Soot & Ashes

Two: With Time There Comes Change

The two sister's had always been so much alike and so different. Susan tall, practical and pretty. Her mind had always been on the work that was to be done and helping others when she could. She had, even before her life as the servant sister of Ethel, taken a back seat to her younger sister Arabella, who shone brightly, beautifully and kindly in the spotlight. Soot had become suited to cooking and sewing and all of the rigorous work over the years, even as thing's got tougher. She always took it in her stride and dealt with it, having a firm head on her shoulders, although she got covered in her new name sake daily and her clothes were all ripped up rags unless she had to pretend all was well when the master of the house was back on his visits.

Arabella, a much shorter, daintier breed of girl, who had hardly done a day's work in her life before becoming a Cinders, was as kind as her sister if not quite so thoughtful or controlled. She couldn't do quite so much as Susan and was resigned to work about the house, dusting and sweeping and serving. Her rags were at least presentable. Although her beauty rivaled Ethel's she was teased about her ugliness and how small and pale she was. She learned to live with it, and bit her tongue so that she would hold herself from speaking in her own defense.

All in all, neither girl had ever been spoilt and were grateful for what little they had, which was now simply each other. They grew closer through their trials, even once they were made to sleep on the kitchen floor when Ethel got very angry at them. Although they cried, they did their best to see the bright side even once things got to a point of complete ridiculousness.

"You want me to chop wood Milady?" Susan looked at the ax she was being pointed to, even she was not quite strong enough for that.

"Yes, Soot, now go before I get angry." Ethel commanded her.

Soot had no choice but to take up the ax, dragging it along the ground as she could scarcely lift it past her little foot. She took it out deep into the wood where she had been told to take it. Ethel had told her that she refused to let her cut the trees nearest the house, even if she could lift the ax to swing it.

Now in the wood sat a young man, who was watching the young maid tugging at the ax as it stuck fast in the mud that it was tearing up. He thought how strange it was for a girl to venture so far into the forest to cut wood, how silly it looked to see her try to lift it and how pretty she was even through the soot that covered her face. He came to an idea to help her as she wiped her brow of sweat. He took his cloak from his back and hid it in a bush, then covered himself all over in mud and twigs before he approached her. She was just lifting the ax up behind her head to swing it forward, but she stumbled back thinking she would fall and lose her arm or her head in the landing. Then suddenly the weight of the ax was so much lighter and she had been supported up. She let the ax go and didn't hear it fall. When she turned round, startled to see a muddy woodcutters son smiling at her, holding her ax at his side.

She gasped, "who are you?"

"Theodore, the son of the woodsman here. I can see you've never chopped wood before." He smirked.

Soot shook her head in answer, although it wasn't really a question. She wasn't quite sure of what else to say or what to do with herself. Her cheeks were burning red, and her heart was thrumming fast for she was fearful of this mans intentions. She had only turned sixteen two months before and had no intention of falling into bad company.

"Well I should hope not. A lady such as you shouldn't have to." He was laughing as he spoke, running his finger gently across the ax blade. "I'll tell you what. If you tell no one I've helped you and grant me a kiss for my pains, I shall cut all the wood you need and carry it as far as the end of the wood." He offered with a sure tilt to his head, the ax swung over his shoulder.