Grimm Fantasies: Cinder Princess

Girl

  Ashley watched as Ella and Annie packed up their clothes and spoke with excitement. She stood in the door way of Ella's room as Annie literally hopped in place as Ella dug through her closet mumbling things about having nothing to wear as she rummaged through her enormous walk in closet filled to the brim with clothes. Annie sighed dreamily.

  "Oh won't it be the best? I'm finally going to take my place among the best. I'll get that kill and everyone will be oh so proud." Ashley had listened to them talk of mythical things as if they were real for so long it didn't even faze her anymore. She was even more used to Annie talking about being accepted into the faction but from the sounds of it Ashley was pretty sure she was just being indoctrinated into whatever the faction was.

  Ashley often wondered if Annie's mother knew about this Faction thing her girls were always going on about. She doubted it and had considered telling Eleanora about it but figured she would somehow get in trouble rather than Annie or Ella.

  "Relax sister," Ella said as she glanced over to her sister with a smug smirk. "The first kill is always the most fun, savor it." Annie nodded quickly like a puppy being praised.

  "Oh I will. I'll make it slow and listen to the screams with pleasure." She smiled brightly towards her older sister. Ashley rolled her eyes and looked away from them wishing her father hadn't ordered her to help her step sisters pack. They were completely ignoring her but if she walked away and was caught by her father, or somehow it got back to him that she hadn't helped she'd get into trouble.

  Ashley had noticed the change in the house after Ella left her passed out in the woods with a bleeding head. She remembers arguing with her older step-sister and then being pushed. After that she's waking up in the cold dark woods with no one around. She managed to stumble home with a throbbing headache and blood everywhere only to be yelled at for ten minutes straight and then sent to her room without the gash in her head being treated at all. The very next day her father had done what Ashley thought impossible, he became even colder towards her, stricter and far more easily annoyed. It felt like everything Ashley did made her father angry. It was at the point that Ashley was afraid to breath around him.

  Fearing more anger from him Ashley was rooted to the spot in the door way watching her step-sisters talk about dark things. Killing mostly but also Mara, they had somehow drifted from the topic of hiding bodies to Mara's 'condition'.

  "So if it gets worse and she does end up like the others I'll just take her place. Gerald doesn't have any other successors and Ashley is useless. I am the next in line, naturally." Ella said proudly. Annie nodded quickly.

  "Mhmm, and we'll rule the family with an iron fist." Ella nodded simply. Ashley had noticed how Ella never said included Annie when they spoke of the future. It was always 'me and I' never 'we'. Ashley made no mention of it; she preferred not to get involved.

  Ella zipped up her bags and set them by Ashley, "Take these to the car." She ordered before returning to her closet to sort out the mess she'd made while packing. Ashley sighed and took the bags downstairs. She passed her father who stopped her; he touched her shoulder and frowned.

  "Why aren't you with your sisters like I told you?" He scolded.

  "Ella asked me to take her bags to the car." Ashley explained in a weak voice and kept her gaze to the ground. Her father stared at her quietly for a moment before simply walking away. Ashley glanced up to see him unlock the basement door and slip through it, shutting it on his way. Ashley had never been allowed down to the basement. In fact the door had always been locked with the only key always being on her father's person.

  A little while later Ashley and the servants stood out on front and watched the car pull away with her father, step-mother and step-sisters in it. They'd be gone for a few weeks on a hunting trip in Texas. Ashley wasn't aware of any prime hunting spots there, but she didn't pay close attention to that sort of thing anyway.