Cinderella's Sisters

They would be happy here, Sera and Pia were determined to make this place their home and to finally marry and be away from their mother as soon as they could. They already had their sights on two noblemen in the area but their mother would never let them go.

They would have to find another way.

Their mother was power hungry, and she was deadly. Their poor new stepfather and all of his loyal subjects had all just suffered and died from a mysterious way and they were worried about their new stepsister, Cinderella.

Cinderella had been so lucky that she didn't drink ale.

Sera and Pia had to be clever. When they saw their mother enter Cinderella's room they had to think fast.

"Cinderella! Come make us something to eat! There isn't anyone left in this entire castle to do anything! And we're not doing it!" They shouted as they stomped into the room. "And it's so cold! Light a fire in our room and your room is too far from ours! We need you to move into the servant's quarters so you can hear us if we need anything."

Their mother started to say something then looked at her daughters and nodded. Maybe they were right. It would be good to have free labor and she didn't want to hire new servants that might snoop around. She even felt a little proud that her girls must be growing up and losing that softness she was always trying to work out of them.

"Dear Cinderella, your father and all the servants will be missed but the best way to get over your grief is to work. You've been spoiled for too long and its time you understand how much you should be grateful for. You are no blood of mine but this is your home, and if you wish to remain here then you must maintain it." Their mother said as she put a small vial back into her hidden dress pocket.

Cinderella was mostly still in shock from the death of her father. She got up from the bed and wiped her tears and walked out of her room to start her work.

Later that night the stepsisters plotted. How exactly were they going to get their happily ever after? They knew they were going to need some help. Luckily they got their chance the next day.

Early in the morning they decided to send Cinderella out in the fields to pick flowers, forage, and get more firewood. Cinderella was glad to get out of the castle. It was so dreary since her stepmother had it all boarded up. Her stepmother avoided the sun to keep her skin looking young.

The stepsisters knew that the Prince would be stopping by to offer support after the tragedy that had happened there. If they could steer the Prince somehow into Cinderella's path maybe she would have a chance. If only the Prince would suspect that somehow their mother had something to do with all those deaths.

"Daughters! Where are you? The Prince could be here at any moment! Get yourselves looking presentable! And make sure you're standing behind me when he arrives, I may have a chance as well." Her shrill voice echoed in the empty halls. The stepmother thought this might be their only chance at being royalty. Then she could torture as she pleased.

The evil in her heart and the smell of death in the air sent up a distress signal high into the air that could only be seen by magical creatures. Some nosy mice snuck into the stepsisters room and overheard them talking about how they could get the Prince to Cinderella.

The nosy mice spread the mission to the birds who went flying off in every direction. They found the Prince and convinced his horse to take him into the fields to meet Cinderella. The Prince's horses reared up on its hind legs and took off!

"Woah!" The Prince was caught off guard as his horse took off. He didn't even have time to compose himself before he was in the field in front of Cinderella. They stared at each other. Then time froze.

"What is all this about?!" An older lady emerged from the forest. It was a fairy godmother! The animals rushed over to her and started chattering all at once. "Quiet now, let me see what we have here." She circled Cinderella and the Prince. "Hmm, this must be the young lady that those two sisters have been trying to protect from their mother, the mice told me about her."

The birds chirped in agreement. "Well now young lady I guess I'll have to use a bit of magic to set you on the right path, and I think this Prince will do just fine! But you have to make a promise with your heart to look after your stepsisters like they have looked after you." Cinderella couldn't hear the fairy godmother speaking to her.

The fairy godmother looked into Cinderella's heart and saw that it was full of kindness. "Alright my dear, looks like you've got yourself a fairy godmother! Time to get to work!" The fairy godmother pulled out a wand and disappeared.

And I think you know the rest of this story.