Sunset in a Frame

Chapter 10 (Finale)

…

The day began like clockwork as a fully-rested, fully-fed Cinderella hurried to Lady Tremaine's room with a cup of tea. It was exactly 7:00am when she opened the door, but she was surprised to find her Stepmother still in the throes of sleep.

Still, rules were rules.

"Good morning, Stepmother," Cinderella greeted, walking over to set the tray down by the tableside.

Lady Tremaine groaned and tossed around under her bed sheets as Cinderella casually opened the blinds to let in the rising sunlight. Grunting, the older woman finally rose from her sheets and rubbed her eyes and yawning.

"Goodness me… I haven't slept like that in ages," Lady Tremaine said groggily as she looked over to her freshly made tea, "right on time, good work Cinderella."

"Thank you, Stepmother," Cinderella replied, turning around to face her, hands clasped together and smiling, "would you like me to make your favorite breakfast casserole this morning?"

Lady Tremaine's mouth watered unintentionally, that did sound good. Wiping her lip, she regained her composure and nodded to Cinderella, "prepare my bath and do the laundry first, and then get to the kitchen. I must admit your idea is… too good." Lady Tremaine gave a small glare Cinderella's way, "you're being awfully generous this morning. I hope you're not trying to butter me up because you want something. We both know you don't deserve favors, especially from me."

Cinderella breathed a happy sigh before giving a small bow, "no, Stepmother. It is just that… I feel like I know my true place, and I truly recognize all the care you have given me. I want to make it up to you, for all the times I've disappointed you."

Slowly the glare changed to a look of pleasant surprise, and soon Lady Tremaine began laughing softly, "no, please, continue."

Getting up, Cinderella's Stepmother stretched and walked over to the young woman, lifting her chin with a single finger, "keep it up, Cinderella. You might just make me proud of you."

Of course, Cinderella did not really mean all of those things. She couldn't give a damn about "making things up" with her Stepmother, much less caring about her enough to go above and beyond with fancy breakfasts. She knew from Marie's words last night that she was to expect a 2nd Birthday present tomorrow, and her mind raced with thoughts of a gold-and-silver carriage arriving at the front door. The King himself, accompanied by his family, would whisk Cinderella off her feet as her stepfamily watched with stupid, goofy expressions of shock.

These dreams kept Cinderella's mind active all morning as she set Lady Tremaine's bath, finished her stepfamily's laundry, and headed downstairs to prepare the breakfast casserole.

…

"Mother, we're going to go out for a moment!" Drizella called, already hiking up her shoes at the front door.

"Where are you girls off to?" Lady Tremaine responded, making her way down the stairs, freshly bathed and dressed.

"The baker is having a special sale today! Chocolate croissants!" Anastasia explained, giddily twirling in the main hall, "we want to grab some before they're gone!"

"And I'm sure Anastasia wants to grab some baker as well!" Drizella teased, earning a shove from her suddenly flustered sister.

Lady Tremaine waved at them, "girls, control yourselves!"

"Sorry, Stepmother," they apologized sheepishly.

"Go, have fun. But be back soon! Cinderella is preparing a breakfast casserole. I dare say those croissants would make a delightful dessert," Lady Tremaine added before heading into the kitchen.

The sound of the front door closing and Lady Tremaine's presence startled Cinderella slightly as she whipped the eggs in a ceramic bowl. This earned her a calm, outstretched hand from her Stepmother, who spoke to her bluntly, "relax, child. I've come to merely check on you. I want to make sure you're not making a mess in here."

"Of course, Stepmother. I assure you I have all the necessary ingredients. These eggs were picked fresh from our flock yesterday," Cinderella replied, moving to the right to give Lady Tremaine a view of the kitchen table, stocked with ham, cheese, bread, onions, eggs, and other foods.

"Excellent. Carry on then."

Lady Tremaine simply pulled up a chair by one of the kitchen windows, pulled out some small glasses and began reading through a novel.

Cinderella looked over her shoulder, seeing that her Stepmother was no longer paying attention and went back to her work.

In the distance, the toll of the castle clock rang 9am. Cinderella noted how the time was moving so slowly and quietly sighed to herself. I do hope whatever Marie's gift is comes soon, Cinderella thought as she started the cast-iron oven to cook the ham bits she prepared.

