Roses and Black Glass: a dark Cinderella tale

by Lenore, Lani

  “A strange woman came to the house tonight in the storm. She seemed to know me, but I don’t recognize her at all. If she knew me from when I was young, then I suppose I simply wouldn’t remember, but she seems so knowing. It’s as if she’s here to fix things – though I can’t imagine how. She’s only been given two days lodging. In my opinion, that’s just another mouth to feed for two days.”

  Cindy shook her head, sniffling a bit through the chill of the air.

  “I thought about him again,” the girl admitted quietly with a sigh. “I’m wrong for it, I know, and I’m sure it’s because he’s the only young man I’ve ever met - because Isabella and Charlotte bring him up constantly. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.”

  The wind picked up then, blowing strands of her hair from one shoulder to the other. It seemed to be getting stormy again. Perhaps it was best to go back inside.

  “Cindy?”

  The sound of her whispered name caught her by surprise. The wind brought the young man’s voice to her ears, and she looked back behind her through the fog, expecting to find someone there. Only one person came to her mind as to whom the voice might have belonged to, but she knew it was only wishful thinking.

  “Christian?” she whispered back anyway, listening to her voice drift away from her and back toward the house.

  There was no one there.

  5

  Within her room, Isabella had fallen asleep. No one came to awaken her that night.

  Chapter Five

  1

  Cindy lifted her head from the flattened pillow. There were no drapes across her windows in order for her to see the first rays of light from the sun that told her it was time to rise. On this morning, she lifted her head to see that it was daylight, yet it was on into the morning. Nine o’clock, she guessed, which was much later than her normal waking hour.

  Shooting up from the bed in shock for her lateness, she wondered why she had not awoken. She hated herself for fearing punishment, but she had acknowledged long ago that she was beaten down by her new family. She’d once forgotten to empty the apple bin, where the fruit had rotted and produced a horrible stench. Anna had slapped her and pressed a hot poker to her thigh to make her remember her lesson. Cindy had tried to run away after that, but she’d been caught. Considered as a fleeing child by those who had caught her and did not know her, they took her home where she had been locked in her room for two weeks. She’d been trained after that. The girl had behaved herself.

  But now she feared what would happen to her since she was rising so late. She’d never risen late.

  Looking towards the window, her eyes fell upon a large shadow in the way of the sun. There had been drapes across the window this morning, now drawn apart to let the light in. What? Had someone not wanted her to awaken?

  “Hello, Cinderella,” came a voice from the side. “My, what a heavy sleeper she is, isn’t she, Charlotte?”

  Turning her flustered head, Cindy looked towards the door to see Isabella and Charlotte both standing there with their hair pulled up neatly and their forms dressed in cloaks.

  “What are you two doing?” she asked, wondering why on earth they were in her room. Normally, they took care to pretend it didn’t exist.

  “Today is the day,” Isabella said. “We are going out of town to pick up our dresses for the Charming party.”

  “Yes,” agreed Charlotte, “and since you are getting such an early start, there will be no minute for you to waste today.”

  “Correct,” Isabella confirmed.

  Looking at Isabella’s face, Cindy saw something different about the young woman. She seemed so much harsher than usual, as if something hadn’t gone quite right with her. Cindy didn’t know what it was. She didn’t care.

  “We are about to leave,” Isabella said with an expressionless look, “but before we do, we wanted to inform you of your duties.”

  “I know my duties,” Cindy assured them flatly. What were they up to?

  “There is a large sack of beans in the kitchen,” said Isabella, ignoring the servant girl.

  “Fifty pounds,” Charlotte chimed in.

  “You are to go through the entire bag and sort the bad beans from the good. We don’t want to see any dirt, or pebbles, or anything of that sort either. Plus your usual duties. When we get home, you are to help us dress for tonight. Then you will go back to what you didn’t finish,” explained Isabella.

  “And we want our shoes shined,” added Charlotte.

  “Yes. Also, you will be responsible for the house guest. If anything comes up missing, you will take the blame.”

  Cindy thought for a moment about all of this, scowling. Of course, she was not falling for it.

  “And all of this is meaningless busy-work so that I will have time for nothing else today. Do you two think that I could honestly get out of the house to go to that party? Is that what you’re afraid of?”

  The sisters said nothing to this, but looked down at her with coldness.

  “We must insist that you not step foot outside this house,” said Isabella.

  Cindy shook her head. She didn’t understand the ridiculousness of this.

  “Isabella and I were talking,” began Charlotte, “and we see that you might be a slight threat to the goings on tonight. Nothing can go wrong tonight, Cindy. Everything must be perfect.”

  Cindy shook her head in disbelief. The jealousy of these two girls was astounding to her! It wasn’t as though she had said very many words to the object of their lust in all her life! She had only once spoken with him and that was three years ago! Their behavior was insane.

  “You should begin your duties,” said Isabella. “We will be back later and you will stop your work to help us get dressed.”

  “And make sure all of our jewels are ready for the choosing when we return,” said Charlotte. “We don’t want to waste any time.”

