Chapter 3: Tears and Messes
The girls' only comfort were the letters that father would send from his travels. The weeks away lengthened to months, but every day would bring his thoughts from some distant part. Until late one afternoon…
There came a knock at the door and Aria opened it. "Farmer John?" she asked, seeing the man standing in the pouring rain. The farmer looked at her sadly. "Miss Aria…" Ella walked up behind Aria, slipping her hands into hers. "It's your father, Miss. He took ill on the road. He's passed on, miss. He's gone. Till the end he spoke only of you two and your mother. I was to give you this."
He handed Aria the branch she and Ella had asked for. From the doorway, Lady Tremaine put a hand on her heart. "Well, what about my lace?" Anastasia asked. "My parasol," Drisella added. "Can't you see, none of that matters," Lady Tremaine said. "We're ruined! How will we live?"
Lady Tremaine walked off, leaving Aria and Ella alone. Aria looked at Farmer John with tears in her eyes. "Thank you. It must have been very difficult for you." She closed the door and turned, looking at the branch. Ella burst into tears, pulling Aria into her arms as they cried together.
How indeed to live? Economies had to be taken. Their stepmother dismissed the household. Their stepmother and stepsisters ever misused them. And by and by, they considered Ella and Aria less of a sister than a servant..
And so, the sisters were left to do all the work. This was a good thing, for it distracted them from their grief. At least that was what their stepmother said. And she and her two daughters were more than happy to provide Ella and Aria with lots and lots of distractions.
Although the work was hard, the sisters found they could it quicker if they did it together. Both of them washing petticoats and skirts. Both of them washing dishes, one drying, one washing. Sometimes they sang quietly and other times, they recited stories they had read long ago.
In their defense, they did share with them the very food they ate. Or rather, the scraps from their table. They had little in ways of friends. Well, their friends were very little.
Carrying the plate of leftovers into the kitchen, Aria startled to see the mice scurrying around. She smiled at them. "There you are! Have dinner with us, won't you?"
But the friends they did have, they treated with an open heart and an open hand.
Place a cup upside down on the floor, Aria covered it with a napkin as Ella divided up the food. "A table," Aria said graciously. The mice went around it, eating the food the sisters shared with them. As their 'guests' ate, so did Aria and Ella. It wasn't the most filling meal, but it was enjoyable when they ate together.
Sometimes, by the end of the day, the drafty attic was too cold to spend the night in, so they lay by the dying embers of the hearth to keep warm.
Curling up beside each other, the sisters slowly fell asleep as the fire burned out. The mice watched them for a while before scurrying off to their own holes and warm bed.
The next morning, they wore woken by the sound of the servant bells ringing. Ella jumped up, pulling Aria with her. They raced through their morning chores as Lady Tremaine walked into the kitchen.
Aria was trying to start the fire once more as the woman frowned at them. "I thought breakfast was ready." "It is, Madam," Aria said. "I'm only mending the fire." "Oh, in the future, can it not be cold until the work is done?" "As you wish." Lady Tremaine left the room, leaving them alone once more.
Standing up, Aria brushed her hands on her apron. She hurried to Ella, helping her sister carry plates and tableware into the dining room. Lady Tremaine looked up from her spot at the table, looking closely at Ella. "Ella, what's that on your face?" "Madam?" Ella questioned. "It's ash from the fireplace," Anastasia said.
Lady Tremaine rolled her eyes. "Do clean yourself up." "You'll get cinders in our tea," said Anastasia. Drisella's eyes lit up. "I've got a new name for her: Cinder Wench!" "She looks so dirty," Anastasia remarked. "Oh, Dirty Ella!"
The stepsisters and Lady Tremaine laughed. "Cinderella!" Drisella exclaimed. "That's what we'll call you!" "Oh, girls. You're too clever," Lady Tremaine laughed. Ella ignored them as Aria set two extra places on the table. "Who's this for?" Lady Tremaine asked. "Is there someone we've forgotten?" " It's our places," Aria answered. "Oh," Lady Tremaine fake gasped. "It seems too much to expect you to prepare breakfast, serve it and still sit with us. Wouldn't you prefer to eat when all the work is done, Aria? Ella? Or should I say, Cinderella? Hm."
Aria removed the plates and followed Ella out of the kitchen. She tripped over a loose floor stone and broke the plate. She sank to her kneels, weeping as she tried to pick up the broken pieces. Ella stopped her, pushing the broken pieces away. Then she saw her own reflection in the kettle. That caused her own tears to fall.
Cinderella. Names have power, like magic spells. And all of a sudden, to seemed to Ella that her stepmother and stepsisters had indeed transformed her and her sister into merely creatures of ash and toil.
Grabbing Aria's hand, Ella pulled her to the barn where two horses were waiting. She took the snowy grey one, leaving a golden horse for Aria. They mounted, bareback and started away from the house. Leaving their stepfamily and chores behind.
They rode until they came across a massive stag. Ella's horse startled, rearing up. "Woah! Woah! Woah!" The horse settled down and Aria looked at the stag. Her head snapped up when she heard the sounds of men hunting the stag.
Ella looked at the stag. "Run. Quickly, my friend, or they'll catch you. Go!" The stag turned and ran off. Ella gasped as her horse took off after the large beast. "Oh, easy!" "Ella!" Aria called after him, taking off after her.