Midnight

Eleven

Chapter eleven:

I had bent down to let my mice friends climb into the glass shoe I was holding. They squeaked happily and I smiled down at them.
The walk home was surprisingly pleasant, I was very disappointed that I had to leave the ball, yes, but I knew the happy memories would stay with me forever. I was nearing the house when a soft rumble of thunder started off the storm rolling in.

I picked my pace up, my white dress blowing behind me in the stormy wind. Soon the rain started falling in big fat drops, and I turned my face up towards the sky. I would have stayed outside in the rain forever if it weren't for the approaching coach behind me on the road. At first I thought it was the Grand Duke and his men, and I became scared. But when I heard my stepmother barking at my stepsisters to shut up, my heartbeat slowed down a little. But I knew that they would become suspicious if they saw me outside at this hour, so I clutched my glass shoe a little tighter and ran the rest of the way home.

As soon as I opened the front door I ran into the parlor and looked for a place to hide the glass slipper until I could put it up in my room. I spotted the fireplace from across the room and knelt down besides the ashes.
"Cinderella!" Anastasia's loud shriek startled me into quickly covering my shoe up with the ashes and brushing my hands off before standing up.
My two stepsisters entered the house and danced into the kitchen where I followed them wordlessly.
"Tea!" Anastasia demanded loudly. "And a plate of biscuits!"
I nodded and startedboiling water for the tea. Drusella sauntered in after her sister and regarded me with a confused face.
"You look happy." She said in surprise. "And wet."
"Yes, well, I took a walk in the rain. To cheer myself up." I told my stepsister, giving her a smile. She raised an eyebrow and sat down at the table besides her sister.
"Typical." She muttered.

I turned back to the tea and served it to my stepsisters and stepmother when it was ready. I placed a plate of biscuits in the table and sat down whilst my stepsisters told me their account of the ball. I sat and listened while secretly smiling inside. I found it funny that they were telling me everything that had happened, even though I had been there. But they had no idea I was the one who had danced with the Prince and stolen his heart away from them.

"We did not communicate through mere words." Drusella told everyone seated at the table. Her hands were laying flat on the table, spread apart for dramatic effect. Her voice was a hushed whisper and her eyes were wide.
"Our very souls met, my soul and the Prince's soul." Drusella turned to me and placed her hand overtop of mine. Then she turned to Anastasia and laughed at her. "Your soul was over by the banquet table."
"You didn't see him dance with me." Drusella insisted. My stepmother huffed loudly at her daughters and turned away in annoyance.
"Dance with you, he didn't even speak to you!" The woman leant back in her chair and turned her angry eyes on me. I swallowed heavily and tried to look confused. There wasn't a possible way that my stepmother could be suspicious of me attending the ball. Perhaps she was just going to take her anger out on me, it wouldn't be the first time.

"It was not our fault, mother." Anastasia said defensively. "It was that  girl."
"The mystery Princess." Drusella added. I hid my smile as best as I could and looked at my stepsisters.
"Mystery princess? What a charming notion." I said innocently enough. Before my stepmother could catch the blush rising on my cheeks or the smile on my face, I stood up from the table to refill the teapot.
"She was no princess." My stepmother sounded disgusted and jealous.
"She was a preening interloper who made a spectacle of herself."
At this I couldn't help but turn and face my stepmother with a small frown.
"Oh?"
"The vulgar young hussy marched into the ball, unaccompanied if you will, and to the horror of everyone, threw herself at the Prince." My stepmother's angry and suspicious eyes made me turn back to the stove.