Elsa's POV
All that evening and the next day I couldn't stop thinking about the man who paid for my food. There was something odd about him.
I picked up a vase and started dusting it. The day before all seemed so surreal. If it hadn't been for the dirty dishes I had to clean today, I would have figured that the whole day had been a dream.
The vase slipped out of my fingers and shattered on the floor. I stood frozen in horror. Oh no. It was one of stepmother's favorites. What was I going to do?
"Elsa, what was that sound?" Stepmother shouted. I couldn't reply. If I lied, I would be punished. But if I told her I had broken the vase, I would also be punished.
Stepmother entered the room. She looked at me, and then the shards of glass on the floor. Her eyes narrowed.
"Feeling a little clumsy today, are we?" She asked icily. I couldn't meet her eyes.
"That was a good expensive vase. You'll pay for it." She continued.
"But I don't have any-" I started to protest, but stepmother hit my arm with the broom she was carrying. I fell silent, even though it was true. I never had any money of my own.
"The money will come out of the food you eat. And that was an expensive vase. I hope you get used to hunger quickly, or we'll be short on staff. But a replacement vase at the market today." Stepmother said. I looked at the ground. She hit me again on the arm with the broom.
"What do you say to your kind sacrificing mother?" She demanded.
"Thank you stepmother." I said softly. She turned and left the room, apparently satisfied with my punishment. I wiped my eyes with my good arm. I couldn't let the pain show. I couldn't cry. My stepsisters would be watching silently, hoping to catch me abandoning my work and sobbing. But I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. I looked at my other arm. The area where I had been hit by the broom was covered in scrapes, and a large bruise was already starting to form.
I quietly cleaned up the glass shards and threw them away, and then collected the money stepmother left on the counter and hurried out the door.
When I reached the market, I looked for a vendor selling a suitable vase. I figured the glass blower would have a lovely vase, but he had just sold the last one.
"There you are!" A familiar voice called. I looked over my shoulder. The man from the day before was walking towards me. I had forgotten about him meeting with me today!
"I'm glad I didn't miss you. I was starting to worry that you had already left." He continued. I smiled weakly.
"Nope. I just got here." I said. He glanced at my arm.
"That looks painful. What happened?" He asked in a concerned voice.
"That? Oh, uh, I tripped going up the stairs. It's fine." I said.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yeah. You never told me your name." I pointed out, changing the subject. He smiled slightly.
"It's all about the names, isn't it?" He asked himself.
"I told you my name. It's only fair you tell me yours." I said. He rubbed a hand through his hair.
"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else." I said.
"Sure, I promise." I said. He grabbed my hand and gently pulled me into the shadow of a nearby alley.
"My name is Jack Frost." He said. I blinked.
"Wait, Jack Frost? As in Prince Jack Frost?" I asked. He nodded. That couldn't be. Prince Jack Frost never left his castle for fear of being mobbed by a band of girls. Every girl for miles was in love with him. Even my stepsisters. He was all they ever talked about.
"But... you're outside of the castle!" I said. He shrugged.
"I can get out of the castle through a secret passage if I really want to. It isn't fun to always be stuck in there. Every once in a while I need a field trip. I know some even the guards don't know about." He said with a sly smile.
"So I'm supposed to believe that you're Prince Jack Frost, and you just snuck out of the castle?" I asked.
"I could show you the passage I came through if you want." He said. I looked over my shoulder. I still hadn't bought a vase. Stepmother would be expecting me soon. If I didn't show up...
I resisted the urge to touch the bruise. If I didn't show up to finish my chores, stepmother would give me worse bruises. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't go with Jack.
"I'm sorry, but I can't." I said. Jack looked a tiny bit disappointed, but he hid it quickly.
"That's alright. Another day perhaps?" He said. I nodded. We both left the alley.
"When will you be back in the market?" He asked.
"I'm not sure. I don't know when I'll go shopping again. Probably tomorrow knowing ste- knowing my family." I said. No need to tell Jack about all the troubles at home.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked. I nodded. He bought the vase with me, and then I waved goodbye and went home. Stepmother wasn't pleased that I took so long to buy the vase, but she kept it anyway. I went to bed that night without any food, but full of thoughts of Prince Jack. If he was who he said he was.
YOU ARE READING
Cinderelsa (Cinderella Jelsa Merge)
Short StoryThis is book 1 of the Jelsa Fairytale Series Elsa Snow never wanted anything special out of life. She only wanted a happy family, enough food it live on, and a roof over her head. But that was all taken from her when her parents died, and her and he...