La Petite Pantoufle De Verre 🦋

🦋𝑅𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑏𝑒𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛🦋

After some time had passed, the day of the long-awaited grand ball had finally arrived, and the entire kingdom had held its breath in anticipation during this cool autumn day. The townspeople had been preparing themselves excessively and extensively as they had all wanted to look their very best in front of both their royal highness, the king and his son and of course along with being in an atmosphere surrounded by so many prerogative people. Very soon fleets of ships could be seen coming in from every direction and being stationed at the palace and town docks continuously from the shore onwards toward the horizon, as the nobility was on their way to attend this ball from all over. Such prestigious people included the Chelina royal family of Zaragosa, the Míng-Qing royal family of Xi'an, the Apte royal family of Gwalior and so much more as many other royal families from all over the nations originating far and wide across uncharted waters were soon to be attending the ball too. As expected many of the women had contacted and requested the seamstress to create their grand ballgowns, and so she had been working endlessly day after day, and night after night, she had stitched up together multiple gowns with great sedulous care and as for the men, since they would be attending as the said maiden's escorts so they too had to prepare accordingly. The men had all opted to wear black, navy, or dark grey frock coats with white or grey pocket squares. Meanwhile back at Ella's home in addition to her daily routine, she had now been responsible for helping her stepsisters get ready, during the morning of the ball she would now be found tightening Drizella's corset, assisting with the crinoline, polishing both her stepsister's shoes and everything else in between and of course the first thing she would have to have done was to fetch the ball gowns for her stepsisters and the ball gown for her stepmother as well from Lady Bellerose. Drizella's fully planned attire consisted of a bumblebee yellow colour with blue accents, whereas her sister Anastasia had decided on a pink fuscia colour scheme. While Anastasia had been daydreaming out loud about the prince asking her to be his queen Drizella had stood opposite the mirror, while Ella pulled and pulled the strings of her corset as tightly as she could. "Tighter...and tighter...tighter..." Drizella said to Ella as the strings were pulled, Ella had given it one large heave and as she did so Drizella shouted saying that it was now tight enough before she sighed out of relief to catch her breath. Anastasia told Drizella that she had just had a vision and she would have liked to share it with her, "Likewise..." Drizella responded, Anastasia spoke of her thoughts while running around the room before jumping on her bed, "We must compete for the prince's hand. But let it not mean we harbour dark thoughts against each other," her sister supportedly responded by saying "Of course not dear sister, I wouldn't dream of poisoning you before we leave for the ball." Anastasia then said, "Nor I pushing you from a moving carriage." And this went on repeatedly back and forth, they said that they would never do such things as they were sisters after all nonetheless. As they were talking Ella assisted Anastasia in attaching her pink crinoline whereas Drizella had put her bright blue one on herself. So far both girls had dressed themselves in their corsets, stockings, open drawers, corset covers and crinolines too but regardless they still had quite a long way to go before the event initiated.

"What will he be like I wonder?" said Ella, Anastasia said that it did not matter what the prince was like, it was only important for her or just about anybody to note that he was rich beyond reason and that if they were to know anything about him before they were to wed it might just change their minds. "I bet you have never spoken to a man, have you moon face?" Anastasia said mockingly, Ella said that she had once and that he was a gentleman. "Some menial, no doubt or some 'prentice." Said Anastasia rudely. She had gotten one thing right but he certainly was no menial or anything of the sort, but indeed an apprentice learning his father's trades either way Ella was quite unaware of the details of Kit's occupation nonetheless. "All men are fools, that's what mama says. The sooner you learn that the better." Drizella said proudly with her hands held in the air. Ella's stepsisters soon pretended as if they were at the ball and jokingly asked each other for the "first dance", and so they swung around continuously while taking measured steps around the room and as they did so in a waggish humorous manner they soon neared the mirror beside one of their beds. Anastasia then picked up a mock-up crown sitting atop the table in front of the mirror, this crown was by far in a way inauthentic as it was composed of some sort of sterling with a bit of metallic-like paint, it was certainly not completely sterling, nor precious stones at all, perhaps it might have had a few pieces of polished glass lying upon it in the grooves as there were noticeable imitations of deep magenta crystal-like embellishments. Anastasia imagined it was her coronation day so she placed it on her head slowly and proudly while staring at her reflection, "I want to try it." Drizella said to her, while she spoke she tried to grab it off her sister's head to wear it on herself but Anastasia had thought otherwise. Thus as they both pulled on the crown imitation it snapped in half in the process, they both looked at each other after it snapped and they frustratingly threw the pieces on the floor angrily, knocking on the wooden floorboards creating tinkling sounds in its path. Ella turned around and saw that her two stepsisters were now arguing loudly while focusing on one another trying to place the blame on each other as to who broke it, Ella then took this as an opportunity to leave the room, as she too needed a ballgown made for herself.

Not for the first time, Ella actually felt pity for these two schemers, who could be every bit of ugly within as they were fair without...