Ella and the Godfather
Once upon a time, in the city of Brittany, France, not so far away, within a large chateau along the countryside, there was a young maiden by the name of Ella. She lived with her stepsisters and her step mother. After her father passed away, the widow and her daughters turned bitter and vile towards her. She went from being a sister and daughter to a servant in her own home. The young girl, who always seemed to be covered in chimney soot and dirt was no longer called the name her parents gave her but Cinderella after the cinder that decorated her clothes. To make matters worse, the beautiful, rustic chateau belonged to Cinderella but when her beloved father died, Lady Tremaine, the stepmother, took over as if it was her own. She neglected to take care of it, so the once extravagant beauty fell into disrepair. The broken hearted Cinderella did not have the strength to claim her father’s home. After a short while, the way things used to be, when she was still Ella, became a distant memory.
Six years later, on a bright April day, a letter came to the house decorated with a royal seal. Cinderella graciously accepted it from a short man in fancy clothes. As she flipped it over to examine the rather prominent seal, only to be interrupted by her obnoxiously curious stepsisters
“My oh my! A palace letter?” Cinderella’s oldest stepsister, Drizella screeched as she reached towards the envelope.
“It obviously wouldn’t be for you dummy!” screamed the other, Anastasia as she grabbed at the mail. A strong voice came from the other room,
“Girls. Enough.” Lady Tremaine, the deviant step mother, walked over and snatched the letter out of Cinderella’s hand. She broke the seal and slid a piece of embroidered, ivory paper out of the envelope. “It is a letter from the palace and according to this the Prince is looking for a bride. Every eligible maiden is invited to a ball tonight!” The girls instantly began buzzing with excitement.
“A ball!”
“With the Prince!”
“I need a new dress-”
“And shoes!”
“That is what I was going to say Anastasia!”
“Well I said it first Drizella.”
The girls began bickering and while her step mother tried to intervene, Cinderella picked up the letter. Any eligible maiden? This means I can go too! Cinderella smiled to herself as she read over the letter again.
“Don’t even think about it. I’m not letting you show up and make our family look less desirable. Now scurry along. The girls only have two hours to prepare and you are making the room a bit stuffy.” Lady Tremaine’s face contorted into a stomach turning grin and waved Cinderella out of the room. Cinderella spent the next two hours crying to herself in the foyer.
When her stepsisters left for the ball, Cinderella watched the carriage drive down the dirt path and she sat weeping, thinking how unfair her sisters were to her, she heard a voice from the garden calling her. She dried her eyes and went out to see who was there. She was surprised to find a large man, about 70 years old, standing outside the back door. He was wearing a stylish suit and had a fedora on his head, he clenched a large cigar in his right hand and under his left arm was what looked to be a violin case.
“Hello, who are you?” asked Cinderella.
“Hey, Doll, stop with the crying will ya. I’d have thought you’d’ve guessed. I’m your fairy godfather an’ I'm a here to make you an offer ya can’t refuse.”
“Sorry, you must have me confused with someone else if anyone came to help me I would expect my fairy godmother to show up,” Cinderella said meekly.
“I’m from the MAFIA, that’s the magically associated fairies initiating aid, we’re an equal opportunities organization, that’s why you’ve got me, your fairy godfather, rather than some random dippy old broad of a fairy godmother. The MAFIA seeks to help out the magically deprived, such as yourself. It works on a quid pro quo basis, we help you out on the understanding that when the time comes you owe us a favor. That time may never come but if it does you’ll promise to do what we ask, capisce?”
“Yes, yes, anything, I want to go to the ball desperately and it’s just so unfair that my cruel step sisters get to go but I don’t, especially when all the ladies in the land have been invited”
“As I said, don’t cry Ella, you shall go to the ball. Hey, you’re a good kid, you deserve to go.” With that, the fairy godfather opened up his violin case and took out a magnificent wand. Chewing on his cigar he waved the wand through the air leaving a trail of sparkling pixie dust in its path.
“Okay, kid, I’m just warming up here. What do we need? Well, I guess we need to get you to the ball in style. You’re gonna need a limo. How’s about a nice big Caddy? No? Perhaps a Lincoln Continental?’ Cinderella looked at him blankly. He continued, ’What about one of doze fancy foreign imports? A Rolls Royce or a Mercedes-Maybach?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. If I’m going to go to the ball in style I need a fine carriage and attendants.”
“The old fashioned way huh! You’ve got the moxie, sister. And you know what they say, ‘When you’ve got the moxie, you need the clothes to match’ – I’ll get to that in a moment but first we’re gonna need a big pumpkin.”
Cinderella went off into the garden, wondering to herself how it would help her get to the ball, and came back shortly with a fine ripe pumpkin. The fairy godfather eyed it suspiciously, “Jeez, that’s some squash you’ve got there. That’d make one heck of a jack o’ lantern come Halloween. Stand back while I turn it into a carriage fit for a princess”. Pulling out a large switchblade he hollowed out the pumpkin with a few deft flicks. Puffing on his cigar he blew out a great cloud of smoke obscuring the pumpkin, he then reached into the cloud with his wand, touched the pumpkin whilst muttering something indiscernible under his breath and there was an explosion of pixie ash. As the smoke cleared away a magnificent gilded carriage was revealed.
