Cinderella with a twist

As the sun bathed the town in its light, Young Ella chirped happily carrying fresh loaf of bread, some cookies and homemade strawberry jam from aunt Matilda. She was the best baker in town. The young girl wanted to relish these delicacies with her parents so she hurried to reach home. High pitched voices of her parents welcomed her... Ella could not make much of the situation,unable to comprehend why her parents were yelling on such a beautiful day. She went straight to her dinner table and laid down the stuff. After a minute or two she called her parents for brekky. Hearing her voice, they fixed their expressions and gave their girl a beary hug. As the family settled around the table, the young girl began enquiring about the fight she encountered. The mother glanced away and told her not to worry about those things. Ella casted a glance at her father and in an inaudible tone he too whispered to not worry about them. So the day went on with Ella playing with her friends and her parents working. As the days went by she saw her parents withdrawing themselves from each other . For Ella, all she wanted was a happy family so looking at them she was confused,saddened and angry. She went to find some answers from her parents but was shunned from asking too much. Anger kept piling up inside the young lady.Few days later, she received a call from a hospital about her mom. She hurriedly went and was devastated to see her on the hospital bed.She looked around for her father but he was nowhere to be found. The doctor told Ella that her mother was suffering from a chronic illness and succumbed to it. The girl broke into tears, the world around her started spinning. She cried and yelled incoherently near her mother’s bed and finally fell unconscious on the floor. A beam of light hit her eyes and Ella jolted. 

She saw aunt Matilda with worried eyes. Her aunt took her back to her home and offered to stay with her but Ella politely rejected stating that she wanted to be alone for some time. Ella roamed aimlessly in her home and stopped outside her parents’ room. Hesitant, she entered the room and reminisced their happy moments. She went to her mom’s study and sat on the chair basking in the warmth left behind her. Her father’s absence broke her heart . She stayed in bed all day, her eyes fixated on nothingness. A few days later , a knock on the door was heard and without any ounce of energy left in her body she struggled while opening her door. It was her father asking her to pack all her things. She did not hear a single word, without thinking she pushed her arms around her father and wept uncontrollably. He gently embraced and helped her sober up. Teary- eyed Ella asked him where was he this entire time. He told her that she will find all the answers she’d been looking but right now she needs to pack up her things and leave with him. Ella gulped her anger and started doing it. By the evening they left the town to never return back. The carriage stopped at the foot of a house. Her father unloaded the it and she was asked to knock on the door. They were greeted by a lady in her mid-thirties. She introduced herself as ‘lady Tremaine’ and led them in. Ella saw that the house looked modest with no fancy decore. A whirlwind of steps were heard and she saw two girls. Both of them were fat and short with no touch of feminity. They were excited to see Ella and approached her. Ella burst into laughter. She was amused to see those girls and was secretly proud of her feminity. Her father gave a stern look and smiled at them. Ella too stopped and pretended to be polite. Everyone took a seat near a fireplace and then an announcement was made by Lady Tremaine. ‘Girls’ she said ‘from this day onwards, we will all live as members of one big family.’ Ella was shocked. She yelled at her and stormed out of the room. Her father followed her and told her that they would now be their family and she needs to accept them. Her blood was boiling, never in her thoughts she’d imagined her father remarrying . She mocked him for betraying her mother and vowed never to have any relation with them. Few days went by, fatherdaughter relationship hit rock-bottom. Ella did not talk to anyone in the house. The girls – Anstasia and Drisella too were careful around her. They wanted her to feel comfortable. Lady Tremaine too tried but in vain. Ella became spiteful. She spewed venom whenever she opened her mouth and made people around her insecure and hurt. Her father was unable to see this and left the house in account of some business. Lady Tremaine unable to be a bystander, interjected Ella. She tried talking to her, make her understand the circumstances which lead to such decisions, but Ella paid no heed. She began acting out. Her day now began with mocking Drisella and Anatasia, making them feel bad about themselves and ended with the comparison of Lady tremaine with her mother. She refused to contribute to any help which was required around the household. She started loving this persona of hers, making her take control of everyone around her. This was too much for Lady Tremaine. She knew Ella’s mother and this behavior of Ella was something her mother would never have wanted, so she took the matters in her hands. She became strict with Ella.She told her to learn household duties from the girls, she hated it. The girls in addition to help her with these duties taught her academic lessons that they knew. But Ella was in no mood of this generosity. She was determined to teach them a lesson. So when Ella was asked to fetch water or to buy things from the market, she would keep singing the songs of her misery so that people could pay attention to these atrocities. The girls would always ask for Ella’s opinion on smallest of things as for them Ella was the pretty,smart,confident sister they always wanted. They longed for their father and found one in her father. Ella made fun of their size. Drisella, at times stood upto her but Ella had no patience to hear her. Days went by, she learnt some of the work . Once she was working with coals, her face got smeared with ash , Drisella and Anastasia started laughing and calling her ‘Cinderella’ for fun, hence the name that stuck with her for centuries. 

