Cinder (lgbtq WP "Once Upon A Time..." Contest)

Chapter One

"Cinder! When's breakfast going to be ready?"

"Cinder! My dress needs to be mended!"

"Cinder! Go clean up after your mutt, he left a mess outside!"

The girl ran around the kitchen, trying to complete all the requests at once. Sure the step family was horrible in every way imaginable, but at least making her wear pants had its advantages when it came to the work. She grabbed some buns and put it next to the oatmeal she had carefully prepared and served out on the trays, rushing the three upstairs to her stepmother and stepsisters who were still resting peacefully in bed.

"Sorry for the wait." She sighed as she placed the trays down in front of her sisters. "I was waiting for the bread to finish baking."

"Whatever. Just make sure you fix my dress for later today, okay?" Anna-Marie, one of her sisters, complained, taking a bite out of the bread without even thanking her hardworking sibling.

"And cut your hair!" Elise, the other, yelled. "Boys shouldn't have to tie their hair up!"

The sisters giggled a bit, and the girl left the room without saying another word, grabbing the dress on the way out. She walked slowly to her stepmother's room, stopping at the door before slowly opening it.

"Good morning mother." She stated, placing the food on her lap.

"Cinder. When will you start acting like the strong boy you were born as. Cut your hair, put on some muscle, be someone worthy of being called a part of our family like your father was." The stepmother stated in a deep tone, a scowl in her voice. She took the food and Cinder slowly turned to exit the room, looking down a bit. "You weren't born to be a girl."

She stopped dead in her tracks as she heard her stepmother say that last part. It was true, she was born a boy, but that didn't change how she felt. She knew she was in the wrong body from a young age, and her mother and father supported and loved that. But when her mother died, and her father remarried, things changed. Her stepmother was wicked and unaccepting, trying to turn her into the boy she wasn't. When her father passed just over a year ago, she was turned into a slave of the house, and lost the right to most things she loved. It was horrible, but she pushed through it. The faster she finished her chores, the sooner she would have time to herself.

"Y-yes, mother. Sorry." She replied, walking out quickly, trying not to cry at all.

She ran down to her basement room and put down the beautiful dress before rushing outside to find her dog. Her pet always preferred to be outside now, given the arrival of new exotic pets her stepfamily brought, like birds and a cat. She couldn't blame the dog though, she would rather be free outside as well. If only.

"Ella! Come over here!" She called out, and the large mutt came running over, trampling her into a puddle of mud. "Oh Ella! Look what you've done! Now I need to wash my clothes as well!"

She laughed a bit though, loving how eager her faithful companion always was. Ella gave her some doggy kisses before running over to the small pond not that far from the home. There, Cinder cleaned her clothes and her friend all clean, and for a moment just stared at her reflection in the pond. No matter how hard she tried, in her adulthood she looked too much like how she wasn't supposed to be. The square chin, the freshly shaved face, and the lack of feminine charm. Cinder hated her body, but knew this is how she was stuck forever. She led Ella home.

Once there she ran down to her basement room to begin working on the dress for her sister. Cinder grabbed her thread and fabric and quickly mended the dress, so she took the small free time she felt she had to try and make something for herself. As she sewed and sewed, Ella snuggled up to her leg, and before she knew it her time was up and she had to go make lunch.

The day continued in a similar fashion, and by the end of it Cinder was exhausted. She made a fire in the tiny fireplace in her room and sat by it. Ashes, ashes, ashes and soot, the girl would sit in the cinders and loose herself. Her eyes welled up in tears, remembering what her stepmother had always said.

"A strong boy like you shouldn't be prancing around in dresses." She would always say. "Get to work, or its to the cinders and ashes with you!"

The girl wished she could change, become what she was meant to be. Not that it mattered, she was stuck in this wrong body, and stuck in the basement covered in her namesake. Covered in cinders.

She blew out the firelight of the candle and crawled into bed.

The nights were always the worst. She would miss her parents the most and cry to herself until she was out of tears to cry. She missed their warm embraces, and their words of encouragement that she would be okay; words of encouragement that she was valid, and allowed to be herself. The nights when she wasn't busy were the worst because she didn't have anything to distract her from how sad she was deep inside. Some nights, she couldn't even sleep. That night was one of those nights.

The next day she got up and did it all over again. And again the next. She would continue this boring routine until her days would end. She hated her life now, and wished for some way to change it. But sometimes, wished was all she thought they were. Wishes were meant to stay that way, so why even bother wishing for much if it wouldn't work?