Battle of the Mothers

 

Battle of the Mothers

 

 

A fairytale is an interesting but highly implausible story that can be misleading. Because of this, many are told only one side of the story. The “Good” side is all that gets out to everyone, but what about the “Evil” perspective. What if I were to tell you that the Evil side isn’t always evil and that the good could in fact not be what is truly perceived.

 

I, Lady Tremaine, was condemned to being what people call “The Wicked Stepmother.” Such lies have created hatred towards my daughters and me. We were all born to the high life style, with people at our beck and call. Still, we never abused our power like Cinderella had said. She had volunteered to help the workers with their chores. Whenever I had to tell her she couldn’t have this or that, she twisted my words and actions into that of an evil stepmother. Never had I met such a conniving little girl. I’d only given her the best, but unfortunately, the best isn’t the most comfortable. Dresses these days are only for fashion and not for comfort. Cinderella, not the best seamstress in the world, hadn’t created the prettiest dress in the world, but you could tell it was comfortable and fit her well enough.

 

The mice aren’t a ray of sunshine either. I had let them stay in my house for the longest time and they repaid me with complaints and whines. They trash the house when they play and eat, it only gives more work to my workers. It only hurt when I realized that they purposely gave Cinderella my daughters’ stuff. They aren’t the nicest girls in the world but they had already warned Cinderella not to take their stuff without asking. I had scolded them when I found out, feeling a little ashamed of their reactions.

 

The fairy godmother had never gotten along with me either. She didn’t want to have me get the royalty in the first place and she’s envied me ever since for some reason unknown to me. She had known that Cinderella would be sobbing for my “unfairness” and had used that to her advantage. She had already planned to capture her in the pumpkin at Midnight to cover her tracks of treachery. I had heard of it one day when I was walking about outside. She was telling it to my stable boy to find a way to get her here as a back-up.

 

Knowing of her plan, I’d tried to tell Cinderella not to go to the ball. I hadn’t wanted to tell her in such a mean way, but at the moment, it was the only option. However, on the way to the ball with my two daughters, a strange feeling came over me. I knew something had gone array, but tried to ignore it as so to not spoil the night.

 

At the ball, I watched my two precious daughters cling and grab at Prince Charming. Never had I thought that they were that desperate to find a male. I hadn’t realized that the death of my husband had affected them so much. No one had known that he was sick with a disease that couldn’t be fixed with the medicine we had. I had watched helplessly as he died in my arms one morning.

 

Turning from the slightly embarrassing actions of my daughters, I saw a beautiful blonde girl come through the gigantic double doors. She seemed to sparkle under the glowing candles decorating the chandeliers. Every head was turned toward her as she made her way to the dance floor, her personality showing in a gentle way. This girl had found the Prince and they immediately danced with each other. It was so mesmerizing watching them waltz around the delicate wooden floor.

 

Something about her made my stomach drop. She looked like someone I knew, but I could swear that I would remember her just from her beauty. Deciding it was time to leave, I walked my daughters out to the carriage, the dancing finally taking a toll on me. As we stepped outside, a shiver went down my spine as I spotted a magical carriage. It had the same essence of magic and beauty as the new girl did.

 

I felt my stomach drop as I saw the stable boy as the driver of the carriage. This isn’t good. I had forgotten about the Fairy Godmother during the event of tonight. Now in a rush to get home, I didn’t waste any time getting my daughters and myself into the carriage.

 

Frantic with worry, I hustled to the castle. She had to still be here, otherwise I would lose her. Yelling for Cinderella, my heart was beating so hard in my chest I thought I would have a heart attack. Never had I been so worried over her as I was now. Relief came over me as I saw her come down the hall. She seemed annoyed with my appearance, but that didn’t seem to matter to me now that I knew she was here. I left her to do whatever she was doing before I interrupted and went to leave. As I walked toward the kitchen, I saw her down the hall, picking up her cleaning supplies singing a tune.

 

I paused as I listened to the melody of the song and I couldn’t figure out where I remembered it from. Then it hit me. She was at the ball. She had to have been. Cinderella passed me to get to the stairs and up to her room. I followed her up there, afraid of the answer to my question. But she’s still here so the plan must’ve not worked, right? Still, I felt sick to my stomach because I knew that the Fairy Godmother wouldn’t give up on her original thoughts.

 

Needing time to think things through, I did something that I would’ve never done in my life. I locked her in her room up at the top of the tower. She shouted and pounded on the door in protest, but I couldn’t let her go out and get herself killed.

 

The next day, there was an unexpected visit from the Prince. He was looking all around town to find a girl’s foot that fit perfectly to a glass shoe. I realized that the shoe was the one the beautiful girl was wearing; the one Cinderella was wearing. He came into the main hall of our home, where my two daughters and I were standing in waiting. My daughters rudely went to go try their foot in the shoe and failed miserably. I felt my face flush, not in anger, but embarrassment. I hated it when they acted this way. But it’s hard to control spoiled children. Watching the scene, I saw the pain on his face, his hope gone.

 

Making a quick decision, I went upstairs and opened Cinderella's door to let her try the shoe. I already knew what would happen as she slipped her gentle foot into the glass slipper. Smiling in happiness, both the Prince and Cinderella hugged each other lovingly. I felt my heart lighten as I saw their happy ending. Before the Prince left, I asked him if he'd known the Fairy Godmother. A smile came upon his face and he'd told me that she'd been arrested for trying to kill Cinderella. The little stable boy had been her leak. Sighing in relief, I felt overwhelmed with happiness. It was a happy ending after all.