Cinderella and The Shape Shifting Mice

Chapter Four

The Prince

Salad plates and tiny forks littered floor as my little brother kicked a plate and sent it sailing, smashing against the wall. I winced. It was over 100 years old and irreplaceable.

  "No! No, no, no, no, NO!" he screamed, flailing his arms and almost falling off the dining chair.

I crossed my arms, frowning. "Its my birthday Johnathan, not yours. You're going to have to calm yourself down a little. You are a Prince, and Prince's do not act this way." I said sternly. In two weeks I would be turning 22 and the palace was in a frenzy trying to get ready for it. I had seen it busy like this before, under different circumstances. Sadder circumstances.

Johnanathan who was only 10 hadn't been brought up the same way as I had. He didn't have a mother.... He was given almost everything and I was left to raise him on my own as our father was too busy being the King, and as it seems to me, ignoring his responsibilities as a father.

  "But Georgie...." He complained.

  "No Johnathan," I said firmly. "This is my party, you are my guest, and I will stilll send you away to that military camp if need be. Now go to your lessons with Madame Pompee and I will see you for your horseback riding lesson." I nodded to Madame Pompee who was standing in the corner and she came and took Johnathan away.

I rubbed my face and started gathering up the broken plates into a pile with my foot. I glanced at the other place settings that were still intact on the table.

  "Which one do you like Your Highness?" My butler Sam, asked, stepping up behind me.

I pursed my lips and starred at the different options: A gold-rimmed plate with the country's insignia in gold in the middle; blue and pink colored china with flowered patterns; a plain white plate with simple gold, blue, and pink patterns on the side with the insignia in the middle ; and a white plate dotted here and there with pink roses with gold leaves.

  "The one with the flowers and the insignia," I said, pointing to the last one. I put my hands behind my back and walked out of the room, Sam trailing behind me.

I glanced down the long hallway which hung the portraits of every King/Queen and royal family for the past hundreds of years. My father and family were all the way at the end, and in the family portrait my mother. I stood in front of it for a few seconds. I'd been standing here a lot lately.
  "She was a lovely woman," Sam said softly.
  "Yes, she was."
Her blonde hair was pulled back from her perfectly angular face in a low bun. She wore a light blue ball gown and one hand rested on her lap while the other rested lightly on my fathers shoulder. He looked so happy.... We all looked so happy.
I turned away from the portrait, eyes burning, and began walking steadily down the hallway. My birthday would be here soon and I had duties to attend to. The guest list of eligible women to look over being one of them.

                                                          ***********************

Ella

"How many freaking rooms are in this stupid place!" I yelled as I kicked the  overheated vacuum. I had already vacuumed the entire first floor, including the curtains, and now had two more floors to go. I had been cleaning all day, starting with the kitchen. The amount of gunk and stale food we had in that kitchen makes me shudder even now.

I turned my music back on and started vacuuming the stairs now that it had cooled down. Lucifer had draped himself across the top step and was watching me with lazy, mocking eyes.
  "I'm going to vacuum you into this thing and not let you out." I hissed under my breath.

After five days I had vacuumed, mopped, washed the windows, cleaned all the bathrooms, washed the sheets, the clothes, and the rugs, and cleaned out the chicken coop. It was early in the morning and I was examining the callouses on my hands when the phone gave a shrill ring.
I jumped up and grabbed the receiver. "Hello?"
  "Ella? This is Mary."
  "Is there something I can do for you? Do you need anything?" I asked, trying to keep the sass out of my tone.
  "I was calling to inform you that we are not going to be back on Sunday, but on Friday. And before we leave for the ball we are having a party. I don't know how many guests but prepare for over fifty." She said in a bored, monotone voice.
  "That's the day of the ball... And a party?"
  "Yes I know. If you plan on going, you must have your dress by than. Don't forget the house needs to be spotless, especially with all these guests coming. Oh, and I want the fountain fixed in the front of house but use your account, I need to save our money for the girls. That'll be all." She hung up and I glared, bewildered at the phone in my hand.

She wanted me to use my money? The money I worked blood, sweat, and tears for? Hands shaking, I looked up the number for the water repair guy and asked him how much it would be to repair our fountain. He told me the price would be determined when he came out and checked and he would be out by 12. I hung up and glanced at my watch.
It was eight now, I had four hours to make the front of the house look decent, so I got to work

Four hours later, I was covered in dirt with leaves in my hair and sweat dripping down my back. I had just put the lawn mower away and all the dead branches and raked leaves in the garbage when the water guy showed up.
  "You know, I've been out here before and I'm not sure its ever looked this clean except when the original owner lived here." He said, holding his clipboard.
I smiled at him. "I remember it, I'm their daughter."
He gave me an impressed look. "You did all this?"
I nodded. "In four hours. I still have to do the back."
He nodded with an impressed look and I showed him the fountain and then led him to the pipes. After a few minutes he frowned. "This is going to take some work. From what I cant tell the pipes are clogged and rusted and they need to be replaced and the filter needs to be changed too."
I rung my hands together. "And... And how much is that going to cost?"
He plugged some numbers and looked up at me. "Four hundred and twenty dollars."
I did the math in my head and gave a small gasp. I'd only have $112 left to get my dress!
  "How long will that take?" I asked, the words getting caught in my throat.
  "Two days if I get another truck out here."
  "Will that cost extra?"
  "Another $95."
I gave a weak noise. Only $17 dollars left to get my dress...  I glanced over at the fountain and frowned. When that thing was on and the water was bubbling and the sun was shining on it during the afternoon... It just made the entire estate complete.
  "Okay," I choked out, trying to fight back tears until I was back inside. "Can you start today?"
He nodded. I told him if he needed anything I would be in the back working on the yard.

I grabbed the trash can, gardening shears, and the lawn mower and began working on the overgrown rose garden. If there was one thing I loved, it was the rose garden out back. Tears spilled down my cheeks onto the leaves I cut as I thought about the ball and how I could have finally got out of this place, if only for one night.
  "Don't worry about it Ella," I whispered to myself. "I'm sure something will come along...."