I T WAS THE DAY OF the ball, and I felt the butterflies going strong in my stomach, their wings beating against me and making me panic.
I hadn’t settled on a dress, had no idea how I was going to get there, and I had no invite… But I was determined. I would go to that dance, and after the clock struck midnight, I would rush to the bus stop for my late-night ride to a different city, where I would start a new life. The money Edna had given me, and my own savings would be enough to tide me over for a few weeks, and I would find a job as soon as possible and start making more.
My thoughts were filled with the magical Christmas ball as I scrubbed the fireplace down, soot settling everywhere on my skin. I was a mess, and I didn’t even want to think about getting the ashes off my body when I started to get ready for the dance. But there was one more obstacle I had barely thought about… and now she was standing right before me, impatiently tapping the heel of her shoe against the hardwood. I winced and looked up.
“Ella,” Martha said in a voice I knew meant trouble. “What are you doing?”
I got to my feet and winced at the expression on her face.
“Cleaning the fireplace, like you told me t-to,” I stuttered. “I’m almost done.”
“Are you crazy?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “What about my dress? It hasn’t been pressed yet, and you need to stretch out my shoes as well, you know they’re a size too small!”
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, my cheeks coloring as I averted my gaze. “I guess I got distracted.”
“That’s no excuse,” she insisted, grabbing my arm.
I resisted, but she wouldn’t let go, so I glared at her, saying, “So you are still going to the ball?”
“Why is that a question?” she laughed in my face. “Of course I’m going to the ball, you silly girl. I got an invitation, didn’t I?”
“I… I think…” I started, my words hanging in the air unspoken.
“You think what?” Martha’s eyes cut through me like daggers. “Well, speak up!”
“I think the in-invitation w-was meant for me,” I stammered. “I m-mean, Rafael said so when he w-was here.”
“Rafael?” Martha repeated, then pulled on my arm once again, more painfully this time around.
I gasped and let go of my dirty rag as she dragged me to the full-length mirror on the wall in the entryway.
“Look at yourself, Ella,” she said, making me look up. “What do you see when you look in the mirror?”
I raised my eyes fearfully to my own reflection.
The girl that stared back at me looked nothing like the old me before my dad passed away. The girl in the mirror had a different body—she’d grown up and blossomed into a woman. But she didn’t look happy. In fact, with the soot covering her hands and her downturned mouth, she looked miserable. The only sign of life was in her eyes. They sparkled with hopes and dreams, the ones her stepmother hadn’t trampled to death just yet.
“Me,” I replied simply, and she sighed.
“Exactly,” she exclaimed. “It’s you, Ella. And you really think a man like Mr. Goldwyn—don’t you dare call him Rafael—would invite you to his ball?”
She laughed and my stomach fell. I felt sick.
“Never, Ella,” she went on. “So why don’t you just accept that and move on? Time to get to work, isn’t it? My dress isn’t going to iron itself.”
“Yes, Martha,” I whispered, turning away from the mirror because I couldn’t face the tears in my eyes.
“Oh, what’s this?” she said awkwardly, and I looked up at her, the tears threatening to fall. “Don’t be sad, Ella. You will find someone who cares about you.”
“But not you, and not Raf… Mr. Goldwyn,” I added bitterly, and she gave me the fakest smile I’d seen in my life. “It’s okay. I will do what you asked.”
I moved away from her, her voice ringing in my ears as I took the stairs two at a time.
“I didn’t ask you Ella, it was an order!”
The hours passed slowly, and as time went on, I felt lower and lower.
I watched Martha get ready for the ball, putting on her over-the-top gown that was much too young for her, and a pair of staggeringly tall heels she could barely walk in. She completed the ensemble with a tiara that looked plastic and painfully cheap. She was a princess, she said, winking at me and saying she would soon be a queen.
I didn’t say anything, I knew better than that. One wrong word and I’d have a punishment hanging over my head.
I said goodbye to her at the door, watching her get in the limo she’d hired. It was a little pretentious, but once again, I kept my mouth shut and my eyes down, so she wouldn’t question anything.
The dream of going to the ball was well and truly over. And this thing between Rafael and me… obviously it was nothing. I was nothing but a momentary distraction to him, and once he’d gotten his fill, he’d forgotten all about me. What else was I expecting? The man could have any woman in the world, so why should he settle for little old me? I was inexperienced, and my looks couldn’t compare to the models he went out with. I looked like a child next to them.
Once I was left alone, I started packing my things.
I didn’t have a lot. Mostly everything had been taken away or lost in the move, according to my stepmother. But what little I had fit perfectly into a small backpack I’d had for years. I packed some clothes and a few things I couldn’t leave behind, like a small book of fairy tales my dad used to read to me from when I was a little girl. Once I was done, I looked around the house, feeling detached from my surroundings. I missed the house where I’d lived with my father, but I wouldn’t miss this one. Apart from Rafe’s visit, there were no good memories here, just dreams withering away. And even that memory was tainted now, ruined by my stepmother.
With a sigh, I checked the weight of my backpack. I was putting on my shoes, thinking I should leave early, when I heard a timid knock on the door.
I opened it wide to find Edna on the doorstep holding a big cardboard box.
“Hello,” I said with a big smile. “I was going to come and see you today, before…”
“The big ball?” she asked excitedly, stepping inside.
“Before I left,” I finished, and she furrowed her brows at me.
“Why aren’t you ready?” she asked. “I have the dress! I found the perfect one.”
She offered the cardboard box to me, and I smiled softly.
“I’m not going, Edna,” I said simply. “Martha will be there, and I can’t risk her seeing me. If she knew I was going against her rules, she’d punish me… I’d never be able to get away in time for my bus.”
