Cinderella from the Stepsister's Perspective

Cinderella from the Stepsister's Perspective

It was a sunny morning in the grand mansion. Anastasia, one of Cinderella's stepsisters, was busy preening herself in the drawing - room mirror. Her mother, the Stepmother, and sister Drizella were by her side.

Anastasia had long been jealous of Cinderella's beauty. She saw Cinderella as a painful reminder of her own shortcomings. Cinderella's kind heart and gentle nature only made Anastasia feel worse.

One day, a royal messenger arrived with an invitation to the ball. Anastasia's eyes lit up with excitement. "Mother, this is our moment! We'll show everyone at the ball how elegant we are," she exclaimed. But then, she thought of Cinderella. "What about her? She can't be allowed to spoil our night."

The Stepmother scoffed, "Don't worry. She'll be swamped with chores and won't even dream of going." With that, they focused on getting ready, leaving Cinderella to clean the fireplace and fix their old gowns.

As the ball approached, Anastasia tried on her new gown over and over, fussing over every small detail. When she saw Cinderella looking longingly at their beautiful dresses, a rush of jealousy hit her. "How dare she look at our clothes? She's just a servant," Anastasia whispered angrily to Drizella. The Stepmother then tasked Cinderella with perfecting their gowns while they relaxed, chatting about their grand entrance at the ball.

On the day of the ball, as they were about to leave, Anastasia saw Cinderella's tear - streaked face. Instead of pity, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction. "Good riddance. Stay here and clean up," she said with a cold laugh.

At the ball, Anastasia danced and chatted, but deep down, she felt empty. Watching the prince dance with other girls, her heart sank. When midnight struck and chaos erupted, she was left with disappointment.

The next day, when the prince's men arrived with the glass slipper, Anastasia's hopes soared. But when Cinderella appeared, more beautiful than ever, and the slipper fit her perfectly, Anastasia was devastated.

She stared at Cinderella in shock. "How can this be? She's just a servant," she muttered. Deep in her heart, she knew Cinderella's kindness and inner beauty had always made her own shallowness look bad. From that day on, Anastasia started to think about her actions, though it would take a while for real change to come.