A Dickgirl Fairytale

Druscilla snapped, "Well, we can't be seen with you this evening." The girl sounded worried that Ella would try to spend time with them. "It's disgraceful that the servant is even coming to a ball."

Ella didn't have time to mention that she was the rightful heir to Hastings Manor as well as the Duchess title. Anastasia butted in, "Yes, disgraceful. And I don't think you're properly dressed. Let me see," Anastasia tugged at the back of Ella's dress, tugged hard enough to hear a rip. "Oh, goodness, I see a little tear," her stepsister giggled wickedly.

Druscilla's eyes gleamed as she understood her sister's game and she reached for Ella's sleeve and pulled hard at the cuff. The fabric pulled until it burst and there was another little tear. "That dress must be very shoddily made," Druscilla said sweetly, almost as if she cared.

Ella shook with anger. They were determined to ruin her dress. She clenched one hand into a fist, maybe she would just have to leave tonight. Anastasia clutched at the back of her dress and yanked hard, she pulled the bodice from the skirt. "Stop it, you bitches!" Ella screamed but it was too late, her dress was in two halves. She panicked and clutched the front of the fabric to keep her secret from her stepsisters.

Druscilla giggled like an evil troll, "There." She tugged at the back of the bodice and ripped the back. Ella felt the breeze on her bare skin as she tried to hold the top on her body. "Now you look more like Cinder Ella," the stepsisters both cackled as the tears threatened to spill down Ella's cheeks.

Margery entered the room and the glee in her eyes was unmistakable. She told Druscilla and Anastasia, "Girls, the carriage will be here momentarily. Go and check for it." Once her daughters were out of the room, she sneered at Ella with false pity in her voice, "oh, does this mean that you can't go to the ball, little princess?"

Ella stuck her chin out defiantly, "Thanks to your pig daughters."

Margery raised her eyebrows, "Well my dear, speaking of pigs, you look more fit for the feed trough than the ball. It's a pity, you looked so pretty, one might not even remember that you're a whore," her stepmother looked disgusted as she looked Ella up and down and added, "and a freak."

Ella could feel the bodice of her ruined dress as it fell down around her waist. Her heart felt broken and she clutched the center of her chest and hoped to keep her breasts covered. "I'm not a freak," she whispered to herself.

Her stepmother put her hand out, "Oh, I almost forgot," she held something by the tail, "look what the cat dragged in. I think he's one of yours." She dropped Francis on the floor at Ella's feet. His white fur was matted with blood and his ribs showed signs of savagery. "Since you're not coming to the ball tonight, you may want to clean that up."

With nothing close by to support herself with, Ella fell to her knees.

***

The garden had gone wild. What once had been neat rows and precisely placed decorative shrubs and trees had all turned into a jungle. The foliage seemed to have spilled up over the stone walls and benches and even the old fountain was overgrown with vines and flowers. The statue at the center of the water was now just chubby feet. Ella only knew a cherub was underneath it because she remembered him from her childhood. The angel was supposed to keep a watchful eye over the land.

The lush, green grass had burst from the stone circle at the center of the garden. There was an emerald carpet underfoot and the texture was like velvet. Ella knelt in the damp grass and untied the knot that she had put in one of the torn sleeves from her dress. Poor little Francis, it had been a horrifying death and only just moments before she had descended the stairs. He still bled and Ella let her two fingers linger over his heart. He had been loyal and faithful and true. Even when she hadn't eaten herself and had no scraps to give, Francis would burrow next to her in the night just to give her what warmth his tiny body gave off. "My only friend," she whispered as two hot tears slid down her cheeks. They plunked one after the next onto his stiff, furry body. She had known that she would have to say goodbye to all of her other pets in the morning and that was going to be difficult. She had planned to slip Francis into her satchel. He would have wanted to come along on her adventure. Now it would just be Ella and it felt suddenly as if she were the only person in the whole world.

With her eyes closed, she shook with silent sobs as her tears covered Francis. The tears dripped over his fur and mixed with his blood. The liquid became little rivulets of bloody water than ran to the emerald green grass below. Ella couldn't see the lights that swarmed behind her. It seemed as if the stars had dipped down and now gathered closer, ever closer. Perhaps they were fireflies. With one last tear that splashed on Francis' fur and bounced up before falling to the earth below, Ella looked up. She saw the swarm of lights around her and the mouse.

