Before the glass slipper
A tale of two stepsisters
Lily Ann
© 2010-2015 by Lily Ann, R. Valentine.
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Once upon a time in a far away land lived two darling sisters with their mother. The simple, yet pretty girls were sweet and kind and lovely. Their names were Jovette and Noemie. They lived happily with their mother, the Lady Tremaine, in a small village on a large estate. Their father had passed when they were very young, but they were loved by many in the small town and around the land.
The girls were selfless and cherished by the people of their village and Lady Tremaine was revered for her kindness and beauty. Many suitors traveled far to seek the Lady's hand in marriage, but she always refused. She was content with continuing her late husbands care of the village and his work and wasn't inclined to change a thing.
The young girls enjoyed their freedom and cheerful play and always knew they were safe and well looked after in the town. The girls helped the people in the village by doing simple chores fit for little hands. They gathered eggs for the farmer and fed his chickens and helped make bread and cookies with the baker and his wife. The sisters played tag with the other children, getting dirty and running through the mud and muck and helped the shepherds dog herd while chasing the sheep.
Each night before the girls went home they went with their mother on her final deliveries. Lady Tremaine delivered baskets of food to the poor, filled with bread, meats and dairy. She gave them blankets and clothes she would sew with her own hands and gave them coal and wood when they were low and it was cold.
Lady Tremaine and her two beloved daughters were of honor, and the towns people treasured them.
One day, after months of the girls noticing a difference in their mother, they met the man that would change their lives forever.
He had come to the small town on business several months ago when he first met Lady Tremaine. He courted her. She fancied him. And soon they became engaged. The man was very nice and would often gift Jovette and Noemie pretty things. It hadn't been since before their father died that they had seen their mother so happy. He told them of their new home and how beautiful it would be and that he too had a daughter!
The girls were very excited about having another sister and they couldn't wait to meet her. He told them she was gentle and kind and she too was excited to meet them. Her name was Lucella, and she is sweet their mother assured. So when the time came the girls packed all of their things.
The three girls all meet the day of the wedding and exchanged hugs and gifts of candy. The wedding was small and elegant and when completed they were all a family!
They made it to their new home and Lucella showed the girls around. "This is your room" She said to Jovette.
"This one is yours." She told Noemie as they passed by the bedrooms down the hall.
"And this one is mine." She said and turned to look at them with a scowl. "But you stay out!" She said in a harsh tone. She looked at the girls with a hard face but changed it back quickly and was once again smiling at the girls before turning and skipping away.
The girls were very confused about Lucella's behavior, but they shrugged and skipped after their new sister to go play.
Later that evening, after dinner, Lady Tremaine asked the girls to clear the table. "The servants shouldn't have to do all the work." She had said.
Jovette and Noemie knew this, they had been taught to always be helpful and kind. Lucella didn't look very happy about the chores, but soon she too stood and helped.
Lady Tremaine smiled at the girls before leaving the room with her husband and just as they were out of sight Lucella changed her ways. She tossed down the dishes and the forks and the cups and flopped back down in her chair.
"This is my house and I don't have to do this. You two do!" She said in that mean voice again. Lucella crossed her arms, jutted out her chin, and ignored the girls until they had finished without helping one bit.
"We're done!" Lucella smiled and skipped out of the dinning room when the girls were finished doing their chores. She leapt up into her dads open arms and gave him a big hug while smiling brightly at their mother.
"Thank you girls!" Lady Tremaine said with love. "Now, off to bed you go." She told them each with a hug.
The next morning, it was the same thing after breakfast. Lucella pretended to help and then made the girls finish.
"She's not very helpful." Noemie said to Jovette after they took the dishes to the kitchen.
"Maybe she'll come around." Jovette smiled at her sister and they both hoped it would be true.
Weeks went by and nothing had changed. But the girls said nothing to their mother. Lady Tremaine was so happy with her new husband and home that the girls thought telling would just cause trouble. It didn't matter to them either way, they had always liked to be helpful and the servants and house staff appreciated it too.
Lucella was always so nice whenever their parents were around. She would laugh, play and do as she was told and the three girls always seemed to get along.
But, when their parents were gone or out of sight, Lucella was a completely different girl and she was not very nice.
She made the girls do her chores and made an extra mess for them to clean, and she wouldn't let the girls play with any of her things. She took from the two sisters and even stole some of their toys!
Lucella was so mean. She taunted, teased, and called them ugly, but the girls never told because they didn't want to tattletale.
One day, their mother told them she would be leaving with their new dad, she would go on a trip to a new, and far away land. "We'll be gone for a week." She told the girls again as she hugged them at the door.
The three girls waved goodbye and laughed as they chased after the carriage. When it was far out of sight, they stopped to catch their breath on the dirt road.
"What should we do?" Jovette said, breathless and with a smile.
"We could play tag!" Noemie suggested in her sweet little voice.
"Or we can play dodge rocks." Lucella said with an ornery grin.
"What's that?" Noemie asked a little weary.
"This!" Lucella said as she bent down and grabbed a handful of small stones and threw them at the sisters.
"Ow!" The girls said and asked her to stop, but Lucella just laughed and threw more.
"Run if you don't like it!" She said to them meanly and threw a handful of pebbles at the girls.
They didn't like this game, and it hurt, so the girls ran away from Lucella. She chased them, and chased them, all while throwing the rocks.
"Stop it Lucella!" Jovette pleaded. "This isn't a fun game!"
"I think it is!" She sneered with mean laughter.
Lucella bent down to pick up another handful of stones, when without warning, she grabbed a large rock instead. Before the two girls could take cover and hide, Lucella threw the big rock and hit Noemie in the head.
Lucella laughed and laughed as Noemie cried. "You made her bleed!" Jovette said with tears in her eyes.
"So!" Lucella said and continued to laugh, and then she kicked dirt up into their eyes.
Jovette helped her sister off of the ground and brushed the dirt off of their dresses. Lucella taunted and mimicked and mocked the sisters.
Jovette took Noemie into the house, where they cleaned her up, and gave her a bandage.
"She isn't nice at all!" Noemie cried later that night as the girls snuggled in bed.
Jovette knew her sister was ri
ght. "Lucella's mean and cruel." She agreed as she hugged Noemie tight.
"She's a snot." Noemie sniffled against her sister.
"And a brat." Jovette said, and this time, the girls giggled.
The entire time their parents were gone Lucella was so mean. The girls decided she would never be their friend, and they tried to stay away from her. But Lucella was persistent, and liked her mean games.
One day, she found the two sisters playing in the meadow, when she snuck up on them and scared them with a loud scream.
"That's not very nice." Noemie said to her. But Lucella didn't care and shrugged her shoulders.
"Want to play tag?" Lucella asked the girls with glee, but they each said 'no' because they knew she would just be mean.
"I promise to play nice." She said to them crossing her heart.
The girls didn't believe her, but they were always taught to give people a chance, so they agreed to play the game with Lucella.
For a while she kept her word, and they played and had fun! They chased each other and