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The Other Princess

By Lillie Lainoff, age 14

The sparkling high-heeled slipper when placed on Ella’s foot caught the sunlight flooding through the open window. Her lips parted to reveal pearl white teeth in a joyful smile. Her name was Cinderella, and Rosalind hated her.

Rosalind stood with her back against the marble wall. Her pale blue dress flowed around her, the bodice of flowered pink stained with tears. It was unfair, Rosalind thought. So unfair that Cinderella would get the Prince, her Prince, leaving her behind with her widowed mother and cry-baby sister.

Rosalind’s brown ringlets lay in sad curls framing her oval face. She wasn’t ugly, no, just quite plain, looks which could in no way compete with Cinderella’s gold locks, her pale complexion. Seeing her dazzling smile was a heavy blow, and now her dream was slipping away as quickly as the glass slipper had been pulled from her fingers.

Suddenly, Rosalind sprinted out the door, leaving behind bemused faces. Once more, Rosalind glanced over her shoulder at the window, to see Cinderella laughing at something her prince said. Her prince. Rosalind’s stomach twisted angrily.

She made her way down the rough, worn stone path to the village, where she hoped to find some peace. The answer found her as soon as she reached the town square. There, in the middle of the wide churning sea of people, stood a tall fountain, its figure of Prince Charming reaching up towards the cloudless sky. Cool, fresh water dripped down from the tiered basin, looking so inviting that Rosalind could not resist. Ripping her cascading curls out of their neatly placed bow, she jumped.

People around her stared, but that didn’t matter to her, not now. The water pulled down the folds of Rosalind’s gown to rest on the hard, marble bottom. She could feel peoples’ stares berating her for being so, well, so out of the ordinary. For the first time in months Rosalind relaxed.

(I’m working with Lillie to complete this delightful novel, an imaginative new take on the Cinderella story.)