Cinder sat the pot full of water on the stove and lit it. She chopped the vegetables and watched out of the corner of her eye as Ella walked into the room.
“Good morning,” Cinder said. “I sat bowls of oatmeal on the table in the dining room.”
“You say you didn’t go to the ball but once,” Ella said.
“Yes,” Cinder said, not looking up at her stepmother.
“You know that Prince Theodore announced his bride to be last night, don’t you?” Ella asked.
“Of course.”
“And I suppose you have heard whose name he called,” Ella said stepping closer to Cinder.
“No I have not,” Cinder replied looking up momentarily. She’d almost forgotten about last night being as she’d been up cleaning, forgetting. She focused again on the carrot in front of her.
“What was that girl’s name?” Ella asked. “Cynthia? Cindy? Cinder.”
Cinder looked up suddenly. She’d suspected it, of course, but too here it aloud…
“And he’s searching for you.”
Ella grabbed her arms, spilling the lukewarm water onto their skirts. Cinder allowed herself to be dragged down stairs and into the cellar.
“I am truly sorry,” Ella said sounding truly sincere for once in her life. “But I cannot let this happen to my girls.” She heard a key turn in the lock. “I hope you can understand.”
Cinder listened to her footstep until they faded away. She sat down and buried her face in her knees. She did understand and she did forgive Ella.
She should have just stayed away. She should have resisted. She should have just been content with him seeing her as a peasant, a nobody.
She knew what Ella had planned. She knew that if she succeeded she’d never see light again.
YOU ARE READING
Cinder Maid
FantasyWritten way back in like 2015 when I was in 6th grade, this story won two writing contests in Illinois. It's nothing special, but it means a lot to me because it proved that people enjoyed reading my work. It's a simple retelling of Cinderella and I...
