Chapter Text
Once, in a small but prosperous Kingdom, there lived a man of Good Fortune. Oliver Tremaine was born into a general lack of wealth. But with his sharp mind, strong perception of the needs and wants of the people, and a start-up loan, he built for himself a small empire. The name Tremaine soon became synonymous with well-built luxurious carriages, coaches, and personal transportation, his Steamer Cars in particular were well received by the Elite. Fast, quiet, refined, and much easier to live with than the current crop of internal combustion vehicles, the recently-introduced Condensers permitting much-greater range than anything else in their class.
This surge in his fortunes made possible his relocation to an immense château, located some twelve miles from the nearest city where his main production line remained, a stream where the water was pumped from set in the woodlands behind the rear garden. A stable still standing strong from a time when horse-and-carriage was the way to go, one he made use of for recreational pursuits. Electricity and Gas were brought into the home, the latest in cooking and heating appliances, staff enough to keep its condition pristine.
And then came the love of his life. The wondrous Elise. From this marriage came the second Great Joy he came to know, a beautiful daughter they named Eleanor, Ella they called her. The next five years saw Tremaine Coaches grow in leaps and bounds, while his every free moment was spent with his wife and daughter.
Then came the Pain, the Grief. It happened slowly at first. Moments of tiredness and lack of energy, and dismissed as such. It only grew worse and the doctors who visited prescribed rest and relaxation, attributing her condition to her many waking hours and lack of time to herself. Finally, Elise Tremaine was taken to the local hospital where Exploratory Surgery was conducted, and a plethora of abnormal growths were discovered, far beyond any ability to put right, all that could be done for her anymore, was to make her final days as comfortable as possible. Oliver would take an extended leave from his work, his deputy of ten years managing affairs in his absence while he remained at her side every moment that remained.
Permitted to return home to Die there, in a brief window where the excessive painkillers numbed her agony without clouding her mind, Elise would speak with her daughter one last time.
“Eleanor, dear.” She managed to choke out, and even then Ella knew that this would be their last time together. “I have, something to tell you, that will see you, through the, Trials of Life. Have Courage, and be Kind. For Even, in this Day and Age. There is still Magic, still miracles. If only you have, the Courage, and Kindness, to see it. And you have more, in just one finger, than many will have, in their, whole bodies, my dear, Eleanor.” Elise’s eyes closed when she finished, never to open again.
----------------
With the loss of his beloved Elise, Oliver Tremaine began to bury himself into his work, hoping to use it and the time he could spend with Ella to keep him from the clawing pain in his chest. Yet it dawned even on him that he was spending far too little time with her, and the servants could only do so much to make up for that. Soon, he concluded that she needed a mother figure to help with her growth. So close to two years after, he chose for his second wife, a widowed lady of good standing with two daughters only slightly older than Ella herself. Though from the aristocracy and a man like Oliver Tremaine perceived as a step down, his being New Money and her need to secure her future and that of her own daughters put aside such concerns as she accepted his Hand in Marriage.
The next two years were peaceful enough, the income still flowed and life began to return to normalcy. True, Lady Tremaine did favour her own daughters over Ella, but she never made it known, at least not obviously. Being third in the line for treats and gifts, a little less leeway given to her. Small things that escaped notice, and Ella still had her father so she never saw need to raise any concerns she might have had.
It would be a disaster that would mark the end of Ella’s once-easy life. A roof collapse at the production lines that Oliver was inspecting at the time. By the time they pulled him free the following day, it was clear that even if they’d found him the moment after the roof fell, he would never had stood a chance. The first chunk of iron having pierced his chest on the left side. It would later be determined that sub-standard metals and practices had been used in the previous repair work made, and the whole factory had to be closed while the ceiling was effectively rebuilt.
The eleven year old Ella had now lost both her parents, and Lady Tremaine had lost both her husbands. And the latter was the one to feel the sting the most. True, so long as his company remained intact, she would continue to receive royalties from the sales, but the extended shutdown had allowed competitors to make their way in and steal some market share. Furthermore, in the years since Internal Combustion had seen marked improvements in efficiency and refinement, electric starter motors removing their old bugbear. Add in Oliver’s old deputy lacking the same skill and finesse as his old boss, and it was clear that Tremaine Coaches was in serious trouble.
The fading income required the taking of economies by the Tremaine Household. Slowly, the staff saw themselves dismissed from service, the cleaners and gardeners first, with Ella taking over their work. Next came the cooks and maids once Ella was able to manage their work as well. By 1922 when Ella was a young adult, Tremaine Coaches was defunct, all the staff had long since left. Ella herself had been stripped of all her luxuries, her maid dresses mostly torn and scuffed as she found herself forced to sleep in the unheated attic. The wealth Oliver left behind funnelled into the wants of Lady Tremaine’s increasingly awkward daughters.
Yet in spite of her cruel treatment, Ella still held onto the last words of her mother. And she still found a few small joys that helped her through the long hard days. Chief among them being Galahad, the Percheron horse that her father had bought as a gift for her the month before his untimely demise. Which to her credit, Lady Tremaine did cede some ground to in permitting Ella to keep him, on the strict stipulation that Ella would have the sole responsibility for his care. Being able to take him out for exercise when the chores were few enough to permit, and having someone to talk to, it helped Ella to cope with her lot in life.
The final piece of happiness Ella found rested behind the château, even rusted over through eleven years of neglect, only one working door, the leather benches torn and faded, and now missing a window. The Tremaine Steamer Family Car Model A that rolled off the production line on the day she was born. Back when 35 mph was the best that could be sustained and 50 was the best that could be attained. The first to have the driver and passengers contained in the same compartment under the same roof. And a place where Ella could be alone when she needed to be.