Once Upon a Grimm

Chapter Eight: The Last Straw

"Ella! You stupid little mouse!! Come here!" the girl screamed in anger.

Shaking her head, Ella stood up calmly and made her way over to where her stepsister stood. "What did I do this time Katerina?" she asked in annoyance as she crossed her hands over her chest.

"Are you blind or just incredibly stupid? Can't you see that you have ruined my favorite blue dress? I asked you to hem the bottom up just one inch, instead you cut nearly the entire bottom off. How am I supposed to where this... thing in public now? It's barely acceptable as underwear." Katerina screeched as she threw the dress in Ella's face. "I should have known better than to trust something like this to you. I should have known you would find some way to screw it up."

Ella stood and took her step sister's vocal abuse, saying nothing as she carefully examined the item in her hands. After looking it over for a good long while and closely examining the work that she did, Ella looked back up at Katerina with a sigh.

"It looks fine to me Katerina. You're just being overly dramatic again." Ella scolded, rolling her eyes as she handed the dress back to the other girl.

"Overly dramatic?! OVERLY DRAMATIC?!!!!" Katerina screeched again, throwing the dress down into the thick mud below her as she began her temper tantrum. "You little demon! How dare you talk to me that way?!"

Before Ella could do or say anything Katerina launched herself on top of her, causing them both to topple into the wet ground. Sitting on top of her step sister, Katerina began to punch, hit and slap the girl repeatedly wherever she could, the whole time screaming at the top of her lungs.

Worried for my friend I ran out of my hiding spot to the barn doors, eager to defend Ella from the rage of her attacker. Before I could get outside however a loud bang rang through the air. Fear gripped me tightly at the sound. I knew that sound.

It was a gunshot.

Dreading the worst, I ran to another crack in the wall to see what had happened.

Standing by the back door of the home was an elderly woman wearing a hateful scowl upon her face. The woman who I assumed was Ella's step mother, Lady Tremaine, was holding a rifle in her hand pointing up at the sky as she fired it again.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lady Tremaine snarled, glaring down at the two young women.

"Mother!" Katerina immediately yelled, fake tears already sliding down her face as she ran over to the older woman. "You'll never believe what Ella did to me."

Bending over Lady Tremaine carefully wrapped her hands around her daughter's shoulders as she attempted to settle the girl. "Hush, child. Tell me everything." She mumbled, comforting the girl.

"A couple of days ago I asked Ella to please hem my dress because it was a little too long for me to wear. Today I got to my room and I saw my beautiful dress laid out on my bed and she had RUINED it! It is far too short now to be worn in decent society. When I came out here to confront her for what she did she started to yell and scream at me. She tore the dress away from me and threw it on the ground and started to stomp all over it. When I asked her to stop Ella attacked me and started hitting me everywhere." Katerina lied, sobbing as she held on to her mother.

"That's a lie!" Ella shouted, standing up from the ground as she marched her way over to her family. "That spoiled little brat threw her own dress into the mud. She attacked ME!"

"Ella! What a horrible thing to say?! See mother?! She hates me. First, she ruins my favorite dress, then she attacks me and now she's lying about me. Aren't you going to stop her mother? Aren't you going to punish her?"

"Katerina go in the house. Get cleaned up for dinner."

"But mo..."

"NOW Katerina!" Lady Tremaine yelled, pointing to the open door.

Once Katerina was gone Lady Tremaine turned her gaze once again to Ella. A sneer made its way onto her face as she looked at my mud-covered friend. Her hand struck out suddenly as she slapped Ella across the face so violently that the girl fell back into the mud.

"You will go into town today and sell that old, worthless horse of your father's for money to buy Katerina a new dress. When you get home, you will fix our dinner, but you will not eat. Give our scraps directly to the dog, I will know if you sneak some so do not even try it. After you complete your nightly chores you will come back out here and sleep in the hog pit. If you would rather act like a wild animal than a lady, then you will live like one as well. I expect you to apologize to Katerina as well and plead for your sister's forgiveness. Only when she accepts your apology may you return to sleeping inside. Do you understand me?"

"I didn't do anything wrong." Ella mumbled stubbornly, eyes tearing as she looked up at her step mother.

"Oh, I know, I just don't care." Lady Tremaine laughed, walking away. "Oh, and Ella dear, do be careful. Anymore trouble and you might just end up like your dear mother."

The second the coast was clear I ran to my friend's side, holding her as she sobbed in my arms.

"How can I sell Gus? He's the only thing I have left of my father." Ella cried into my chest. "I won't. I won't do it and she can't make me. I won't let her, not this time."

"I'm so sorry, Ella. I wish I knew what to do to make this better for you." I said, trying to console her as I helped her walk into the barn.

After sitting down for a while, Ella stood suddenly stood up and moved away from me. I saw a new determination fill her eyes as she stood up and began to move around the small space as if on a sudden mission.

"You want to help me Kiara? Help me pack. I'm done being a toy for them to torment. I'm sick of loosing myself to their constant abuse. I'm leaving, once and for all."