Not-So-Happily-Ever-After

Cinderella's story, part 1

     When you marry a prince, you’d never expect him to not believe you when you tell him the story of how you met. Ella certainly didn’t. Cinderella, as you might know her, never expected to be sitting on the filthy floor of the kingdom’s insane asylum in her own cell. After all, she had been married to the Prince, been made Queen, and had all her dreams come true. But then everything had to go wrong.

     Ella looked around the small room again, taking in every tiny detail of her new home. But then, she shook her head.

     “Don’t think that way,” she consoled herself. “You are not crazy. Henry was just acting rash. You’ll be out of here in no time.”

     “Your majesty?” A voice spoke up, sounding hesitant. She turned toward the door, and saw a worried face looking through the barred window. It was one of the guards.

     “Oh, sorry about that, sir…?” Ella said, fishing for a name.

     “Sir Castellum, Your Highness.” He replied.

     “What a very fitting name. I am sorry had to see that. I assure you, I am not crazy. It just seems I confided in the wrong person, and I was simply berating myself.”

     “For what? And who was this person you spoke of?” he asked cautiously.

     “Well, I was chiding myself for thinking of this as my new home,” Ella replied. “And sadly, the person I confided in was my husband, Henry. But no matter, he will realize his mistake in not trusting me, and come release me soon enough.”

     “May I ask, not trust you in what?”

     She chuckled softly to herself.

     “Of course. I simply told him the truth of how I came to be at the ball. He didn’t seem to believe in magic, and fairy godmothers. If you ask me, that’s simply crazy!”

     Sir Castellum’s eyes widened, and he cautiously reached for his sword. Seeing the action, Ella cautiously stood up, worry etched on her porcelain face.

     “Now, no need to be hasty,” she said, her voice shaking slightly and her hands raised slightly to appease him. “Apparently the belief in magic makes one insane, but you don’t believe that. Do you?” she asked, panic starting to creep into her voice.

     He didn’t reply. Seized by a sudden desperation, Ella ran to the door and tightly clasped the iron bars.

     “Please,” she begged. “I’m not crazy! Don’t you see? It was all a simply misunderstanding! I don’t belong here. I am perfectly sane, and soon Henry will realize that and come rescue me from this horrible place. Then we shall justly rule the kingdom together.” Tears filled her eyes as Sir Castellum backed away slowly, fear and disbelief creeping onto his strong features.

     “She promised me,” Ella whispered and collapsed to the floor, tears flowing freely, as she clutched the bars even tighter. The sound of her sobs echoed through the small room, chasing the retreating back of sir Castellum as he mentally rehearsed how he was going to tell the King his wife was truly mad. The last thing he heard before the heavy iron door closed behind him was Cinderella’s soft repetition of those three words, barely audible through her muffled sobs.

      “She promised me.”