I could have never thought that Cinderella would be like that. How could she snitch on us to the prince.
I helped her to escape cause I thought she will enjoy the ball, dance with the prince. Find her true love. Did she just complain about us in a romantic setting like a garden.
Is she dumb or our bad luck stole her brain.
My rail of thought was boldly interrupted by Cinderella, she suddenly stepped forward, hands squeezing her skirt.
"They... they're not all bad," she said so softly I thought the wind stole half the sentence.
Mother gasped like she'd won a medal.
Drizella and I exchanged a look that said: Well that's not glowing, but we'll take what we can get.
Cinderella cleared her throat and tried again, louder.
"They helped more than hurt. Yes, I did chores, but I was never struck or starved. They shared what they had. And they were kind when Mother wasn't looking."
Mother glared daggers at her.
I patted Mother's arm cheerfully.
"She means that as a compliment."
Then Rowan walked in.
Of course he walked in. Rowan has a special talent for arriving during maximum chaos.
He took one look at the scene:
Cinderella teary, Adrien dramatic, guards confused, Mother hissing, Drizella analytical, me emotional.
He burst out laughing.
"Oh this is rich," he wheezed, "Adrien, you've kidnapped your future in-laws."
Adrien did not appreciate being roasted.
"It was containment," he muttered.
Rowan smirked.
"Containment is what we do to chickens during plague season."
Drizella perked up.
"So we are chickens again. Consistency is important."
Mother swore under her breath.
Rowan circled us like we were items at auction.
"If they were really villains, Ella wouldn't defend them. And Anastasia and Drizella wouldn't have helped her with the ball."
He shot me a grin.
"Nice sprint earlier, by the way. Very heroic for a noble lady."
I beamed. Flattery always works.
Adrien cleared his throat.
"Fine. Then perhaps... punishment may be reconsidered."
Drizella folded her arms.
"Punishment for what offense exactly? Being sarcastic? Because if so, I accept. I cannot stop anyway."
Rowan snorted.
Cinderella grabbed Adrien's sleeve gently.
"They are my family. Flawed, but my family. Please don't take them from home."
Adrien softened. Dangerous for a prince with a sword and power.
I decided to help.
"Also, Your Highness, if we were truly cruel, why would Cinderella risk her life to get away only to come back home that night voluntarily?"
Rowan snapped his fingers.
"Strong point."
Adrien exhaled like a man surrendering to logic.
"Very well. No imprisonment."
Mother sagged with relief.
Rowan wasn't finished though.
"But! There should be a penalty. Something embarrassing. Something educational. Something..." he paused dramatically, "...symbolic."
Drizella raised an eyebrow.
"What, like apology letters?"
Rowan grinned.
"No. Work."
All three of us froze.
Mother recoiled.
"Work? We do not-"
Rowan cut in:
"Not real work. Palace charity work. Baking for the orphanage, sewing bandages, reading to old people. Good for character. Low risk. Has snacks."
I whispered:
"Snacks?"
Drizella whispered back:
"Acceptable."
Mother tried to protest but Cinderella gave her The Look- the soft one that somehow makes you feel ashamed without yelling.
Mother, please.
Mother shut her mouth faster than I'd ever seen.
So that was that. We were sentenced to community service like mildly inconvenient criminals.
Honestly? Could have been worse. Could have been dungeon. Or no snacks.
Court was adjourned for the day.

We were thrown into the servant's quarter and Cinderella was taken to the palace for main character treatment.
The servant's building was smaller than the palace, obviously, but still ridiculously large for a punishment hall. Mother was dramatically fainting on the cot as if she'd been thrown into a dungeon rather than an extremely clean room with pillows.
Drizella and I sat side by side on our allocated beds, legs swinging.
Just then, the door creaked open and marched in a woman who could probably command armies before breakfast. The maid-in-charge, wearing the world's most intimidating apron and eyebrows set to "judgmental."
Behind her-Cinderella.
"Right," the maid snapped, unrolling a scroll. "Tomorrow morning, ladies-" she paused, as if the word "ladies" personally insulted her. "You'll assist in laundry sorting. Not washing. Sorting. The washing is handled by people who actually know what they're doing."
Mother gave a whimper. "Laundry?"
The maid-in-charge ignored her. "And after lunch, mending linens. If you jab yourself with a needle, kindly try not to bleed on the sheets. Blood takes forever to scrub out."
Drizella whispered, "She speaks from experience."
