Chapter 5: Chapter 5 - Creating Rivalry
Since the vanity and the notion that she was a woman took Daphne's body and mind, she hated Cinderella. Maybe hating is a word too strong for this feeling, and it's more of a dislike than a hate. Anyway, that was how she felt about her half-sister.
Daphne didn't like Cinderella. Not at all.
It's been years since she'd admired her for running unconcernedly toward her father since she'd been playing all day without anyone scolding her since she dressed too much luxuriously for a child. All this disappeared from Cinderella's life: now she walked home with serenity, worked quietly and dressed in tatters.
And Daphne? She was the daughter of that mansion, and something went on as expected. Daphne and Cordelia remained very different from the legitimate daughter of the old Viscount. They were now those ones full of life, the noble girls, those who wore elegant dresses and sophisticated jewels.
But... Daphne didn't like Cinderella.
Because something went wrong with Ursula's plan. In the plan to jeopardize the future of the girl, in the plan to hide that she was a witch.
Her abilities did not remain stable, much less gone. No, it seemed as the more she grew, the stronger her magical abilities became. As much as at first they thought Cinderella was able to communicate with the animals, it only happened after a while. When she ran with the birds and then was comforted by the rats, it seemed that she was talking to them, but in fact, these little animals only responded to her feelings. It was only after years that her abilities evolved, and today she talks to small animals.
Yes, talk. Talk to them, and they respond with peeps and squeaks. And obey her commands. Unfortunately for herself, it was Daphne who discovered this. It was a year ago, when she went to her room, to complain about her clothes that were not well ironed, and then she saw that. Cinderella talking to a group of rats. Those ones who were standing on her bed, and those mice squeaking.
Daphne could not help but shriek. She'd seen something like that, but not that. No... Mice that looked civilized!
"Oh! Sister!" Said Cinderella, awake from her conversation because of Daphne's cry. "I'm sorry I didn't see you."
"You-" She started to speak, then stopped and turned.
What could Daphne say in that situation? Were you talking to these mice? Since when do rats behave like this? How long have you been able to talk to mice? Did you... Order those rats gnaw my pink dress?
She was upset in those days because of her pink dress. It was new, made of silk and organza, and even had thouse huge laces in the fists! The most beautiful and sophisticated dress she has ever owned. Since she was older than the age at which her mother married, it was time to start looking for a suitor. Though Ursula didn't want her daughters to marry so young, she knew that Daphne and Cordelia were not easily recognizable faces at court, as they were barely out of the house. If they wanted to make good marriages, they should at least start going out to the capital and some events in the nearby mansions. Then, when it came time to get the wedding proposals, they would not have many problems.
And that beautiful dress was made thinking about it. The materials were the best the merchant could offer, and stitched following the current court fashion by Cinderella. Although not embroidered, since they did not have the time to do so, because they were going to an event where they were invited last minute, it wasn't a simple model. It took almost a week to finish. It would be used to go in some tea party, given by nobles who lived in the same neighborhood as they. Since she hasn't yet been formally presented, this girl could only go for small events like these. But even so, it had been a long time since Daphne had met with other nobles. She was excited about it.
But one day before tea party, they discovered that there were huge holes in that dress, made by rats. By quantity and size, she couldn't fix that dress, and could at most take reuse some parts of the fabric in other clothes. Daphne went to the party with a green linen dress, a little worn, and a pink ribbon in her hair. It was so embarrassing! Since almost no one had much contact with her to get to know her better, Dafne thought that all the nobles imagined that her family had financial difficulties!
That was bad for the matchmaking market!
And there was Cinderella, days later, talking civilly with rats!
The tone in which she spoke, her posture, her face... Even talking to rats, Cinderella seemed more elegant than she would ever be.
This was what most disgusted Daphne. Everyone thought that when they grew up and become young women, when it came close to time to find suitors, that Daphne and Cordelia would be those elegant, well-mannered, refined, and talented girls. Cinderella would be that failure, the girl who was too indomitable to learn anything she would know to be a real lady. Except that the opposite happened.
Time served as a disciplinarian for Cinderella. Despite being cheerful and hyperactive when her father lived, after she became a servant, she soon controlled her temper and became a placid, obedient girl. Without being demanded, she changed her posture, her manner of speaking and her manners, becoming exactly the girl that Ursula taught her daughters to be. Because of the time she spent cleaning around near where her stepmother taught her daughters, and during some household chores and the cook, Cinderella learned everything a young lady needed to know. She learned to sing, dance, walk, eat, talk... And she still knew how to sew, embroider, cook, gardening... Even though she wasn't sure, Dafne imagined she could play zither and lute. Both! She was the perfect daughter of a noble family.
Even with her worn clothes, made of hard, thick cotton, all dirty with the ashes of the stove and fireplaces, stinking... Still, she looked like a noble. A poor noble mistreated, wronged, but also full with noble in all.
She and Cordelia. She and Cordelia...
What disappointments they were!
There was a reason why the old servants of that mansion did not like the two girls. It was because of his good manners. Not exactly that, but in their falsity. Daphne and Cordelia might be the most educated and refined girls who had ever been under that roof, but something was missing. They were stiff, unsightly, graceless, forced. They lacked grace in their bows, delicacy in their smiles, tenderness in their eyes. And the more they learned from their mother, the more rigid and muzzled their gestures were. They good manners didn't seem spontaneous, but rather artificial.
Not to mention they clumsiness with dancing, singing, embroidery, musical instruments... They have never been able to entertain their guests well.
And how could a noisy girl become graceful and exquisite like that? No matter how hard they tried, it was just looking at Cinderella to see that they were not enough to even start comparing with their half-sister.
Cinderella, that Cinderella who never struggled to improve her temper and to educate herself. Cinderella, the one who seemed to have been born to be a lovely child and a charming woman.
For the hardworking ones, nothing annoys more than someone who is naturally good at something. It was impossible that it wasn't the result of his witchcraft!
Then it happened!
The invitation. The ball. The shoe. The birds.
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