Chapter Ten:

James

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Two Years Later

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"Clara, help me!"

"No! Mother said I could go first!"

"You got her first last time!"

"Only because you were so slow!"

"I was not!"

"Girls!" Linette finally yelled over her daughter's argument, and Clara winced from the sound. Estella and Edina had been at each other's throats for most of the day. First, it was over the teacups, then the hair ribbons, and now it was over who would get Clara to help them first. If Clara had her way she wouldn't be helping either of them, but alas that wasn't an option.

Linette had somehow gotten her daughter's invitations to a dinner party at a nearby nobleman's home, but Clara had no idea what she had done to get them. After their own dinner party fiasco, Linette and her daughters had not been invited hardly anywhere. At least nowhere respectable.

Which is why Clara kind of understood why Linette had turned from bad to worse within her relationship with Clara. Needless to say, she blamed Clara for the whole dinner party mishap, and as such, saw to it that she was reminded of it at least once every few days, even after two years.

"Clara! Go with Edina, you'll go to Estella after you are done with her." Clara nodded, ignoring both Edina's smug look and Estella's obvious pout as she turned to go into Edina's room.

"Help me with my dress first, then my hair," Edina commanded, sounding like a younger copy of her mother.

Clara moved to follow her directions, keeping quiet as she worked. She had found over the years that it was best just not to speak to her step-sisters while she helped them get ready for social outings, it made everything so much easier.

"That's not tight enough," Edina stated, and Clara pulled tighter on the corset laces, "Tighter." Clara just nodded, pulling harder on the laces. "Perfect." Clara then helped Edina into the rest of her outfit, trying not to look for too long at her bright yellow gown. No gown should be a color brighter than the sun, but if Edina was looking to be noticed, she certainly would be, but for all of the wrong reasons.

"Do my hair, now." Clara quietly complied, her fingers working as quickly as possible. "Ow!"Edina whined, even though Clara was quite sure she had only pulled on her hair a little.

"Sorry," Clara murmured not taking the time to look her stepsister in the eye as she said it. The sooner she was done with this, the better. After another five minutes of arranging and putting ornaments in Edina's hair, Clara was done.

Edina stared at herself in the mirror, grinning, before she waved Clara away.

"Go on. Do try to make Estella as pretty as I am, though I'm sure it will be quite hard," Edina commented, but Clara was already halfway out the door. She knocked on Estella's door before coming in. Estella was laying on her bed, her hair everywhere.

"I'm ready to help," Clara said, and Estella picked up her head before slumping it back down.

"I don't want to go," she said. Clara looked over at her in slight shock. "I just, gah! What's the point? Every time we go somewhere, no one hardly ever talks to us, and when we do talk to someone they walk away offended." Estella paused for a moment. "And I'm so tired of dressing up and only getting ridicule from mother and Edina. I'm not ugly, right?" Estella turned to Clara. "Right, Clara?"

Clara studied her stepsister for a moment, not knowing what to say. Estella was not beautiful, and due to the way she was raised she had no hope of her manners making up for it, although sometimes a kinder nature did shine through. However, Clara had to admit, her stepsister wasn't ugly.

Estella was better than Edina in many ways, and for all Edina's gloating and Linette's belittling, Estella was prettier and nicer than both of them. After all, Clara couldn't even imagine having this conversation with Linette or Edina.

"No, Estella, you're not ugly." Estella smiled a little at Clara, before finally getting up from the bed and putting her arms out, signaling for Clara to help her.

"I just wish I didn't have to go." Clara looked at Estella, a little puzzled.

"Then why were you so adamant about having me help you and having the new gown?"

Estella shrugged, "Well, Mother would make me go, plus I love new gowns. Even if I don't ever wear them. Anyway, you're nicer to talk to than mother, even if you are supposed to be a servant." Clara didn't respond to that even though Estella frowned slightly. Clara didn't want to ruin the rare moment of kindness from one of her stepsisters.

Clara continued to help Estella get ready, and soon enough her step sister was in a salmon pink gown that matched the walls of her bedroom. It didn't look half bad on her either. It made her look a little washed-out, and she probably would look better in a violet, but it wasn't as bad as Edina's. Clara was just finishing putting the final touches on Estella's hair when she decided maybe she should help her a little. After all, she was the nicest one out of her stepfamily.

"Estella?"

"Yes?"

"You mentioned that no one liked to talk to you?" Estella looked at Clara through the mirror and nodded. "What do you talk about with them? The people you talk to?"

"Other people mostly." Clara sighed, there was the problem.

"Maybe tonight try talking to them about something other than other people."

"But that's all I know how to talk about!" Estella responded, looking startled. Clara stopped to think.

"What if instead of talking to them about other people, try to talk about the person you're with. Ask them what they like to do in their free time, maybe what they think of the spring blossoms, even ask them about how their family is doing."

"Why would that help?"

"Because being a good conversationalist is also being a good listener. So instead of talking, listen. Maybe people would be more willing to talk to you." They were both quiet as Clara finished her hair, stepping away from Estella. Her stepsister turned to look at her, but instead of the shock from before, there was just a thoughtful expression.