She looked deep into the large pan of eggs, milk, and melted cheese, seeing reflections of Marie tending to her and gifting her the diamond necklace. It warmed Cinderella's heart so much that she got slightly distracted.

"Cinderella… CINDERELLA!" Lady Tremaine yelled, snapping the girl to her senses.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Stepmother."

"You can't wish for a casserole to make itself… quit daydreaming!"

"Yes, Stepmother," Cinderella replied quietly, continuing her work and adding salt and pepper to the pan.

Shaking her head, Lady Tremaine continued with her book. "What on earth would you of all people be daydreaming about anyway?" she commented to herself.

Cinderella wanted to hold her tongue, but felt herself speaking up anyway.

"Many things, actually."

Lady Tremaine turned her head right back around, "excuse me?"

"I said… I daydream about many things."

Smirking, Lady Tremaine returned to her book, wanting to humor her, "like what?"

Cinderella was surprised she got such a calm response, and continued testing the waters.

"Love."

"Love?!" Lady Tremaine scoffed, chuckling, "a fool's errand, honestly."

"What makes you say that?" Cinderella asked, checking on the cooking ham.

Rolling her eyes, Lady Tremaine set down the book for a moment and looked upon her Stepdaughter, "Well, for one… look at you!"

Cinderella stared down at her maid's outfit, full of stains, rips, and tears.

"How could you possibly think anyone would find you attractive? Much less appealing? It's not like you have any hobbies… potential suitors won't find tips and tricks for scrubbing floors very engaging subjects." Lady Tremaine explained with distaste, going back to her book.

Looking upon her already messy hands and seeing the traces of her cuts, Cinderella closed her eyes.

Oh my goodness, what happened to your hand?

Opening her eyes, Cinderella returned to her work, chopping onions.

"More often than you might think," Cinderella spoke, "people find the beauty in others on the inside. That's where love really matters."

Lady Tremaine laughed as she read her novel, "that's nothing more than poetry, Cinderella."

"Well, what about you?" Cinderella asked, sliding the onions into the pan, "didn't you love my Father?"

Stopping mid-page, Lady Tremaine felt her eye twitch and her hand clench slightly. Controlling herself, she continued with her book.

"Your Father was certainly a handsome man… and he was, indeed, good on the inside."

Cinderella turned to her Stepmother with genuine surprise.

But then she continued.

"However… it didn't do him any favors. The world is unkind to good people, Cinderella. The sooner one rids themself of that goody-goody nonsense, the sooner they can actually succeed in the world," Lady Tremaine spoke matter-of-factly.

Cinderella closed her eyes again.

The world is tough to kind people. It chews and spits them out like tobacco, and that's why they're so precious and important.

"My Father," Cinderella spoke slowly, "was a very wealthy man, one of the richest people in town, in fact. And he was a very kind man too, and he used his fortune to help others and bring joy into their lives. Including us. I'd say he was very successful."

"Ugh," Lady Tremaine groaned, "you act as if his charity was actually meaningful. I remember how he used to throw away his money on orphanages and homeless shelters and such. Guess what, Cinderella? Those very same orphanages and homeless shelters are still there! Your Father wasted his time. There's nothing to be proud of."

Stirring the mix in the pan, Cinderella felt her hand grow very shaky. Egg-mix spilled slightly on the table.

"If my Father wasn't someone to be proud of… if he was as foolish as you say… then why did you marry him in the first place?" Cinderella asked, slight anger in her voice.

"Simple," Lady Tremaine replied, turning a page in the novel, "he needed a woman in his life and he had the money to persuade me."

Where we come from, people of high status, kindness is just a tool to get what you want. You're one of the only people I know who is kind and honest about it.

"You say that as if that was the only thing that attracted you to him," Cinderella spoke, disgusted at what she was hearing, "did you even care about him? You didn't even really love him, did you?"

Lady Tremaine didn't respond.

"Stepmother."

Turning another page, Lady Tremaine gave an exhausted sigh. "Honestly Cinderella," she finally said, "why do you even care so much about this? He's gone. Get over it."

By now Cinderella had ignored the food she was working on and had her entire attention set on her Stepmother. Her blood was boiling now.

Those who hate without limit will only continue to harm unless held accountable.

