Another side of a story (in progress)
It is said that a story has as many sides as participants. Most are only ever told from one. From the perspective of the winner. The person who came out on top. Some are stories of their suffering and saver. Some depict them as the noblest of heroes. The others are bad people at best if not downright evil. Thing is nobody sees themselves as the villain few ever even consider what the others are going through or think about the events.
This is a different perspective on a classic fairy tale. This story has been told from the side of either the girl or the prince ( I expect that its the princes version) and that of the stepmother.
One might consider the step sisters' viewpoint.
This is the younger sister's story
Mother was cold. Detached and aloof. I never saw her smile or cry. I dont remember father well but I remember his funeral and I don't recall mother crying even then. She showed no emotion. Never hugged.
Mother was fastidious. She despised dirt. Everything, including my sister and I had to be spotless. Shoes had to shine without even the hint of a smudge. Clothing had to be meticulous without even a speck of dirt. She regularly inspected my sister and I to make sure that we met her standards.
Mother was demanding. She had very high expectations. We spent our days in lessons. Dance lessons, piano, voice, embroidery, and everything else that a fine lady must know to fit into society.
Mother was quick to punish. A pinch here, a slap there. Never on the facw or anyplace visible. But the slightest transgression would provoke her ire. The scowl was always present.
My sister took after my mother in disposition.
My sister had to be the best at everything. If I did anything even as well as she did she would make me suffer for it once we were alone.
My sister was pretty. She had hair like spun gold that took and held a curl easily. Her skin was pail and perfect. She was always neat, mostly because she hated the dirt as much as mother and refused to do anything strenuous. She was everything mother wanted in a daughter.
Me? I was everything mother did not want.
I was actually short, stocky and heavy. My mother would say fat, she kept me on a strict diet. My clothes always felt tight like they were too small. If I said something or they tore it was because I must be sneaking food and I went without dinner.
Yes I was sneaking food after everyone was asleep but it was the only time I was not hungry and I always cleaned up after.
I was clumsy, graceless and could not dance. I really didn't like to dance. I think a lot of it was do to my feet hurting all the time. The shoes mother made me wear were wat to tight and constantly pinched my toes. They were throbbing in 30 minutes.
Sure they did go numb eventually but it is hard to walk when you dont feal your feet.
To mother this was because my feet were too fat.
To make matters worse as far as anyone was concerned I had no skill or talent in anything. Truth was that I had to be noticeably worse then Dru. Her temper was a nightmare and she couldn't tolerate being out done. So, eventhough I was very good at sewing and embroidery I would make a mess of it. The added bonus was that I would often get dismissed as a result.
My worse sin however was that I liked animals of all sorts, the outdoors and being barefoot. I wasn't bothered by a little dirt on my clothes and longed to shred those fancy dresses, tose away the shoes and walk in the sunlight.
When we first saw Cindy she was a mess and her father was fine with it. It made me hope that things would change. He would temper mother and I would have a friend. A sister whom I could talk to.
Only he went on a trip where he died.
Mother relegated Cindy to chores and when I tried to help mother caught me. I had just finished cleaning the fireplace. Mother dumped the ashes everywhere and had Cindy clean it up while she cleaned me up with cold water and a scrub brush. Cindy thought that I did it to make things hard for her. So much for a friend.
When the invite for a ball came I knew that mother would never let Cindy go anymore then she would let me stay home. Mother really loaded the list of things Cindy had to finish first and even if she managed to finish how would she make or buy a dress. I decided to put my skills to work. I spent all of my alone time working on it. I used white and powder blue for the dress and did the embroidery in matching colors. I tatted white lace shoes and covered them in a clear resin that made them look like etched glass. The finished outfit was sublime.
The problem was getting her to accept them and then to the ball. A lady from the area helped. She delivered them and lent a carriage.
Cindy just had to get home before us with time too change.
The ball was filled with people of the upper classes (the rest couldn't afford to go) and there were all sorts of food and drink going around. Dru was enchanted and certain that the prince would dance with her. She was dreaming of a crown. Me, well the dance was just another pain filled event - until Cindy showed up in the dress and shoes I made. When everyone stopped to look I felt happy for once. When I heard them talking about how amazing the dress was my chest filled with pride even though I could never take credit for my work.
It was a truly magical night for both of us. Listening to everyone talk about my work. Asking if anyone knew the seamstress who made it. A lot of people wanted to hire them, hire me. It was my skill as well as Cindy's beauty that was talked about all night. Skills that I had to hide every day for fear of retribution. So even though nobody would ever know that I had created the dress and shoes I got that one evening of recognition. Well, my skill got that one night.