Ella put out her hand to see if one of the fireflies would land on her fingers and she heard the tinkle of laughter. Was she going mad? Was that finally it? Was her broken heart finally causing her to see things? The lights settled, hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. They illuminated her arms and legs and the ground below her and Francis as well as her beloved, little mouse.

From the ground, the shadows and light danced playfully with the light of the moon and the stars overhead. The sun had finally set and yet the garden was bathed in a golden light that sparkled brighter than the morning sun. "What are you?" Ella asked in an incredulous voice to the lights as they flittered around her and her tiny friend.

The lights gathered together in the center just over Francis and from that place, in the center of concentrated light, there came a voice. It was a woman's voice, soft and sweet and reminiscent of Lady Celestria. It said, "Oh goodness, give me just a moment my dear."

The lights all came to the center. They streaked through the night sky like falling stars and the center light became brighter than the midday sun. It pulsed and glowed and shimmered with a life of its own. It moved, in and out and Ella felt her hand reach out to touch it. The light breathed and took form.

The light was a woman.

A naked woman or perhaps it was that her clothing was still the light. She was translucent, entirely see through. Her long hair was see through and sparkled. It hung down her back and wound around her body like one of the wild vines in the garden. "Ella, it's good to finally meet you," the woman extended her small hand and bent forward to touch Ella's chin. When their eyes met, Ella felt a chill run down her spine. She wasn't old, she wasn't young, she had eyes that were translucent as well and they seemed to see right through her. Her fingers felt like ice on Ella's skin and she wondered if the woman were a ghost.

The voice was kind and the apparition shook her head, the tendrils of it's see through hair bouncing with the movement. "No, not a ghost, Ella. I'm your fairy godmother."

Ella gulped hard, "Fairy godmother?" she asked, stunned. She'd never heard of such a thing.

The woman's voice was musical notes plucked on a harp and Ella couldn't help but think of her mother. "Yes my child, I did know your mother. In fact," the woman beckoned to Ella to stand up. She could now look her fairy godmother in the eye. "In fact, you and I were to meet the night that your mother died," her fairy godmother continued. "It was unfortunate that we didn't have an opportunity to speak then."

"What are you doing here?" Ella wondered. Of all the nights that she had cried since Lady Celestria had gone to the other side, why would divine intervention come calling this evening?

Her fairy godmother tucked a piece of Ella's blonde hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead tenderly. Ella felt the frost enter her skin where the kiss touched her. "Because Ella, you summoned us tonight. Unfortunately you didn't know how because Celestria hadn't had a chance to show you."

Ella wondered who was us? She looked around her, behind both shoulders and then whispered just in case the "us" could hear her. "Who is us? Are there more than one of you?"

Her godmother giggled and it was like a song. "Yes, of course, Ella. There are hundreds of fairies here tonight. Every light, look there," she pointed to the underneath side of a leaf. "And there," the stardust trace of her finger's path stopped at a sparkling flower. "We're everywhere and I'm your godmother. I'm the Queen of the Fairies."

Ella could feel them suddenly. The little lights in the garden all paid homage and she too felt the need to courtesy to the beautiful woman. "How did I summon you?" she wanted to know in case she needed to do it again.

Her godmother bent down to pick up Francis. "With blood and tears, my dear. All sacrifices require blood and tears. It looks as if this dear, little creature was the catalyst."

Ella could only nod.

"It's a pity that there isn't more time," the fairy godmother said as she clutched Francis to her bare, shimmering breast with one hand. "There is so much to tell but you humans and your time," the naked woman touched Ella's shoulder with the other hand. "For now, we'll have to keep it simple." She looked off into the night sky and Ella felt that she called to the other fairies who still hid in the garden.

Ella was puzzled, "Keep what simple?" She turned around as the fairies congregated in the air all around her and she could hear the buzz of their wings.