"He was my Father. I loved him very much. You have no right to speak ill of him this way." Cinderella growled.

"Don't I now?" Lady Tremaine countered, still not bothering to look upon her stepdaughter, "you speak with such authority. But you forget one thing, Cinderella. You may live in his house, you may remember his face, you may even think he was a smart man… but you live under my name, you answer only to me, and you listen to my rule. Now, cease this foolish conversation and get back to work."

Your stepmother may think she can overpower you, but you can quickly show her who she's dealing with.

Cinderella turned around but did not continue preparing the food. She simply held both her hands onto the table and took a deep breath.

"Good riddance that he's gone," Lady Tremaine commented under her breath.

Her Stepdaughter heard her anyway, and it took everything to hold back her tears. Whatever humanity Lady Tremaine had, she must have lost it years ago. There was no sense trying to reason with her anymore.

"Stepmother…" Cinderella decided to speak, struggling to keep her shaken voice still, "why did Father die?"

Lady Tremaine nearly dropped her book. Gulping, she turned her head to make sure Cinderella hadn't seen her. She hadn't, but little did she know that as long as she hesitated, Cinderella picked up on it. Setting the book back in her hand, Lady Tremaine took a deep breath.

"Your Father was ill. That's why."

"But… I don't understand," Cinderella responded, her voice distant, "he never showed any sign of sickness. She never smoke… never drank. He could still run and jump with the energy of a teenager."

"Sometimes people get sick and hide it very well."

"Do you know what illness he had?"

"No, now drop the subject!"

"What? He never told you?"

"He was very sick and I couldn't get a word from him. Now stop asking questions!"

"I remember he was still able to talk to me as he lay dying."

"Cinderella! Stop!"

"You're hiding something from me."

"No I'm not! Shut up!"

"YOU KNOW SOMETHING!"

"SILENCE!" Lady Tremaine literally jumped from her chair, her face red with anger. Stomping over to Cinderella, she grabbed her strawberry-blond hair and pushed her to the ground.

Cinderella grunted in pain, looking up to see the hate in her Stepmother's eyes.

Lady Tremaine sneered at her, and slowly bent down to look into her eyes.

"Unless you want to end up like him… you will keep your mouth shut and do as you're told. You idiotic little child."

Backing away, Lady Tremaine patted down her dress and returned to pick up her fallen book.

Cinderella slowly got up. Her entire body was shaking and she felt intense rage. She never got a direct answer from her Stepmother, but she knew the truth. It was plain as ever. Lady Tremaine killed her Father deliberately, somehow, and took advantage of his wealth to create a comfortable life in the chateau for her own family. Everything miserable in Cinderella's life, everything, was all because of her.

Every single thing.

Tears streamed from her eyes as her face grew an intense scarlet red.

Picking up an unused ceramic bowl, Cinderella walked up to her Stepmother as she bent town to pick up her book and struck her on the back with it.

"AGH!" Lady Tremaine collapsed to the floor, groaning as she tried to sooth her aching back. "Oh my god! What the fuck?!"

Cinderella, jaw clenched, rushed back and ripped off a dry rope that had been used to seal a bag of flour. Tying both ends to her hands she ran over to Lady Tremaine, still writhing on the floor, and pulled the rope over her neck. Cinderella pulled back, managing to lift Lady Tremaine onto her knees. She placed her foot on her Stepmother's back and continued to pull.

Lady Tremaine gasped for breath as she struggled to move against Cinderella's strangling. Her hands flailed about, trying to pull the rope away. She managed to claw Cinderella's hands with her long, manicured nails, earning a yelp as her Stepdaughter dropped to the ground to clutch her hands.

The older woman, taking rapid breaths, tried to crawl away. "Get the fuck away from me you crazy bitch," she struggled to say.

Ignoring the pain, Cinderella panicked. She got up and looked around the kitchen for something to keep her Stepmother at bay.

Eying a set of metal skewers, Cinderella rushed over and picked one up. Then, she rushed over and hopped onto Lady Tremaine's back. This caused the older woman to continue her struggling. She tried swiping at Cinderella again, but her Stepdaughter managed to grab onto her arm.

Cinderella noticed a nearby wooden beam, quickly placed Lady Tremaine's open palm to it, and heaved the skewer through her hand and deep into the wood.