The rest is rather well known and accurate. I was not happy when mother smashed the one show but things worked out well enough in the end.
This is a different perspective on a classic fairy tale. This story has been told from the side of either the girl or the prince ( I expect that its the princes version) and that of the stepmother.
One might consider the step sisters' viewpoint.
This is the younger sister's story
Mother was cold. Detached and aloof. I never saw her smile or cry. I dont remember father well but I remember his funeral and I don't recall mother crying even then. She showed no emotion. Never hugged.
Mother was fastidious. She despised dirt. Everything, including my sister and I had to be spotless. Shoes had to shine without even the hint of a smudge. Clothing had to be meticulous without even a speck of dirt. She regularly inspected my sister and I to make sure that we met her standards.
Mother was demanding. She had very high expectations. We spent our days in lessons. Dance lessons, piano, voice, embroidery, and everything else that a fine lady must know to fit into society.
Mother was quick to punish. A pinch here, a slap there. Never on the facw or anyplace visible. But the slightest transgression would provoke her ire. The scowl was always present.
My sister took after my mother in disposition.
My sister had to be the best at everything. If I did anything even as well as she did she would make me suffer for it once we were alone.
My sister was pretty. She had hair like spun gold that took and held a curl easily. Her skin was pail and perfect. She was always neat, mostly because she hated the dirt as much as mother and refused to do anything strenuous. She was everything mother wanted in a daughter.
Me? I was everything mother did not want.
I was actually short, stocky and heavy. My mother would say fat, she kept me on a strict diet. My clothes always felt tight like they were too small. If I said something or they tore it was because I must be sneaking food and I went without dinner.
Yes I was sneaking food after everyone was asleep but it was the only time I was not hungry and I always cleaned up after.
I was clumsy, graceless and could not dance. I really didn't like to dance. I think a lot of it was do to my feet hurting all the time. The shoes mother made me wear were wat to tight and constantly pinched my toes. They were throbbing in 30 minutes.
Sure they did go numb eventually but it is hard to walk when you dont feal your feet.
To mother this was because my feet were too fat.
To make matters worse as far as anyone was concerned I had no skill or talent in anything. Truth was that I had to be noticeably worse then Dru. Her temper was a nightmare and she couldn't tolerate being out done. So, eventhough I was very good at sewing and embroidery I would make a mess of it. The added bonus was that I would often get dismissed as a result.
My worse sin however was that I liked animals of all sorts, the outdoors and being barefoot. I wasn't bothered by a little dirt on my clothes and longed to shred those fancy dresses, tose away the shoes and walk in the sunlight.
When we first saw Cindy she was a mess and her father was fine with it. It made me hope that things would change. He would temper mother and I would have a friend. A sister whom I could talk to.
Only he went on a trip where he died.
Mother relegated Cindy to chores and when I tried to help mother caught me. I had just finished cleaning the fireplace. Mother dumped the ashes everywhere and had Cindy clean it up while she cleaned me up with cold water and a scrub brush. Cindy thought that I did it to make things hard for her. So much for a friend.
When the invite for a ball came I knew that mother would never let Cindy go anymore then she would let me stay home. Mother really loaded the list of things Cindy had to finish first and even if she managed to finish how would she make or buy a dress. I decided to put my skills to work. I spent all of my alone time working on it. I used white and powder blue for the dress and did the embroidery in matching colors. I tatted white lace shoes and covered them in a clear resin that made them look like etched glass. The finished outfit was sublime.
The problem was getting her to accept them and then to the ball. A lady from the area helped. She delivered them and lent a carriage.
Cindy just had to get home before us with time too change.
The ball was filled with people of the upper classes (the rest couldn't afford to go) and there were all sorts of food and drink going around. Dru was enchanted and certain that the prince would dance with her. She was dreaming of a crown. Me, well the dance was just another pain filled event - until Cindy showed up in the dress and shoes I made. When everyone stopped to look I felt happy for once. When I heard them talking about how amazing the dress was my chest filled with pride even though I could never take credit for my work.
It was a truly magical night for both of us. Listening to everyone talk about my work. Asking if anyone knew the seamstress who made it. A lot of people wanted to hire them, hire me. It was my skill as well as Cindy's beauty that was talked about all night. Skills that I had to hide every day for fear of retribution. So even though nobody would ever know that I had created the dress and shoes I got that one evening of recognition. Well, my skill got that one night.
The rest is rather well known and accurate. I was not happy when mother smashed the one show but things worked out well enough in the end.