Midnight

Seven

Chapter seven:

The morning of the ball was an extremely tiring one for me, but the most exciting one my stepsisters had ever had.
I awoke hours before dawn to collect the eggs and milk and to start breakfast. I made the best meal I could, wanting to improve my stepsisters and stepmother's mood before the night.
As the breakfast was cooking I started on my chores, washing and ironing the clothes, dusting the house from top to bottom, and even laying out my stepsisters' gowns that they would wear to the ball.

The girls woke up later then usual, claiming something about needing extra beauty sleep when my stepmother told them off for it. As they ate, I quickly finished my chores and prepared myself to help the three of them get ready for the remainder of the day.
Because the ball started at dusk and ended well into tomorrow morning, my stepsisters insisted on needing to look extra gorgeous in case the Prince took interest in them for the whole night.

"Cinderella, hurry here and help me fix my hair!"
"No, Cinder-Soot, I need your help deciding which pair of gloves look more like regal."
"Oh do shut up, Anastasia, my hair is more important."
"No one will be looking at you, all the attention will be on me, Drusella. I told you the Prince will be looking for me tonight."
"How sad indeed it is that you think that. I can't wait to see your face when you see him with me!"

My stepsisters didn't pause in their pointless arguing for most of the day. Every once in a while they would tire of insisting the Prince would like them more and would fall silent for a moment or two, until something new came up and they would be back at it again. I ran back and forth between the two of them for hours, starting almost as soon as breakfast was finished and only having a short break to prepare lunch and then start again once the meal was finished.
What my stepmother did for the day, I did not know. She was perfectly able to get herself ready-my stepsisters were too, but they demanded assistance- and so she probably did. I was only called into her room a few times to do menial things such as drawing a bath and fixing her hairstyle.

After lunch my stepsisters took long, hot baths and slowly washed their hair. They began a tiff over what hairstyle they each would wear, as they did not want to match each other in the slightest. When I asked why they didn't want to match, Drusella promptly told me that she didn't want to look like Anastasia because the Prince would not like her as much then.
I thought this to be incredibly rude, I would never mind matching my twin sister if I had one. But apparently Anastasia and Drusella were both feeling the competition they would face tonight, and they were definitely letting it show.

The baths lasted for over an hour each and I was able to get some rest while my stepsisters were occupied in the water. I even dozed off for quite a while and was awakened my Anastasia shrilly demanding me to come there.
"Yes, Anastasia, what is it?"
The young girl giggled and splashed her bubbly water playfully.
"Tell my idiot sister that the Prince will like me more."
I was not taken aback by her request at all. It was not the first time either of them and said something of the sort, and it certainly would not be the last. But as often as I heard these remarks, I did always try to find a way to get out of saying them to the other sister.

Instead I just raised and eyebrow and gave Anastasia a small smile.
"You two certainly talk about the Prince a lot." I remarked.
"Of course, I am to be Queen once we are married. One would be surprised if I didn't talk about him a lot."
"But how are you certain that you will be Queen?" I asked gently, trying not to offend her. "There will be so many Ladies attending as well, who can say that the Prince isn't going to marry an actual Princess? There will certainly be Princesses from distant lands as well."
Anastasia snorted elegantly and brushed a piece of her hair back in a conceited fashion.
"There must have been some reason the Prince threw the Palace doors open to everyone, Cinderella. I wouldn't expect you to understand, you probably have never even spoken to a man before, have you?"