Disney But Gayer

Vol. 2: Cinderella

//TW: Misgendering, deadnaming, general transphobia, voice dysphoria, chest dysphoria, general child abuse//
Word Count: 12,394

~Once Upon A Time~

In 17th century France, there was a tiny kingdom. The land was peaceful and prosperous, rich in romance and tradition. Near the outskirts of the land, in a stately chateau, there lived a wealthy widowed man and his young 'daughter.' The two lived quite contentedly together, until the child, then Ella, confessed to the man that he was in fact, the man's son.

The father readily accepted his son, but he doubted his own ability to support him.

He remarried a woman from a respectable family, Lady Tremaine. She had two daughters of her own, Anastasia and Drizella.

For a while, the five lived together in peace, but when the father met his untimely demise, the woman and her children revealed their true nature. Cold, cruel, bitter, and disgusted by all those outside the norm... like the son, Cinder.

Lady Tremaine focused all her attention and their resources on her two daughters, thus squandering Cinder's inherited fortune. The chateau fell into disrepair. Cinder was abused, humiliated, demeaned, and eventually forced to become an unappreciated servant in his own home. Tremaine and her daughters refused to call him by his name, instead continuing to call him 'Ella.'

Yet through all this, Cinder retained his self control and self respect.

He knew who he was, no matter what Lady Tremaine or her daughters repeatedly touted, and he vented his frustrations by talking to the mice and birds. And eventually, they began to talk back.

They became the best company he had, even slightly helping him with chores, though the mice weren't allowed after GusGus almost got crushed by Drizella's hair brush.

And every morning he found something to keep him hopeful that his dreams of being happy weren't just fruitless wishes.

Such was shown on this morning, where the slowly rising sun was peeking through his curtains.

Cinder groaned and turned onto his stomach, blocking out the light with his pillow. Until the clock chimed, he didn't have to do anything.

But then the beam of sunlight got larger and brighter, and he heard twittering.

Oh no. Birds. He loved them, but it was too early and he'd been having such a lovely dream...

Muffled by the pillow, Cinder called, "I'm not getting up until the clock says so."

That didn't deter the birds, one hopping up on his pillow clad head and the other going under the pillow to join him, tweeting. He pushed that one away, huffing softly. The one on top of his head bent down and twittered, and he reached up and flicked it lightly.

They tweeted indignantly. He laughed softly, "Well that's what you get when you wake someone before they're ready... but unfortunately, I'm awake now, so..." Cinder pushed the pillow away and sat up, stretching his arms with a big yawn.

The bird tweeted at him a little more, still insulted. The other bird made a twittering noise and it looked like it was laughing.

Cinder pouted playfully at the insulted bluebird. "I know, I know, I'm sorry, but I was having a truly wonderful dream, and I didn't want to leave it yet."

The birds twittered at him.

"What kind of a dream?"

They nodded, chirping up at him.

"Can't tell, I'm afraid."

They looked very confused, chirping again.

"If you tell someone your wish, it won't come true, and that wish was too important to risk."