Is it once upon a time already?

"Don't you remember?" The princess asked, climbing off her horse.

Ella stared at her with muted horror, unable to compute what the Princess had said.

The Princess frowned slightly, tilting her head at Ella. "Did you not hear me? I said, hello again, mystery girl." When Ella stayed quiet, the princess scratched her head, looking confused. "We met? Last night at my brother's ball?"

Ella still hadn't said anything, and judging by the tight anxiety in her throat it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Okay. I'm just gonna assume his beautiful blue eyes rendered everyone else invisible." The Princess sighed, wringing her hands. In a moment, all the regal aspects of her behaviour and accent dropped. "I am sorry-"

"Your Highness." Ella blurted and stooped into an awkward curtsy.

The princess' face was a perfect blend of confusion and amusement. "That's really, really, really not necessary." She sighed then, rubbing her forehead as Ella straightened up, mortified.

"How did you find me?" Ella asked. Ella hadn't even recognised herself, all dolled up in a flowing blue gown. Self-consciously, Ella ran a hand over her servant's hairstyle, remembering the elegant updo the Fairy Godmother had left her with.

The Princess smiled. "How could I not? You're the same."

Ella could feel her cheeks redden, and lowered her face in shame.

"What? No, no, no. I mean, you are just as beautiful." The Princess explained, her hands raised. "Same beautiful blue eyes, and your hair is the same pretty gold. You're still perfect."

Ella stared at her, mouth open with no words coming out. "That's the kindest thing anyone's ever said to me." She glanced at her hands, caked with dirt and grime, roughened with labour. Beautiful? Without magic?

"Seriously?" The Princess laughed, and Ella must have flinched, the aristocratic lilt of it too similar to her wicked sisters. "No, again, I'm so-I keep being sorry, don't I?" The princess smiled a little sadly. "I'm surprised that anyone hasn't told a girl of your beauty any of that before."

"I don't meet many people," Ella replied, her cheeks hot from the compliments now. "Would you like to see my tower?" It's what she'd done with the mice.

"Only fair, you saw my castle." The Princess said with a grin, and followed Ella.

Quietly, they snuck upstairs, and to Ella's surprise and approval, the Princess wasn't even slightly winded.

"Wow." The Princess blinked at it, turning in a circle. Then she looked at Ella. "It's so quiet here."

"Wait 'till the birds start singing." Ella laughed, then remembered. "Your Majesty."

"Oh, please, please stop that." The Princess shook her head, and Ella lit some candles.

In the light, the Princess' face was much clearer. Her rounded cheekbones, straight teeth, and long, brown hair.

"What's your name?" The Princess asked, her soft eyes staring right back at Ella.

"Cinderella." Ella said automatically, then laughed at the Princess' raised eyebrows. "Ella, Cinderella is what my sisters call me."

"Why?" The Princess asked, her sharp eyes roving over Ella's things, the little items the mice and birds brought for her.

"I get soot from the fireplace on me when I'm cleaning. It's a little joke." Ella brushed it off with a wave of her hand.

The old floorboard creaked as the Princess turned on it, staring out the window. "Your sisters, they also work in this house?"

Ella snorted at that, and then felt her whole face warm.

The Princess tucked her smile behind a jewelled hand. "Is that funny?"

"They're the ladies of the house. I do the cleaning on my own."

"What? Of this massive place? My brother's bedchambers alone take three maids." The Princess scoffed at that. "If they're your sisters-"

"Step-sisters." Ella interrupted, then cursed herself for her lack of manners around royalty. "Their mother married my father...before he died."

"So the myths of the wicked stepmother are true." The Princess muttered. "I'm sorry about your father."

"I'm sorry about yours," Ella said and saw something darken in the Princess's eyes. Then it was gone, and the Princess smiled ruefully.

"So, you came with Lady Tremaine? That makes much more sense than her bringing a maid with her, I suppose." The Princess was trying to change the subject and Ella obliged.

"Not...exactly. I have a fairy godmother, and she gave me a beautiful dress, and those lovely glass slippers. And they just let me in." Ella waved her hand.

The Princess stared at her, and Ella waited for her to laugh at the idiotic peasant. "Of course they did, you looked more royal than half my court. Well, thank goodness for your fairy godmother. Why did you run away? Did my brother say something?"

"No, no, the spell ended at midnight, so I had-"

"To leave." The Princess finished, looking lost in thought for a moment. "Well, I would say more than one spell was cast that night. You certainly bewitched my brother."

Ella blushed. "Really?" The night had been the one good thing in her miserable life. The mere memory was enough to keep her alive.

"Oh yes. He found your other slipper, and intends to make every girl in the land put it on, until it finally fits one." The Princess said, watching Ella's dreamy expression.

"You think he would come here?" Ella asked, shaking with nervousness. "I don't know if he'd want me if I was a maid."