  Without any other words, the girls turned and left the room, closing the door behind them. Cindy simply sat there in anger and confusion. She was thankful that after tonight, it would finally be over. Whoever Christian chose was up to him. If it was indeed one of her sisters, she had no idea what was to happen to her, but she wasn’t worried. She couldn't care less. She might as well welcome even death.

  She sighed deeply and looked over to Augustus who sat in his cage, getting older by the day. The rat looked at her knowingly.

  “Sorting through beans…” Cindy muttered disgustedly. “Of all the pathetic things they could make me do.”

  Augustus just looked on at her.

  “I know you’d help me if you could,” she assured him and then pulled herself from the bed.

  They had all gone through so much trouble to keep her here today. Perhaps she could be lucky enough to find a way to disappoint them.

  2

  Cindy got herself dressed and carried out some of her other chores before crouching on the floor of the kitchen. She emptied a small amount of beans in front of her to sort through. What she would do with them when she was done, she didn’t know, but she wasn’t worried about that for the time being. They would never eat them if she cooked them all now.

  I would never have had to do this back when I was a real girl with a real father.

  She had no business at that party. Why would her sisters even think that she could go? She had nothing to wear. She had no fine jewelry to put on. Her mind was distraught. It was not as though she even wanted to go. How would it be possible for her to waltz in as the most gorgeous girl there, divert Christian’s attention and steal his heart with a glance? She would surely not even get two words with the man – if any at all. It would be pointless to show up even if she could.

  She vowed not to think about it.

  She scooped up one of the darker beans and tossed it into the fireplace nearby. Her step-family had long since left and would possibly be back soon; she couldn’t be sure. Then she would have the honor of dressing them – lacing them into their corsets and fluffing
their petticoats as they swooned over themselves – and the whole time they would ignore her. She continued to wonder throughout her day what Christian really thought of them, and if he really intended on marrying either one. He spent time with them, it was true, but were they really in his favor?

  Stop thinking about him.

  Cindy took a deep breath to stop these thoughts that she was not supposed to have. It did not suit her to think about Christian now. Though she ignored the possibility of any feelings for him within herself, it still troubled her as to what his fate might be. Finally, she made the decision to dismiss all thoughts, wondering greatly what she would do later to pass the creeping hours that her sisters were away. These beans would not keep her amusement long.

  Hearing a sound on the stair behind her, Cindy didn’t bother to turn. It was no doubt, the guest, Amanda – That was her name, wasn’t it? If it was not, the intruder could have whatever they wanted with her. She cared not.

  “There you are, Cindy,” said Amanda, stepping into the kitchen as the hazy day lingered outside the windows.

  “Hello, Miss Jefferson,” the girl said flatly without looking up.

  The strange woman with the black eyes approached and leaned against the edge of the table, peering down at Cindy’s work.

  “Beans,” she stated in a laughing way, admiring the chore.

  “They could have picked something less obvious,” said Cindy, still not bothering to look up. “They hardly ever eat beans.”

  Amanda laughed lightly and walked closer to Cindy. The girl on the floor wondered what this woman had to say to her. Apparently there was something, or else she wouldn’t be lingering.

  “Look at me,” the woman instructed finally.

  Cindy looked up slowly, staring out with empty eyes. Slowly, a smile crossed the woman's face.

  “You have the look of your mother, Cindy,” she said.

  Cindy continued to stare back, becoming curious as to who this woman was and knowing that she wanted to be asked.

  “You call me by name as though you know me,” said Cindy finally. “Do you actually know who I am?”

  “I have seen you,” said the woman. “Yet it has been years. I’ve only last seen you when you were very small. I have come on the request of your father and mother.”

  What sort of game was this? Why would this woman say such a thing? The very thought made her angry.

  “My parents are dead,” Cindy said without emotion, looking back to the beans.

  “Yes,” said Amanda. “That is not the point now. I have come from far away to honor your father’s request. Some years ago, your father asked me to aid him, and become the godmother to his child.”

  The girl was very surprised to hear this. She could not help but disregard the beans completely.

  “And that is why you’re here? Will you try to take me away?” Cindy asked in disbelief. She felt hopeful for a moment, but then all that faded. She found reality again. “I think that will be quite impossible.”

  “That is not why I’m here,” the woman told her, “but you don’t believe that it is possible for you to leave this place?”

  “Nothing is possible for a mere servant with no family or money of her own,” Cindy muttered, tossing a few more rotten beans into the fire.

  Amanda looked on in curiosity, ignoring the girl’s pessimistic attitude. After scanning the room, she got the perfect idea.

  “Would you have me help you sort the beans, Cindy?” she asked.

  Cindy looked up in disbelief. Why would this woman want to do that? She shook her head.

  “You are the guest, ma’am. I couldn’t ask that of you.”

  “Don’t be silly!” Amanda insisted. “It will be no trouble at all! We will have you done in no time.”

  Cindy let her eyes trail back down to the beans scattered across the floor. She had not even worked through half of a pound. The woman’s help would not amount to much on this job.

  Amanda took off her cloak and laid it across the back of a chair.

  “Spread all the beans across the floor,” she instructed. “Spread them past the table.”

