Cinderella hit the ground hard, scrambling back in horror as a devastating fear struck her heart and almost stopped it.
She stared in white-hot shock as the rat took it final, convulsing breath before dying.
Seconds later, a second, skinny rat made an appearance, making a tentative dash for the chocolate and Cinderella struck out automatically, catching the rat in the chest and it scampered away in insulted surprise. She didn't even register that it was the rat she had saved Giselle from.
She scrambled to her feet, made a dash for the door, then doubled back and lifted the cup in her skirts, like touching the chocolate with her fingers could harm her, before dropping a tea towel over it in hopes of deterring any other unsuspecting vermin from lapping up their own demise.
She then ran to the kitchen.
Hurling the cup into the bin, she struggled to force her keys into the lock with her shaking hands and wrenched it open with such force she almost knocked the door into her jaw.
She stared at the bottle of rat poison.
It was still untouched.
The sight made her blood run cold.
Because if it hadn't been the rat poison itself that had killed the rat... there was only one other thing in the house that could do it. It was horrendous. Another way to kill vermin. It was even used in some medicines when tightly controlled. Common in all grand homes and yet should never, ever be touched.
Fingers trembling, she reached past the bottle to the very back of the cupboard and felt the glass of the tiny bottle the white power was stored in.
The innocent looking powder, fine like icing sugar.
Taking a breath, she pulled the bottle out and almost dropped it.
The bottle had been tampered with.
And that scared her more then any fear she had known before.
Because, in that bottle, was strychnine.
And suddenly Cinderella was seeing a whole new side to her stepmother.
The woman she lived with was no longer just nasty, or unpleasant or cruel.
She was dangerous.
Very, very dangerous.
She stuffed the tiny bottle into her apron pocket then grabbed the larger bottle of rat poison. Unsure what to do with it, she stalled. She didn't want to pour it down the sink and contaminate whatever water source it ended up in. She didn't want to pour it out in the garden in case animals ingested it.
In the end she ran to the side room then down into the underground tunnel her stepmother locked her in and she poured the entire content onto the dirt floor before kicking as much loose dirt over it as possible. She then returned to the kitchen and threw the bottle away before running to the backdoor and wrenching it open.
Her arm almost came out of its socket with the force she used to pull against the fact that the door didn't open. She stared at it.
It was locked.
But it was never locked unless she locked it
She tired again, hoping it was just sticking.
Nothing.
She tried again and again but it was locked!
Abandoning that exit she ran to the front door, knowing that, because Edgar wouldn't have retired for the night yet, the front door would not be locked.
And yet it was.
When she pulled at the handles, neither door opened.
She went for the parlour and the balcony doors. They were locked.
Every room with a door was locked tight. Every window. Every exit!
She had never felt so scared of her own home in her entire life.
"Is something wrong, Cinderella?"
Cinderella's heart stopped where she stood, in the entrance hall trying the front door again in vein hope.
She whirled around and flattened herself against the door, staring up at Lady Constantia who looked down at her from the balcony above, arms folded gracefully on the balustrade, dressed in her flowing nightclothes, her loose hair around her shoulders and down her back.
"My, my," she said coolly, setting her cheek on her knuckles. "You look frightfully pale. Whatever's the matter?"
"You... you..." Cinderella could barely get the words out and resorted to reaching her shaking fingers into her pocket and drawing out the little glass bottle of death.
"Ah," her stepmother said, entirely unconcerned that she had been found out. "You seem so rattled. I don't know why, you didn't drink it after all. My... dear daughter saw to that."
"You... tried to kill me..." Cinderella wheezed.
"No, Cinderella, I did not," Lady Constantia said flatly, "If I had tried to kill you, I assure you, you would be dead. I told you, I was giving you a warning. I think the scare worked. All you need do, is not go against me and you will be completely safe. Just because I do not care for your existence does not mean I'd see you dead."
She smiled as she straightened up, looking down on Cinderella.
"Of course, should you choose to see yourself dead, I shan't go out of my to persuade you otherwise," she added before turning away. "Goodnight Cinderella," she said, sweeping back to her room.
Cinderella barely had time to process what she had just been told before Dia appeared.
"Are you alright?" she asked, brow creasing as she stared at Cinderella's ghostly skin.
Cinderella looked up with a start, watching as Dia came down the stairs. Of course, she had no idea what Cinderella knew.
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She needed to calm her nerves before she told anyone.
So she nodded again and said, "Yes, fine. I thought you had gone to bed already."
"Miss Giselle wants a fresh cup of hot chocolate," Dia said, rolling her eyes, "She shouldn't drink that stuff right before bed, she won't sleep."
"I'll do it."
Dia looked at her in surprise as Cinderella pushed away from the door.
"I'll do it, you go to sleep. I have things to finish up down here anyway. Sleep and I'll retire soon."
"Are you sure?"
"Quite sure," Cinderella said, already heading back to the kitchen and heating the milk.
Dia left for her room after that and Cinderella finished the chocolate before heading up to Giselle's room.
Her younger stepsister was sat upright in bed, the candles burning brightly to light the pages of the book she was reading.
She slammed the book closed as Cinderella walked in, about to hide it under the covers when she realised who it was. Seeing as Cinderella already knew about her interest in the sciences why hide it? So she reopened her book and found her place again as Cinderella set her drink down.
"Did you know?"
Giselle looked up at Cinderella who was still stood by her bed, looking down at her.
"Know?" she asked blankly.
"Did you know what was in the hot chocolate?" Cinderella asked.
Giselle looked at her for a moment. "Chocolate?" she suggested.
"Did you know what else?"
"Milk I assume."
Cinderella pursed her lips. "Never mind then," she said, turning on her heel and walking to the door.
"If you haven't already, maybe you should leave that split chocolate where it is," Giselle suddenly said.
Cinderella looked back at her in confusion. Giselle didn't look up from her book.
"I'd quite like those wretched little rats to try it," she said lightly.
"You did know,' Cinderella said, spinning to her.
Giselle flicked her eyes up to look at her through her lashes.
"Did she poison it in front of you? And you didn't even stop her?" Cinderella hissed.
"No," Giselle said slowly, "But I thought something might happen when she ordered us not to touch our drinks. Saying the milk was off." Giselle snorted looking at her book again. "We're not so completely stupid."
Cinderella looked at her for a long moment, until Giselle finally grew uncomfortable and glared her.
"What? Do you want to argue? I didn't go out of my way to hurt you!"
"Thank you," Cinderella said.
Giselle seemed to stall in shock and Cinderella opened the door.
"Goodnight," she said, walking out, gently closing the door behind her.
Following that, she actually did get around to cleaning the stain in the dining room then retired to bed.
She rediscovered the horrid bottle in her apron pocket when she was getting changed and, after a moment of debate on what to do with it, she hid it a corner of the locked chest that had once contained her mother's beautiful white gown.
~~~~~
Next Up: Thursday
Art By: google image
YEEEEEE!!!!! SO, for those who don't know. The Fairytale Communities' Retelling Competition announced their winners this morning and Rose Red (Little Red Riding Hood) WON! XD
It won the Miraculous Magic Category along with two other wonderful stories.
The cover even got a sticker and everything - I'm rather happy about my sticker lol - look at my sticker!
Not a bad way to wake up X3