Cinderella

The Misuse of Magic

-Lady Tremaine-

It was Friday and that meant Ella would be leaving tomorrow, and after their meeting with the Queen, one of her daughters would be engaged. Lady Tremaine trusted Lawrence to keep his end of the bargain, and now with the possibility of royal wedding bells in her future, she realized she no longer cared for Bellview. Perhaps she would completely offer him the estate in exchange for his loyalty.

She went up the stairs to the top of the tower. She needed to ensure Ella was packed and ready for her betrothed. Too much relied on Ella's obedience.

The minute Lady Tremaine opened the door, She saw Ella kneeling over her wooden trunk. The trunk slammed shut and Ella stood suddenly and turned, her face guarded and guilty. Interesting. Lady Tremaine stepped forward.

"Are you nearly finished?" Lady Tremaine asked.

"Yes, I just need to-" Ella stopped speaking when Lady Tremaine drew nearer to her.

"Ella?" Lady Tremaine asked.

"Yes Lady Tremaine?"

"Move aside."

Ella froze completely.

"I have already packed."

Lady Tremaine was no longer listening to Ella. She pushed her aside in an instant and opened the trunk. Sitting on the top in all its glory, was a familiar glass slipper.

Lady Tremaine felt her heart thud through her chest. It was the glass slipper. The glass slipper that Anastasia and Drisella had tried on in vain. The glass slipper that promised fortune and fame.

"Where did you get this?" Lady Tremaine asked, her hands cradled the delicate slipper lovingly.

"I found it." Ella said.

Lady Tremaine was intimate with the sound of fear. She heard it now in Ella's voice and her attention turned away from the miracle slipper in her hands.

"You are lying." She said. This was not the Prince's slipper. This was the match. The second slipper.

"Put it on." Lady Tremaine said, holding out the slipper to Ella. Lady Tremaine had watched as dozens of women tried on its pair. Dozens of women all failed.

Ella must have realized that this was past the point of debate or discussion. She took the slipper, set it on the floor, and stepped into it. Her foot molded perfectly into the slipper as if it was made for her.

Lady Tremaine looked at Ellanore. Really looked at her for the first time in years. She had always been a thorn in her side, but she was no longer a thorn. She was now a threat. A threat to her daughters' happiness.

The Prince promised he would marry the maiden who fits the slipper. He would not get the chance.

-Cinderella-

Ella was terrified. Her heart was racing. She stood awkwardly, one foot skewed in the glass slipper.

"It was you at the ball." Her stepmother's voice was low. Ella had only ever heard her voice become this venomous twice before. Once when her father died and she took everything and once when she pushed Ella down the steep tower stairs. Ella did not know how to reign in Lady Tremaine's rage.

"It was harmless. I spoke to no one." Ella whispered. "I just wanted to see what it was like."

Her stepmother advanced on her and Ella backed up until she was against the wall. Lady Tremaine stood over her with her entire body tight with tension.

"We have passed the point of lying Ella. Perhaps if you had been an observer you could have gotten away with it, but we both know your true intentions."