Cinderella: There's No Happy Ending

Second Thought

Without a second thought, Alice released her arm from the Captain's hold and held her hand out to her best friend. Ella ran past and took Alice's hand as she went, pulling the young woman behind her. Looking over her shoulder Alice pleaded with her eyes, begging the Captain not to give chase. Understanding that this was important to Alice, the man turned and made his way back from where Ella had come from.

The two women sprinted through the garden and into the palace, taking a path that Alice hadn't seen before. Room after room blurred by until suddenly they were running across the ballroom floor. Ella pushed people aside and Alice apologized as she followed after. Luckily, Lady Tremaine was nowhere to be seen and everyone was too focused on Ella to notice the woman behind her. Hearing a commotion behind her, Alice turned her head and noticed the Prince come into the room. Luckily, Anastasia grabbed the man for a dance which he couldn't politely refuse. They made it across the room and barreled up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

Turning the corner to go through the main doorway, Ella bumped into the King and let out a soft exclamation of surprise. Both girls immediately dropped into a curtsey and edged around the King as Ella apologized profusely. Before she turned and continued running, she told the King how wonderful his son truly was. Alice couldn't help herself and craned her neck to glimpse the Captain entering the ballroom. The two locked eyes and Alice mouthed an apology before Ella captured her hand and tugged her along again. Together they ran down the many steps to the palace.

Eager to get the carriage door open and get Ella inside, Alice rushed ahead. Hearing a gasp behind her, Alice sees Ella reached for one of her glass slippers just as the Prince appears at the top of the stairs. "Ella leave it! He'll catch us both if we don't leave now!" She tugged on her friend's arm as she spoke to help emphasize her point. Turning back around, the girls run the final few steps and are helped into the carriage by a footman that looks strangely reptilian to Alice. As soon as the door is closed, the carriage takes off and both girls lean out the windows to stare back at the palace longingly.

The Prince came to a stop as he picked up the discarded slipper, a large smile on his face as he requested his horse. The Grand Duke denies the request, suspecting it could be a trap. The Captain is staring at the carriage as his dark haired angel rides away in it. Turning his head toward the Prince when the Grand Duke called for him, his voice took on a slight whine. "I was having a fine old time. You had to go and choose that one, didn't you?" The Prince affirms the question before the Captain turned and jogged away to get his horse.

Back in the carriage, Ella was still leaning out the window while Alice has pulled herself inside and was admiring the interior. Suddenly, the carriage turned sharply and tips dangerously over the edge of a cliff. Alice pulled on Ella's skirt roughly, pulling the woman back inside and righting the carriage. Ella thanked her before waving her hand in front of her face to cool down while she tried to ignore Alice's stare. There was going to be an explanation necessary but it could wait until they got home. They were now passing through the small village near their house when the Grand Duke's voice rang out in the night.

"You there! Stop in the name of the King!" Ella shook her head and murmured about bad timing while Alice put her head in her hands. "Ella we're fleeing from the royal guard! If they catch us we'll be arrested!" Suddenly the sound of the large iron fence dropping was heard and Alice peeked out the window to see it had been lowered as they passed through. Alice cheered loudly then turned back to Ella only to stop when she noticed the footmen were shrinking and changing shape. Suddenly the carriage shuddered and started getting smaller while turning an orange color. "Ella? What's happening?!" Alice squeaked in pain as she was suddenly scrunched against Ella. The other woman couldn't answer; only yell in fear as the carriage continued getting smaller.

Just when Alice thought her bones would start breaking from lack of space, she was suddenly flying through the air and somehow managed to land on her feet. She stumbled a bit before turning around quickly and glaring at Ella who was somehow back in her mother's old dress. The two began walking home as Ella explained everything that happened from the moment Alice left the house with Lady Tremaine. Shaking her head, the young woman thought over the impossibility of it but knew it had to be true. Dresses didn't just change like that without some sort of magical assistance.

Alice asked a few questions about the fairy godmother and told Ella that she hadn't given the Prince the letter. When she heard this, Ella sighed in relief. She wanted the Prince to know who she was but telling him through a letter wasn't really the best way to go about it. Suddenly it started to rain and Alice immediately began running to the house. She didn't want her dress ruined but Ella continued walking, enjoying her memories. Once back in the house, Alice ran up the stairs to the attic and changed out of her beautiful dress and into one of her work dresses. She came back down to the kitchen in time to see Ella hiding the glass slipper in the ashes and she heard Lady Tremaine and her daughters entering the house.

"They'll want tea and biscuits. I'll fetch the biscuits if you'll get the tea started" Ella nodded and brushed her hands off then stood up and turned around just as Drisella entered the kitchen, demanding tea and biscuits. Alice chuckled at their predictability before going into the pantry. She grabbed a few biscuits for Drisella that were more savory than sweet, a few that were extremely sugary that Anastasia craved like no other, and a few salty ones that she knew to be Lady Tremaine's favorite. Placing them on the table with some plates, Alice took the hot kettle from Ella's shaking hands. The girl was still strung up on a cloud from her experience so Alice let her enjoy it while asking the girls about dance.

Making an excuse about getting caught and asked to leave, Alice avoided being questioned too harshly about where she had gone. When the girls and Lady Tremaine retired for the night, Alice and Ella went upstairs to get some sleep. Lady Tremaine had allowed them the next day off but Alice knew it was because the Lady herself didn't want to be awoken at too early of an hour. Ella danced across the floor then sat on her bed and began writing of her evening. Alice watched her then pulled her bag open and began taking stock of every seed and bulb she had managed to bring home.

Pulling out a beautiful lily that she knew she hadn't put in there, Alice couldn't help the stupid lovesick grin that covered her face. Ella noticed and asked Alice about it which prompted the woman to tell her friend of her own evening. Ella squealed at the appropriate times and even looked ashamed when Alice mentioned her interruption. The evening was one that the girls wouldn't soon forget.