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

Eleven O'Clock

Try as you might, you couldn't forget that kiss. The following day, you found yourself second-guessing Ella's every word and action. Were her gestures strictly platonic? You weren't certain they were, but you weren't certain they weren't either.

Incest was common among royals... Even if your stepsister was a princess by marriage rather than blood. But taking your lady in waiting as a lover? It was unheard of! Maybe you just imagined it, in your fatigued delirium...

"Sister, over here!" She called out, pulling you abruptly out of your thoughts and back into the present.

She was practically glowing in the garden, her gown -blue as a perfect summer sky- brilliant against the greenery. She was currently wandering among bushes of white and red roses with a pair of pliers, small and feminine. You trailed behind, carrying a silver tray on which for her to place her choice of flowers.

"What made you want to take up flower arranging?"

"Wedding preparations! Charming suggested I design my own bridal bouquet." Ah, that made sense. Despite knowing that he wasn't supposed to be alone with Ella before the wedding, he was quick to banish you from sight whenever he found spare time to spend with his soon-to-be bride.

You didn't mind so much. It was some of the only time you got to be by yourself anymore. Still... What a jerk!

You spread a fake smile across your face and said, "His Royal Highness is full of bright ideas." If she noticed anything off about your grin, she was polite enough not to say. Instead, she let out an affirmative little hum. Another rose beheaded. "When's the wedding?"

"I don't know. As soon as possible. Charming wants to be married yesterday," she sighed, shaking her head. "But so much goes into planning a royal wedding..."

You bit down on your tongue before it could curl around the question of, "What do you want?" She and the prince were in love, right? Obviously, she would want to hasten along the marriage process as well.

Meanwhile, she carefully examined each bloom, running her fingertips almost reverently over the petals. You didn't know her process for singling out one blossom among a sea of its look-alikes. God knows you couldn't spot any difference between those chosen and those abandoned on the vine.

Then again, you and Drusilla were physically identical, and Ella never had any issue telling you apart.

"I hope I catch the bouquet!" You crowed.

"Oh?" She looked at you as if caught by surprise. She had two fingers buried in the petals of a flower. Her thumb rubbed against the bud in the middle, almost absently. "Why is that?"

You thought it was obvious... "Why else? I'd like to get engaged."

"I had no idea you wanted to get married." It didn't sound like it was a happy revelation for her.

"Well, I kind of have to..."

"Why is that?" Did she really not know?

"I have no title," you laughed, although it wasn't really funny. "It's somewhat of a requirement for a lady in waiting. His Royal Highness probably plans to marry me off to a boring old duke as soon as his own nuptials are spoken..." You laughed again, mechanically, trying to lighten the mood.

She frantically shook her head, looking distraught. "No! I won't let him!" She was almost shrieking, completely unlike the picture of a poised princess. And she seemed to realize it, because, as you blinked at her in astonishment, she took a deep breath in through her nose. She let out a humorless laugh on her exhale. "Anyway, you do have a title! You're a baroness."

"No," you corrected her, "Mother was a baroness..." You'd been meaning to ask about your family, but the right opportunity never presented itself. Well, there was no time like the present... "By the way, will she or Drusilla be at the wedding?"

Ella froze, before slowly turning to stare at you. She wore a complicated expression. Her eyes flitted back and forth between each of your own.

"Ella?"

She dropped the pliers to the ground before advancing on you, crowding into your personal space. Then she grabbed your face and violently smashed your mouths together in a rough facsimile of a kiss.

You stiffened but didn't completely freeze this time. Instead, you let the flowers slide sideways off the silver platter and used it like a shield to separate the two of you.

"Stop!" You snapped indignantly, shoving her away so quickly she almost fell backwards. "What are you doing?!"

The maids or the guards must have heard your commotion, because you could hear someone hurrying through the maze of shrubbery.

Rather than apologize or try to explain herself, Ella just looked at you like you were the one acting irrationally. Then she turned on her heels, back to the rose bushes behind her, and started tugging at a rogue stem.

Just when you began wondering what she was doing, she suddenly let out a wail.

Of course, that's when Prince Charming and his entourage rounded the corner.

"Oh, Sister, look what you've done...! I'm bleeding!" The princess held up her hands, trails of crimson red rolling down her white wrists.

This was crazy. She was the one who...!

"What did you do?!" The crown prince demanded on his approach. He reached out and cradled one of her injured hands as if it was made of glass.

You weakly tried to explain, "I didn't," before cutting yourself off. You were the wicked stepsister, remember? Who was ever going to believe you?

"Nothing's ever your fault, is it?" Ella whispered as her ruby-red eyes started to water. It made her look like a tortured bunny rabbit. "Yet you cause so much hurt..." With that, she turned and buried her tearful face into her betrothed's broad chest.

"Escort Ella's lady in waiting to her chambers," he ordered, and two guards immediately flanked you. "Confine her there until we can come up with a suitable punishment."