Twisted Tales: Cinderella

Chapter Three: Vanishing Markets and Extravagant Palaces

Her workbench became Genevieve's second home for the next month and a half after buying the Baldachin glass at the marketplace. When she wasn't working to deplete the growing order list, she was attempting to perfect the glass shoes. Unfortunately, while Genevieve was an extremely talented shoemaker, her forte was definitely not glass.

Luckily Madame Claudia never actually went inside the workroom, or she would have been definitely surprised. The whole room was a mess, as Genevieve stressed constantly over different orders at the same time and worked her hardest to produce for Madame Claudia. It didn't help that she was the only one, and news of Genevieve's work spread quickly. Anyone who was anyone went to Madame Claudia's for shoes nowadays, which was good news for business and the pockets of Madame Claudia, but bad news for Genevieve and her hectic schedule.

After Genevieve's fourth failed attempt at the Baldachin shoes, she realized that while the glass was very beautiful and strong, it didn't handle being melted then hardened then pounded and melted again and- anyways, she needed more, and quickly. All she had left was about a quarter of the original brick that wasn't completely unusable. 

As Genevieve placed the last finished order in its box and set it with the dozen others, she felt a surge of happiness. She had finished, at last. The girl jumped up and down in glee, her hard work finally paying off at the moment. All that was left to do was to buy some more of the glass and make the shoes into perfection for the Princess. Things were finally looking up for Genevieve.

Or not.

The stall was just, gone. Where the creepy woman had been just a month ago, was just empty space in the marketplace. Genevieve's chance at new glass, and a new future were gone with that stall. She had to either give up on the job entirely, or make the shoes with what she had.

Deciding that alright shoes were better than no shoes, she headed home frantically and began to work on the shoes, ignoring Madame Claudia's annoying shouts from upstairs. 

Within a few hours of determination, she finished the shoes. Granted, they weren't as brilliant as she hoped, they still turned out very beautiful and glinted slightly in the firelight. Genevieve was mostly disappointed that they weren't her best, but perhaps they would still satisfy the Princess.

Tomorrow was moving day, and Genevieve packed the Baldachin shoes away with the rest of her orders, preparing to deliver them all tomorrow. It was the perfect excuse for being away from the shop all day.

With a smile on her face and a hope for the future, Genevieve fell asleep on her cot- for the first time in a week- with a smile on her face.

-

The next day, Genevieve was on the cart and hand delivering the shoe orders one by one. As they passed the palace, Genevieve asked specifically for them to stop. She grabbed the shoe box with shaky hands, walking up the fancy path into the glorious palace. It was larger than she had imagined, with extravagant paintings on every wall and large drapes covering them. 

The girl took a deep breath as she asked to see the Princess's lady-in-waiting, the woman who had approached her in the middle of the night about a month ago. When the old lady came to greet her in the grand parlor, she was relieved to say the least.

"Thank goodness you have finished! The ball is coming up soon, and the Princess must have the best shoes possible." Genevieve held out the box to her, hoping with every fiber of her being that the Princess would be satisfied.

"I hope her Highness enjoys them, good day." They both nodded to one another, and Genevieve scurried away, her head and hopes high.

(A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for such a short chapter, but I needed a good place to stop and a lot of the action in this story takes place quickly, so I thought this little filler chapter would be enough. I am hoping to upload regularly, for both this story and The Perfect Disguise. Probably on Sundays/Mondays I will have new chapters for them both up, weekly until they are finished. Thank you all so much for sticking with me! I appreciate it a lot.)