Cinderella

12.Leonora

For once, I had gotten a good night's sleep. I had been able to eat and sleep. Overall, it had been a great day. Now, I would have to go face another day and I doubted it would be as good as the last.

I ran downstairs and made breakfast. None of my stepfamily was awake yet. I knew because none of them had yelled at me or screamed for me to come to where they were. I soon finished breakfast and transported it to the dining room. I was so close to successfully carrying the third tray there, when Leonora stepped into my path. I jumped in shock and narrowly avoided dumping the food onto her.

"Yes, ma'am?" I asked. She kept standing there, not saying anything.

"Ma'am?" I tried again. She still stood there with her arms crossed over her chest looking very irritated.

"A knight. You just had to catch the attention of a knight from the castle" she finally said with a huff.

"Every man always pays attention to you or Delaney. You may be dressed in rags, but everyone still adores you" she spit out. I said nothing. What could I say? My stepsister hated me for no reason other then jealousy.

"You are worthless. All you will ever be is a servant. No one should even look twice at you. You're covered in cinders and wear rags as clothes. Yet somehow, people still look. People still care. You aren't tossed aside if you don't act like the perfect daughter your mother wants you to be. You aren't shunned every time you make a mistake. You aren't unloved" Leonora ranted. I knew that this conversation was no longer about me.

"Leonora, you may think I'm all those things, but I'm not. I have a stepmother who hates me, even though I have done nothing. I have a stepsister who despises me, even though I wished to be her friend. I have a room filled with useless boxes and an old bed, even though I once had a real room. I have nothing. I am not loved by my family, even though I've wanted them to love me for so long. Even though I have loved them for so long" I said.

Leonora started to cry and I stepped towards her and enveloped her in a hug. We were both just young girls who wanted to be loved. We were both girls who my stepmother and her mother had tossed aside. She had made us think we were unwanted and unloved. She was the reason that Leonora hated me.

"I'm sorry. All I've ever done, everything has been to please my mother. She would praise us when we taunted you and made fun of you, so I kept doing it to make her happy. Now that both you and Delaney have caught the attention of men, she has started to hate me for not being good enough" Leonora said.

"I forgive you" I said.

"Can we start over?" She requested. I stepped back and I nodded. Some may think that I was too kind for my own good, but I believed in second chances and Leonora deserved one.

"Hello. I'm Leonora, your new stepsister. You can call me Lele" she introduced herself. I held back a laugh at her nickname. I had always found it to be childish but cute.

"Hello, Lele. My name is Annabella, but you can call me Cinderella" I said.

"Why? We used that name to insult you?" She asked looking shocked.

"Before it was an insult, it was a childhood nickname that my mother always used" I said.

"Your mother is very important to you, isn't she?" Leonora said.

"She's the reason I haven't run away" I said.

"I'm sorry" she apologized again.

"There's no need to apologize. We're sisters after all" I said with a small smile.

"Sisters" she said returning my smile.

"Now, I must get back to work or your mother will kill me" I said.

"If you ever need help, just ask" Leonora said.

"Thank you" I said and then I walked into the dining room to deliver the last tray. I was about to set it down, when I ran into a chair and tripped. The tray fell to the ground and I sighed. It was too much to hope for everything going well today. I let out a tiny smile. At least I had a new sister.

I rushed back to the kitchen, grabbed the last tray, and this time I successfully delivered it. I went back to the kitchen and found the list from my stepmother waiting there. Today really was going well. I hadn't even had to deal with my stepmother. I grabbed the list and unrolled it.

I looked at everything on it and sighed. I really had to stop hoping for today to be perfect. The amount of work on the list was enough to keep me busy till at least midnight. Midnight. I would have to meet Anthony at midnight. If my work wasn't done, then I had no idea what I'd do. With that in mind, I grabbed the list and my apron. I had to finish by midnight, because I wanted go talk to Anthony again. I wanted to see him smile or laugh. I just wanted to see him.

Author's Note

Hey everyone! Guess what. I have over a hundred views on this story. I never imagined that it was reach that many. I know it's not a ton, but I don't care. Anyways, I finally have a comment from someone who isn't retro_wonderwoman , so thanks mousiepoobear . Also, anyone reading this should check out her story. Please vote and comment. Thanks!

-Panda12Panda12
P.S. I feel the need to mention pandas to celebrate this, but I'm not sure how to mention them.