The Lost Heir .:Disney Fic:.

five // a scullery maid and a glass slipper

The girl panted, scrubbing at the tile floors. Her face was covered in grime and dirt, glistening since her sweat had given it shine. "Edlynn?" Called a man's voice. "Edlynn? Ugh, why is she never around when I need her?" He muttered.

"I'm here, master!" She called out, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her already dirty dress. She sighed in complaint, wiping her forehead on her sleeve.

"Tell the kitchen staff to prepare a large meal for tonight," the man ordered. His graying black hair fell in ringlets around his eyebrows and forehead. His jade eyes glinted in amusement, giving him an almost malicious facial expression.

"Tonight?" The girl questioned. "Why don't you just tell the staff yourself?"

"Because," he paused in order to refrain from yelling, "because I have important business to attend to outside of this damned mountain."

"Outside the mountain? I thought you were forbidden to leave?"

"Oh, Edlynn," he took her face in his hands. "My dear, sweet daughter. My brother is dead. And the Disneyverse needs a new heir to its throne."

*

I sat up hurriedly, panting in a cold sweat. That man, that was Roy. An older version of him, atleast.

I took in my surroundings. I no longer slept in the feather bed that I fell asleep in after Queen Sophia's explanation. The mattress I had woken up in was one of straw, and the blankets were thick and scratchy, possibly made of wool.

In my lap was a leather bound storybook that read Cinderella. Oh great. Peasant girls with fairies. Terrific.

I stood up, unaware of my new outfit. I wore a ruby colored top and skirt, a white apron covering the top. My hair was pulled back with a ribbon.

"Hey!" A woman called out. I pointed to myself. "Yes, you! Get over here!" I did as she commanded obediently. "What's yer position in the kitchen?"

"Um," I racked my brain. What do I know how to do? "Erm, dishwasher."

"Then get hoppin'," she ordered. She handed me a dish towel. I noticed a gap between one of her teeth. Her hair was blonde, and her face bore too many wrinkles. "What're you starin' at?"

"Nothing!" I squealed, turning on my heel to look for the sink. I had wandered throughout the kitchen and the courtyard for what felt like ages. I wasn't going to find anything. After asking directions from the nicer members of the ginormous staff, I found the sink and its many dishes, what looked like a thousand. "Oh dear," I mumbled. Instead of complaining like other members of the staff, I got to work.

Now that I think about it, this isn't that bad compared to what I've been through. I don't remember what I've mentioned, but my current Dad back on Earth wasn't the first. I used to be a small little girl, afraid of everything and everyone. I had good reason to be, though.

*

"Get back here, Abbie!" An older man called from down the street.

The little girl gasped, speeding up her pace as her dirty and grimy feet smacked the pavement.

"You can't run forever!"

She wiped at the silent tears running down her face. Adabowe knew she had no time to cry. The girl was wise for her age, acting as if she were in her thirties while she was only seven years old.

"I will catch you, and you don't want to know what will happen when I do!"

He's right, Adabowe thought. I don't want to know. She pulled at the short tee shirt that covered about half of her belly and tugged at the cloth shorts that were failing to stay on her hips. Her dreadlock-like hair was falling mostly out of her ponytail, hanging in messy raven colored clumps around her temple. The man whose name Addy failed to remember had cut some of it off.