No Happily Ever After (The Fairytale Diaries #1)

by Amanda Gatton

  Cash cows. That's how Mrs. Dark referred to the stream of charges that moved in and out of her home.

  Ella was one of the few who lasted more than a couple months. She was a "lifer." Only a little over a year remained until her eighteenth birthday and she'd been with the Dark's for three years. Because she was quiet, docile and compliant, the Dark's allowed her to stay and expected she'd finish her under age years there.

  She really didn't know why she never ratted her caretakers out to the authorities. The veritable slave labor enforced to earn her keep. Her accommodations were shabby at best. She slept in a tiny room off the kitchen that was barely bigger than a pantry. She slept on a small cot with nothing but a thread bare sheet to warm her, which rested on a cold stone floor. Fighting the layer of soot that always migrated in from the kitchen's huge fireplace was a never ending battle. They kept her there to rise early to do chores and prepare breakfast for the Dark's without rousing them from their comfortable warm beds. But when social workers came to call, Thelma claimed that Ella slept in one of the many extra bedrooms upstairs.

  The amount of household chores they piled on her was insurmountable and often interfered with her ability to keep up with school work. And she could forget about after school activities or a social life. As a result, she often made failing grades. Though Ella was quite beautiful with her delicate features, long blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and slender shape, she was often perceived as a pretty face and nothing more. "That Ella is so pretty and nice," her classmates would whisper. "But she's a bimbo." They assumed her stupid, because if she ever passed a class, it was just barely.

  And any time the Dark's sensed any sort of defiance on Ella's part, that's when she was beaten. Or starved. Or tormented in one way or another. So she'd learned long ago to always stay in line.

  She supposed she never told because she feared nobody would believe her. Other foster kids never stayed long, and Ella never attempted to befriend them. Most of the kids sent to stay in the Dark home were already broken or damaged in some way, and they didn't want to strike up any friendships. The rare few that Ella meant who did make nice, she diligently ignored for their own safety. She felt that if she made friends with any of the other foster kids, that they would be in greater danger. She simply left them all alone, because as soon as they'd begin to realize how awful the Dark's could be, Thelma sent them packing before they had a chance to complain. And Ella was left behind with no one who could corroborate any tale she contemplated revealing.

  Honestly, she wished somebody in Faraway would just notice.

  After all, Ella was a fairly popular girl at school. Despite the fact that she never attended dances, social events, or invited friends over… Despite the fact people didn't perceive her as too academically bright… They liked her. So it always amazed her that nobody ever noticed the bruises. The gaunt cheeks, or dark circles under her eyes. The shadows of cinders accumulated in her clothes and hair. She didn't want to have to cry out for help. She just wanted to be rescued. Maybe by an observant teacher. Or a stalwart police officer. Or, in her most sad and lonely imaginings, it was a handsome prince who came to her aid.

  When Ella and the Dark sisters began their junior year at Faraway Senior High, the situation that had remained relatively dormant for some time, once again became volatile.

  For one thing, Ella became more popular than ever among their classmates. She flourished into perhaps the most gorgeous girl in school and boys fell at her feet. Meanwhile, Brittany Dark grew tall, gangly, excessively thin, with very bad acne. And Lexi grew progressively more obese, wearing a perpetually hateful facial expression with what appeared to be only one bushy frowning eyebrow. Ella was invited to more and more social gatherings which she could never attend, while the Dark sisters were passed over time and time again.

  At home they were in a particularly slow stretch and Ella was the only foster child at the time. This left her open to abuse from all the Dark women. The twins invented infractions to punish Ella for. Even when it was absolutely clear they were lying, Thelma supported them explicitly. She would sometimes go for days with food being withheld. Or a backhand would come from nowhere and send her reeling. Any homework she attempted to do, they'd destroy before she could return it to school. If they let her shower, it was only with cold water.

  And with all of this, threats accompanied if she dared breathe a word of her home life to a single living soul.

  But in November, everything changed.

