Sinderella

Chapter Eleven: A Blue Collar Cinderella

Cinderella grew to enjoy her job at the inn. She loved meeting new people and getting to take care of them. She especially liked when parents would leave their kids in the inn to run some errands. Her job consisted of some of the same things she did around Katreena's house, but she had smaller rooms to clean. Cinderella was getting a few coins a week to do those tasks. Her wage had been cut because she was given room and board and was allowed to stay in one of the rooms in the inn. Every coin that Cinderella earned went toward paying for her house, she did not spend any money on herself other than the essentials such as clothing and medicine if necessary.

The inn where Cinderella worked was one of less popular inns in the area. This inn did not have the modern amenities that other inns around Everglade had to offer. What this inn lacked in aesthetic, it made up for in pricing and hospitality. Compared to other inns in Everglade, this inn gave visitors more bang for their buck and took great care of their visitors. If visitors were hungry and did not have food with them, a home-cooked meal was brought directly to their room. If visitors were sick, the inn provided medical care and covered the visitors' surgeon bills if it was serious.

All kinds of people came to the inn to stay the night or to stay while they were visiting the kingdom. Cinderella met all kinds of people when they came to stay at the inn. There were so many people that came to stay at the inn, some who did not even speak the same language that was spoken in Everglade. There were a few bilingual staff members at the inn, but they were not always working. So, on days where there were no bilingual staff members working, Cinderella had some difficulty interacting with the customers.

One night, Cinderella met an older woman, who was a regular customer at the inn. She appeared to be in her late fifties or early sixties, but she had the energy and personality of a woman half her age, which made her one of the nicest ladies the staff ever met. Whenever she stayed at the inn, the woman usually rented a room for three nights. Then, usually three months later, the woman would return and rent a room for another three nights. This cycle started many years ago and had repeated for nearly two decades. No one knew why the woman stayed at the inn so regularly, but the staff at the inn never made it their business to know why their guests stayed with them. The staff's only concern was taking care of their guests while they stayed there regardless of their reasons for being there.

Soon, the lady rented a room while Cinderella was working at the inn. The innkeepers told Cinderella that she would likely not see anything of the woman. She usually stayed in her room and kept to herself, only emerging from her room to get food. Cinderella expected to have a lonelier few nights, as there was only one other guest renting a room at the same time as the older lady.

On the second night of the woman's stay, she emerged from her room and took a seat in the main hall. Cinderella was surprised to see the old woman, as she expected not to see anything of her until she checked out of the hotel. Cinderella was working behind the counter and preparing food for the other guests. When the woman sat in the main hall, she motioned to Cinderella beckoning her to have a seat with her.

"Young lady," the woman said to Cinderella "would you come here, please?"

Cinderella finished up what she was doing and obliged the older woman. She approached the woman's table and took the chair opposite the woman.

"I would like to know your name, darling." The older woman said.

"Oh," Cinderella replied "my name is Cinderella, I am new here at the inn. Is everything okay with your room?"

"No, everything is fine." The older woman said. "I just want to get to know you, since you are the newer keeper here."

Cinderella had work to do, and could get in trouble if she was caught not doing her job. So, she offered to eat dinner with the woman after she served the food she had prepared for the other guests. That way, she would have some free time to spend with one particular guest.