Author Note: I found an exceptionally long list of prompts and decided to use it for my favourite fandom to inspire me to write more often. This is the first of many - hopefully!
1. Abandoned
Death was a kind of abandonment, at least in Ella's mind. If it weren't for death, she wouldn't have lost her parents.
Now, Death threatened to take her father-in-law and leave Charming an orphan, just like Ella. The couple had known this day was coming for months, but it didn't make it any easier to accept, especially not for Charming. He'd lived quite the sheltered, privileged life, but now a world of responsibility opened before him. He barely slept and when he did, his nightmares woke them both up.
As the couple of just over a year sat at the king's bedside, Ella vowed not to abandon Charming as he waited for the end. She wouldn't let him suffer alone, not like she had all those years, stuck with her step-family in the unforgiving house where she had lived as Cinderella, maid and punching bag both.
She was there when the king squeezed his son's hand for the final time. She watched him take his last breath and silently promised the king she would look after the kingdom he had ruled for so many years. Ella stood behind Charming, hands on his shoulders, and pressed a kiss to his trembling head as he silently cried.
Tomorrow, they had a country to rule, but tonight they could grieve. Tomorrow, she would tell Charming about her pregnancy. Perhaps it would ease the pain, perhaps not, but she knew the king would be pleased to know a new generation would carry on his legacy.