I wanted to create this alternate ending to Cinderella III:A Twist In Time, which is generally considered by many as one of the better direct-to-DVD Disney Sequels. I wanted to create a more guilt-ridden Anastasia and an even more ruthless Lady Tremaine, hence why I created the horrifying reveal of the latter being responsible for the death of her own husband, and both of Cinderella's parents. Lady Tremaine in this version is revealed to have been even more evil than in the existing Cinderella III as she goes as far as turning her yes-woman daughter Drizella into a toad during the climax and spills the revelation that she killed not only both of Cinderella's parents, but also Anastasia and Drizella's biological father, solely as a means of gaining complete control of their fortunes and using their daughters as tools to seize the Kingdom. I also wanted to show off not only Lady Tremaine's indiscriminate cruelty and her sickening sense of lust and entitlement, but also her autonomy as a villain, and her true intention; which was to TAKE CONTROL OF THE KINGDOM. That's why one of the biggest changes is that Lady Tremaine legitimately tells Cinderella that she has indeed turned back time using the wand, and during the climax, she strategically waits not only for the Prince to run in front of Cinderella and Anastasia before striking them down, but also the King and the Grand Duke, so she can seize the Kingdom for herself and deal ruthlessly with those who've tried to stop her.
Cinderella, now knowing how indiscriminately cruel her stepmother truly is, realizes that had Lady Tremaine found Fairy Godmother's wand earlier, not only would she not have needed to carry out her continuous stream of marriages, murders and births she'd orchestrated, but she wouldn't have even needed to turn back the hands of time, and Cinderella even realizes that Lady Tremaine had indeed suspected magic was part of what allowed Cinderella to escape, and that she could have easily gone looking for the wand herself in the first timeline even if Anastasia HADN'T wandered off from the château. And instead of the Prince saving them, Cinderella takes the final stand herself, proving her willingness to fight to restore her happy ending, determination to bring her stepmother to justice, and her genuine compassion for her two stepsisters.
I also felt that Anastasia needed to be more overtly guilty and ashamed in my fanfic so that Cinderella would come to realize how truly sorry she was for everything, as I felt the original movie was a little bit reined in. Cinderella and Anastasia's relationship is the core focus of this fanfic, which I felt it needed to be, and I wanted to show Anastasia as a person who was a victim of her mother's manipulation, and needed a saviour herself. But I wanted to also have Anastasia's burning guilt very nearly getting the better of her, when she rages at Cinderella for protecting her from Lady Tremaine when she refuses to marry Prince Kit, and claims that she doesn't deserve her forgiveness, and even goes as far as ripping up her own clothing, just like she had done to Cinderella the previous night, albeit this time to an even worse extent. Anastasia then attempts to board the next ship leaving the Kingdom, having given up all faith in herself. And this could have been a terrible loss for Cinderella, because in spite of everything Anastasia did to her, she genuinely cared about her and knew she had a good heart deep down, and that she and Drizella were *only* the way they were because they were abused and manipulated by Lady Tremaine, and ultimately forced to mistreat Cindy.
But of course, Cinderella is able to not only forgive Anastasia, but also convince her to let go of her past and forgive herself, because that's the kind of person she is. Cinderella was intentionally written as a role model, rather than a relatable person. She is able to see the good in most people and bring out the best of them, even under the worst circumstances, and that's why I feel this story is a shining example of that. While Lady Tremaine is banished from the Kingdom, Drizella is set free to pursue her own destiny. Cinderella and Anastasia ultimately repair the relationship and accept each other as true sisters, and Anastasia eventually finds her own true love in the form of one of the village bakers (now named Scott), and they ultimately become a happy family.
On a side note, whilst I do enjoy Andre Stojka as the King, I felt that Michael Gambon would me an even better voice, having seen his performance as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies (taking over from Richard Harris).
Thank you for reading!