Midnight (a gothic fairy tale)A Story by Lost in Wonderland"Dong...Dong...Dong..." The
gothic song of the old clock tower chimed twelve; everyone halted their
haunting dance, entranced by its bewitching tune. Even Prince
Navarro's dark eyes flickered to the black ceiling of the grand ballroom,
his grip on Ella weakening. Only she, the outsider in this damask and dark
palace, remained capable of thinking beyond the eerie rhythm. She knew this
might be her only chance to escape this castle of nightmares. Slowly, careful not to startle the man who held
her, Ella slid free from Navarro’s slack grip. For a split second she reveled
at the fact that her plan could go so smoothly, until the chimes stopped and
all eyes turned to her. Eyes narrowed with malice, the prince lunged for her,
only missing the sleeve of her dress by a whisper of fate. With no other
thoughts than getting away from this man, Ella’s feet carried her -with a speed
she had never known- to the towering doorway. The sound of guards running pierced the shocked
silence as she emerged from the main entrance. Her lungs filled with crisp,
clean air. She could not believe that she had escaped! Ella laughed once,
relieved beyond belief, and thanked God for her good fortune. She ran down the steps of the castle, not
wishing to be dragged back in to meet her death. As she flew over the last
stair, her beautiful, white slipper slipped off her dainty foot. Ella whipped
her head around; was it worth the risk to reach for it? Just then the prince of
the castle eyed her. His mouth twisted into a vile sneer. The charming man she
thought him to be days ago was gone; his true, darker colors now shone in the
moonlight. Time slowed as the two stared at each other, evil black eyes meeting
innocent blue, before the blue broke away. Ella sped into the forest never
looking back. After a few minutes, the prince slowly made
his way down to the bottom of the staircase and laughed. He picked up the
maiden's lost slipper; it turned blood red in his hand. "I have you now my pretty." Ella did not stop running until she collapsed
from exhaustion. After catching her breath, she looked up and found she was on
the steps of a vine-covered cottage. A spark of hope fluttered inside her and
she hurriedly pushed herself up of the ground. Desperately, she knocked on the door and
yelled for help. She got no answer. Ella scanned the trees surrounding her for
any sign of movement. A twig cracked in the distance, echoing all around
her. Terrified by the sudden noise, she banged on the door, constantly
peering over her shoulder to make sure no one had followed her. The door remained closed; Ella groaned. Images
filled her mind with all the possibilities of what would happen if she got
recaptured; surely only endless tortures awaited her back there. Ella shuddered
at the thoughts swirling in her mind, vowing she would do all in her power to not let that happen. She had no time to
waste. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted a large, bare oak tree. Climbing
it quickly, Ella swallowed her fear, took a shaky breath, and leapt at the
window. Ella crashed through, shattered glass
splaying everywhere- cutting up her arms and legs. A shocked cry enveloped the
room. Before Ella stood a man and a women holding each other close. “Who are you?” The woman screamed, her
husband gently pushed her behind himself protectively. Ella held her hands up in defense. “Please
ma’am,” she whispered, shivering all over from pain, relief, and fear, “I don’t
mean you any harm. I’m simply trying to get away from these horrible men.
Please let me stay just one night!” “Get out!” The man shouted, “You speak
nothing but lies.” “I am telling you the truth, sir! Please do
not throw me back out there. By doing so you’d condemn me to a fate worse than
death. I’ll do anything, I beg of you!” The man studied her, taking in her youthful
appearance. The girl was very pretty, about 15 and had long, nearly white,
blonde hair that cascaded in a waterfall of delicious curls down to her
waist. She was frail and skinny and looked as if she had seen a ghost. A
part of him pitied her misfortunes. Then he looked at the window. Shattered
glass covered the floor and his anger peaked. Her beauty could not mask the
destruction she could cause. He strode over to the girl and grabbed her creamy
neck. She winced in pain, fear o what this man would do twisting her stomach
into knots. “Alright girl,” He whispered darkly into her
ears, “you shall stay. But you will not leave until you’ve paid you’re debt.” * * * For weeks Ella worked for Master Thomas along
with his wife and daughters: Madame Angelica, Miss Rosalinda and Miss Julia.
