Cinderella and The Shape Shifting Mice

Chapter Thirty One

THE PRINCE

I looked at her, confused out of my mind. "I don't... Understand."

Someone ran up on stage and I was even more shocked to see it was Ella's step-mother, grabbing the microphone from Sam's hand and pushing him aside.
"Your highness I'm so sorry to have to do this but this girl needs to be exposed," she pointed to Ella who shook her head violently.

"Please don't do this Mary! Please!"
"Too late," she hissed and turned to me. "This girl has been living in my home as a servant for the past ten years and engaging in illegal activities in our basement without my knowledge until just recently when I found the key and went down there. This imposter," she pointed at Ella and I noticed some guards slowly walking up behind her, "has been growing and selling cannabis in our basement for years!"

The entire crowd gasped and I turned to Ella, shocked. She was shaking her head, glaring at Mary. "Is it true?" I asked her. Growing and selling cannabis was a capital crime in this country and had serious legal consequences.

"She forced me to," Ella exclaimed. "We had no way to pay off the bills and they were going to sell my father's house and kick me out on the streets if I didn't. I had to, I couldn't let her destroy the few things I had left if my family."

I took a step away from her and ran into the Duke. "But you!" she pointed at the Duke. "You rigged this whole thing up so I would win! You were going to get Mary into the castle and as soon as he was crowned king you were going to take him out so you'd have the throne for yourself!"

I looked the Duke who was laughing. "That's preposterous! Those are wild alligations for someone with no evidence," he snapped. "Guards! Take this girl to the jail cells immediately!"

Ella's eyes widened and she was grabbed and dragged off the stage. She squirmed but it was no use. She looked up at me, pain and loss written all over her face as she was pulled further and further away from me.
"I'm sorry," she mouthed and then she was dragged out the doors and out of my sight.

I stood there staring at the doors as voices and shouting rose around me and camera flashes were going off. I looked down at the ring in my hand, the ring meant for Ella. For the girl who loved so deeply and felt so much. And had... Lied to me? Or had she been trying to tell me this entire time? Every time I brought up the future, every time she talked of home, she got incredibly upset. Maybe it was me that was making her cry. Not because I was hurting her, but because she didn't want to hurt me.

I turned to Sam who was watching it all from the corner and perked up when I grabbed his arm and pulled him from the ballroom. "We have some work to do," I hissed, making my way to my office. "And it starts with the Duke."

ELLA

I stopped counting how many days I had been in the cell after about 30. They gave me a change of clothes when I was brought down here and a clean set every three days. The only person I saw was the person who brought my food and my clothes and lead me to the bathroom to shower, both the same individual. I spent my days sleeping mostly, just sitting or laying on the cot and gazing up at the ceiling.
I had a tiny square of a window but I couldn't see out of it even standing on the bed so the only thing it offered me was what time of day it was since the light bulb hanging above me never turned off.

I tried not to reflect too much on what happened at the ball but I didn't regret my decision. I had done it for the right reasons and I think my mother and father would have been proud of that. I did it for love and to give the evil people what they deserved, which I hoped had happened but I tried not to think too much about that either.

I think what was a couple days before or after Day 50 when there was a knock on my door and it opened to reveal Drizella and Clarence, somberly looking in at me.

"Well what a sight for sore eyes," I said, sitting up and attempting to straighten my hair which really needed a wash. "I never thought I'd be this happy to see you."
Drizella stepped in and enveloped me in a hug which surprised me greatly but I welcomed it. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Clarence cleared his throat. "We're here to take you home."
"What?" I looked at Drizella who nodded. "What's happened since the ball? Can you tell me?"
She nodded and lead me out of the cell which closed with a click behind me. "Yes, but first lets get you a shower, some proper clothes, and a meal."

An hour later I was dressed, washed, and fed, sitting in a car on my way home. Clarence was driving, and Drizella was sitting in the back with me.

"Okay, here goes," she cleared her throat and looked at me. "Afterwards the whole room broke into chaos. The King was beyond furious and demanded to know what happened and a fellow named Sam stepped forward with a clipboard loaded with a stack of papers and he just went all out. He had piles of evidence against the Duke and Mary who were consequently removed from the premises immediately by guards who weren't on the Duke's payroll.
"Anastasia has since left the country with one of her many suitors," Drizella rolled her eyes, "and I had the house all to myself so Clarence offered to come around and help clean it up with me. We found piles of money in Mary's room that I used to pay off most of the bills that had been piling up, but the King did call for an investigation into the cellar and they found everything down there and confiscated it all."
She laid a hand on my arm, frowning. "I'm so sorry she made you do that Ella. I had no idea."
I ignored her comment and told her to keep going.
"So Clarence here, because he still worked at the palace and got in good with a few people, told me that the King had decided to grant you a pardon due to evidence they found that Mom really bad forced you to work against your will, and you'd already served enough time. And because I was technically the only family you had left, I got to come and take you home." She finished right as we pulled into the driveway and I was taken away with how gorgeous it looked. It was.... it was clean. It looked just like how I remembered it when I was a little girl.
"You did all this?" I asked her, tears brimming in my eyes.
"With some help form Clarence and friends, yes. You have quite a few admirers down in the market and in the palace who were more than willing to help," she winked at me and Clarence opened my door and helped me out.

The first thing I heard was the chickens in the backyard and I smiled. Since I didn't have any belongings to put away, we walked towards the house and I noticed Clarence give Drizella a look and she bit her lip and frowned.
"There is uh, one thing I forgot to tell you," she said as we got to the front door.
I marveled at the shiny brass handle and pushed it open and walked inside. It smelled like lemon disinfectant and roses. "What?" I asked, too distracted by how for the first time in forever, my home finally looked like it was supposed to.
"The King, uh, who let you go is-"

"Me. I let you go."

I looked up and blinked in surprise. "Georgie?"