like the last true born Lady Treval. I just decided that you're worth every Penny."

He finally pushed away from her and crossed the parlor to the door. Cinderella remained against the wall. Tears now freely fell down her cheeks, but she did not make a sound.

"So?" Lady Tremaine asked. She had been waiting right outside the room the entire time.

"You've got a deal my Lady."

She took him to the door and they shook hands and laughed before he was finally gone.

Lady Tremaine walked into the room and saw that Ella had shrunk down to the bottom of the wall and had her head buried deep in her hands.

She had her eyes shut tight to hide her tears and she flinched when she felt Lady Tremaine's arm fall around her shoulder.

"Don't be sad Ella. This is a happy moment. You are about to become the wife to the richest man in Harron City. You'll never have to work another day in your life. Lawrence has done that for you. You should be weeping with joy."

Ella did not respond to her stepmother.

"Get dressed. I want to have dinner sometime soon." She said and she left Ella to piece herself back together.