Midnight ( A gothic fairy tale)

"sometimes I wonder if Cinderella really wanted to go to the ball..."

"Dong...Dong...Dong..." The gothic song of the old clock tower chimed twelve; everyone was entranced by its bewitching tune. Prince Navarro's dark eyes flickered to the black ceiling of the grand ballroom, his grip on Ella weakened. She knew it was time, she had to leave now or she would be trapped here forever. Ella knew the truth about this place and she wouldn't be sucked into this demon's trap. Making a snap decision, she fled from the dark palace at the last stroke of midnight.

The sound of guards running pierced the eerie 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 of 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 sneer. Time slowed as the too stared at each other, evil black eyes meeting innocent blue, then 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 stair case 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. She looked up and found she was on the steps of a vine covered cottage.

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. She had no time to waste. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted a large, bare oak tree. She climbed it quickly and crashed through the window.

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. “Listen,” she whispered, “I’m no thief. Please, you must let me stay here for tonight or I shall be condemned to death.”

“Get out!” The man shouted, “You speak nothing but lies.”

“I am telling you the truth, sir! Please do not throw me into the cold, cruel hands of my enemy. As God as my witness I am innocent!”

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. Then he looked at the window. Shattered glass covered the floor and his anger peaked. He strode over to the girl and grabed her creamy neck. She winced in pain. In reply he whispered menacingly in her ear “Alright girl, 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: Mrs. Angelica, Miss Rosalinda and Miss Julia. The dark blue dress she had worn to the ball was now tattered and torn. She slaved over a hot stove to cook the family’s meals, she did all the laundry, she spent hours cleaning the windows and scrubbing floors, she even chopped the firewood on the freezing tempters of December. She slept on a cold, hard floor and had little food to eat. On bad days, her mind would abandon her and she would speak to mice before she was ordered to kill them. Still, she thanked God she was not back at that awful ball.

Until she heard the news.

Prince Navarro was searching every village 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 young women in the town buying new dresses and hair ribbons as if that could somehow make them more beautiful; but 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 snatched a hat off of a venders cart and hid her long, blond hair in it. She rushed home and locked herself in the tool shed. She could not go back to that ball! She would not be found!

20 minutes had passed and then a knock sounded at the Thomas’ door. Ella cringed and waited. Faintly, she could hear the sound of the small family’s voices, and then, the voice of the prince.

“No, no, no,” Prince 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 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, but Ella stayed hidden in the shed, her heart iced over with fear. She seriously considered cutting off her foot, anything to avoid being captured.

The family and Prince Navarro searched the house and yard, growing ever closer to their prize. And then, the shed door creaked open.

Ella squinted at the dull light hitting her eye. The prince hovered in the door way and grinned, darkly victourious.

“Come to me, my dear.” He murmured seductively, charmingly, hypnotizing her for a moment. Ella did not move, she sat, wide eyed 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.

It fit.

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...

I can’t stop dancing and fear I shall never be able to stop. I am so hungry and parched beyond belief. It’s cold in Navarro’s ball room, oh so cold. But I seem to be the only one not caught in this sickly joyous haze. The others all seem happy, completely unaware that they are not more than skin and bone dancing to the music of men who should be dead. Maybe they are dead. Maybe they all are. Maybe I am too…

© 2012 Lost in Wonderland

Author's Note

Hope you guys enjoy the twist:)
Award(s) : I'll never turn off the lights! in the 'Horrific!' contest

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Reviews

Lena Rossmore

Wow ! This is breathtaking. I've always been a fan of dark stuff and this is no exception! The way you warped the classic fairytale into something creepy is wonderful! I truly love your work.

Posted 12 Years Ago

12 Years Ago

Thank you so much:)

Rose of Gondor

That was just plain creepy. No, no! I didn't mean it in the bad way! I mean it in the I'm-surprised-by-the-way-you-made-this-so-awesomely-creepy-without-scaring-the-crap-outta-me way!!!!!

THIS IS AWESOME!!!! I tried to rewrite Cinderella once....didn't work so well...

Posted 12 Years Ago

UnOrThOdOx

Oh. My. Word.
Only you could take a wonderful fantasy like that and twist it into something amazing!! I thought the original was good..but this? WOW. I LOVE IT! It's creepy in such a good way LOL. :)

Posted 13 Years Ago

IAmGhost120

This is really interesting!! It's definitely better than some other adaptations of fairy tales that I've read. I love it!! You kept the grammar errors to a minimum, too. Great!!