The last bell's chime washed over Ella like a wave. Only minutes before she'd jumped free of the carriage as it shrank in on itself. Shattered bits of pumpkin decorated the road around her feet. Her dress slowly dissolved, the fabric shrinking back to the ruined dress her stepsisters had left her in. At least she wouldn't have to explain that part to them.

The only thing left of the night was a single glass slipper still on her left foot. She'd felt the right one fall as she ran down the steps. It would be trampled and shattered in no time. That didn't matter, it was only a shoe. Though, it was odd that a shoe made just for her with magic would slip off so easily.

Ella paused to gather the chickens, placing them in the basket she made by holding her dress up in her hands. Home was barely five miles away but she couldn't risk losing them. One had run off into the woods immediately. A fox would find it and have himself a scrumptious dinner. The goose was much more willing to follow her. She knew where the food came from.

If she kept up the marching pace she'd started, Ella would make it home before her family got home. At least she hoped she would. The marchioness wouldn't want to leave until she'd thrown her daughters at every available man. Poor Annie would be mortified before the night was over.

A small part of Ella reveled in her discomfort. What was an arranged marriage to the years of humiliation she'd endured? Annie was the precious youngest daughter of a marquis, blood related or not, that was enough to boost her social standing. Drizella could have been just as desirable if not for her deplorable attitude.

It was all a moot point since Ella's father was dead. They were barely able to hold onto the chateau let alone offer anything in a marriage. The marchioness hadn't exactly taught her daughters any of the skills needed to run a household either. In that, Ella and her stepsister were well matched. They knew nothing of the day to day necessities and she was about as comfortable in high society as a goldfish in a shark tank. Any man cursed with one of the three of them would find a partner lacking wifely skills.

Just thinking about marriage made Ella's cheeks turn crimson. Ricky was coming for her. It didn't matter what they did to her now. Even with both of them as the lowest of servants there would be freedom.

Ricky had been dressed in such finery though, he must hold a high position. Perhaps he was a butler to a minor nobleman. She would have to remember to ask him when they left together. Another thrill of excitement coursed through her. In a few days she would go to market again and she wouldn't be coming back.

The house was quiet, just as she'd predicted it would be. They wouldn't be home for another hour and she needed every second. The remaining chickens and the goose settled into the barn with the old horse. He nickered at her but quieted down for an apple tossed his way. Ella wondered how easy it would be to take them all with her. They'd starve if she left them behind.

Ella cradled the glass slipper in her right hand while she lit candles around the kitchen. As amusing as it would have been to hear them stumble around in the dark, they'd scream for her until she helped them all into bed. She prepared a small pot of tea for each room with biscuits and water. Maybe if they found those already in their rooms it would soothe them.

Now the only problems that remained were the slipper and her dress. The sounds of carriage wheels on loose gravel came all too soon. Ella dove for the chimney and squeezed inside. There, just higher than head height on the back wall was a single loose brick. She slid it aside and pushed the slipper in with her saved money. The hiding place had been secure for years. Heavens forbid they get their gowns dirty looking for the one thing that would keep her chained to them.

That money would be the seed money for her new life with Ricky. In a year or two, they might even have enough to buy a bit of land. Their children-

Ella cut off the thought before it could finish. Children were a luxury and not one she'd force into the world before they could support it. One day they might be able to lead some semblance of the life her mother had always wanted for her.

The front doors slammed open and Ella stumbled out of the chimney and threw herself across the room. Her knees stung from the sudden drop she'd done to hide behind the counter.

There was the screaming, Drizella's dulcet tones cutting through the air like a rusty saw. She continued through the house and up the stairs. The house had only just quieted when she came storming back downstairs. "Mother," she snapped, "where is she? I need to get out of my dress."

"Come out here, stupid girl," The marchioness called. Her shadow fell across the kitchen floor from the doorway. A scowl worked its way across her face as she looked Ella up and down. "What have you been doing? You're filthy."

Dizella chortled behind her hand. "Look Anastasia, she's been playing in the dirt again. Talking to yourself as well, Cinderella?" The last part she directed at Ella, sneering. A piece of the ruined dress lay at her feet and she stomped her heel into it. There was no worse she could do to it and yet the new rip that appeared down the center of the scrap was like a fresh wound.

"I was just cleaning, while you were away," Ella answered finally. She kept her head down while she spoke and felt disgusted at her own bare feet. Anyone who could see her now would think she was a useless waste of space. Maybe they'd even be right.

The three of them waved her off and it was decided Annie would help them instead. The ash would ruin their clothes and though the marchioness might have enjoyed pretending they were still wealthy, she knew better. They could not afford to keep buying new dresses. Their footsteps slammed across the upstairs floors. Doors shut and a teacup shattered in one of the rooms.

Silence settled in again, nearly overpowering now in the absence of the chaos that had just flown through. Ella was alone again standing on the cold tiled floor. "Just a few days," she reminded herself. Candle smoke rose like fading ghosts as she blew them out one by one. It filled the air with a soft smokey smell that reminded her of bonfires in the fall.

Once upon a time, she and her parents had lit huge bonfires after the harvest. Everyone danced then under the setting sun and through the night until the sun rose. Ella was often asleep long before the moon had fully risen. She'd hear them dancing from her room in her dreams.

That had been one of the first traditions to die after her father married her stepmother. According to her, such things were unbecoming of a nobleman and his family. That hadn't stopped the servants from hiking out to the woods to make smaller fires. They'd smuggled Ella to just one before everything went downhill. She'd believed in magic that night more than any other, until her fairy godmother had appeared.

A spark of excitement grew in Ella's chest. She had promised vengeance for the mistreatment they'd thrown at her day after day. Let them continue to abuse her then. If this worsened it for them, then she would bear it.

Alone in bed that night, under the threadbare blanket on the straw-filled mattress, Ella imagined what misfortune would befall them. Sickness? Warts? An old man for a husband? Thinking about the possibilities filled her with peace. She might even stick around a bit longer if it meant seeing the punishment in person. Surely Ricky wouldn't leave without her.

He'd promised.

Funny story, this was meant to be chapter one, but I felt like Ricky needed a more solid foundation if she was going to run off with him. One more chapter turned into four and here we are.