Next, the fairy instructed Cinderella to go off and check the traps set about the house and to come back with at least one rat and six mice. As she went about her task the Don, as he was known to his family, admired his work, grudgingly admitting to himself that it was a more impressive means of transport than any limousine he’d ever seen. She returned with a rat and six mice as requested and presented them to the fairy. Taking the rat by its nape the fairy godfather inhaled on his cigar then gently blew a stream of smoke over it. He placed the rat on the ground and touched it with his wand, there was a sparkle in the air, and all of a sudden there was a tall handsome coachman standing in its place. The fairy repeated the process with each of the six mice in turn and presently there was a fine set of six horses of a beautiful mouse-colored, dapple gray. The coachman busied himself hitching the horses to the carriage. As the fairy godfather watched him work he mused that something was missing. Surely Cinderella could not travel in such a coach without a retinue of attendants?
“Now we need footmen to attend to you and accompany you to the ball. Go and look behind the potting shed Ella, I think that you'll find a group of lizards basking there, bring me four of them.” Taking the net that she used to hunt butterflies in the summer, Cinderella went and caught four lizards and brought them back to her fairy godfather. He looked at them and muttered something to the effect that they reminded him of a bunch of Goodfellas that he used to know. Once again he breathed cigar smoke over the animals that Cinderella had brought to him and touched them in turn with his wand, sparks flying everywhere. Four smartly liveried footmen stood beside the coach ready, waiting to escort her.
“You’re a spirited young lady, you’ve fetched me all we needed for me to get you to the ball in style. As I said before you’ve got moxie, now I’ll give you the clothes to match.”
“I hope you’re not going to breathe that horrid cigar smoke over me,” said Cinderella, backing away.
“No need beautiful, just stand still a moment and I’ll see what I can do.” The fairy traced Cinderella’s form with his wand and as he did so, with a faint shimmering, her clothes changed from rags to the finest satin and silk. He studied her for what seemed like a minute before leaning in with his wand to touch her hair, leaving diamonds shining there. He hesitated then touched her neck and her wrists leaving her with a jeweled necklace and matching bracelet.
“Looking good, kid. Looking like a million dollars. Just one final touch,” and with that, he wove his wand over her feet leaving her shod in a delicate pair of glass slippers.
“Now off to the ball with you, Sweetheart, enjoy yourself. But remember, youse gotta leave the ball before the clock strikes twelve otherwise your dress will turn back to rags. I’m happy for the opportunity to give you some pleasure, but things mustn’t go too far on a first date. I expect that you will show your respect by obeying me, capisce?”
Cinderella kissed and thanked her fairy godfather for all his help. He blushed then said, “Let me know if you want anything done with your step sisters. One word from you and they could be sleeping with the fishes.”
“Oh, I could never ask for anything like that. They might seem cruel but it’s just unthinking foolishness. I’m sure that they’ll grow out of it. I must go or the ball will be over before I get there. Thank you again for all your help.” The footmen helped her into her coach and then jumped up behind her before they drove off in great style. He called me Ella. She thought to herself as she rode off to the palace.
Once Cinderella arrived at the palace she was instantly captivated by its lavish decor. There were chandeliers made of crystals and drapes of satin. She looked down and to her surprise where usually a slumped over and ragged looking girl stood, a lovely girl with sparkling eyes smiled back at her. She traced her face with her fingers as if to check if the reflection was really her own.
“Excuse me Miss.” A man with the same uniform as the one that delivered the invitation, cleared his throat. “How would you like to be announced?”
She looked up at him as if his question confused her. How would I like to be announced? “Cinder-” she stopped herself. I don’t have to be Cinderella here, I can be me and that is what they will call me. They don’t know the difference. This is a fresh start. “Ella, my name is Ella of Brittany.” The man smiled at her then blew a trumpet that she hadn’t noticed before. Her heart raced as he spoke.
“Now introducing the lovely Miss Ella of Brittany.”
Butterflies filled her stomach as she stepped out into sight of the multitude of guests. Before she knew it she was descending down the marble staircase that led right into the dancing festivities. She felt invincible, the stares didn’t mean a thing. She glided to the middle and danced. She didn’t dance with a prince or the king, just by herself, until a familiar sickening voice interrupted her.
“CINDERELLA!” her stepmother screeched. “What on EARTH do you think you are doing here? You do not belong here, you belong in my kitchen with the rest of the measly help.”
“You mean my kitchen.” She had not meant to say that, she didn’t even realize it until the words flowed out of her mouth.
“Excuse me?”
The two ladies stared at one another as all the outside music and laughing dulled into a background until suddenly her fairy godfather’s voice popped into Ella’s mind.
Sweetheart, stick up for yourself. I said you have moxie but I wasn’t talkin’ about your automobile choice. No, I meant you have guts kid, you’ve got spunk in your smile and dauntlessness in your dimples. Take what is yours, stop letting them walk all over you. I came to show you what you're made of because let’s be honest, I don’t really care about a ball. I care about you, the girl you really are, not this meek servant that you’ve been for the past few years. Get what is rightfully yours back. Give her a piece of your mind kid.
“You heard me. I’m done being a servant in my own home. You have no right to my father’s home or to me. When my father died, I was devastated and I let you use my grief to control me but no more. I want you out of my house. I don’t want the prince, I don’t want to be a royal, I want my life back,” and with that she turned on her heel and left. The prince had kept his eyes on Ella the whole night but that didn’t matter to her. She did what she needed to do
From the corner of the room the Don smiled at her then returned to Fairyland and the MAFIA with a smile on his lips and the feeling of a job well done. For he did not dress her up to get a man or to go to a ball, but to show her that she is beautiful and that she can do anything she wants, she just had to embrace the moxie she’s always had within her.