Lady Tremaine screamed in pain, attempting to pull her hand away. The metal was stuck in deep and the shooting pain only intensified with each pull. Blood pooled from her wound.

Worried that Lady Tremaine's screams would alert someone, Cinderella grabbed her Stepmother's head and began punching her face.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Cinderella bared through her teeth, as she continued to throw punches.

Grabbing the nearby rope, Cinderella again hoisted it over her Stepmother's neck and pulled. Lady Tremaine struggled to breath, even more now that her nose and mouth were bleeding out. Cinderella pulled and pulled with all her might.

Several minutes passed as she continued strangling her Stepmother. Eventually, she felt less and less struggling, and looked over to see that Lady Tremaine's expression went blank, her eyes bulging out.

Carefully, Cinderella removed the rope and got off Lady Tremaine's back. She walked around and stared closely at her Stepmother's face again. There was absolutely no movement and she had stopped breathing. She checked her pulse and felt nothing.

Taking a deep breath, Cinderella backed away and fell to the ground against the kitchen table. Gasping for breath, she let her tears fall. She couldn't think straight as her mind wandered in all directions, as if a series of fireworks were being set off.

Cinderella looked over and saw her work.

There, in a pool of blood, was her now dead Stepmother. Cinderella had managed to kill Lady Tremaine in a fit of rage.

She closed her eyes and let everything sink in.

Cinderella thought she heard some footsteps and opened her eyes to find that Anastasia was at the doorway, a look of sheer horror on her face. She was holding a bag of croissants with a little heart drawn on the side. Anastasia's eyes drew from the corpse of Lady Tremaine over to Cinderella, clearing seeing her blood-stained hands and apron… and her equally shocked expression.

They stared at each other for a couple seconds, not knowing what would happen next.

The second Anastasia began to back away, Cinderella lunged for the ceramic bowl and shot it through the air in her Stepsister's direction. It only hit the door frame and soon Anastasia was making for the front door.

Shit.

Cinderella rushed off after her, sloppy running along the floor, looking for anything to grab. The ceramic bowl had shattered into several pieces, so she picked up a long, sharp piece.

Anastasia was about to open the door when she felt an intense rush of pain on her leg. Cinderella had managed to stab her in the tendon of her heel and this sent her Stepsister collapsing to the ground, wailing in pain.

Looking around in a frenzy, Cinderella grabbed Anastasia's leg, blood-gushing from the wound, and attempted to pull her away from the front door.

"Jesus Christ, Cinderella! What did you do?!" Anastasia exclaimed, trying to find something to hold onto.

Cinderella didn't even think.

"What had to be done."

By now Drizella had opened the front door and saw the commotion before her. Cinderella rounded on her, panic setting in again. Drizella's face went white as she clasped her hand to her mouth.

"Drizella! Go get the police!" Anastasia screamed.

Cinderella pulled out the ceramic piece from Anastasia's leg, earning another cry of pain.

"Don't you move." Cinderella said, pointing the piece at her.

"Cinderella?" Drizella was in tears, prepared to run away.

"Go to the basement, Drizella." Cinderella demanded cooly.

"What the hell are you-" Drizella began to speak, before Cinderella plunged the ceramic piece further up Anastasia's leg to her calf. Anastasia screamed yet again.

Cinderella exclaimed furiously, "GO TO THE BASEMENT OR I'LL KILL HER!"

Drizella has intense fear plastered on her face, but she couldn't stand by and let this happen. She started to make her way towards her Stepsister. "Cinderella…" she started.

Cinderella simply pulled out the piece and stabbed it behind Anastasia's knee. "I'LL FUCKING DO IT. GO TO THE BASEMENT NOW!"

Seeing there was no chance now, Drizella rushed through the kitchen to the basement. She noticed her Mother's dead body and started hyperventilating.

"KEEP MOVING!" Cinderella pulled out the ceramic piece, hovering it over Anastasia's thigh.

Drizella opened the basement door and rushed inside, collapsing on the ground and sobbing into her arms.

Cinderella turned back to Anastasia, grabbed her by the leg, and started dragging her towards the basement. Anastasia cried out in pain, face wet with tears. She desperately tried to crane her head to get a look at Cinderella, whose face was expressionless.

