Cinderella and the Prince: Who is the winner of the game?

chapter 1

"Sister, please, give me back my shoe." I clung to Emma's leg, begging desperately. Emma grabbed my hair and spat in my face viciously.

"Pfft, you filthy wretch! How dare you covet His Royal Highness? Go back to the attic where you belong, that's your rightful place."

Madame Franklin and Julia each grabbed one of my arms, pushing me towards the attic. I struggled fiercely, trying to lunge for the glass slipper.

"You can't take it out! You really can't!"

A few days ago, I suddenly found myself in a twisted version of the fairy tale, becoming Cinderella. At first, I thought, how bad could a fairy tale world be?

Until I saw the prince slice open the Chancellor's belly with his sword. After the murder, he stood calmly, using his long blade to lift up a section of the Chancellor's intestines, admiring it in the moonlight.

"Ah, how beautiful."

The bright red intestines dripped blood, and the prince's eyes gleamed with an eerie, bloodthirsty light.

I hid in the bushes, tightly covering my mouth, my whole body shaking uncontrollably with fear.

I must have been shaking too hard because the prince suddenly turned his head in my direction, his gaze sharp and piercing like a hawk's.

"Who's there? Come out!"

I gasped, picked up my skirts, and ran. The prince chased after me, sword in hand. The palace was magnificent, with expensive crystal chandeliers hanging from the pillars on both sides, illuminating everything clearly.

The prince laughed softly behind me.

"Oh, it's the beautiful girl who danced with me tonight"

His tone was sinister. I turned my head to look; the prince's face was twisted with malice, his long sword still dripping blood, leaving a trail behind him. I was terrified, running faster than I ever had before. But the white jade steps at the palace gate were too long, and no matter how careful I was, I still lost one glass slipper.

I knew he wouldn't let me go. Sure enough, the next day, news of the Chancellor's death spread throughout the country. The king was furious and ordered the guards to catch the real culprit.

Along with the obituary, another piece of news spread across the country: the prince was looking for love.

The prince had fallen in love at first sight with a beautiful girl at the ball. He announced that whoever could wear the glass slipper left behind by the girl would be the next princess.

All the women in the city went crazy.

Emma and Julia started dressing up early in the morning, soaking their feet in milk, praying for this lucky glory to fall upon them. It wasn't until Emma came to my room to look for jewelry that she accidentally found the other glass slipper.

"You filthy wretch, how dare you sneak off to the ball behind our backs! If you're so desperate for a man, we'll marry you off to a stable boy tomorrow!"

Madame Franklin grabbed my hair and slapped me hard across the face several times.

Emma clutched the glass slipper to her chest and kicked me hard in the stomach. The attic door opened, and I fell down.

Emma giggled. "Thinking you could be a princess? You should look in a mirror first.

"Stay here like a good girl. If you make a sound, you're dead."

With a loud bang, the attic door was locked. I pounded on the door above my head, my face filled with despair.

This is bad. If they take out this shoe, the prince will surely know I'm here. He'll kill me!

Soon, I heard Madame Franklin's fawning voice from above.

"Oh my, Lord Roderick, why have you come personally

"No need to try it on, this shoe belongs to our Emma. Emma, show the other shoe to Lord Roderick."

Lord Roderick's face was stern as he held a fine velvet cushion with a sparkling glass slipper on top.

"Everyone must try it on. Ohindeed, they make a pair. Noble lady, please come with me to the palace so the prince can see for himself."

The other maids and guards all offered their congratulations. Emma excitedly hugged Julia and spun around.

Soon, a flurry of footsteps gradually faded away, and silence fell once again overhead.

I slumped to the ground, my face filled with despair.

My sister's foot was bigger than mine. Once they entered the palace and the prince discovered she couldn't wear the shoe, he would soon come to my house. I had to escape before that happened.

But the attic door was locked, and there wasn't even a window. I had no way to escape.

There were many tools in the attic. I found a hammer and started chipping away at the wall. After an hour, I had only managed to scrape off a thin layer of plaster.

Covered in sweat, I angrily smashed the hammer against the wall a couple of times before throwing it to the ground.

A mouse in the corner was startled and scurried to the other side, squeaking.

Looking at that mouse, my eyes lit up as an idea suddenly came to me.