Sweet Dreams or Nightmares

Subverted Cinderella - A Man in Ella's Shoes Part 1

A/N This story, is a subversion. We pretend that Cinderella is a man and his life is a completely different story. Hope you enjoy! I loved writing this one! Rach xx

My life has been totally messed up. I suffered so much when I was young. My mother got extremely sick, and she said if I did exactly as she told me she would get better. As you probably guessed that didn't happen. The specialist doctors from the Kingdom of Adera had tried to cure her, but it seemed like they were killing her even more. Within weeks from the start of the illness she passed away, leaving behind the pungent stench of her death clinging to air.

My father worked all day and night, so I barely ever saw him. We had no money, so he had to. I found it hard to stay in the house all day and grieve, so I went for a run. As I was so young, I probably would have needed my father's consent, but it did not feel like he had a care for me at all. The runs got less and less satisfying every day, and I needed something more. It turns out, my father worked by day and went out by night. So it seemed from then, that this new lady had sewn my dad's once broken heart back together and he was as fine as fine can be. I kept thinking about how quickly he got over the fact that his wife was dead. I guess that most people don't get over that so quickly, it had only been two weeks for heaven's sake! I hadn't.

I saw more and more of that women at our house and also her ugly - to say the least - daughters. You would think that that lady would become my stepmother, wouldn't you? Well, I'm not sure exactly what happened, but all I know is that she and my father ran away together.. Leaving her daughters at my house. How coincidental? Both of them kept pushing each other to get to me, and every time they got the chance, they would flutter the eyelashes at me. It was so weird. You know, I never thought I was that cute, but hey, they were both heads over heals for me. Little did they know neither of them had a chance with me.

They lived with me now, and the house smelled like a mix of death and old people perfume and since they were staying in my parent's old room, that's where the smell was worst. A few years past and I had eventually had enough. I needed to find away to clear my head and a way to make them stop staring at me. When dusk fell, they were already snoring like pigs, so I tiptoed into the unbearably smelling room and stole a shoe from each of them. Even they smelled bad. I slid them on and they had a surprisingly good fit. I left the house without noise.

As I opened the front door, a gust of cold wind sent a shiver down my spine, and I felt a sudden burst of guilt and shame. I should not do this...but I had to. I ran past the plains with the glimmering stars above. It was just me and the night now, no turning back. The center of town neared and the flickering lights of the little shops appeared. I heard a crack of thunder in the distance. I looked up to the sky; it was covered with merciless rain clouds. I had to do this quickly.

Everyone in this town knew everyone, although they hadn't seen much of my family recently. I don't think they cared about my family either, or me for that sake. They hadn't come to check on us, and my school hadn't said anything either. There was something oddly suspicious about everything. I steadily moved towards Mary's flower shop( include it at the start, eg. runner blurb's). That scent was beautiful. As I crept toward the windowsill, things became apparent. I was not the obedient child I had once been nor the good person the village had seen in me. From this moment forward I would not be the same person I was years ago.

I jumped quickly to my feet and jumped through the open window. My shoe - well, Anastasia's shoe - got caught on a flower pot and both the pot and I went down with a loud thud. An alarm went off. Since when did we have any alarms in this town? People started coming out of their houses and lights flickered on all around. I grabbed a big bunch of Magnolias and and grabbed a whole lot of cash from the cash register. I ducked beneath the front desk, before I a made run for it. The rain pelted down and the dirt below me became mushy and sticky. My other shoe - well, Drizella's shoe - got stuck in the mud and I had to leave it behind. The noise of the townspeople became softer and softer as I ran closer to my house. My wet clothes hung on to me, and the icy wind made it worse.

I went into the house with drenched clothes and muddy feet. I dropped the drenched flowers on the kitchen table and went to my bedroom. I swung the bathroom door open and got into the shower. I twisted the knob, and the water started to pour down, my mind faded, and everything that had happened became a foggy illusion. The sensation of the steamy water calmed me; it took my mind off everything. My mind swirled, and it was like I was standing under an everlasting waterfall. Ever so beautiful, but it wouldn't ever last. I realised I couldn't keep living in the dreamland I had created. I changed and snuggled under the covers.

The sunlight streamed through the window, as I woke up to the sound of knocking on the front door. I forced myself to get out of the bed and quickly put on something presentable. I ran downstairs to open the front door. In front of me stood some guards from the Kingdom of Adera. What were they here for? Then I noticed the shoes in their hands. My mouth was wide open. How did they know? They demanded to be let into the house. The first room they encountered, as they came into the house was Anastasia and Drizella's room. So that's where they went first. Obviously, the shoes were strewn across the floor - my bad - and they thought they had enough evidence to arrest them and the poor girls were still asleep. They didn't let me say another word and they dragged those two off with wet faces screaming. Just like I had lost my mother, I now had lost the closest thing I had left to a family.