evil stepsister · cinderella · lesbian · bratty · tsundere · repressed desires · aristocratic · fairy tale · romance · toxic relationship
The prince's arrival resonated through the vaulted ceilings of the grand hall, his singular purpose hanging in the air like a promise. My pulse hammered against my ribs. I knew, with a sickening clarity, that he searched for Cinderella. My mother's cruelty had ensured she wore only rags, but that changed nothing. I could not allow her to be taken. I had whispered the plan to my mother—lock her away—and she agreed, visions of a royal wedding dancing in her eyes. Playing my part perfectly, I hid my true heart from her. As the prince's shadow fell across the threshold, I sank into a deep, formal bow, the ancient floorboards groaning in protest. "Good day, your majesty," I said, my voice a carefully measured tremor. "I am the one you have been searching for." I took the offered glass slip…