“Oh, don’t be silly,” she replied. “I will make sure she doesn’t know you’re there, darling. And you’re going to have an amazing time before you leave. Please. Trust me.”
I looked into her kind eyes and sighed, my fingers trembling as I took the box from her.
“Please, Ella,” she repeated. “Trust me on this. I really want you to go, have fun. Just for me.”
“For you?” I grinned at her, and she returned the smile. “Okay, maybe just for you, because you are my best friend.”
“Yes!” She clapped her hands excitedly. “I cannot wait. Come here, let me help you get ready. We have to do your hair… your makeup… and try on the dress!”
I giggled as she led me upstairs. Her excitement was contagious, and not even a few minutes later, I found myself just as jittery and happy as she was. She had me sit down at the vanity in Martha’s room, and I fidgeted nervously as Edna got everything ready. She had my hair up in hot rollers and started applying makeup with an expert hand.
“I still have what it takes,” she grinned at me. “I learned how to do this years and years ago. I will make you look amazing, darling!”
She didn’t apply too much, nothing like showgirl makeup. But once she was done, my face was transformed—and… kind of sexy.
“Edna!” I said, raising a hand to my lips. “Wow, this is incredible. I can’t believe you can do makeup this well.”
“You think this is all natural?” she asked, pointing to her face, and we both giggled.
She did my hair next. Curled and teased and styled it, until it fell down my shoulders in beautiful, thick waves. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, hardly believing the girl was the same as the one downstairs.
Once she was done, Edna brought out the big cardboard box and clapped her hands with excitement, waiting for me to open it.
I undid the ribbon on top and dug through the layers of tissue paper until I brought out a dress.
Not just a dress… the dress.
It was a strapless gown, the top a gorgeous corset that went down into a tight skirt that flared out around the knees. It was a nude color, covered in incredible silver jewels and sequins that made it sparkle in the light like nothing else I’d seen before. It was truly a dress fit for a princess.
“Edna,” I whispered, completely taken aback. “I… I didn’t see this dress when we were going through your closet the other day.”
“No, you didn’t,” she said gently, coming to sit on the bed across from me. “I had it in the back of my closet, I forgot to bring it out. This is a very special dress, Ella…”
She smiled softly, and I could tell she was getting a little choked up.
“I wore this dress the night I fell in love,” she whispered, but then shook her head and gave me a bright smile as if nothing at all had happened. “Well, I would love to see it on you, darling.”
“Of course,” I nodded, giving her hand a little squeeze. “You’re okay, Edna? Promise?”
“I’m fine,” she waved me off. “Now try it on, we don’t have a lot of time left!”
I took the dress to the bathroom and struggled to get it on, unable to do the corset up at the back. I walked out worried, holding up the dress, and Edna gasped when she saw it.
“I know,” I sighed. “The back just won’t do up properly…”
“Ella,” she interrupted. “Look at yourself, darling. Look in the mirror.”
I stepped in front of the vanity and glanced at my reflection, but the moment my eyes connected with the glass, I couldn’t tear them away.
“Oh…” I whispered, touching the front of the dress with my left hand while the right one held up the front. “It’s so stunning…”
The dress was incredible, but what shocked me more was that I looked amazing in it.
It wasn’t like it suddenly transformed me into a wily temptress, but suddenly my youth and innocence had a new appeal I’d never seen before. The dress accentuated my finally visible curves, and hugged me in all the right places. My boobs were pressed up so seductively it almost looked too much, but because the dress was such a modest length, it looked perfect. Combined with the hair and makeup, I looked like the best version of myself there was.
Edna stepped up behind me and fastened a feather mask around my eyes. It was dark blue, stitched with beautiful silver thread that sparkled in the light. I was barely recognizable.
I looked like a real princess.
“Like a princess,” Edna whispered as if she’d read my thoughts. “Ella, you look so beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said with a thankful smile. “I love it. I really do.”
She helped me do up the back, and gave me a pair of beautiful crystal heels to go with the dress.
“I don’t know how to walk in those,” I said when she held them up for me.
“Oh, that’s easy,” she grinned. “Take small steps, arch those legs and sway your hips!”
She paraded around the room and I followed suit, which ended with both of us in stitches. I laughed for so long my eyes teared up, but when I stopped, I couldn’t stop them.
“Oh no, sweetheart!” Edna said, waving her hands in my eyes to stop me from crying. “Don’t cry! You’ll mess up your makeup!”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I’ll miss you so much when I leave, Edna. So much. You’re the only friend I have.”
She gave me a sympathetic look, but it didn’t look like she understood completely. There were still a sparkle in her eyes, and she looked mischievous. Maybe she wasn’t convinced I was actually going to leave… But I’d bought the bus ticket already, and they weren’t refundable, either.
“Don’t you worry your pretty head,” she winked at me. “You’re going to be just fine.”
She took my hand and led me outside, and I was surprised to find her little tricks for walking in heels worked perfectly. We got to the lawn, and Edna pointed to her car parked in the front.
“What?” I asked her, then giggled. “Is that my ride?”
“You know how to drive, no?” she asked. “Figured it was about time you tried again.”
I hadn’t driven since my dad passed away. Martha never let me use our car, but Edna’s adorable VW Beetle was calling my name.
“Are you sure?” I asked her, and she beamed at me.
“More than sure,” she nodded. “Now, off you go!”
I headed towards the car, holding up my dress as I went. Edna called out to me, “Don’t forget to be home at midnight!”
I giggled and waved her off, getting inside the car. It was a stick shift, but Dad had taught me how to drive one.
“Wait!”
Edna ran up to me, and kissed my cheek, grabbing a little pot out of her bag and blowing silver glitter all over my hair. I coughed and laughed as it went all over me.
“A little fairy dust,” she grinned at me, winking. “For good luck, princess.”