Stepsister's Lament || Yandere!Cinderella X F!Reader

Nine O'Clock

A decade passed and found you deep in the pits of the palace.

You hated this place. It was creepy as hell! The dank, dark air was as heavy and stale as still water and smelled heavily of iron and copper... Every sound -be it the groans of other prisoners or the pitter-patter of rats' feet- reverberated off the stone walls.

As you sat alone in a dungeon cell, you couldn't help but ask yourself one question over and over again... How did it come to this?

You thought you'd done everything right. Granted, you couldn't prevent Lord Tremaine from dying... Nor could you put a stop to Ella's abuse at the hands of Drusilla and Lady Tremaine... But you'd tried to provide comfort and support where you could.

Even when you couldn't make Ella's bad days any better, at least you didn't pile on and make them worse. Still, maybe you hadn't done enough. The story barely changed at all.

There wasn't anything you could do now but bite your nails and pace.

You remembered what Lady Tremaine said to you, when the invitation to the royal ball first arrived.

She took you dress shopping the same day, after promising Drusilla that she would take her separately. It was easier that way. Your sister was fiercely competitive, always vying for the position of the better twin, Mother's favorite.

After the tailor had taken your measurements and left the room to fetch some fabric samples, Lady Tremaine reached out to stroke your cheek with the back of her gloved hand.

The gesture gave you goosebumps, but it was completely out of character.

In the ten years since you transmigrated into this fairytale, she had never been particularly affectionate towards you. While you weren't abused like Ella was, you were certainly neglected. She served more as a governess than a mother.

But the tender look she gave you in that moment was nothing short of maternal.

"What would a mother not do for her child? What heights would a mother not climb?" She sighed, letting her arm drop back down to her side. "Do you know how much I sacrificed so that you could live in the way you are accustomed to? So that you could stand where you are now?"

"No, Mother," you murmured, because you knew that was the answer she was looking for.

"No, and you will never know. That is my burden to bear. But I'll tell you this..." She grabbed you by the arms and shook you once, hard. "You must make it worth it! You must marry the prince!"

"Yes, Mother."

"I love you very much, dear. I always knew you would grow up to save us after all." She meant, of course, save her and Drusilla from a life of poverty by marrying rich. You could only hope your acts of goodwill towards Ella over the years could save the evil step-family's literal lives.

You had failed her. But, more importantly, you had failed yourself.

Back in the present, your eyes started to water and your lower lip began trembling.

That's when a new noise resounded in the prison... The sound of a door opening and closing, followed by the sound of footsteps fast approaching.

You didn't think anything of it, until the shadow of three figures stretched across the floor of your cell. Two you recognized as guards, who you scurried away from like a mouse whenever they came near. Only the cruelest were assigned down here.

The third silhouette must have belonged to a lady, because it was shaped like the bride in a wedding cake topper.

"Ella?" You asked in a hushed tone, barely believing it. Who else could it be? Lady Tremaine and Drusilla were somewhere else in the dungeon. You tried calling to them, but they must be somewhere out of earshot. The three of you were separated at the time of your arrest, right after the prince whisked away little Ella in his golden chariot.