  Ella was upstairs putting away their laundry when she heard the front door open and Thelma Dark's sugary sweet voice, the tone she reserved for social workers. Ella's ears perked up. Somehow she hadn't lost hope that an outsider could come to rescue her. She heard Thelma chatting enthusiastically with the social worker for a few minutes. And then she heard another voice. A male voice that sounded like honey tastes.

  He said only a brief hello and introduced himself as Nicholas Monarch. But just a few words from that voice were enough to completely mesmerize her. The stack of Lexi's laundry she carried slipped from her hands and scattered on the floor. She drifted into the hallway and then crept quietly down half of the staircase. She crouched down to remain hidden by a wall and peeked just barely through the bars of the banister. She had a limited view into the parlor.

  Nicholas Monarch towered over Thelma and the social worker. He stood straight, somehow managing to look both regal and at ease. He had a flawless face with twinkling blue eyes. And when he smiled, a dimple appeared, and pearly white teeth were revealed. His thick brown hair was neatly trimmed and his clothing too, appeared tidily tailored. He looked like any number or all American boys, yet something about him and his way set him far above the rest.

  Brittany and Lexi buzzed around him while Thelma and the social worker chatted. They fawned and mooned obviously over him. He couldn't get a word in edgewise for all their chatter. He smiled awkwardly, obviously flustered by the Dark twins' intense level of attention.

  She hated to pull her eyes off the handsome boy. But she didn't wish to be caught eavesdropping. So she slipped back upstairs.

  Consumed with thoughts of Nicholas Monarch, she didn't even notice what a poor job she did on her chores. Nor did she care just then, what the consequences might be.

  Chapter 10

  Nicholas was placed at the head of the dinner table, opposite Thelma, as though he were some sort of royal guest. Nobody bothered to introduce him to Ella as she served them all dinner and then took a seat herself. But he watched her intently while the Dark women prattled incessantly. Luckily they didn't seem to notice he was ignoring them in favor of staring at Ella. And the feel of his eyes on her made her shiver deliciously.

  Ella sat quietly, picking at her food. She wouldn't look directly at him, but she kept his every move in her peripheral vision.

  Finally when there was a miniscule lull in the chatter, he spoke.

  "Hello, I'm Nicholas Monarch," he said cordially, extending a hand across the table toward Ella. "And you are?"

  All three of the Dark ladies' heads swiveled toward Ella. They each wore disgusted expressions and glared open mouthed at her. His blatant departure from their conversing suddenly made them get it. He didn't care at all about what they had to say. Ella's heart sped up as she looked from Dark to Dark to Dark.

  Finally she met his eyes and shook his hand quickly. "I'm Ella Cinder," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She didn't foresee it being a problem often, but just that moment, she wished he'd stop staring at her.

  Instead, he gave her a smile so warm, it melted her heart. "Nice to meet you, Ella Cinder."

  All she gave him was a quick smile and blazing red cheeks. Then she dropped her eyes to her plate. The uncomfortable silence remained, and she knew that the Dark women still stared at her. But after a few excruciating moments, they resumed their useless chatter.

  After everyone had finished eating, Ella rose to begin clearing the dinner dishes. Nicholas leapt up too, and began reaching fo
r plates. His nice manners provoked uproarious laughter from Brittany and Lexi.

  "Oh, sit down Nicholas!" Brittany cried.

  "Let Ella get it," Lexi agreed.

  He caught Ella's eye once more, but she quickly looked away.

  "Oh that's OK," Nicholas replied politely. "I'm perfectly capable of helping."

  Ella's cheeks reddened again and she rushed to grab everything before he could.

  Brittany and Lexi stood, both of their expressions darkening. "No really," Brittany said, her voice taking a snide tone. "Let Ella do it."

  Nicholas straightened his shoulders rigidly and his polite smile dissipated. "Does Ella live here, or is she a paid servant?" His tone was icy and he sarcastically emphasized the word "paid."

  Because of course he knew, she wasn't.

  "Mother!" Lexi whined shrilly at Thelma.

  Thelma studied Ella with a shadowy frowning face. Then she flicked her wrist at Lexi. "We will all clear and clean our own mess," she said, leveling a cool gaze on her daughters.

