Descendants: The rise of red

Everything ruined

While chaos reigned in the forest, the atmosphere in Ella's house was filled with tension due to the Castle Caming. There was a sense of anxiety in the air, but not for a joyful occasion. Ella, after hours of hard work and repressed hopes, was finally ready. She had found an old dress of her late mother, now worn out, and had lovingly mended it. Despite the simplicity of the dress, it shone with an elegance that reflected her kind spirit.
The dim candlelight illuminated the room as Ella looked at herself in the mirror, adjusting the final details with trembling but excited hands. After losing the love potion, she no longer wanted to go, but she couldn't allow Bridgette and Charming to become king and queen of the ball. The ball at the Academy was her only chance to escape the monotony of domestic life and the constant humiliations.
When Ella descended the stairs, her stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella, stared at her in astonishment. "What do you think? Do you like it?" Ella asked.
"Mama, you're not really going to let her go, are you?" the two sisters said in unison.
"Girls, don't you remember? We made a deal, didn't we, Ella?" replied the stepmother, who looked at her with eyes full of envy and disdain. Even though they didn't have an invitation to the ball that night, their goal remained the same: to stop Ella from standing out, from finding a shred of happiness.
"I never go back on my word," said the stepmother, approaching the girl. "This necklace is truly beautiful. It's what gives the dress its elegance, don't you think, Drizella?" she asked coldly, crossing her arms and staring at Ella with a sharp smile. The stepsisters moved closer, inspecting every detail of her dress.
"Not at all," hissed Drizella, before realizing that it was her necklace. "You thief!" she shouted, tearing it from her neck.
Anastasia laughed, a harsh and malicious sound, before noticing the skirt was decorated with her scarf. "But that's my scarf!" she exclaimed, ripping it from the skirt with a quick and violent motion.
Ella stepped back, her heart breaking as she watched the fruit of her hard work fall apart. "Please, stop..." she whispered, but her voice was too weak, drowned by the cruel laughter of her stepsisters.
The stepmother watched in silence, a subtle, satisfied smile on her lips. "You didn't really think you could go to the ball, did you?" she finally said, her voice cold and distant. "Girls like you are meant for the house. For work. Not for having fun with friends."
With one final tear, Ella's dress was reduced to shreds. The stepsisters, satisfied with their work, walked away laughing, while the stepmother cast one last look of disdain at Ella before leaving her alone in the room.
Ella stood still for a moment, her eyes full of tears that she could no longer hold back. The silence of the room was broken only by the ticking of the clock. Her hands clutched the remnants of the dress as her dream crumbled before her eyes. The hope she had nurtured with such care had been brutally extinguished, and all that remained was emptiness.
She collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by despair, unable to hold back the tears. The Castle Caming, the magic, the possibility of a different future... everything seemed to vanish in that moment.