Once upon a time in Ventralli

The Lost Mask

Note: I write in Spanish. I made my best to translated it but it's not going to be perfect. It's so easy to read another language, but to write... not so much. You can ask anyone lol. But if you want to read the original in Spanish, it's on my profile. Thanks for being awesome and reading my story!

Once upon a time in Ventralli there was a girl named Ciella. She had big hazel eyes, a small snub nose and dark curls always abuzz.

One day, her mother fell ill and despite Ciella had good wishes, the woman didn't survive. She and her father were very sad for a long time, but together they managed to console each other. Ciella became a happy child again, spending hours reading poetry with his beloved father. He wrote to her and each verse was more beautiful than the last.

Ciella then began to notice something strange about his father. He looked more distracted, he was smiling all the time. It seemed the same man he was when her mother was alive. Well, almost. Nothing could fill that void in his heart that was so clearly reflected in his face.

It wasn't long until Ciella discovered what had caused the change. Or rather who. His father met a woman, he spent more time with her until he proposed marriage to her. A stepmother joined the family, but she didn't come alone. Oh no, Ciella also won two stepsisters. The younger looked somewhat fearful and careful, but the older seemed to feel superior, as if she knew more than anyone her age should. The girl couldn't stop staring in amazement at the newcomers. Their hair was the color of rubies and seemed to glow with sunlight. They looked so happy, wanting to make for everything a party. Ciella had always wanted a sister, so she was more than happy to have two now.

But she soon realized that none of it was real, it was all a mirage. She began noticing the looks of superiority, even contempt.

The time came when Ciella's father had to make a trip to Summer, the original kingdom of her new stepmother. The man believed this would help to the women of the house to form a bond while they were alone. He couldn't have been more wrong.

Her stepmother no longer hide her true feelings and she was treating Ciella as if she were her personal slave. The poor girl was desperate for the return of his father, as her home was a chaos. Her new family had no respect for the property of Ventralli. They were breaking beautiful vases that adorned the house, they burned the same books Ciella used to read with her father. Even they threw all her clothes, saving only the one she was wearing.

Ciella managed to rescue only one book, the favorite of his father, because she knew he would miss it. She thought he would be very upset when he returned home. Only he never returned.

A few days later, the news of his death arrive. Ciella couldn't believe it, she didn't understand what had happened. Nor she understood the wicked smile of her stepmother. She was too young to know what was a marriage of convenience. Or to understand that the woman knew that her husband would never return from his trip.

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Ciella became a very efficient young girl. She cleaned her house, mended clothes and ordered things, especially when her stepsisters left everything thrown in wherever they occur. Once she found a mask in a vase, one of the few they still kept. The opening was so narrow it was a hard work to get it out of there. She had no idea how it'd fit on the first place.

The house wasn't in the best conditions. With his father out of the picture, there was no artistic person in the house. Ciella had no time available to it after so many tasks she was making and the other women didn't even try to adapt. Which left the place becoming a complete ruin.