  But instead, Brittany and Lexi shrieked their protest and stormed from the room. Thelma withered Ella for a few fleeting seconds with an evil look, and then took her leave as well.

  ***

  "So what's your story?" Nicholas asked, as they resumed cleaning the kitchen.

  Ella knew she shouldn’t talk to him. It wasn't worth the fall out it would cause. The twins obviously craved his attention and Thelma never wanted her to have a friend. Talking to him could only lead to horrible things. But… She found him irresistible.

  "I, um… My mother was sick for a long time and passed away when I was eight. My dad, he… He just… He couldn't face life without her," she murmured. She didn't go on to reveal that he'd killed himself, but that truth was evident behind the emotion in her voice.

  Nicholas' face was full of compassion. He caressed her face and she flinched. "How long have you been here?" he asked, retracting his hand.

  She swallowed a forming lump in her throat. "Three years," she said solemnly. She gazed up into his eyes. He seemed so strong and courageous. A tiny blossom of hope began to open within her. Maybe he could protect her. Maybe he could take her out of this place.

  "These three are a real piece of work, aren't they?" he asked.

  She smiled slightly. How she wanted to tell him just how awful they truly were. But it was hard to tell where any of them might be hiding. It was likely they were all three eavesdropping nearby. She elected not to say anything bad about them; he would see for himself.

  Once the dishes were done, they sat back down at the table to talk. She learned he was from California. His parents had perished in a car accident some years back. He'd been surfing foster homes ever since. Like her, never finding a family who would adopt him. He was a few months older than she and his eighteenth birthday drew close. For some reason, that thought thrilled her.

  Her hope blossom grew just a little bigger.

  ***

  In a way his presence did seem to protect her. They did not physically assault her, as she normally would have expected. They piled chores on her. If he wasn't in earshot, they said vile things to her. But for once, the Dark women kept their hands to themselves.

  However, they found a way to get to Nicholas that Ella never saw coming.

  Instead of harming Ella because Nicholas chose her affection in favor of either of theirs, Brittany and Lexi began harming themselves. Never in a million years would Ella have foreseen the narcissistic sociopaths self-harm for any reason. But she became aware something was going on when she found a significant amount of blood on the bathroom floor the morning after Nicholas' first night.

  Ella gave a small startled cry that morning at the gruesome looking pool on the worn linoleum. The rest of the household had not yet risen, so she got hold of herself and simply cleaned up the blood.

  Soon Brittany called out for Ella to bring breakfast to her in bed. Which Ella did. As soon as Ella entered, Brittany raised her arms to languish in a morning stretch, and Ella saw them.

  An ugly raw network of intersecting gashes up and down the inside of her left arm.

  Ella gasped sharply and rushed forward to closer examine Brittany's wounds. "Brittany, what did you do?"

  Brittany smiled broadly, making no move to hide the cuts. "Oh, nothing," she said, sounding as though she were in a delightful mood. She climbed out of bed and snatched the tarts Ella had brought for her. "You'll need to clean that up," she barked, nodding toward the bed. She grinned devilishly and strutted out of the room.

  Ella looked down to find Brittany's bed sheets soaked with blood.

  ***

  She thought about Brittany's cuts all day.

  Ella had known other people at school who cut. They didn’t laugh about their wounds. They didn't show them off like prizes or leave their bloody mess for others to clean up. The cutters she'd known weren't proud of it nor did they treat their cuts like a fun little game. Why had Brittany done it?

  At lunch that first day, Ella sat with Nicholas. She could feel the beady eyes of the Dark twins watching from across the cafeteria, but she did her best to ignore them. After she introduced Nicholas to all her friends at the lunch table, she leaned close to his ear.

  "This morning I found blood in the bathroom. Then, I saw some nasty cuts on Brittany's arms."

  He looked at her with wide eyes. "Wow. Really? She didn’t strike me as the type to cut."

  "She's not," Ella said.

  "Well, I wonder why she did it?" he said, a sad look of concern passing over his face.