The deep blue dress she had worn to the ball now hung tattered and torn. She
slaved over a hot stove to cook the family’s meals, did all the laundry, spent
hours cleaning the windows and scrubbing floors, she even chopped the firewood
in the freezing tempters of December. Thomas gave her bed; instead she slept on
a cold, hard floor and had little food to eat. On particularly bad days, her
mind would abandon her and she would speak to mice before Angelica
ordered her to kill them. Despite all the abuse however, she thanked God she
was not back at that horrific ball. Until she heard the news. All the young ladies of the village giggled
and gossiped that the handsome Prince Navarro was searching every town- no
matter how large or small- in the kingdom of Metus for a maiden to attend his
ball. All she had to do was fit into a lost slipper. As Ella walked through the market square, she
saw all the unwed girls in the town buying new dresses and hair ribbons to make
themselves more beautiful; but, she wondered idly, what did beauty have to do
with foot size? Suddenly the sound of hoof beats filled the
air. Everyone paused and looked toward the source of the noise; there was the
prince on a ghostly white stallion parading into the market. Ella’s heartbeat stopped. No, no… he can’t be here! Anywhere but here!
In a panic, she snatched a hat off of a venders cart and hid her long,
blond hair in it. Ignoring his shouts of protest, Ella rushed home and locked
herself in the tool shed. She could not go back to that ball! She would not
be found! A mere 20 minutes had passed before the knock
sounded at Master Thomas’ door. Upon hearing the arrival, Ella cringed and
waited. Faintly, she could hear the sound of the small family’s voices, and
then, the annoyed, and frighteningly familiar voice of the prince. “No, no, no,” Navarro hissed in frustration,
“the girl has blonde hair and her feet are much smaller than these girls'.” He
shook his head, “Have you no other women in the house?” “Only a kitchen wench.” grumbled Rosalinda
enviously. “But how on earth could she have ever obtained such a fine slipper?” “Unless she stole it.” Julia added. The prince paid their comments no attention.
“Bring her to me.” He commanded. Thomas rolled his eyes in disgust, but rang a
small, gold bell to summon Ella. She did not come. Again Thomas rang the bell, growing impatient
wit his insolent servant girl; but Ella stayed hidden in the shed, her heart
iced over with fear. For a brief, terror filled moment, considered cutting off
her foot- anything to avoid being recognized. The family and Prince Navarro searched the
house and yard, growing ever closer to their prize. And then, finally, the shed
door creaked open. Ella squinted at the dull light hitting her
eye. Prince Navarro hovered in the doorway and grinned at the pitiful sight,
darkly victorious. “Come to me, my dear.” He murmured
seductively, charmingly, hypnotizing her for a moment. Ella did not move,
she sat, wide eyed in disbelief and huddled up in a corner. The prince sighed
and moved towards her, taking hold of her foot. Ella kicked him in the jaw and screamed for
help, but Rosalinda and Julia just laughed. They thought she was insane, but
they hadn’t seen the dreadful ball. Navarro slapped Ella hard across the face. She
stilled then, momentarily dazed, and the blood red slipped was placed on her
foot. To everyone’s surprise but Ella’s, it fit. Smiling smugly, the prince stood her up and
set her behind him on his horse. “No one ever escapes, my pretty, but don’t
worry; you shall see that my dances are fun. You’ll see.” * * *
Ella... © 2013 Lost in WonderlandAuthor's Note
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Added on August 3, 2012Last Updated on June 27, 2013 Tags: Cinderella, Fantasy, Fear, Fairytale Author
Lost in WonderlandWherever my books take meAboutHi I'm mickey:) Welcome to my page I've been on this sight for a couple of years now and enjoy getting my writing out there for the world to read:) I appreciate comments and will read anything you .. more..Writing
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