The Cinderella Prophecy

"Cinderella!" My heartbeat escalated as I heard Stepmother call my name, well my nickname. It wasn't meant to be a nickname, but over the years it had adapted into one.

I heard Stepmother's heels clicking on the stairsteps, my bedroom was in the attic of our manor and required climbing several flights of stairs to enter my room. I frantically shoved the dress I had been stitching into the drawer of my dresser. I leaped onto my bed and sat innocently just as she opened the door to my room.

"Why are you absent from your chores?" She asked, glowering down at me.

"I've completed them," I answered. I noticed the dress, earlier shoved into my dresser, peeking out of the drawer. I bit my lip, hoping Stepmother wouldn't notice. She noticed where I had been looking and her eyes lowered to the dresser. She frowned and then turned back around to face me. Her expression stern.

"What are you hiding from me, Cinderella?" She said my name sourly. I flinched at the way she said my name, avoiding her eyes, knowing they were filled with wrath. Without waiting for a response, she stomped over to the dresser and yanked it open, sending the dress onto the floor.

She found it.

"What is the meaning of this?" She questioned, her tone harsh.

"I figured we were going to the ball and.."

"Nonsense! Silly girl. You shall not go to the ball with us. It would be an embarrassment to be seen with you!" She squawked, interrupting what I had been saying.

"But, I thought..."

"You thought wrong! You are not going to the ball with us! You shall stay here and do your chores. And goodness, hideous girls like you don't go to balls. They don't even get invitations to balls" She picked up the dress from the floor and stomped out of the room, taking the dress along with her.

The tears I'd been fighting to hide released as soon as she slammed my door. I couldn't believe my godmother thought I was capable of marrying a prince, and going to the ball. Years ago, before my father died, my godmother visited me and foretold the future that lay in front of me. She revealed to me that when I became eighteen, things would turn around for me and I would learn to be independent and stand up for myself. She also informed me that I would go to a ball, fall in love with a handsome prince, and eventually marry. Now at nineteen, I doubted the words she had said. I thought my godmother was insane for thinking that such a future could belong to a simple girl like me. And my mind hadn't changed since that day. Lost in my thoughts, I drifted off into sleep, making the world around me seem calm and peaceful.

"Ella."

I ignored the soft voice I heard, almost as if it were a whisper.

"Ella."

I turned onto my side hoping the strange voice calling my name was just my imagination.

"Ella."

I reluctantly opened my eyes and saw my fairy godmother floating in my bedroom. I shrieked, shocked by her sudden appearance.

"Quiet down, Ella, it's only me," she said, her voice calming. She sat down beside me, studying my face. It occurred to me that my eyes were most likely red and puffy because I had been crying when I drifted off to sleep.

"Oh, poor girl. Have you been crying?" It was almost as if she knew what I had been pondering.

Tears started to roll down my cheeks, answering her question. She gently reached down and wiped them with her finger.

"Why are you here?" I asked. The last time she had visited me was when she foretold my future years ago. I prayed that she wouldn't talk of her silly nonsense again.

"I'm here to escort you to the ball."

"Are you out of your mind? I cannot go to the ball. I have to do my chores, and besides, I don't have a dress to wear."

"Don't fret dear. I've already thought of that." Suddenly, I blinked and I was wearing an alluring white dress.

"Now, when the clock strikes midnight, the magic will fade." Fairy godmother explained. I nodded my head, indicating that I had understood what she had claimed.

I arrived at the ball in a carriage, one that fairy godmother had provided. The ball was lovely. I was delighted by my time spent with the prince, who right after noticing me, invited me to dance with him. Inattentive of the time, I panicked as the clock began to strike twelve. I released my hand from the Prince's and hurried out of the ballroom. I could hear the prince calling after me from behind me. I ignored his shouting. One of my slippers fell off my foot, and I left it there because I was in a hurry.

"Cinderella! My bedroom is dirty and needs to be cleaned!" one of my step sisters shouted, bursting into my bedroom, waking me up from my sleep. I reluctantly got up from my bed and followed my step sister down the stairs. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I gaped when I saw the prince. I peered down at my attire. I was in one of the not as nice dresses I owned and my hair was tangled, considering I'd just gotten out of bed.

"Cinderella, will you do me the honor of trying on this slipper?" The prince asked politely. I gaped when I recognized the glass slipper I had been wearing at the ball. I nodded my head and watched as the prince gently kneeled down and softly pulled off the grungy shoe I had been wearing. He slowly slipped on the glass slipper, his mouth opening wide when it fit.

"It fits," he announced with confidence. I smiled warmly at his words. I looked over at my stepmother and stepsisters, who were staring angrily at me, jealousy in their eyes.

"Cinderella, will you be my bride?" He asked. I looked into his eyes, full of sincerity and love.

"Of course," I said smiling sweetly. The prince lowered down to kiss me, pulling me closer to him.

Several months later...

I soaked in the sun while on my stroll in the gardens of the palace. I loved being surrounded by the flowers, that were beginning to bloom, signaling the start of spring.

"Ella!"

I turned around and saw Fairy Godmother standing ahead of me.

"Good afternoon," I said with a faint smile.

"I owe you an apology. Many years ago, when you foretold my future, I'm afraid I didn't believe what you had said. I thought you had gone mad. However, after marrying the prince and falling in love with him, I realized that you were right all along. I'm sorry for ever doubting you, Fairy Godmother," I confessed.

"Oh, Ella. There's no need to apologize. I knew that you wouldn't believe me when I first told you and that it would take time to fully learn. I'm happy the way things turned out for you, Ella." We hugged each other and after releasing from her arms, she was gone. That was the last time I saw Fairy Godmother. I always kept the words she told me deep in my heart, to never be forgotten.