  And then it became clear to Ella. The Dark girls couldn't win his affections with charming personalities or womanly wiles, for they possessed none of that. Instead, Brittany would attempt to sway his favor in her direction using pity.

  Ella sighed. She wondered just what Lexi had in store.

  ***

  The Dark women had never been as cruel to Ella as they were from that day forward.

  Despite their best efforts, Nicholas made it abundantly clear he wanted nothing to do with Brittany and Lexi. And, he made every effort to shower Ella with his affections. So of course, the twins were enraged. And when the twins were unhappy, Thelma was practically crazy with her fury.

  In the late, secret hours of the night, Ella plead with Nicholas that he must leave her alone. That he must not anger the Darks.

  "Please, Nicholas, please," Ella begged. "If you make them angry, I will pay the price!"

  Nicholas swept her into his arms and gave her a dark burning gaze. "No one will ever hurt you, Ella. Never again."

  Tears welled in her eyes. "Oh Nicholas, if you try to protect me, they'll just send you away! Don't you see?"

  He shook his head. "No Ella. That won't happen. Or at least, I won't be leaving without you." He delicately kissed her forehead. "Shhh… I promise, Ella. I promise."

  Chapter 11

  Their incidents of self-mutilation became more and more disturbing. Having only just met the Dark twins, Nicholas couldn't help feeling concerned and alarmed. Whenever another event was staged for his benefit, he responded with compassionate lectures, calling them beautiful creatures who deserved self-respect.

  Lexi began by wearing a corset. Brittany pulled the laces so tight Ella thought surely that Lexi's bones would break. Meanwhile, fresh cuts appeared all over Brittany and the older wounds crusted, bruised, and scarred.

  Then Lexi began binging and purging. She made a huge production of making herself ill, complete with shrieking sobs and wallowing on the bathroom floor. Again, her antics were completely unlike any person who genuinely suffered from such and affliction.

  And Brittany quickly escalated to slamming her appendages in doors. She could often be found with bruised, swollen fingers and toes, limping and wincing painfully.

  "Why? Why do you do these things?" Nicholas would plead woefully.

  "Because I hate myself!" one or the other of the twins would wail. And then he'd soothe and comfort them.

&
nbsp; Through it all, Ella looked on in a constant state of worry, wondering where it would all lead. They had to know he would never love either of them. Even if he didn't love Ella, he would never love them. He was a compassionate soul. But he knew ugliness when he saw it.

  Late one night as Christmas approached, Nicholas stole into her room after the others went to sleep, as he often did. They left the door slightly ajar to let in some heat from the fireplace. He sat next to her on her bed.

  "What is their deal?" he asked.

  Ella shrugged. "Who knows? They never acted like this before you came here, Nicholas."

  He frowned. "I feel terrible. Like it's my fault, or something."

  Ella felt sad and kissed his cheek. "It's not your fault. I know it's hard. But maybe if you don't give them so much attention for it, they'll stop."

  "But Ella! I feel terrible! I think they need help! Why doesn't their mother get them help?"

  Ella groaned and anger sparked within her. "I don't know. Because she's nuts too! There is no help for those three. They're awful. I'm just trying to make it to my eighteenth birthday then I'm out!"

  Nicholas stood to approach her, as she'd stalked across the room to lean against the wall and stare out the window. He pulled her into his arms. "OK. I'm sorry. I know you're right." He kissed her temple and her rigid body relaxed against him. "Hey, Ella? Would you go to the winter formal with me?"

  Ella gasped and drew away from him. Her cheeks colored prettily. "Oh Nicholas! I'd love to! But you know I can't. They never let me go anywhere."

  Nicholas smirked. "Well, don't ask. We'll just do it."

  She began to tremble. The prospect of defying them in this way, to go to the dance at all, let alone with Nicholas… It terrified her. Yet, at the same time, it excited her to think of an evening spent dancing in his arms.

  "But… How would we get there? And… And… What would we wear? Oh I don't know, Nicholas…"

  He cupped her face in his hands. "Shhh… Settle down, princess," he teased. "Somebody from school will pick us up, I'm sure. And as for what to wear, well let's be creative!"