Esmerelda lived in the countryside of Austria in the middle of snowy mountains with her stepfamily. Her mother died when she was young. Esmerelda's father was concerned. He didn't know how to take care of his daughter so she could have such a good life. Esmerelda's father married a woman with two daughters who were only a little bit older than Esmerelda. Their names were Amber and Ruby.
Amber and Ruby grew up trying to compete with each other to be their mother, Crystal. Crystal was cruel. She never showed any emotions, but when she did - it was disappointment.
When the sisters found out another girl was being added to the mix, on who was beautiful, smart, and kind, they became irrationally jealous. Fighting for attention between the two of them was hard enough, they did not want her around.
The family moved in together in a large house - one fit for a family of ten. It was a gorgeous home with a spiraling staircase and checkered floors.
Within a year, Esmerelda was the unpaid maid. Her father was off working, sending money home in hopes that Crystal would take care of his daughter.
Everyday Esmerelda would wake up before the sun to make food was ready for the rest of her family would eat for breakfast. After the cooking, the cleaning started. The floors, the clothes, the dusting, and the rooms all had to be done before sundown. Esmerelda stopped attending school to take care of her new stepfamily.
While Esmerelda cooked and cleaned her life away, Amber and Ruby shopped with their new stepfather's money. They bought glamorous dresses and jewels to try and make their ugly personalities and looks seem better.
These shopping purchases turned out to be for the best when the family received a letter in the mail stating that all single girls were to attend Prince Jett's ball. He was to find a wife.
All the girls were over the moon - even Esmerelda! She thought this would be her time to shine and feel like the others. These dreams were shortly crushed when she was told she must do her regular cleanings, make Amber and Ruby's dresses and then make her home. Esmerelda knew this was not possible.
After finishing her tasks, she watched her sisters leave on a horse-drawn carriage. Esmerelda ran out to the garden and cried on the bench, longing to be a normal girl and experience this for her life. Suddenly, she heard the ringing of bells. She looked around, trying to find the noise. She stumbled upon a note saying:
"Check your closet, be back in five
Your carriage awaits, be ready to arrive!"
Esmerelda didn't know what this meant but she dropped her note and found herself anxiously running to her closet. To her surprise, she found a dress fit for a queen. It was long, emerald green, silk dress. The top made with lace and it fit her like a glove. A pair of glass slippers revealed themselves. Everything was made to fit her. She rushed back down and found a glass carriage. She sat down and found another note.
"Beware the witching hour, for things will change
Be home at midnight to remain the same."
Esmerelda slipped it into the pocket of her dress so she would not forget. When she arrived, the room stopped. The crowds parted as she walked through and everyone whispered about who she was. Prince Jett went to her immediately, asking for a dance.
They ended up dancing the night away, Prince Jett not leaving Esmerelda's side. Esmerelda looked at the time after one of the final songs and saw it was five 'til midnight. With a look of horror, she stuttered out an apology and began to run.
She ran down the steps of the castle and skipped her carriage to keep running home. On her way out, she didn't even realize she lost her shoe. On her run home, her clothes went from silk to rags, barely being able to hang on her body.
She made it home by the stroke of midnight, crying in her room while she looked at her rags. She fell in love with the prince but knew it could never be. She fell asleep in between sobs.
Esmerelda woke up at dawn, knowing she overslept. She leaped out of bed to do her daily duties. Everything was okay until the sisters came out, complaining about some girl in an emerald dress stole the show. Between complaints, the royal guards knocked on the door. The prince has put out a search for the girl that suddenly left the ball. Her shoe was found. All the women in the house were to try it on. Each sister tried it on but was denied because of their too big feet. Esmerelda came out at the right time. The guards demanded she tried it on. When it fit, they were shocked. They took her to the prince immediately.
After long arguments, the two were set to be married. They lived happily ever after.
Authors Note:
For this weeks story, I have been looking forward to writing a Cinderella story. I have read them every week they have been available just for fun, but this is the one that stood out to me the most. I did not anticipate how hard it would be to do under a thousand words. There were so many things I wanted to write but didn't the opportunity to because of the word limit. I never realized how long a Cinderella story could be. I loved Princess stories growing up so being able to write them has always been a lot of fun for me. For this, I am missing a lot of detail that I can see in my head that I just did not have the word space to do.
I based this particular story on the Cinder-Maid by Joseph Jacobs. This was one of my favorite Cinderella stories I have read in this class so far so this was the opportunity I wanted to take to write out what I wanted to read. Instead of the classic names, I decided to go with all jewel stones with a common theme. They still make it fairy tale like, but not too different than real life. Other than that, I hope you all enjoyed!
( Me pretending I am okay) 
