La Petite Pantoufle De Verre 🦋

🦋𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝐵𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ🦋

Ella's great comfort was the letters that her father would send home from his travels. He had always sent one specifically to every member of his family, one to his wife, Anastasia, Drizella and of course one to his beloved Ella. The weeks he was away lengthened to months, but every day would bring his thoughts from some distant part closer to his home. Until one late blustery afternoon...

Ella was not exactly sure on what day her father would have been returning from his journey but as soon as she heard the sound of horses paired with a knock at the door she knew it could have only meant one thing, her father had finally arrived to return home...but alas not today. She opened the door as briskly as she could and was greeted by only Farmer John, her father's dear colleague who had accompanied him over the years up until this moment. He took his hat off as one does when delivering troubling news of loved ones, he stared at Ella for a moment, and soon after this Lady Tremaine had come to see who was at the door and so she stood behind Ella by the stairs and she was followed by Anastasia and Drizella. It was clear that Ella's heart was racing because she had been breathing quite heavily and loudly along with the constant rapid upward and downward movement of her chest, she had also been inhaling and exhaling excessively as she was first overjoyed to greet her father's face after having not seen him for so long but this was soon replaced with confusion and great worry. "Miss Ella, it's your father...he took ill on the road. He's passed down miss, he's gone...and to the end, he spoke only of you miss, and your mother." Farmer John said woefully. Tears soon filled Ella and Lady Tremaine's eyes, this of course had taken the family by an immense surprise. Farmer John handed over the gift Ella's father had promised to give her months ago it was the first tree branch his shoulders had brushed on upon his journey, but sadly he had not been the one to return home with it like Ella had hoped for. Ella was truly heartbroken and was at a loss for words. "What about my lace..., my parasols?" Said the other two daughters in the background, Lady Tremaine went on to say that none of it mattered anymore and that they were all ruined. "How will we live?" She desperately shouted and exited the area rushing away to go to someplace else, in her path she had shut the door loudly in her steps, and all of their heads had quickly turned to the direction of the noise, after just a short moment Ella's head turner to Farmer John's direction once more. Her face slowly rose and her face was soon filled with tears in her eyes, within this moment of silence she uttered words under her breath to him, "Thank you...that must have been very difficult for you to have carried such news along with you on your journey but I do hope that you will be well and alright..." she said to him in a quavering voice before slowly closing the door. And soon after Farmer John turned away and slowly walked toward his buggy, and soon after he had left the house premises. There Ella stood staring at the branch with her back resting against the door, she slowly slid down and sat on the floor while continuously weeping, tear after tear had rushed down her face and dripped on the leaves on the branch and then lastly rushed to the floor. She had now lost both of her parents and it felt to her as if her entire world had come crashing down, leaving her with all the despondency she could have ever known to carry. As for every tear that fell to the ground was as if it were the plummet of doves descending from the highest branch on a tree to the lowest pinnacle of the world below.

How indeed to live, the first thing Lady Tremaine had thought to do was to order up some beautiful mourning gowns of fine black bombazine for herself, and for her daughters, and a lovely black ribbon for Ella. Economies had to be taken and Ella's stepmother had dismissed all the house staff members of the household due to no more consecutive incomes to be collected from her late husband. Ella said her goodbyes to all of her friends and was woeful to see them go as they were to say farewell to herself too, but she had no say or choice in this decision. She helped the staff members carry their belongings to the stagecoach carriages, Ella wept while doing so but there was nothing else she could do but at least assist them with their belongings, she then said her final goodbyes once more, and her stepmother watched her do so from a near distance as she stood at the house doors and took some joy in seeing her stepdaughter in such a state of mind. Any affection she might have had for Ella had now been turned to strong passionate loathe. Now they must all pull themselves together Lady Tremaine said, but she was prostate with grief. Her daughters followed this example and so Ella was left to do all the work after all with her father gone Ella was little more than a dependant, an interloper, another mouth to feed...