The Stepsisters

Chapter 12

"I mean that's kind of... creepy? But let's just be thankful she didn't name it Rupert." Drizella responds, after I fill her in on what happened.

I fiddle on the fabric of my old bed sheets. "I don't know. It was weird to hear her say his name again after such a long time."

My mind started to wander off to a place I know would just end up in confusion and regret. It didn't matter where my father was now. All that mattered were the people who had chosen to stay with me my whole life. It didn't even matter if my father distracted me with some expensive musical toy and told me that I was special, because even if it wasn't my fault he was leaving, he still left. He left, never came back, and we never heard from him again.

"I still don't understand how she is still upset over that asshole." Drizella interrupts my thoughts.

"I think I could understand." I whisper.

"What? Please don't tell me your talking about that random guy by the fountain." She quickly looses interest and rolls over to the other side of her bed, facing away from me.

I roll my eyes at her insulting assumption. "No, I am not talking about that. I'm talking about our father, after everything he's done it doesn't mean I wouldn't be thrilled if he came back."

"Of course you would think that. You just have too many hopes and dreams. You have to be realistic, father is not going to come back and he's not going to swoop in and save us from everything we've suffered through." She says.

"But, he could come back here, Drizella. He could come back here and his hands could feel the same in mine, his faint beard could still scratch against my face when I hug him, he could still pull out his guitar and play while mother sings and we dance, and his eyebrows could still do that thing we would always laugh at." I sigh, because I don't know where I'm going with this.

She clicks off the light and we both lie in darkness. "I miss him too." She whispers.

Drizella and I return to town the next day, and I'm excited to finally start my first day at my very first job. The bakery smells appetizing as usual, with sweet fragrances of butter croissants and sugar cookies lingering in the air.

The baker pops his head up from behind the counter and claps his hands together. "Welcome back, Anastasia. It's good to have you here, are you ready to get to work?"

I nod my head and rest my basket near the coatrack by the door. He starts with teaching me how to properly knead the dough, which I have some experience in after years of helping my mother in the kitchen. We spend the day baking breads, apple pies, pumpkin pies, blueberry pies, cherry pies, and meat pies. The meat pies, definetily, not being my favorite to make. We talk a lot while we work, too. He tells me about how his father owned the bakery before him, and how he never really had a choice in what he wanted to do.

"So, what did you think of your first day?" He sweeps the floor and a cloud of baking flower flies into the dustpan.

"I had fun." I smile, and rub remaining debris off of my dress. I grab my basket before leaving, and he offers me a left over poppy seed loaf, and a couple cookies to take with me.

"See you tomorrow!" He cheers, and I wave goodbye before turning away.

I wait for Drizella by the fountain, and hope that Charming will show up again. Drizella appears, and we leave to go home, snacking on the cookies as the cruel sun over bakes the sweets.

When we arrive home, I'm surprised to see mother out of her bed and she's sitting at the kitchen table while Cinderella fixes her tea.

"She's out of bed?" I whisper to Cinderella.

"Yeah, she got out this morning kind of just played with the cat and bossed me around." She sounds as surprised as I am.

"Thank you for taking care of her and everything, I know she's being pretty difficult right now. You should come to town with us tomorrow, if you want." I smile.

She nods, and I see her trying to hide a smile. "I would like that."

The next day we travel back to town again, this time with Cinderella. "I hope mother will be okay alone with the cat." Drizzela mumbles. Drizella's not the most forgiving person and she doesn't seem very supportive of my decision to invite Cinderella to come.

We walk Drizella to the fabric shop, and she disappears without saying goodbye. I bring Cinderella to the bakery, and the baker is happy have to have her join for the day. Today we bake croissants, bagels and muffins. I can't help but find my new job to be the most fun I've had in a while. And I definitely don't mind the company of my boss, who's always making me laugh and telling me stories of angry, rich customers from the palace. But today, with Cinderella here, we develop our own relationship as well. We talk more than we ever have before, and she acts like a completely different person than the Cinderella I thought knew.

We finish early and the baker lets me go for the day, so Cinderella and I explore the town shops while waiting for Drizella to finish. We approach the familiar wagon, filled with flowers and bouquets, and the same man stands a few feet away, struggling to offer lonely people a good purchase.

Cinderella walks up the wagon and grabs a purple reef off the wagon and places

it around her neck. "Well don't I look like I'm from the palace?"

I giggle. "Oh please, like someone so precious as yourself would even dare to walk the dirty peasant roads of the town.".

She grabs another single flower attached to a clip, and she clips it in her hair. "I actually heard that a rumour that sometimes the prince sneaks out of the kingdom and visits the town to meet his people."

"Meeting a prince, wouldn't that be unforgettable." I say.

"Don't tell me you haven't met anyone at all yet?" Her eyes widen and we walk away from the wagon.

I begin to tell her all about the man, Charming, that I met near the fountain. "He was so kind and respectable, and he said he would meet me here again next week."

"You've got to be kidding me." She says, moving head in ridiculous circles looking at all of the faces around us.

"What do you mean? Who are you looking for?" I ask, trying to follow her gaze.

"No one. Um, yeah anyways, Charming! That's the name of the prince how could you seriously not know that?" She grows excited.

The prince? Could it really have been the prince, choosing to talk to someone like me?

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of loud shuffling and foot steps. "Thief!" A man in a blue suit yells, and he chases after Cinderella who leaves me all alone.