Her godmother seemed to size her up with an index finger. She left behind traces of her fairy dust that hung in the air around her as she studied Ella. "There's just a couple of rules, my dear. Don't worry, it's not difficult and you'll have a marvelous time." The translucent woman smiled and cocked her head, "you look just like your mother, you know that?"

She turned Ella and placed one hand on the back of her head. "A marvelous time?" Ella was lost in the lights and the musical voice and the garden was on fire with the glow of a thousand fairies.

"At the ball," her godmother whispered and before Ella had time to tell the woman that she wasn't able to go because her dress was ruined. It hung from her body and threatened to expose her naked secret. Ella looked down and saw a new dress. The material was white and shone in the fairy glow. It was the color of stardust, almost the same translucent glow of the fairies. When Ella held out her hands before her, she saw the diamonds that covered her fingers. "Take a look, my dear," her fairy godmother pointed to the fountain. As Ella approached, the lights glowed about the cherub statue. The water bubbled and poured, it trickled into the basin. There in the water, Ella could see every inch of her reflection and she gasped and covered her mouth. Her blonde hair was worn in thick plaits and braids and throughout, tiny pearls and diamonds were woven into her hair. The necklace that she wore was more diamonds. It was as if heaven had opened up and poured out its stars. The light on her décolletage was particularly fetching and made the deep valley between her large breasts all that more eye catching. Ella turned and watched the dress float with her every move. She giggled when she pulled up the hem and looked down to see the translucent shoes. "Glass slippers," her fairy godmother seemed pleased with herself and Ella couldn't help but jump up and clap.

"I wish there was still time to go to Claude's," she whispered. Ella hoped that the glass slippers would carry her all the way to the castle because she wasn't going to miss this opportunity a second time.

The fairy laughed like a lark and pointed behind Ella, "Look my dear."

The carriage looked to be made of glass, or diamonds, or perhaps it was just the glow of the fairies. It definitely pulsed with light and magic. The carriage itself was open on both sides and had two small cushions on the interior. It was just enough room for Ella and her dress. The footman was ready for her. He gestured with his right hand as if to say, come, let us take you away. The driver shushed the two white horses who stomped and snorted as if ready to bolt off into the starlit night. Ella turned back to the fairy and exclaimed, "For me?"

"Yes, my dear," her godmother gently guided her in the direction of the carriage. "Now, time is going by so quickly and you don't have all night," she cautioned Ella with a finger. Her clear eyes seemed to arrest all movement, perhaps even breath. "Remember, at midnight, it all returns to the way it was."

Ella nodded, nervous suddenly to think that she'd be going after all. There would be all of those eyes on her, of course they'd be staring at her. She was certain that no one, not even her stepsisters or Lady Margery herself, would know her in all of her splendidness. "I'll remember," she said, more to herself than anything.

"And when you return," her fairy godmother called after her, "little Francis will have just woken up from his nap."

Ella's head spun as the footman hoisted her up inside her carriage. Once she was seated, Ella felt her heart race. The corset seemed to thump with her pulse. She blew a kiss to the fairies, to her godmother and most of all to Francis. "See you soon," she whispered as the horses snorted and pawed the ground, anxious to gallop. Ella sank back into the seat as they rode off in the direction of the prince's castle that overlooked the town.

***

Ella was so nervous that she trembled as the carriage slowed down. The wheels clattered over the stone walkway in front of the open door that led inside the castle. She had never been to the castle, never even as a child when Lord and Lady Hastings had been invited on more than one occasion. She swallowed hard and tried to remember all of the things that her mother had always told her to do if she ever met royalty.

The footman appeared outside the opening with a smile and his large, steady hand. "My lady," he spoke to her just above a whisper in the respectful tone reserved for servants to the gentry. That's right, tonight she was a lady. Ella smiled to herself as she curled her small fingers around his hand and nodded as Lady Celestria might have done some magical night long ago.

She walked slowly toward the cavernous door and saw the lights that shimmered inside. All around her were unescorted young ladies. They were all dressed in their finest attire and none of them were familiar. Two pages stood, one at each side of the entry, and nodded to the young women as they entered. Ella followed suit and stepped onto the carpeted staircase that led into the ballroom.