"That might work," Estella said, smiling. "You can go now, I'm ready."

Clara shook her head slightly as she left her step sister's room. Estella might be the nicer of her two step sisters, but some things would never change.

"Clara." She turned to see Linette standing there, a piece of paper in her hands. "Here is a list of chores I want to be done by the time we get back tonight. If they aren't, there will be consequences." Linette then swept off towards her daughters' rooms, leaving Clara in the hallway staring at the list.

Most of it she had already done that morning, Linette just hadn't realized it. All she really had to do was outside work. Walking down the stairs and out the front door, she went in search for her siblings. They were almost always outside playing. Soon the sounds of laughter could be heard coming from the forest trees and Clara smiled when her three siblings came into view.

They had all grown so much in two years. Harriet was thirteen and very nearly a young woman, although Harriet would deny it, Amelia was eight, and James was six, and all of them each had their own quirk to go with their growing personalities.

Amelia was shy until she was around Tom, who always teased her, and then she was a spitfire. This always made Clara laugh because she knew Tom did it on purpose.

James had developed a habit of taking in animals and trying to take care of them, even if they were mice. Needless to say, Clara did her best not to scream at every new edition to the "family" that he always insisted on showing her.

And then there was Harriet. Harriet was by far the most complicated of Clara's siblings. After she had discovered the wonder of trousers, Clara was hard put to get Harriet out of them and into dresses.

This was not helped by the fact that Harriet had taken it upon herself to try and teach herself sword-fighting with sticks. This was what really worried Clara, as she hadn't had the heart to tell Harriet that women just weren't knights. She was afraid that if she told her, Harriet might do something just to spite her. Like for instance try to join the knights by pretending to be a boy, but hopefully, it would never come to that.

Her siblings were all playing in the forest, running around the trees, completely barefoot. Clara stopped by the forest edge, not wanting to interrupt their game immediately. She watched them play a little before she spoke.

"Harriet, James, Amelia." All three stopped in their tracks and turned to look at her. "I have just finished getting Estella and Edina ready so I will be in the garden weeding, alright?" They nodded, before getting back to their game.

Clara made her way to the garden, not minding that they were electing to play instead of helping her. She knew that if she'd asked they would've, with minimal complaining for the most part. Anyway, Clara had kind of hoped to have a moment to herself.

The past two weeks had been hectic. It seemed that her stepfamily was constantly going to parties, and as such more and more chores kept on building up as Clara had to shirk her other duties to help them get ready. She missed the days where she had Mrs. Landon to help her.

She was still lost in her thoughts when suddenly there was a loud shriek from behind her. Whirling around she saw Amelia running towards her, looking scared.

"Clara! James is hurt! He's fallen!" Clara quickly leaped to her feet, not bothering to brush off her gown before following Amelia back to the woods her heart pounding in her chest.

"Where is he? What happened?"

"We were playing and then he just-" Amelia gave a little sob. "He fell through the ground."

"Clara!" Harriet called, and Clara rushed over to her. Standing where she was, she saw what Amelia meant. It looked as if it was an old well that had been covered up years ago, and desperately trying to keep afloat in the middle of it was James.

"James! Hold on, I'll get you out! Don't worry!"

Clara looked around frantically for something she could hold onto. She had to do something quickly, James hardly knew how to swim, and even then, he couldn't tread water for long. Looking down at her dress, she was struck with an idea. Not paying any mind to propriety, she ripped the threadbare material off her dress, starting at the bottom and working her way up to the middle.

The amount she got would have to be enough. It wasn't strong enough to get James out of the well, but if she held onto it, maybe she could get him without falling in herself. She quickly tied one end to a sturdy tree branch, and the other end she wrapped around one of her hands. Having done that, she threw herself onto her stomach and reached into the well as far as she could, feeling Harriet and Amelia take hold of the back of her legs as well.

"James! Hold out your hand!" She cried, but her brother was panicking, struggling to keep afloat. She reached down farther. "Come on, James, just one hand. I promise I'll get you."

James was staring up at Clara, fear swimming in his eyes, as he tried to bring his hand up. However, he had already been treading water for too long. Clara had a feeling that he didn't have much strength left. Clara reached her arm down even further, ignoring the strain in her own arms.

James tried to bring an arm up, but as he did, he sunk lower, getting a mouthful of water. Clara's eyes widened as his head went under the water and didn't come back up. Stretching even more, she got her hand into the water and reached as far as she possibly could. Finally, she found his wrist and pulled up with all of her might.

She could feel Amelia and Harriet trying to help her, and her arms felt like they were going to come out of their sockets, but eventually, James and Clara were out of the well.

But Clara was just starting to panic. James wasn't breathing.

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I'm sorry. Not sorry enough to tell you what happens, but still sorry. Do you think James will live? Tell me in the comments! Also, the picture is of James.

P.S. I have planted a hint to a sequel within this chapter, another fairy-tale retelling. There will be a shout-out to whoever guesses what and who it will be about first.