Cinderella

10.Stalker

I was beyond exhausted. It was only halfway through the day and I had already cleaned my stepmother's room, my stepsisters' rooms, polished the floors of every room in the house, beat the rugs, washed clothes, hung clothes out to dry, mended many dresses, washed the sheets, dried the sheets, put all the laundry into it's rightful place, fed the horses, weeded the garden, repainted the house again, baked a pie, dusted a chandelier, went to the market to buy food, went back to the market when Leonora needed new shoes, talked with Laney, watched as Laney ran away before my stepmother saw her talking to me, had more chores pushed onto me by Leonora, cleaned the windows, and fed my stepfamily lunch.

I still had more work to do after lunch, but for once I hadn't spilled a single tray of food. I would be able to have a meal now instead of eating nothing or the scraps my stepfamily left on their plates. I took my small lunch and went out into the woods. I always came in here whenever I had time. Deep within beyond the dirt path running through them, there was a beautiful waterfall and a small lake.

When I was younger, my father used to take me out here and we'd swim or just stare at the lake. Now, I came out here every chance I got to remember those times. However, I no longer had enough time to swim and the days I could come were few and far between.

I started down the dirt path and thought I heard footsteps, but that was impossible. My stepfamily hated going into the woods and since they sat on my stepmother's property, I had them all to myself. Aside from the occasional trespasser, but they usually ran off as soon as they heard another person in here.

I reached the spot where I would venture into the woods and stepped off the trail. I heard footsteps once more and turned my head to glance behind me. No one was there. My imagination must have been playing tricks on me.

All through the off path walk, I thought I heard footsteps behind me or breaking twigs. Yet each time I turned around there was no one in sight. I finally reached the lake and I stood next to the waterfall, feeling the spray of water hit me. I walked away and went to the edge of the lake.

I sat down and began eating. It was peaceful out here, but I knew that I needed to get back soon. I quickly ate the rest of my food and packed everything away. I stood to leave, when I heard a twig snap again. My head whipped around towards the noise and instead of seeing nothing but trees, I found myself staring at Anthony.

"Hello again" I tried to calmly say. All I wanted to do was scream. I wondered why he was here. Had he followed me to this place or had he stumbled upon it by accident and I just happened to be here? The likelihood of him being here being a coincidence was very low. He must have been the person that followed me as I traveled through the woods.

"Hello" he said clearing his throat and straightening his coat. It looked as though he had been crouching there for awhile. He must have been there since I arrived.

"Were you the one who was following me as I walked here?" I cautiously asked starting to retreat back to the path.

"I may have been outside of your house for awhile and then I may have saw you walk into the woods. Then I may have followed behind you and waited for you to finish eating. It was only because I was concerned. The woods are dangerous, especially if you travel through them alone. I needed to be sure that you didn't come across a wild animal or injure yourself by tripping" Anthony defended himself.

I kept backing away slowly going towards the waterfall and getting closer to the trail I had taken here. I stopped walking right beside the waterfall and said "The only thing that scared me were the mysterious noises that I kept hearing during my walk."

"What noises?" Anthony asked sounding shocked.

"The noise you made when walking, stepping on twigs, and everything else" I informed him.

"Oh" he said.

"I really must be going. Please don't lurk outside my house or follow me when I go out even if you are the future king" I said and then I turned and bolted. I quickly reached the path and got back onto it. I didn't stop running until I was back at the house, out of the woods, and working once more.

Author's Note

Hey everyone! So first off, Anthony, talk about creepy. Next, don't stalk people, it's weird. Third, retro_wonderwoman I know where you live. Fourth, don't follow my example. Anyways, weird lists aside, I did write the author's note in the last part, but I forgot to publish the part. I wrote it a couple days ago and I only noticed it wasn't published today. So, sorry. Good news, two parts in one day. Alright, don't forget to vote and comment. Write to you soon
-Panda12Panda12
P.S. Does anyone think I'm too obsessed with pandas? If so, too bad. I'll never stop loving them