I snorted.
"And finally-" the maid raised her voice over our giggles, "You will behave as civilized humans until further notice. If this is out of your skill range, we can discuss alternatives."
Mother looked genuinely considering alternatives such as early death or being banished to a remote island.
The maid clapped her hands once. "Good. Sleep. Don't climb out the window. I am not chasing you."
She shut the door and vanished like a very efficient ghost.
Cinderella finally let out a breath and came forward.
Mother rushed outside for a failed attempt to change tomorrows to do list.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
Cinderella stepped forward, biting her lip. "I... I didn't mean for this to happen..."
I stood up, arms crossed, all my anger bristling. "Not mean for this to happen? Cinderella, do you realize what you've done? It's all because of your mindless talking. The Prince-the Prince now believes we are cruel villains. All because of you!"
Cinderella winced. "I-I didn't mean for that to happen. Truly..."
"No, you meant to be the helpless female lead, with whom the whole world has done wrong!" I snapped, pacing a little.
"Did you tell him that we changed your name from Ella to CINDERella! Ohh, don't tell me you missed that. Then hurry up, go, tell him that too. That's so terrible, right?"
Drizella was silent, didn't dare to make a sound against me.
"would you kindly tell us, WHAT exactly did you tell him that put us in this situation."
Cinderella bit her lip, thinking. "Well... we were talking-pleasantly-and then he asked about my family."
Drizella and I exchanged looks.
"I tried to keep myself a mystery just as you told so that I can hide myself from mother" she hesitated, "But I guess that came out wrong."
We eyed her to continue with a confused expression.
"To avoid answering I accidentally told that my mother will get angry if she knew I'm here."
God!! will you kill me for biting the main character of the story, cause I really want to punch her.
"And somehow I admitted that I do all the house work and my mother forced me to stay back at home so I have to escape."
We sat there, stunned for a moment.
"And then..." she winced, "...It turned out I'm being mistreated by my step family."
Drizella asked, "Isn't it normal to do house works? I mean... We helped too... To some extent."
Cinderella concluded. "But in noble circles? Apparently that's considered-'labor exploitation.'"
I choked on air. "You're telling me-Prince Adrian thinks we're villains because you do chores?"
Ohh God! They really need a second hand experience of how a younger sibling is actually gets treated in my era. The only difference is that Cinderella followed every order without a fight with me. Should I have bitten some mind into her head.
Cinderella hid her face in her hands. "Yes."
Drizella collapsed onto her mattress, laughing so hard she curled up like a shrimp. "Oh that's rich. We are officially tragic antagonists."
Cinderella looked apologetic. "I didn't mean to make you look awful. It just-came out."
"Then why didn't you tell that everything is better than before, no one is mistreating you know."
I know it's not fully right but not wrong either. We treated her better except our mother.
Cinderella jumped,
"I wanted to... But the clock started chiming. I have to leave. But he was so persistent, therefore I told him my name and.... My address."
For the first time it hit me that telling the name and address is more logical than leaving a random shoe.
"B-but I told him not to tell anyone and he promised he won't do anything that will harm me."
"Obviously, but he can certainly do something that can harm us."
Cinderella's eyes dropped to the floor. "...I'm sorry."
I groaned, letting some of the anger soften into exasperation. "...You always apologize, and yet the consequences follow anyway."
Drizella rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Oh, Anastasia, stop glaring. She's trying to fix it."
"Fix it?" I muttered. "Her fixing is practically us writing eulogies over linens!"
Cinderella stepped closer cautiously. "I really didn't want this for you... I just-wanted to save us a scolding from mother."
I sighed, letting my anger simmer down just enough for reason. "...Fine. But next time, think about staying silent until you don't need to speak anymore, okay Cinderella?"
She smiled faintly, sheepish but sincere. "I promise I'll try."
"Anne, I think you accidentally called her Cinderella." Drizella said.
I rolled my eyes so hard I feared they'd get stuck.
"So what? Is the prince gonna increase my punishment? She is Cinderella until I forgive her."
I am angry. My hard work is for nothing if I still have to be treated like this because of something I didn't even do.
Fuck You Cinderella!!
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SIDE NOTE: Sorry not sorry for the drama. Just enjoy it. But tell me, do you think telling the name and address would have shortened the Cinderella's story.🤨🤨
If you like my story then give it a star and share it with your friends, this will help me to keep motivated and write new stories.