The town seemed lively these days. A ball had been organized by the King of the State to find an eligible lady for the Prince. Every young girl was busy looking for clothes and jewellery . She reached her home and saw Lady Tremaine picking out dresses for the girls. Ella, she called and showed her the dress she picked out for her. It was a beautiful lavender dress with intricate embroidery of peonies and lace on the sides. Ella got the dress and shoved it in the cupboard.” A beautiful girl like her should wear something regal not this ordinary dress” she thought. The day arrived and everyone was busy with the work. Drisella wasn’t really interested in going as she hated the stares they received but Anastasia forced her to go with them.They waited for Ella and as Lady Tremaine voice grew louder , Ella smirked and slowly came down the stairs with the dress in her hands all torn. Lady Tremaine could not take this and locked Ella in the house. She went to the balcony and started crying loudly. A carriage passing by heard her and the lady all embellished in diamonds and rubies stepped out. She asked her reason for wailing and Ella narrated how badly she had been treated by her stepmother and step sisters. The lady instructed her servants to break into the house to rescue Ella. She saw her and was smitten by her beauty. The lady was none other than Her Majesty and she was moved to see the ordeal of Ella. She dressed her up in finest robes and took her to the ball. The Queen entered with Ella and all eyes were fixated onto her. She smirked when she saw her stepsisters and step mother. Ella immediately looked for the Prince who was chatting with Drisella. Ella quickly took his hand and went to the dancefloor, leaving Drisella all flushed. The prince complied with the request and danced . Ella had the best night of her life. All the eyes were on her, she was the centre of attraction. The dance came to an end and prince again started chatting with Drisella. Anastasia was happy to see this scene unfolding in front of her eyes. Drisella looked so happy. Ella’s eyes followed them . She went there and mocked Drisella in front of prince. She was astonished that her beauty was receiving less attention than her stepsister. She casually waltzed the prince out of the conversation and made sure he gets captivated by her beauty. The prince too now seemed completely enamoured by her. The lust seemed to capture both of them. At the same time the Queen issued an order of throwing Lady Tremaine and her daughters out of the town and making their lives miserable. As clock struck midnight, Ella playfully left the Prince. She reached home before her stepmother and stepsisters and made herself a steaming cup of tea. She was ecstatic today. Lady Tremaine stormed in and was furious. Ella smiled and told her that her time is near and also added that Drisella was no match for her. Anastasia saw Drisella crying. She wasn’t feeling bad about what Ella spoke but felt bad that for the prince too external appearance mattered. The next day the royal decree was announced -lady Tremaine and her daughters were asked to leave the town and at the same time Ella was asked to marry the prince. Lady Tremaine expressed her wish to attend Ella’s wedding but was rejected. She was asked to leave everything behind and dwell somewhere far where nobody could ever find her. All this was hatched by Ella. She wanted everyone to hate them. She finally married the Prince and thought she found her happily ever after. Few years went by, the state got hit by a financial crisis and all the fortunes turned to dust. Ella now had to work herself instead of servants. The prince was not used to this so surviving was difficult for him. Ella surprisingly had less difficulty adjusting to this lifestyle. She remembered Lady Tremaine teaching them these lifeskills. She now understood the meaning behind her teaching. In all these years she never tried contacting her father nor them. She’d been completely absorbed in her fairytail that she ignored the real world. The royal household was superstitious. They were convinced that the economic crisis their state was facing was because of Ella. Nobody was able to find any solutions. Ella remembered Drisella and Anastasia teaching her something about academia but she was more fixated on their appearance that she failed to note their brilliance. She asked the Prince to call back her step sisters as they might help in overcoming this situation. After much difficulty they were finally able to locate them. The sisters and Lady Tremaine after hearing Ella’ plight decided to help her. They entered the state and observed the situation. Few days later they came up with a solution and got it implemented. The state slowly recovered from the losses and started blooming again. Ella wanted to thank her sisters for saving her marriage but was too ashamed. Lady Tremaine came inside Ella’s chamber and embraced her. Ella burst into tears and confessed that she was responsible for their difficulties. She further stated that she was angry at her father and her so she did all of this out of spite. Lady Tremaine sat silently and handed her a letter. It was from her mum. Ella started reading it- 

Dear Tremaine, 

I am sorry for disrupting your perfectly happy life. My apologies would never be enough for the sins that I have committed but still in my last few days I would like to beg for your forgiveness. I made your children live without their father, the love they deserved was deprived because of my selfishness. I was the outsider and my sins are finally acknowledged by the Grace in the form of the chronic disease. I do not have much time left. My Ella is a sweet child. She is just like you lovely and benevolent . I would like you to be her godmother after my demise. Do not leave her all alone in this world. The person I married will also succumb to this disease and poor child will be all alone. I hope you would pay heed to the words of a dying woman . 

Mallory

Ella was dumbfounded. She could not believe this. Lady Tremaine kissed her forehead and Ella finally mustered up courage and proudly called her ‘Godmother’. She hurried towards her sisters and begged their forgiveness. The sisters forgave her and Ella understood the true meaning of kindness ,compassion and unconditional love. She confessed in front of the Queen and was given a minor punishment for the atonement of her sins. Lady Tremaine got her respect back and her sisters were made the new Prime ministers to run the administration smoothely. They also stopped setting the beauty standards and came to embrace every shape and size. Ella too became humble, generous and showered all her love to her family. Her dream of a happy family finally came true and all of them lived happily ever after.