Glass Slippers [1st Draft]

14. The Plan in Motion

Chapter Fourteen:

The Plan in Motion

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"Clara, wake up, Linette wants you!" Clara opened her eyes as Harriet shook her awake.

"Do you know what she wants?" Clara asked, before giving a large yawn. Her jaw cracked loudly and she grimaced before looking over at one of the dusty mirrors of the attic. Oh no.

Clara wasn't the vainest of girls, she didn't really care too much about her appearance. But she was no fool, the success of her plan almost relied entirely on how attractive she looked and in that instance, she was as far from attractive as she could probably get.

Her grey eyes were rimmed with dark circles making her look like a raccoon, her lips were cracked, her cheekbones looked almost too prominent, giving her a skeletal look, and her dark blonde hair was raggedly surrounding her head in what could only be called a rat's nest.

"Are you listening?" Harriet said, scowling with her hands on her hips, causing Clara to snap back to attention. Clara shook her head sheepishly. "I said that she said she has a list of things she needs you to do."

Clara did her best to hold back a groan. Of course there was more that needed to be done. She had finished fixing up the gowns earlier that morning, and she had finally fallen into an uneasy sleep about twenty minutes before Harriet woke her up. She had no idea how she was supposed to have the energy to dance, let alone actually get to the ball, because at this point, it looked like she would be walking.

Shuffling to her feet haphazardly, she straightened her stained dress and did her best to run her hands through her hair to comb it. However, all that accomplished was getting her hands stuck in the tangles.

Nodding tiredly to Harriet, Clara stumbled down the stairs, almost falling twice, before reaching the upstairs hallway. Walking briskly down to the tea parlor, where she was sure she'd find Linette, Clara did her best to wake herself up a little more. Maybe if she could manage to have another cup of tea without her stepmother noticing she might be able to stay awake until the ball.

Stepping into the parlor she cleared her throat loudly. Her stepmother was reclining back on the settee, looking almost too relaxed. Shouldn't she be running around throwing fits over what her daughters were going to wear?

"Good, you're here. I have some things I need you to do tonight while we're at the ball," Linette said, not noticing when Clara stiffened at her words. "We'll be needing the shoes for tomorrow shined, the hair-ribbons set out, and all of the jewelry that Estella and Edina are planning to wear over the next few days polished."

"I- you said I could go if I finished everything you gave me to do," Clara said, her nails biting into her palms with the effort of keeping from bursting into tears.

"Well there's more you need to do, so if anything it was you who did not keep up your end of the bargain, not I."

"What if I finished all of those chores before you had to leave?" Clara asked, truly grasping at straws. Linette's slender fingers made a tapping noise against the wood of the side table.

"I suppose that would be fine. I highly doubt you'll finish though," Linette drawled.

"I will," Clara stated, before turning on her heel and rushing towards her step-sisters' rooms. Estella and Edina were busy bickering in the hallway, but Clara ignored them, not even stopping when Estella called out her name.

She flung open the door to Edina's room, gathered the shoes, the hair ribbons, and the jewelry, before proceeding to do the same in Estella's. Estella's door had barely shut behind her when she was already rushing down to the kitchen to get the necessary supplies for polishing both the shoes and the jewelry.