A Birdflash Cinderella Story (Inspired by Nightwingwriter)

True Love

Cinderella AU

(The original creater ^I think^ - Nightwingwriter inspired me to write this. They used glass rings, and I can't really think of what else to use, so I'm using that.)

At the young age of 10, Dick Grayson's parents were killed by Tony Zucco. Dick always hated him. His parents didn't deserve it. They were artists, who apparently owed Zucco some money, but when they couldn't pay them back, he killed them and took Dick to be his servant. Now, Dick is 18 years old, and still "lived" with Zucco. With how he was treated, living wasn't really living, more like existing. Zucco has two biological kids. A daughter named Clara and a son named Zack. They were twins, but sadly, their mother passed away, so Zucco was a single father. But it wasn't like he did any work, Dick did. He cleaned, cooked, and suffered everyday. He was never thanked, or rewarded, only scoffed at and ignored. No one treated him with respect, and he just wanted to run away, away from all bad things.

"Father, look! A letter from the palace!" Clara came running in walking over Dick who was cleaning the floors and waved a letter in front of Zucco. Dick struggled to get up but countined his work. He knew Zucco would beat him if he didn't finish. "The palace? What does it say?" Zucco raised an eyebrow and Zach came into the room. "It says: You and your family are invited to the royal ball tonight. There, Prince Wally West will choose his future spouse. Everyone in the kingdom is invited, but must keep to the formal dress code. Sincerely, King Bruce." Clara and Zach gasped with excitement. "THE PRINCE?! WE COULD BE ROYAL!" Zach grabbed Clara's hands. The two then looked at each other with worry. "WHAT WILL WE WEAR!" They both yelled and ran to their rooms, knocking down Dick's bucket of water. "Oops. Guess you'll have to clean it up... Duce...? Rick...? I don't know, just clean it up!" Zach said before running up the stairs. They never got his name right. Dick cleaned the floor and spilled water then got up. "Where do you think you're going?" Dick froze and began to shake. "W-well, the invitation said everyone was invited. I figured that I should see what I could wear." Dick looked down, refusing eye contact with Zucco. He was fidgeting with a loose thread in his clothes. Zucco looked at Dick, and smirked. "They say that for pity points. Besides, you only have rags." He chuckled. "And no one - a prince for that matter - will fall in love with you. Look at yourself!" He laughed and Dick looked down at his body. He wasn't wrong. There were cuts, bruises, and scars, not to mention being way too skinny for his age. He was also pretty short compared to the Zucco, Clara, and Zack due to lack of nutrition. Dick was about to speak but was cut off by Zucco. "Fine. I'm feeling good today. If you can put together a formal outfit for tonight, you may go." He smirked. Dick felt something in his gut - it wasn't a nice feeling. Zucco never "felt good". He would always hit and take his anger out on Dick. He knew something was going on, but he let his heart get in the way of his brain. "O-ok. T-thank you, sir." Dick was still shaking. Zucco glared at him. "Who?" Dick sighed. "Master." "That's better. Now go you little flea. I can smell you from here." Dick was gone.

"Finally, the perfect occasion." Dick opened a small door to reveal a suit. It was his father's. But there was one problem - it was too big. "Welp, good thing mom taught me to sew!" Dick took out a needle, thread, and scissors before he began altering the suit. After hours of hard work, he finished, but looked at the time, it was 6:00. "Daniel! Hurry up!" Dick sighed. Was his name that hard? After a minute he came down, and looked amazing, even Clara was surprised. Dick was washed up, but you could still see visible bruises and scars, but other than that, he looked perfect. "Wow." Zach elbowed her. "So? I spent hours fixing it!" Dick turned to show the rest of the suit. Zach walked up with a smirk. Like father like son I suppose. "It's nice, but there's a loose thread here." He pointed at his shoulder. "Where?" Dick began to examine the suit. "Here!" Zach had ripped Dick's sleeve. He stood there, frozen in shock. Then Clara walked up, "And here!" She ripped the other sleeve. 5 minutes later, the two ripped the entire suit to shreds. Dick was on the verge of tears and Zucco was smiling with his arms crossed. "Aw, the little birdie crying? Pathetic. Come on, Clara. Let's go make this family royal!" "Certainly!" The two walked away, leaving Dick who collapsed on the floor. Zucco came up. "I told you that you can't wear rags. You must stay here and continue your chores, do you understand?" Dick nodded. "Yes, master." He was still looking at the ground. "Good." Zucco went with his kids to the ball, leaving Dick all alone.