"W-w-why… why, Cinderella?" Anastasia whimpered, her breath short, "thi-this isn't… isn't right!"

"It isn't right… yes… but it is necessary." Cinderella spoke venomously. "It's what you all deserve."

By now Cinderella had dragged Anastasia into the kitchen and prepared to toss her into the basement.

"You… you can't get away with this... " Anastasia said.

Cinderella started cackling, her shoulders heaving up and down as she stopped dragging her Stepsister for a moment. Looking to Anastasia, Cinderella softly grazed her cheek with her hand. "Then I guess I'll just have to destroy the evidence."

With a heave, Cinderella threw Anastasia into the basement. She fell to the ground right by Drizella, who rushed to her sister's side to inspect her wounds.

Cinderella prepared to shut the door, but stopped when she saw Anastasia struggle to stand up and face her. Her leg bled out as she slowly felt weaker and weaker.

"You… you can... wipe us away... all you like," Anastasia began, "but yo-you'll never… ever… be able to w-wipe this away from your mind. Every time you close your eyes… you will see what you did. And you have no one to blame… but yourself."

Sneering, Cinderella slammed the basement door and locked it.

Taking a deep breath, she looked over to the cast-iron oven, which had begun to smoke as the flames overtook the now-burned ham. Given the circumstances, Cinderella realized that it would be very easy to hide the Tremaine's bodies if the house caught on fire and destroyed everything.

Rushing out of the kitchen, Cinderella approached one of the walls and began to knock on the walls. Before long, several mice scurried into the outside. They all looked upon Cinderella with fearful eyes. Many of them saw everything.

Jaq was the first to speak, albeit with above a whisper.

"Yes… Cinderelly?"

"Jaq… lead the mice outside. This is not a drill. I want you to take everyone to the royal castle and wait by the gardens until I come for you… okay?" Cinderella spoke, as calm and friendly as she could be.

Jaq simply nodded his head and stared at Cinderella sullenly, "of course, Cinderelly… we… we not come back here, will we, Cinderelly?"

Cinderella simply smiled, "no Jaq… we're finally free from this awful place."

…

It was finally noon as the royal guards made their way to the Tremaine chateau in a large painted horse-and-buggy. Marie had joined them, wanting to see the look on Lady Tremaine's face as she was arrested… and she was looking forward to maybe giving her an earful or two. Most of all, Marie was so excited to see Cinderella and tell her that she no longer had to live in fear and could remain happy with her among the royal family.

Marie could swear she heard quite the commotion outside and knocked the side of the buggy to get the attention of the coachmen, the two guards leaning forward with curiosity.

"What's going on out there?" Marie called.

"I don't know… there are some people yelling about something," replied the coachmen, scratching his head. Suddenly, his demeanor changed.

Soon, the cart picked up speed as Marie was almost thrown back onto her seat. The guards adjusted themselves. Annoyed, she poked her head out the window of the buggy.

"Hey! What's the big-" Marie yelled, stopping herself when she saw a frightening sight.

Black clouds of smoke towered into the air as massive flames engulfed the chateau. By now much of the roof had caved in and several wooden beams had broken. The fire spread out into the yard, and by now many of the chickens had fled.

Marie could swear she heard screaming coming from the front of the house, and jumped out of the buggy to investigate, running through the open gate and past the front gardens. She stopped when she saw Cinderella, laid out under the front entrance with what appeared to be an injured leg. Flames were spreading behind her.

"HELP! HELP ME!" Cinderella cried, her arm stretched before her.

"CINDERELLA!" Marie exclaimed, wasting no time rushing to her side.

"I'm here… don't worry, I've got you," Marie assured, lifting Cinderella up and cradling her in her arms.

"Marie…" Cinderella spoke, before the two guards approached the women. The sound of approaching wheels and hoof-stamps signaled the arrival of firefighters.

"Your Highness!" they called in attention, "what are your orders?"

"Cinderella… where is your stepfamily?" Marie asked, face full of concern.

"... inside…" Cinderella managed to speak, before coughing.

"There are people trapped inside… see to it that the firefighters can get them out safely!" Marie alerted the guards.

The sound of collapsing bricks caught the attention of everyone, who turned around and watched as the chateau's entire structure began to break down.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" Marie yelled, ushering the people away.

