The Stepsisters

Chapter 4

Months go by and things between my mother and Rupert seem to be going really well.  Mother makes breakfast for Rupert everyday before he goes to work, which lucky for me, I get fresh eggs every morning too.  While Rupert is at work, mother continues working in the garden, yet she seems to sing more while she works.  Cinderella spends most of the time reading in her room by herself.  I still occasionally try to invite her to cook or dance with Drizella and I, but she always turns me down.  "I rather spend time with mice than you." She always says.

So, eventually Drizella and I stop inviting her to come.  At dinner, when Rupert returns, is the only time I see Cinderella with a smile on her face.  She may act like a cruel person, but I can tell that she really loves her father.  Drizella helps mother clean the dishes, and mother refuses to ask Cinderella to help. 

One evening, Rupert doesn't return for dinner.  Cinderella refused to eat without him, but Drizella and I were starving.  Mother joins us and we pick at our plates filled with peas, potatoes, and roast, while we talk about mother's garden.  Despite my lack of charm, my mother was very quite beautiful.  She wasn't perfect and polished like Cinderella, but she was still beautiful, in the most simple way.  She had simple brown hair, but beautiful green eyes, and the warmest smile.  She was always smiling now, yet even before she was always so kind to everyone.  I never understood how my father could force himself to leave someone so admirable.

A loud thump causes me to drop my fork.  Rupert walks into the kitchen and throws his coat onto the ground.  "What's this? You started without me?"

He seems angry, but mother quickly goes to set up his plate.  "I'm sorry, I didn't know when you were coming home."

He laughs and aggressively pulls his chair out, making a loud piercing noise as it scratches the wooden floor.  "I've been working my ass off all day, and I come home to you three eating without me? You couldn't have waited a few minutes, that is just disrespectful and completely unacceptable."

My mother's hand trembles as she scoops the peas onto Rupert's plate.  "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."

He shakes his head and slams his hand on the table.

"It wasn't her fault it was mine, I was the one who wanted to eat." I hear myself say.

"You two stay out of it, go upstairs now.  And do something useful and tell my daughter that I'm home."  He orders.

I look to my mother, and she gives me a small nod of approval.  Drizella and I slowly go upstairs, and shut the door of our bedroom. 

"What the heck was that?  He's never acted like that before." Drizella paces around the room, frantically shaking her head. 

I grab her tiny wrist and she looks at me in confusion.  "I'm scared, Drizella.  What's going to happen?"

Drizella sits down beside me and hugs me.  "Don't worry, everything is going to be okay, I promise.  Let's just sleep, okay?"

I nod and we turn the lights off and I crawl into my bed.  I silently pray that everything will be okay, even though I'm not a religious person. I slowly drift off to sleep, dreaming of mother in her garden while Drizella and I dance and sing. 

"Please, stop!"

I rub my eyes and jump out of bed when I hear someone scream.  I rush to Drizella to wake her up. I continuously rock her arm back and forth. 

"What?" She mumbles, turning the opposite way of me to avoid my arm.

"Hurry, I heard something, please."  I plead and she finally gets out of bed. 

            We rush down the stairs and I see broken dishes scattered across the floor that my mother just polished earlier today.  I see another plate fly across the room, and it almost hits Drizella in the head.