Cinderella

4.Cleaning

I had been cleaning all day. I was tried, exhausted, hungry, and ready to collapse. It wasn't a normal day of work. I had cleaned, cooked, cleaned again, cooked again, and I was still nowhere near done with cleaning the interior of the house. I had yet to even start on the exterior of the house, the gardens, the stables, and there was so much else that needed to be done. Even though it felt impossible and I wanted to give up, I kept cleaning. If I didn't finish cleaning before the prince arrived, I probably wouldn't live to see my next birthday. I had been looking forward to living past the age of eighteen. With a sigh, I continued to clean

I had finished most of the rooms and I started to clean the drawing room. As I did this, I glanced outside. It was already pitch dark out. I wasn't going to be able to get any sleep tonight. I only hoped that the night would be long and the prince would be delayed. It was the only way that I would be able to finish on time. Finishing on time was the most important thing. It was more important the the fact that my body and mind were screaming at me, begging me to eat and rest. I couldn't do that, not until the visit was complete. I tore my gaze away from the window and stopped looking outside. I got back to work and I felt a headache beginning to form.

I finally finished the cleaning entire interior of the house. It was already beginning to get light outside and some birds could be heard chirping at the sight of the sun rising. I had begun to weed the garden and saw people in other houses were starting to wake up. I didn't have long before my stepfamily would be awake also. When they did get up, I would have to stop weeding and make them breakfast. Making breakfast would cause me to lose time to finished everything else. I worked faster, driven on by my limited time frame. Eventually,  I stepped back from the garden to admire my work. The garden looked beautiful. It was a miracle that I had been able to fix it up so quickly, because I hardly ever weeded the garden. I glanced at the sky once more, it was still early morning. I still had a bit of time before my stepfamily would be awake. I still had a lot of time before I would have to stop working for a small amount of time.

I rushed to the stables and began to muck out the stalls, brush down the horses, and clean all the equipment. I cleaned out the stables, making it my goal to have them look as though they were just built. As I did this, dark spots begun to dance at the edges of my vision. Just a little bit longer. All I had to do was hold on until the prince came and left. Then I could give into the darkness.

I finished the stables and rushed back to the house to make breakfast. As soon as I steppes outside, I saw how light the sky had become. It was already late in the morning. The prince would arrive soon. I wasn't ready. The house wasn't ready. Nothing was ready. I still had to sweep off the steps in front of the house. I had to prepare tea and food for them. I had to make sure that stalls were prepared for their horses. I had far too much to do in such a short amount of time. I had to do this. My stepmother had told me to leave not a single speak of dust lying around and I had to do what she said. I stood up straighter, but as I did so, my vision turned black before finally returning to normal. I had gripped the countertop, so as not to fall, and I slowly let go.

"Cinderella!" My stepmother yelled. I rushed out of the kitchen and found her by the stairs.

"Yes, ma'am?" I asked being sure to avert my gaze.

"You look atrocious. Is the house cooked? Is breakfast clean? Is everything prepared for the prince's visit?" She asked.

"Almost, ma'am. Breakfast will be served in just a moment. I will have the house clean and everything ready before the prince arrives" I said.

"Good. Go on then. Hurry up and make yourself useful for once" my stepmother said. I walked off and as soon as I was out of her sight, I ran for the kitchen. I quickly put their breakfast onto trays and delivered it to the dining room where everyone was already seated.

"Cinderella" Leonora said with distain.

"Yes, ma'am?" I asked.

"My room is a mess. You must clean it before the prince arrives" she said. I knew I had already cleaned it from top to bottom yesterday. Any mess had been caused by Leonora and probably on purpose.

"Yes, ma'am" I said. I waited and no one said anything else. I took that as my cue to leave and I slowly exited the room. Then I took off. First I would clean Leonora's room and then I would take care of everything else.

Leonora's room had been a mess. Clothes had been strewn on the floor, items had been scattered about, the bed had been unmade, and just about everything was out of place. It had taken me a long time to finish it. When I checked the other rooms in the house, I found they were all spotless still. At least one thing had gone well. I rushed to the kitchen I started to make sandwiches and other food to go with the tea. After the food was prepared, I put water in a kettle and began to boil it. Then I ran outside to prepare the stalls in the stable. They were easy to finish, since I had already cleaned the stable. I ran in and grabbed a broom. I went outside and begun to sweep the stairs.