May's anthology

Happily, Ever After- Future Days

"Why did no one mention this before? Is this what my happily ever after is all about?" Cinderella thought as her new husband continued snoring next to her.

Sleeping was an impossibility, and Cinderella just lay there, staring at the richly decorated ceiling. As far as she could tell, everything was unnecessarily ornate in the castle.

Nevertheless, she kept looking at the unnecessarily beautiful ceiling as if it could provide her with answers to her unspoken questions. What else could she do when the whole castle was fast asleep?

The wedding with her prince was the most magical moment in her life, and yet after that one perfect moment, things weren't going as wonderfully as she had hoped.

In her mind, she had the image of the two of them smiling brightly and ruling the kingdom together in peace and harmony. However, the waking world was not as rosy as that.

Silk sheets didn't change the fact that she hadn't had a full night's sleep since she married her prince. Not even a pillow that she put over her head could stop those horrible snorting sounds from penetrating her ears, causing her to be irritated more than she had ever been in her life.

Not even living with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters aggravated her as much. After all, she was at least able to have a good night's rest most of the time since they were not used to getting up early.

What she had learned about herself after just two weeks in the castle was that lack of sleep made Cinderella a very bad-tempered princess. She was nothing like the sweet, sensitive girl that used to sweep floors and do other chores.

Her happily ever after turned out to be more troublesome and ordinary than she had expected after all the magical moments that occurred before the wedding.

Not only that, but there were also duties involved in the new royal life, and unfortunately for her, those duties didn't involve anything that she was familiar with which often made her feel sad and out of place.

Wearing uncomfortable gowns and looking beautiful at official ceremonies wasn't something she enjoyed. The fact that most of her royal duties required her to do so and dance endlessly exhausted Cinderella. Though, at least she knew how to dance well.

The one thing that she was looking forward to in her new position was learning how to ride a horse. Having in mind that she loved horses, she was ecstatic when the time came for her to do so. However, even that didn't go smoothly.

"Here we are, my dear," her husband said.

Cinderella stood in the stables, admiring the majestic horses with excitement bubbling up in her stomach. She was certain that it was the precious moment she had been looking for, that nothing could taint her joy.

"You can choose any horse you want as your own, my love," the prince said.

As Cinderella went through the stables, examining the horses of different shapes and sizes, one horse caught her eye.

The horse was pure white and the proudest being that Cinderella had ever laid eyes on. She approached the horse cautiously and gently caressed its silky mane.

"You can have any horse but that one. Pearl is my horse," her husband said.

To say that Cinderella was disappointed would be an understatement. Yet, she chose not to say anything, having spent most of her life doing her best to avoid any type of confrontation.

Yet, her docile behavior lasted for only a few more days as small annoyances kept building up until they exploded. The eruption of her emotions came as a surprise, even to Cinderella herself.

One night, when she was especially exasperated by her new life, words poured out of her without her volition.

"Good night, my dear," was all her husband said to cause such a reaction.

"Good night? How is it to be a good night when your incessant snoring keeps me awake all through the night?" She exclaimed.

The prince sat up in bed, looking at his beloved with shock and disgust. His love was always kind and quiet, it was the very thing he loved about her. Nevertheless, at that moment she defied everything that a proper lady, a princess, was bound to be.

He was so surprised by her outburst that he was unable to form any coherent words that would put her in her place before she went on.

"Not only that, but I am also forced to sleep on the wrong side of the bed! Furthermore, I have to wear clothing whose main purpose appears to be to strangle its wearer!" Cinderella said, letting all pour out of her heart.

"Enough!" The prince suddenly yelled.

"How dare you, a mere peasant, whom I have allowed the privilege of becoming my wife and princess, address me in this way? Not only that, but you dare address your HUSBAND that way, you impertinent girl!" He roared, getting out of bed and pacing their royal chambers.

Cinderella turned apple red from anger, yet she refused to believe her ears. That her sweet prince would use her past against her was unimaginable. Impossible.

"When I met you, you barely had any clothes to wear, and now that only silk adorns your skin, you dare be ungrateful, disrespectful?" He said.

Every word felt like a stab to Cinderella's heart, and for the first time since the wedding, Cinderella questioned her decision to marry a royal. Though she knew their marriage would have challenges, she was ready for them if they were to face them together. However, she never expected her love to become her enemy, and that changed everything.

"A woman shouldn't speak unless spoken to. She should be an adornment to decorate her husband's hand, and that is all. You, as a peasant girl, should know that better than anyone," he said.

Tears streamed down Cinderella's face as the perfect image of her prince that she had tumbled to the ground shattering into a thousand pieces.

"I demand an apology, you peasant!" The prince said.

"My apologies, my lord. A headache must have taken over my mind and erased my reason. It will not happen again." Cinderella said, looking at the ground, doing her best to hide anger brewing in her eyes.

"It better not, or else..." the prince said.

When the prince thrust his hand in front of her mouth, Cinderella obediently kissed the royal ring, thus showing humility to her husband and prince.

That was also the night Cinderella started planning her escape. Being a slave once, she never planned to repeat the experience if she could help it.

It took Cinderella a few months to put her plan in motion, and during that time, she was the epitome of obedience. She had everyone fooled, including the prince, and that was when she made her escape.

Late at night, when the castle was asleep, Cinderella found something better to do than stare at the ceiling. She crept out to the stables, and that was when Pearl and her escaped the castle that was stifling their free nature.

They found their home in an isolated cottage in the forest where Cinderella could do whatever she wished, and Pearl had the luxury of running freely and coming back home for a delicious meal.

Cinderella learned to live in the present and never again to believe in happily ever after but to work each day on making that day a good one.