Twisted Cinderella

Dreams...more like Nightmares

Ella:

                I was wandering through what seemed like many different dimensions and dreams all at once. I was running through a forest one minute, being chased by blood-thirsty wolves and my energy was fading fast. Collapsing to my knees, I spun around to see a wolf flying towards me with its jaws stretched wide open; white teeth gleaming menacingly at me. Suddenly I was standing in the street of a foreign town as carriages and people rushed around me in the opposite direction I was facing. In the distance I could hear what sounded like huge thunder cracks and huge mushroom clouds of dirt as objects hurtling through the air struck the ground and buildings around them. Screams sounded from ahead of me and I could see a group of people hobbling towards me with bodies on stretchers; all covered in blood. The shriek of a siren in the distance sounded and the ground around my feet suddenly exploded in a massive cloud of dirt and other debris. When the dirt cleared, I was now standing in the streets of a bustling city that was from the future. The tall towers gleamed in the early morning sunlight. Huge metal birds flew overhead with long, white tails of clouds behind them. My eyes followed one bird as it flew suspiciously low over us. Without warning, it crashed into the side of one of the two tallest towers. Screams echoed around me as debris fell from the sky and smoke billowed out of the tower. A few minutes later, a second bird came from the right and crashed into the second gleaming tower. Smoke and debris falling all around me, I tried to run away; but my feet were planted and would not move. My blood turned to ice when I heard the earth-rumbling groan from above. Looking up, I saw the first tower collapsing and coming crashing down to where I stood on the street. Concrete slabs flew out from the tower, and I screamed just as one was about to flatten me.

 

                ‘SNUP!’ Everything was now silent. Opening my eyes, I looked around and saw I was standing in the middle of nowhere. Everywhere I looked, white, white, white greeted my eyes; making them sting at the brightness. I spun around in a circle and my surroundings were the same everywhere I looked. White…white…white.

 

                “Ella…” a voice drifted across my ears.

 

                Gasping, I looked around, hoping for any sign of life to prove that the voice I heard was real.

 

                “Ella, can you hear me?” The voice seemed to be coming from below me. I looked down at my feet and screamed. ‘Okay, okay, you’re not falling, calm down Ella!’ When I had a better grip of what I had seen; I looked down at my feet. Swallowing thickly, I looked down. What I was standing on was pure glass, and through it I could see me. Correction…my body. “I” was laying on a royal blue bed in a strange room. Another figure came into view. Although I could only the top of their head; I knew instantly who it was. Maxton. He was sitting in a chair beside my bed, with his head resting on my stomach. His hand was clenching mine as he sobbed.

 

                “Ella, please come back to me,” he choked out.

 

                My heart ached for him. All I wanted was to be back in my body so I could comfort him. Suddenly, a huge wind came up and it seemed to tug at my ankles. No matter how hard I strained against it, my legs finally gave in and I was swept off my feet. Screaming, I felt myself being pulled through the glass and down towards my body. With a ‘SWUP!’ I was thrown back into my body with such tremendous force; had I been a live person at that moment, I would have been crushed. My senses were slowly coming back to me and I could hear the faint sound of someone sobbing.

 

                My eyes fluttered open and I looked around the room in wonder. Every surface was blue and white shades that were meant to be cheerful; but it seemed to have a sense of mourning about it. There were hundreds of vases full of flowers everywhere. Some were freshly cut while others were starting to dry out and wilt.

A slight pressure on my right arm drew my eyes down. There sat Maxton, sobbing into my arm; his body trembling with every sob that escaped his mouth. Slowly and almost painfully, I stretched my left hand over and curled my fingers into his hair. Maxton froze and the sobbing stopped instantly. His head whipped up and his bloodshot eyes stared at me; as if I wasn’t real. Grinning, I cupped my hand on his cheek. Breathing raggedly, he turned his mouth to the palm of my hand and kissed it tenderly; then he looked back at me. He laughed and embraced me in a gentle embrace; as if he was afraid I wasn’t real and I would disappear at any moment.

                What happened after that was a whirlwind. Doctors and nurses were rushing around me, testing my eyes, memory and asking me some very random questions that didn’t seem to have a definite purpose. After two hours of testing, the head doctor still couldn’t get over the fact that I had recovered so well without any memory loss.

                “It’s a miracle!” he proclaimed, before rushing off to spread the word to the rest of the castle and no doubt, the kingdom.

                Maxton and I just laughed at that. Then his face turned serious again as he stared at me.

                “What is it?” I asked, looking around the room.

                “Nothing, just I was going to ask you a very important question the night of the ball before you ran away. Since I thought you were dead or disabled I thought that I had lost my chance but now here you are, alive and well.” Prince Maxton stated with a small chuckle.

                “I’m also wondering if it was you that bonked your head or if you’re going to finally ask me that specific question you need answered,” I said, impatiently, then I burst out laughing.

                Maxton joined me in my rant of laughter. Then he sobered up, got down on one knee beside the bed and pulled out a beautiful diamond ring.