The music that played there seemed to come from her memory. Ella couldn't recall the name of the tune but it was something that she'd heard a hundred times before. She seemed to float into the large room with her eyes riveted on the couples that danced. The sway of the trains, the tap of shoes across the marble, the gleam of jewels in the light; it was a feast for the eyes. Ella couldn't believe that she was finally a part of it.

She heard the whispers. She blushed all the way up to her forehead as Ella realized that the gossip was about her. "I don't recognize her," a woman's voice said.

"I do, that's Princess Katherine," a man told his companion as Ella walked by.

"Dolt, Princess Katherine is married and pregnant," a third woman dismissed the man's theory.

"She must be Duchess Irene." Someone else had mistaken her for a legendary beauty from a kingdom far away.

Another man muttered, "Well whoever she is, she's the most beautiful girl by far."

Once Ella reached the bottom of the staircase, it was just the music and it seemed to draw her to the orchestra. She wove her way through the dancing couples and stood close to the musicians. Ella let the melody wash over her.

If the man hadn't cleared his throat, Ella would have been far too fascinated by the music to look up. "Good evening," he smiled at her as their eyes met. His dark eyes shone in the light. There was something there in his gaze that seemed to express something that couldn't be spoken of. There were no words for that in a fine ballroom, under the gaze of all of the whisperers.

He didn't need to introduce himself.

Even though Ella had never met him, she'd known of him ever since she was a little girl and had pointed at the castle with a chubby, dimpled finger. Prince Jonathan was the heir to the throne and one day would be the king. The scuttlebutt had been that the king had fallen ill recently and Jonathan had been ruling in all but name for quite some time. This ball was supposed to be the event that would result in a bride and an heir for Jonathan himself. Ella's knees knocked as she lowered herself into a deep curtsy to the Prince. If he only knew that her secret made her unsuitable in every way, she was sure that she'd be sent away from the castle and all of the prying eyes.

"Good evening," she replied and hastily added, "your highness."

Once she raised up to meet his eye again, the heat from his gaze trickled down Ella's body. Prince Jonathan looked at her in a familiar manner. It was the way that the baker ogled her. It was the steamy stare of the butcher just before she opened his britches for him. The heated gaze that Claude gave her, when his eyes pleaded for the merciful, liquid touch of her mouth. "Would you dance with me?" The prince asked her to dance but it sounded like an invitation to his bed.

Ella felt his longing slip under the fabric of her gossamer dress. Her body was awash with goosebumps. "Yes, thank you," was all she said but in her mind, she could almost hear herself say "please". Prince Jonathan led her to the floor and she couldn't help but notice how all of the couples gave them space. His hands were large and his long fingers circled her waist on the right. Everywhere he touched her tingled under her dress. He took her tiny right hand in his and Ella looked at how much larger his hands were than hers and she shivered uncontrollably.

She held her breath as she thought, "I wonder how big he is everywhere else?"

Ella giggled to herself and then froze. She met his amused expression with what she was sure was a panicked look. "What is your name?" The prince looked as if he might join in with her laughter even if he didn't know why although Ella suspected that he may have an inkling.

His shoulders were broad and his chest was solid and Ella imagined what he must look like under his jacket and his shirt as her little fingers rested there, just above his heart. "Ella, your highness," she remembered to address him properly that time. She wondered for a moment what he would do if she just whispered his name. She just wanted to hear it roll off her lips, maybe just before he kissed her.

The prince guided her in a circle and followed the dance steps precisely. He pushed her away and then brought her near once more and one more time, apart and then together. When they were close again, she could feel the heat between them, as if their bare flesh was pressed together. "Ella, my darling, where are you from?" he asked as his eyes delved along every nuance, every inch. He studied her.

The prince pulled her near and Ella could feel the drumroll of his heartbeat under her fingertips. She could hardly be expected to remember the dance, let alone how to speak, when she was so caught up in all of him. There was his dark hair that she wanted to run her fingers through, those eyes, his full mouth that she ached to feel on her bare shoulders as he took her dress down slowly to reveal her nakedness underneath. Where was she from? Ella shook her head a bit to snap herself out of it. "I live in the town," she assured him, quite near, a mere carriage ride away.