Read Online Cinderella (Faerie Tale Collection) by Jenni James - Free Book Online Page A

sets of old boots, and a shawl on colder days. What she owned the most of was a never-ending collection of aprons to protect the few dresses she had. Quickly, she hung the grey dress up on a peg in the back of the closet and tucked the old boots inside too. Once everything was neat, she began to shut the door. But then saw something glint within the cracks of the wooden floor.
    What is that?
    Stooping down, she poked and prodded and pried free an old brass key. She gasped. Holding it within her palm, her mind searched through countless memories trying to place the thing. Where had she seen it before? It looked so familiar. But what was it doing up in the attic rooms? It was almost as if it were meant to be something very important. But she could not remember what.
    Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
    She jumped.
    “Ella? Ella, are you in there?” asked her stepmother.
    Frantically, Ella looked around for a place to hide the key. “Yes,” she replied as she slipped it into her boot.
    Lady Dashlund opened the door just as Ella stood up. Her stepmother’s gaze went from the top of her smooth bun all the way down to her boots. “And where do you believe you are heading to dressed in such a fashion?”
    Ella gulped.

CHAPTER TWELVE
    “WELL, ANSWER ME, GIRL!” Lady Dashlund stepped into the room.
    Ella moved a pace or two back. “I was just trying this gown on, searching for different options.”
    “For?”
    “I—uh…” Her hands began to shake. What could she say? Her mind went blank.
    “Well, speak up! You were trying on a gown instead of doing your chores because...?”
    “Oh, my chores are done! I finished them a quarter of an hour ago.”
    “Ella, if you are complete so early in the day, perhaps I need to give you more ways to keep you occupied from wasting time in your room.” She took another step forward. “Why are you dressed like you are? And why are you hiding it from me?”
    “I—I was hoping I could go to the ball,” she blurt out.
    “You?” Lady Dashlund gave out a sharp bark of laughter. “ You were hoping to go to the ball? You, who have never been presented at court, hoped to attend one of the most elite galas of the year? Incredulous!” She threw her arm out. “And what were you wanting to wear? This?”
    “I—uh, well, I do not have anything else.”
    “No, no, you do not.” She chuckled and put her hand on her hip. “And why do you believe you would be wanted at such an assembly?”
    “I do not believe I would be wanted necessarily. I was just wishing to go. Perhaps stay in the background and watch.”
    “Oh, Eleanoria, do you have any idea how pathetic you sound? Any at all?”
    Ella looked away.
    “Of course you do not.” Lady Dashlund then surprised Ella by saying, “What is that?”
    She followed her stepmother’s gaze to the ball invite setting upon her dresser. “I—oh.” She wanted to lie, but knew it would be futile. “It is an invitation to the ball.”
    “A what ?” She stormed up to the dresser and grabbed the missive. Reading it over, she gasped and waved it about. “How did you come by such a thing? How? Who sent this to you?”
    “The queen.”
    “Yes, I see that. You are specifically invited and mentioned here. But why would she do such a thing? How does she know of you?”
    Ella’s knees began to quiver. She knew she must protect John at all costs. “I do not know. I received it from a castle servant the other day.”
    Her stepmother whirled around, her skirts whipping about her legs. “Why would the queen request your presence, of all people, in a specific inquiry for you to attend? It makes no sense. Though you will have to attend.”
    Ella’s heart stopped. “I will?”
    “Of course you will!” She spun back around and then gasped. “And you must wear one of your stepsisters’ dresses. That one simply will not do.”
    “I must?”
    “Yes! Do you think the queen would want the daughter of Alan Woodston to be dressed as a servant at