The chateau collapsed inward: all the remaining spires had fallen, the walls transformed into piles of bricks, and the high tower, Cinderella's bedroom, tipped over on top of everything, landing to the ground with an enormous thundering sound. Sparks and flames continued to rise, erupting in all directions.

Marie gasped as the firefighters readed their water pumps and sprayed the fires as quickly as they could, hoping to stop the raging inferno.

Fearful for Cinderella's safety, Marie carried her all the way to the buggy and set her down gently inside the cushioned seats. She pulled out a canteen of water from a small compartment and steadied her partner's head as she drank slowly. Marie looked upon Cinderella with enormous relief, but she was still very shaken up by everything.

"Are you okay?" Marie asked once the girl stopped drinking.

Cinderella's mind had still been racing, but eventually settled down once in the safety of the buggy. It was then that the gravity of everything settled in. There was no way she could explain everything; Cinderella could have easily rationalized it by saying that she felt like she was "taken over by another person", but deep down she knew. The years of abuse, the years of sadness, the years of little nutrition… all that weight came crashing down and she just snapped. How on Earth could she tell Marie? What would she think? Cinderella had been afraid of becoming someone Marie wouldn't like, and even after fully accepting Marie's advice on the subject, she caved into her intrusive, violent thoughts.

Starting with a slow chuckle, Cinderella soon rose into a fit of laughing, which garnered a confused reaction from Marie. Her partner's intense laugh echoed through the buggy as tears started streaming from her face. The laughs eventually turned into sobs and before long Cinderella was crying and screaming. Marie could only look with distress as she comforted her emotionally tormented friend.

…

A week had passed.

Cinderella was now living with Marie at the King's castle (the mice were eventually introduced, earning a simple "cool" from Marie). The chateau fire raised everything to the ground and next to nothing was salvageable. The firefighters managed to find the Tremaine family, or rather what was left of them, and worked to locate any relatives to oversee proper burials.

The King saw to it that Cinderella was given everything she needed, including her own clothes and room in the house. While she was really grateful for everything and made sure the royal family and staff knew, the majority of the time she was very distant. Marie gave her both the attention and space she needed, but she could tell that Cinderella was acting very differently from before the fire.

Marie attributed it to the trauma of the fire: Cinderella explained that she had an accident in the kitchen and Lady Tremaine had been very upset with her, striking her and yelling at her. The fire started to spread quickly, and Cinderella's Stepmother attempted to flee but fell and injured herself. Anastasia and Drizella accidentally locked themselves in the basement looking for the extra water supplies to put out the fire. Cinderella had managed to escape but slipped and hurt her leg.

Of course, all of that was a total lie, but Cinderella was determined to push everything out of her mind and focus on her future. She was finally free from the torture of life under the Tremaine family, but the sounds of their pleas and the image of their injured, bleeding bodies continued to play on repeat in her mind. She even felt 'phantom sensations' of strangling her Stepmother whenever she would hold her hands together. It was a slow, agonizing torture.

Night terrors were frequent, and several times did Marie rush into Cinderella's quarters to wake her screaming and shaking partner up. She would caress and hold Cinderella as she choked and sobbed into her shoulders, and eventually the two would fall asleep together.

Cinderella barely ate most days, even with full plates in front of her. She began to look awfully skinny, and Marie had to convince her to finish her meals.

Things got very serious one day when Marie found Cinderella in the bathroom, clutching a bleeding hand in agony after apparently punching the mirror inside. It was decided to call a physician to try to diagnose Cinderella's apparent mental illness, even though Marie knew what it was.

The following night, after the physician gave his diagnosis (madness, because of course) and left, Marie stayed with Cinderella in her room. Her partner was laid out on her side, arms clasped together, and wouldn't look at Marie.

Hesitant to lay a gentle hand on her just yet, Marie sat on the bed right next to her.

"Cinderella… I would like to talk to you if that's alright?" Marie asked quietly.

Cinderella didn't respond directly and only gave a small nod of her head as an okay.

"It's been a week since the fire. I know it must be difficult to think about right now, but I want you to understand that you are safe now. There is no danger here. Your Stepfamily… is not here to hurt you anymore. Okay?" Marie explained calmly, making sure to keep her voice as soothing as possible.

Another small nod from Cinderella.

