Cinderella: There's No Happy Ending

The Wardrobe

The next day was spent in preparation for the party that evening. Lady Tremaine had invited many people as she wanted to fill the house with laughter and activity. Alice was passed between the house, the kitchen, and the yard. She worked wherever she was needed and only complained when she cut her finger on some shears when she was trimming the rose bushes. As she wrapped her cut in a small piece of cloth, Ella came running toward her. "There you are! Come on, we have to get dressed for the party!" Alice protested softly as she was pulled inside, looking around for help from the other servants. They only smiled indulgently and allowed Alice to be pulled away. The girl worked harder than most of them and never complained about it, it seemed to everyone that it was time she had an evening away from work.

Ella pulled Alice to her room and opened her wardrobe. Most of her dresses were different shades of blue but there were a few purples, greens, and pinks. Ella pulled out a blue dress that looked very similar to the one she had on then motioned Alice over. "I know it may be a little big on you but you can pick any dress you like. I refuse to be alone with these people and so you're going to join me tonight." Sighing, the young woman reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a green dress from among the others. It would set off her eyes nicely and it looked to be a bit smaller than the others.

Ella went behind a changing screen and Alice went behind another and looked at the dress again. It was simple but beautiful and Alice knew it was made of a finer material than her work dresses. Pulling her old dress off, she sighed as she slipped the new one on. The material was soft on her skin and Alice couldn't remember the last time she had worn something so lovely. It was smaller than the others and so it fit her body almost perfectly. If it was hers, she would only need to take the waist in to keep with today's fashions but that wasn't completely necessary either. Stepping out from behind the screen, Ella was waiting for her and danced with joy as she saw how well the dress fit Alice.

"Oh Alice you look beautiful! It fits you so well that you simply must keep it!"

Alice smiled and nodded, unwilling to upset Ella when it had been a hard week for the both of them. Ella's stepsisters weren't very nice and Anastasia seemed to have taken a personal dislike to Alice for some reason. Ella hadn't been smiling as often and Alice didn't like it one bit. Being interrupted from her thoughts by Ella grabbing her arm, the two walked to the front door together to greet the guests. The evening passed quickly, with Alice staying close to Ella most of the time. Quite a few men who had attended the party seemed to watch Alice closely but she misunderstood, thinking they were watching Ella. Pulling her friend to the side, she whispered in her ear. "Miss Ella, a few of these men have been watching you all night. Perhaps you should leave the room, go find your father or something. I'm sure he needs your company more than I do."

Ella nodded and made another walk around the room to avoid suspicion before leaving quietly through one of the many doors. Alice went about the room, making sure every guest had a full glass of their drink of choice and checked the tables to make sure none of the dishes were empty. Everything was as it should be and none of the gentlemen had left the room in search of Miss Ella so Alice allowed herself to relax, sipping slowly on a glass of wine. Lady Tremaine excused herself from the card table and made her way toward Alice. "Alice, have you seen my husband recently? I am afraid he is missing the party."

Though Alice knew the Lady Tremaine did not care if her husband was missing, she did care that Ella was probably with him. "He was in one of his studies last I checked. Ella went in search of him not ten minutes ago. They're probably still there." Once she finished speaking, Alice curtsied out of habit and stayed that way until the Lady's dress left her field of vision.