𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝑪𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂 // ꜰꜰxᴠ x ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀᴇʟʟᴀ

✧.*6-𝑺𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔*.✧

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

"How did I cope, you ask?" Ella tilted her head slightly.

"You don't have to answer that, of course," Noctis rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I mean, I know your story and what happens."

Ella smiled softly as the two walked back to the picnic area. Ravus had already rushed off back to the Citadel and the rest were tidying up.

"Well," She rearranged the bouquet, fiddling with each flower to her liking, "I would talk to animals."

"You, what?"

"My apologies," She giggled softly, "It sounds strange but it's true."

Noctis felt a sense of guilt build up in his chest. He was starting to feel grateful for all of his friends, even Ravus, who wasn't.

"Why did you stay with them?" He pressed on.

Cinderella thought back to the day her father passed and a peculiar dream she had the evening after his passing.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

It felt like a regular day. He had come back from work, to which she greeted him by the stables.

"Papa! You're back!" She grinned excitedly and jumped in his arms.

"My dear," He stroked her golden waves lovingly, "What did you get up to today?"

"I went horseriding, you see," Ella held his hand as they strolled back to the mansion, "A small boy got lost, so I helped him find his mother."

"Really now?" He asked with a surprised chuckle, "That was very kind of you."

"Oh, it was!" Her gummy smile was sweeter than any other, "And do you know what was the best part?"

"Tell me, my sweet."

"I asked step-mama to bake me something, but she said she was too busy," the girl continued, "and it turned out that the boy I helped was the baker's son!"

"Jaime's boy?" Her father smiled, "He's a clumsy one.

"Yes! He handed me a fresh piece of tart, as a thank you for returning his son."

Before they entered the mansion, Ella's father took her hands in his and smiled softly, "Can I ask you to promise me something special?"

She stopped and nodded with a gentle smile.

"Promise me that you'll show kindness to all," He began, "Animals, people, be nice to them all."

The words echoed through Ella's head like they were spoken the day before. So clear and empowering.

"A reward awaits us all if we do good. You just have to be patient."

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

"My Papa asked me to be kind to all," She glanced at each petal with a cheerful smile, "And a reward I would be granted for each deed I compensate."

Noctis let her words sink into his mind. He thought she was more than devoting. Loyal was too much of an inferiour word to describe how good of a heart she had.

He sighed softly, "You're a remarkable person, y'know?"

Cinderella glanced at him with a small grin, "That's very kind of you."

"No, it's a fact," Noctis stopped her tracks, "And I'm gonna make sure you have a good life here."

Ella was touched by his words, small tears of joy pricked the corners of her eyes.

"Thank you, Noctis."

It was the first time her tears weren't caused by the sadness of her tragedies.

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