Chapter Text
The sun woke Cinderella up early on a bright May morning. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. She pulled on her pink bathrobe-a hand-me-down of Drusilla’s-and looked outside. She smiled as she looked out the window. She grabbed a box from the closet and scurried downstairs.
A week before, Cinderella had been cleaning the salon. Her stepmother and stepsisters were out of the house, much to her delight. Her stepsisters were in town visiting friends and her stepmother was shopping. She had the house to herself for a while. She cleaned the bookshelves and dusted the piano. She ran her fingers over the black and white ivory keys, itching to play. Her mother taught her before her death, then a governess. Her stepmother taught her daughters but Cinderella never lost her love for music. No one will know she thought and sat on the bench.
She began to play Moonlight Sonata, which she was her favorite. The music filled the room and washed over her like a mist.
Applause erupted behind her. Cinderella nearly had a heart attack as she whipped around and saw the tall, haughty figure of her stepmother.
“Well,” she smirked, “are the chores done so you have time to play the piano?”
Cinderella turned nearly as white as the piano keys. “Yes, madam. I mean, I still have to make dinner. I was just taking a break.”
Her stepmother walked towards her. Ella shrank back. “I suppose you are allowed to take a break once in a while,” she said.
Ella bit her lip. She looked up at her stepmother with terrified dark eyes. Her stepmother looked down at her through hooded eyes. Ella trembled, too afraid to speak. Lady Tremaine put her hands on both sides of Ella’s face and looked straight into her eyes.
“Come to my room after dinner. And only play the piano when the girls aren’t here.” Ella could only nod. Lady Tremaine let go of her and marched out of the room without a backward glance.
After dinner, Cinderella went to her stepmother’s room as ordered. She shook like a leaf in a thunderstorm as she raised her thin hand and knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
She opened the door and slid in, closing the door behind her. Her stepmother sat at her vanity with her hair down. Her blue eyes sparkled maliciously.
“Come here,” she ordered.
She watched Cinderella in the mirror shyly approach, like a condemned prisoner on her way to the gallows. Cinderella looked at herself in the mirror. Her face deathly white and her dark eyes huge. Her heart fluttered like a hummingbird in her chest. She clenched her hands to try to stop them trembling. Her stepmother stood up and Cinderella reflexively took a step back. She repressed the urge to flee.
“Well, young lady, it seems I’ve been neglecting your musical talents,” her stepmother said, smirking. She took Cinderella’s trembling hands in her own. Her eyes looked less malicious, although not what Cinderella would call kind.
“I’m sorry, Stepmother, it’s just-“ Lady Tremaine put her hand on Cinderella’s mouth. Cinderella shut up at once.
“It was a pleasant surprise, actually, to hear the piano being played correctly. I don’t want you to practice when the girls are here, but when they are not, you will be working on this.” She handed Cinderella some sheet music of a piece from Sleeping Beauty. Cinderella looked down at it. It was way above her skill level. But she wouldn’t admit it.
“This may take me a while to learn.” Her stepmother smirked even more. “I know that, silly. But you are going to work on it as much as possible. Understand?”
“Yes ma’am.”
"Help me get ready for bed.” Ella blushed and looked away.
Lately, helping her stepmother get ready for bed sent electric jolts through her spine to her…..
“I don’t have all night,” Lady Tremaine snapped. Cinderella obediently began to unbutton the back of her dress. It pooled to the floor as she began unlacing the corset. Unlacing the corset always took a while and Cinderella found her mind wondering.
“What’s your favorite piano piece?” she asked. She looked up at her stepmother, wondering if she would answer, ignore her or just smack her for asking. Her stepmother looked down at her with cool blue eyes. Cinderella looked away.
“The one I gave you to learn.”
Cinderella looked up in surprise. “Really? Well, I will do my best to learn it to your satisfaction.”
Lady Tremaine sat down, now wearing only her sky blue chemise. It covered the swell of her breasts, the curve of her hips. Cinderella didn’t dare look up as she unlaced her. She felt her critical eyes on her neck. She glanced up after shoes were off and got a good look at her stepmother’s hands. Piano player hands, she thought. Elegant and with long fingers. No wonder she can play the piano so gracefully.
“What are you thinking, child?” her stepmother asked.
“Your hands,” Cinderella said. “They are so perfect for playing the piano.” She fleetingly touched her stepmother’s fingers. “Such long fingers.”
Lady Tremaine took Cinderella’s thin hands in her own. “You have piano fingers too, Ella. And musical talent. Learn that piece I gave you.”
Cinderella’s eyes widened. The last time her stepmother called her by her real name was before her father died. Impulsively, she brushed her lips against her stepmother’s white hands. She looked up, ashen and in wide-eyed terror.
“I’m sorry, Madam,” she whispered. “It-I”
“It’s all right,” her stepmother said, like a queen gracing a felon for stealing a loaf of bread. She smirked down at her terrified, trembling stepdaughter.
“You know,” Lady Tremaine said as she ran a finger along Ella’s shoulder and down her arm, “I’ve noticed this dress is threadbare. You need another one and none of the girl’s clothes fit you anymore. I think I need to take you to the dress maker to have something made.”
“The dressmaker?” Ella repeated in shock. “You’re going to have a dress made for me?”
“Nothing fancy, of course, but you need something better than that thing.” Her stepmother pointed to her dress, which was indeed threadbare and frayed. Threads stuck out of the seams.
Cinderella practically jumped up. “Oh thank you Step-Madam!”
Lady Tremaine waved her hand graciously and stood up. “Be ready to go early tomorrow morning.”
Without thinking, Cinderella kissed her stepmother’s cheek. “I will! Thank you, Stepmother!” She danced out of the room, only to realize what she did when she walked into her tower room. She didn’t seem to mind, Cinderella thought. She is always kinder when the girls aren’t home.
Downstairs, Lady Tremaine touched her cheek. She could still feel Cinderella’s lips on it. Such an angel, she thought. I hate I have to treat her like I do.
She smiled at the thought of spending an entire day in town with Cinderella alone.