The Princess stared at her quietly for a moment and Ella realized she'd forgotten the most important thing.

"Wait, how did you find me?" Ella asked, and the Princess was shaken out of her reverie.

"Oh, well." She pulled a glass slipper out from inside her robes. "I was the one that picked it up. It started...glowing the closer I got to the village, and led me here." The Princess looked a little sheepish. "The moment I saw you, I knew...well."

"What did your brother think of me?" Ella asked shyly, and the Princess tilted her head at Ella, looking a little sad.

"What did you think of him?" The Princess asked, and Ella couldn't figure out what her tone meant.

"Well, he's handsome. Kind. He makes people smile, and he's a great dancer. He's got really beautiful eyes." Ella sighed, clutching her hands to her chest. "He's perfect."

The Princess closed her eyes for a few seconds. "That's sweet. And precisely what every girl thinks when she meets him."

"What did he think of me?" Ella pressed, sitting down on a chair, voice giddy.

The Princess looked pained. "I don't-Ella, he...He knows you were perfect. But he doesn't remember anything about you at all. Not your eyes, not the way you looked. He knows you had light hair. And a pretty dress." She held up the shoe. "And he knew you left this behind."

Ella was stung. More than a little. She hated herself for asking that question and ruining her fantasy. "Oh. But we-we talked."

"I know. Ella, my brother is a lot of things, but the first thing is a prince. He's met a lot of girls. He thought he met a princess last night." The Princess frowned. "I'm sorry."

There was a sharp pain in her heart, and Ella cursed herself for doing this to herself. "And you?" She demanded, wondering if this was all the Princess' attempt to keep the commoner away from her brother.

"Yesterday?" The Princess's eyes were wistful. "I saw a girl shrouded in mystery. With beautiful blue eyes, an open face. Who didn't know how to dance, but knew how to love. I saw a girl who was more worthy than half the simpering maidens in the ballroom. Even if that slipper hadn't led me here, I saw a face I wouldn't forget."

Ella was appeased, just a little. She wiped a tear from her eye. "Maybe when he sees me tomorrow it will all get fixed. I love him." Ella admitted, perhaps a little foolishly.

"Ella." The Princess knelt down next to her. "You will not be happy with him."

Ella stared at her, shocked. "I don't understand."

The Princess breathed out slowly, and then met Ella's eyes. "He's royalty. He's used to power, and money, and respect based on status. You thought he was kind because he thought you were a princess. My brother is not evil, or cruel, but he won't treat you well."

When Ella said nothing, the Princess went on. "Maybe tomorrow he accepts you, whisks you back to the kingdom and makes you his wife. But it won't last. You won't know the things he does, act like he does, you won't eat little birds or know how to ride horses. You can learn those things, but you'll always be an outsider."

The Princess stopped for a second, then squeezed Ella's hand. "Someone who truly loved you, you from the moment they saw you, would make you welcome. They would change for you, help you. But he's not that person. He won't let you forget who your sisters made you." The Princess then looked at Ella's hand, tracing it with her thumb.

"I am used to people treating me badly, I could survive," Ella whispered tearfully. A lifetime of being strong, ruined, with one night of hope.

"You deserve more." The Princess breathed, and Ella was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "You deserve better than crumbs of love. I came to see you because-" The Princess shook her head. "You should do what your heart tells you, Ella. I only wanted to tell you, that there is someone out there who truly loves you."

Some tears splashed down as Ella shook her head. "We could be happy."

"You could." The Princess nodded. "I wish I could believe that. I wouldn't be here if I knew my brother would make you happy. But there is another way."

Ella frowned slightly, a little confused.

The princess withdrew a bag. "There's money here, and I melted down one of my tiaras. It will last you forever. You could do anything, be anything. Listen to the birds sing, and be free."

For a moment, Ella envisioned it. Making her dresses, taking care of a family of her own. Being free.

It was such a strange, perplexing thought. Somehow, in the back of her mind, she felt she'd never escape the inherent cruelties of her life. That nothing could ever truly, change.

"No. I'm sorry. I love him, and I will wait for him." Ella said firmly, gently pushing the money back to the Princess.

The princess looked deeply saddened, and nodded. "You are a true treasure, Ella. I pray that my brother will never forget that." She swallowed thickly and got up. "Whatever happens, you should know, you always have a friend in the palace."

"Hopefully, a sister in law." Ella replied with a smile. Maybe she was an idiot, choosing to believe in fantasies and give up on the freedom she'd been offered.

Maybe. Or maybe, love required sacrifice, and faith.

"I will see you tomorrow then." The Princess smiled stiffly, and left, taking the other glass slipper with her.

Ella sunk into the bed, sighing happily. A little bit, she saw today's sun waking up, and stretching across the sky.

Just a little while longer...until love lit up this awful house.