  “You have some strange bean-spreading-technique that I have no idea about?” Cindy asked skeptically.

  “I would simply ask that you trust me,” Amanda said.

  Cindy didn’t understand how this would make anything except a mess, but nonetheless tipped over the bag and let a few of the beans roll across the floor of their own will. After she had watched the mess settle itself, she turned back to the woman, who was watching closely. She nodded with a short smile.

  “That’s correct,” Amanda said. “Keep going. Empty the bag.”

  With a roll of her dark eyes, Cindy continued. “I hope you know what you’re asking for,” she muttered.

  The girl continued on and spread the beans as the woman had said, working the brown mass past the table and underneath it as well. The floor had recently been swept, but dust and dirt gathered quickly in this house. Cindy greatly hoped that this was not the only part to the woman’s plan.

  “Would you kindly open the window now, dear?” asked Amanda. “I’d like some fresh air.”

  Cindy could not believe her ears. “But the air is hazy. Rain will come soon. Are you certain?”

  “I’ve made a request. Is this how you treat all your guests?” Amanda asked laughingly.

  Cindy nodded in defeat and carefully got up to approach the window.

  “We get so few guests into this house,” said the girl, unlatching the window.

  “Why is that?” asked Amanda, rolling up her long sleeves.

  The girl turned back slowly.

  “And you say you knew my father – and my mother?” Cindy asked skeptically with narrowed eyes.

  The woman laughed again, the sound like light bells. “It has been years since I’ve been here,” she said. “Tell me why you have no guests.”

  Slowly, Cindy let down her defenses and began to speak as she pushed open the shutters of the large window.

  “Father became a mortician when I was five. That’s why no one would come to the house.”

  “I see,” said Amanda, taking in the knowledge that she may have already known. “What then?”

  “Five years later, my mother died, and he was left with me,” Cindy continued. “It was only he and I for a year – the best year of my life without my mother – then he became lonely. He thought I needed a mother, so he married Anna.”

  “A noble, yet foolish decision, I see.”

  “Yes,” said Cindy stopping a moment in thought before speaking. “You knew my mother as well?”

  Amanda nodded. “Yes. She was a lovely woman. Your father married her and soon after they moved away and came here. Before you were born, he asked me to be your godmother.”

  “I see,” said Cindy, casting her eyes down a moment. They fell across the floor spread with beans. “I suppose we should get started.”

  “Of course. Step away.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Cindy asked with a shake of her head.

  “Just step back against the wall a moment. Then we will begin,” Amanda promised.

  Cindy was hesitant about this. What was this strange woman asking her to do? Skeptical, though curious, Cindy consented to step closer to the wall, without directly hugging it. Amanda smiled at her uncertainty.

  The woman turned to face the window, looking out over the open ground. A fog hung in the air on this gloomy day, shielding the sun. This appeared to be no problem to the black-eyed woman, who stood without diversion in the room’s center.

  Cindy watched for a moment, wondered what she was doing. She had a ritual to perform before she sorted beans? It was a tradition of hers to take in fresh air from the window before doing a task? It made no sense to Cindy.

  She was almost ready to protest this entire action, but then something caught her ears. As she listened, the sound began to get louder. She let her eyes trail to the window. The sound was at first nothing more
than a light fluttering sound, but it was now developing into a menacing hum.

  Cindy directed her eyes back to Amanda, who stood with her hands together in front of her, eyes closed. The woman moved her mouth in a strange way, mumbling something that Cindy couldn’t hear. The girl wished to step away from the wall to peer out at the disturbance, but her legs were locked by fear. The humming became louder and louder until a strange wind began to blow through the window, tossing Cindy’ hair. She would have cried for the woman to stop were it not for her interest, yet her fear kept her in place.

  Soon, she heard the screeching as well. The calls ripped through the air, reaching the her ears. As she watched, she saw a small black object drift into the house by way of the slowly growing wind. She finally recognized the object as a black feather which took its time, drifting leisurely to the floor.

  As soon as the feather landed softly on the floorboards, a gust blew into Cindy’s eyes and no less than one hundred ravens burst through the kitchen window, lighting upon the floor as Cindy’s hair and dress were tossed by the air of their fluttering wings. The ravens called out unyieldingly, filling the house with their voices.

  Not sure what to think, Cindy stared at the birds, her knees locked. What was going on here? What sort of witchcraft was this? Looking on in shock, the birds began scratching at the ground, eating the beans she had worked so hard to spread.

  “No!” she shouted. “Make them stop!”

  Amanda simply looked around as some of the birds lit upon her. The birds would not stay on the ground, but sat a moment and then hopped up to fly around the room before they would land again.

  Cindy was beginning to wonder how she might drive them away, but after only a few minutes passed, the birds all removed themselves from the floor and began to flood back out the window. As soon as the last birds left, Cindy shot to the open panes, leaning out and looking to where the flock was headed back to. Strangely, the hundred ravens which had formed a black peppery cloud were nowhere to be seen.

  Cindy turned abruptly and angrily towards the woman who stood there in the middle of the floor. Amanda simply looked at her with a smile of innocence.