Cinderella
Ella stood outside her stepmother's room, listening to the creak of a bed frame and the slap of skin against skin, accompanied by the occasional shout or moan from her stepmother or the gentleman with her. She tried to cover her ears so she wouldn't have to listen, but it was no use, they were very loud.
Ella didn't like standing the bedroom listening to its inhabitants' fuck, but she had to stand there and wait for her stepmother to finish so she could bring them their breakfasts. She knew if she walked away and they found that Ella had returned their breakfast tray to the kitchen, her stepmother would have her whipped. Her poor bottom was still sore from her last beating; she didn't want another one while she was still so tender.
Ella had not been born a servant, no, she was supposed to be the lady of this fine manor house, but when her beloved father died, the will that he had drafted had disappeared, and all of his possessions were passed to his widow. This left his one true daughter, Ella, under the care of the cruel Lady Maude, who had forced Ella into a life of servitude.
Ella's thoughts were disrupted when she noticed that the sounds from inside the room had stopped, and she waited a few seconds before knocking on the door.
"Enter," her stepmother shouted, her voice shrill.
Ella walked into the room, staring down at the tray, knowing that her stepmother's friend wouldn't cover up just because a servant girl had walked in. She hurried over to a little table, putting the tray down quickly, trying not to notice the two naked figures watching her from the bed.
"She's a pretty one Maude," the gentleman said lazily as Ella tried to make her escape, "We should invite her to join us some time," Ella winced, knowing that her stepmother wasn't going to like that.
"That chubby filth?" her stepmother shrieked, forcing a laugh, "She isn't worth our notice," She directed her attention back towards Ella and shouted, "Hurry up and leave you vile little thing!"
Ella gladly rushed out, closing the door firmly behind her. She wasn't surprised by her stepmother's weak insults, the Lady Maude was nothing if not jealous, and Ella's natural curves had been a sore subject for their entire acquaintance. Maude had tried to starve Ella to make her look skinny and less attractive, but Ella was so well endowed that it was nearly impossible to banish her curves.
The Lady Maude and her two daughters, Raquel and Belinda, were all very lovely women, but their beauty was different from Ella's.
Lady Maude was tall and lithe, with red hair and porcelain skin. She didn't have much in the way of hips or bosom and she resented Ella for having assets that she didn't posses.
Raquel and Belinda were also quite striking. Raquel was tall, like her mother, but had dark brown curls and freckles that spread across her face and shoulders. Unlike her mother, Raquel did posses some curves, but she had more of an athletic build from all of the time she spent riding and training horses.
Belinda, on the other hand, had inherited her mother's red hair and pale skin, but not her physique. Belinda was short with curvy hips and a small bosom.
Ella loved her stepsisters dearly, they were shy, sweet girls, who were unfortunately as much under their mother's control as Ella was. Both girls tried to lessen Ella's work load by keeping things tidy and mending their own clothes, but Lady Maude made enough work for Ella all by herself.
Maude didn't even allow Ella her own room, instead forcing her to sleep by the cook fire in the kitchen. Ella woke up most days smeared with cinders, soot, and ash, earning herself the nickname of Ella the cinders girl or Cinders Ella.
Ella truly hated her stepmother.
The only thing that kept Ella from trembling at the negative encounter with her stepmother just now was the thought of tomorrow night's Masquerade.
The Masquerade was a party that swept through the entire city, one glorious night in which all the people, noble and common wore masks to hide their identities and enjoyed music and revelry throughout the town.
The Masquerade was, in actuality, a festival begging the gods to bless the land with fertility. The people made offerings of themselves, dancing, drinking, and making love under the stars. It was said that the gods themselves took human form on the night of the Masquerade, joining in the love making of their devoted people.
Not many women fell pregnant from the debaucheries of the Masquerade, and everyone said that it was because the only babes born of that night were those blessed or fathered by the gods themselves. Ella wasn't very superstitious, but she did think it was strange that more children didn't come from that night
In any case, if a woman gave birth to a child nine months after Masquerade she was not shunned as a promiscuous woman would normally be. The baby was treated with respect, and many people who were more superstitious would bring offerings to the babies, thinking them the children of gods.
The only reason Ella had not been cast out of her home was because she herself had been a Masquerade baby, Lady Maude could not risk upsetting the god's by shunning one of their children. Ella knew that she was no god's child, however, because her parents had told her that they had met and fallen in love at the grand party, and had been with only each other the entire night.
It was so romantic, and this year Ella finally had a chance to go. With her stepsister's help, she had managed to scrape together enough coin to buy a simple costume for the party. She quivered with excitement at the thought.
The night of the Masquerade was warm and perfect. Ella waved goodbye to her Step family, trying to look sad, like she was disappointed that she couldn't go. Her stepsisters winked at her, then put on their masks and disappeared into the lantern-lit streets of the city. The Lady Maude left as well to seek out her gentleman friend, but did not spare Ella even a glance as she disappeared down the street.
As soon as Maude was gone, Ella raced upstairs and hastily threw on her costume. She grinned at the low cut black gown and matching black mask. She had chosen the simplest costume that's he could think of, Nix, goddess of the night. She put on her dark garments and skipped out of the house. Glad to finally be a part of the festivities.
When Ella reached the town square she was instantly swept up by the dancers. She joined in the wild dance, throwing herself on the mercy of fate.
She was twirled from one dance partner to the next, men and women, young and old, nobles and commoners, all danced before her. She became dizzy and light headed from the feeling of freedom and the wine that provided for the dancers.
As the night wore on, more and more people began to break away from the crowd in the center of the town, dancing away down the streets to find spots under the stars to drink and be merry with their anonymous lovers.
Ella found herself twirling and dancing in a cluster of the most beautiful men and women she had ever seen. They danced around her and with her, with uncanny grace, and before she knew it they were whisking Ella away with them.
As they made their way down the streets Ella danced, but was distracted by the enticing sight of lovers draped over every surface.