"I couldn't help but notice… you seem to be more upset at yourself than with the fire. Would it be okay if I could know why you feel this way?" Marie asked.

Cinderella remained quiet, shifting slightly under the covers. She struggled to find the words to say, as her mind was still very numb to the thought of Marie finding out about the truth.

"Marie…" Cinderella finally spoke, her voice low and quiet.

"Yes, dear?" Marie piped up.

"I…" Cinderella shivered, "I'm afraid."

"You're afraid? What are you afraid of, Cinderella?" Marie asked curiously.

"Myself. I'm afraid of myself."

Marie didn't expect to hear that, but kept her surprise down for her partner's sake, "why are you afraid of yourself?"

The important thing is to remember that these terrible thoughts are just that, terrible thoughts. Let them flow through your brain and eventually they'll float away. You know you don't want to act upon them, so to think of them that way will help.

You know you don't want to act upon them.

YOU KNOW.

"I did it."

"What?" Marie questioned, "I can't hear you, love."

"I started the fire," Cinderella spoke loudly and bluntly.

Marie nodded her head, holding her hands together. "You started the fire. You did say you had an accident in the kitchen. That happens."

"It wasn't an accident," Cinderella clarified, "I started the fire on purpose."

"Okay," Marie replied, stil calm, "can you tell me why you started the fire on purpose?"

Cinderella finally turned around, sitting upright and staring at Marie with bloodshot, tear-filled eyes. With a trembling frown, Cinderella gave in:

"I… I didn't want anyone to find out that I… that I… that I killed them."

Marie remained composed.

"What do you mean, Cinderella? Who did you kill?"

"Stepmother… and my Stepsisters… I killed them," Cinderella began stuttering and rapidly breathing, "I killed them, Marie… I did it. I killed them. I killed them, Marie. I killed them."

"Okay, okay, please take deep breaths, Cinderella," Marie ushered, rubbing her partner's back with her hand.

Cinderella's stream of "I killed them" descended into stammering, and she clutched her face in anguish. It took everything for Marie to calm her down, eventually wrapping Cinderella in a hug.

"Shhh… hey, Cinderella, I need you to take deep breaths okay?" Marie pleaded.

As Cinderella began to breathe, she felt nothing but regret. There was no way Marie could ever love her, let alone trust her, now.

"I didn't mean to!" Cinderella cried, "My mind wanted me to, and I tried not to listen! I knew they were horrible, inhumane thoughts, but I couldn't escape them any longer!"

"I know… I know, Cinderella," Marie said, "I know you didn't mean to."

Cinderella felt sick, and she gently pushed Marie away, dumbfounded that she was bothering to help her. "How are you still here with me?!" Cinderella exclaimed, "I'm a monster! A murderer! I should be locked up and shot!"

"Cinderella, please! Look at me," Marie begged, gently grasping both of Cinderella's arms, "please look at me."

She did.

"You are not a monster, and you are not a murderer. You are a victim, a victim of cruel, abusive circumstances… and you lashed out. That is not an uncommon thing to happen, and what you did was perhaps… on the extreme side of that spectrum," Marie explained, taking care to wipe away Cinderella's tears. "I would never, ever, abandon you, no matter what."

Cinderella, still breathing heavily, listened to Marie but was still frightened.

"What is going to happen to me?" she asked, "am I to live with this pain forever?"

Marie sighed, "as I said before, I will help you, Cinderella. I will. You have been through so much already… you don't deserve to suffer anymore."

Cinderella sniffed, looking away from Marie, "I don't know if it will be easy… I still have so much pain inside me. I'm… I'm sad, and… I'm angry. What if… what if I hurt someone else?"

"In time, that will pass," Marie responded, cupping Cinderella's cheek, "the more you work to let that anger and sadness go, the richer your life will be. You will change… that's inevitable for people… but at the end of the road, you will be the gentle and kind person that you've always wished to be."

"Do you really think so?" Cinderella asked.

"I do," Marie smiled.

The two shared a small kiss before embracing yet again.

For the first time that week, Cinderella smiled, and truly felt hopeful again.

Leaving the embrace, Cinderella gave Marie a small nod and a quiet reply:

"Okay."

...

The End.

...

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Please be sure to check up on your loved ones, even if they seem fine.