Hello wonderful readers! I am very excited to present to you my new story, Cinderella! This came as an idea of what if the roles were reversed, and Cinderella were a boy, with an evil step-father and wicked step-sister, who met a princess at the ball. I have watched the Disney Cinderella, (both the live-action and the animated version), and the ballet of the same name, and have taken ideas from all three of these. I really enjoying writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading it too! Thank you for honoring me by reading, and please enjoy the opening chapter of Cinderella.

Disclaimer: Neither Cinderella or Hetalia belong to me.

Once upon a time, long ago in a kingdom now no more, lived a little family. They owned a large house, deep in the countryside, but lived a modest life, with no servants, preferring to cook and clean for themselves. The father, Nojus Laurinaitis, was one the king's knights, loyal to his king and renowned for his bravery in battle. When he was just twenty-two, he met his first defeat, a beautiful young woman, Kotryna Meidunite. She was wild and kind. In spring, she ran about with no shoes, her long blond hair always tumbling around her shoulders down to her waist. The two were married during the spring, and by the next year, they had a new addition to their family; a little boy they named Toris. Toris grew to be as kind as his mother, as loyal as his father, and as humble as both. As he grew older, his father planned for Toris to become a squire when he turned twelve. Toris eagerly attended his practices and played games where he was the knight, rescuing his mother from imaginary dragons. Every evening he would curl up on his father's lap and beg for a story about one of the man's adventures.

However, not all happy endings last forever. When Toris was ten, war came to the kingdom. Though they won, the king's army lost many of their bravest knights, Nojus Laurinaitis among them. His wife and son were devastated, he was their whole world. But he lived on in Toris, who was his spitting image. The new widow was determined to do everything she could to benefit her son. She found a job working for a merchant named Ivan Braginsky. The man fell madly in love with Kotryna, and a few months after hiring her, he asked for her hand in marriage. The woman knew her son needed a father figure in his life, and Ivan seemed every bit a gentleman. He also had two sons, Dimitry and Nikolai, who were very close to Toris' age. It appeared to be a perfect option for her, and she agreed. Yet tragedy struck again. Her depression weakened her immune system, and she caught pneumonia. Try as she might, she could never recover, and a few months after her wedding, she died. Toris was left only with his new step-father and his two step-brothers.

Once his mother was dead, Toris' life grew worse. For reasons unknown to the boy, his step-family hated him. After the funeral, Ivan moved Toris' room to the attic, allowing him only a bed, blanket and a change of clothes. The rest of his belongings were either sold or given to his step-brothers. The Braginskys made Toris their slave and often went out of their way to humiliate and mistreat him. On cold nights, or when he was too exhausted to climb the stairs to his cold attic, Toris would fall asleep in front of the dying embers of the fireplace. He was rarely allowed to bathe, so he was always dirty.

To make matters worse, his dream to become a knight was crushed. Ivan said he wouldn't waste time or money on him, declaring the young brunette too weak to make knighthood a successful career. And so, Toris lived, stuck in his step family's house, with no way to ever be free.

~Nine Years Later ~

"Toris! Toris! Toris Laurinaitis, get your lazy butt down here now!"

Toris groaned and buried his head under his pillow. "Toris, if you're not down here in two seconds, I'm telling Father. And you know what he promised to do if you slacked off again."

That created a reaction. Toris jumped out of bed. "I'm coming, Nikolai!" he called, racing down the stairs. He slipped on a few, falling down in a heap in front of his smirking brother. "Well, there you are."

"Yes, what can I do for you?" Toris stared at the floor. Long ago, he learned to be submissive to his family. Now it was a habit.

"Let's see …it's eight in the morning. What could I possibly want? Or are you too stupid to figure it out?"

"Breakfast?" Toris asked meekly.

Nikolai boxed Toris' ear. "Yes, you idiot. Now go and make it!"

Toris scurried to the kitchen. Breakfast was never hard to make, just cold cuts of meat, a little fruit, bread, and jam. Toris bustled about the kitchen, frantically trying to get breakfast out quickly. He dreaded the possibility of starting the day with facing the Braginskys' wrath. While he was placing the food on plates, heard pecking. Smiling opened the window. A little bird, with blue feathers, sat on the windowsill. "Good morning, Eduard. Is it time for your breakfast?" The little bird let out a tweet. Toris' smile grew. He crumbled up a stale piece of bread and put the crumbs on the windowsill. "Breakfast is served, Monsieur Bird!" Eduard cheeped, and then Toris was ignored while he ate.

"Silly bird. You have enough outside."

The ceiling creaked, as several pairs of footfalls walked over. Toris looked up. His family was ready.

He grabbed the breakfast tray. It rattled as he walked, despite Toris tensing, trying to stop the shudders.

Ivan and his sons were already seated at the large mahogany table. "Good morning, Master." Toris stuttered, and nervously placed a plate in front of the giant man. Ivan took a bite, chewing slowly. He swallowed, then eyed Toris disapprovingly. Toris fidgeted, trying to fight the rising panic in his chest. "I-is it t-to your liking M-master?"

"It is late Toris," he said simply.

Toris gulped. "I-I know Master, and I'm very sorry."

"Hmm," was all Ivan said and continued to eat.

Toris stood next to the table, not daring to move. He wasn't dismissed but wasn't allowed to sit at the table either. His stomach growled, and the three men laughed. Toris blushed and closed his eyes. He was so hungry; it was painful to look at food. He would eat the leftovers later; if there were any.

The three Braginskys chatted about the day they had planned. Toris ignored them. When he was younger, the two brothers liked to talk about the fun they were going to have, and then ask Toris what he was going to do for the day.

"I have chores to do," he would say. Dimitry and Nikolai would snicker at him, give him a shove or condescending pat on the head, depending on the mood, and leave. To spare himself the envy, Toris learned to tune them out, only coming back to it when his name was said, or they started talking to him.

Today, he went over his chore list. He was midway through when Ivan leaned back in his chair with a sigh and a flick of his wrist. Cue given, Toris started collecting the dishes. Powerful fingers circled around his small wrist with a bruising hold. "Father, do you smell that?" Nikolai asked, holding Toris.

"Smell what?"

"I don't know what it is, but it's disgusting. It smells like sweat and smoke." Nikolai looked over at Dimitry and winked.

"I smell it too," the elder brother said. "I…" he let out a dramatic sniff, "I think it's Toris!"

The blood raced to Toris' face, and he tried to tugged against Nikolai's hold

Ivan chuckled. "I'm not surprised. I've caught him sleeping near the cinders in the kitchen fireplace some nights."

Almost gingerly, Nikolai traced a smudge of dirt on Toris' cheek. "I think he needs a new name. Like Cinderboy."

"Or Grimy Child," Dimitry joined in.

"Ash face," Ivan supplied.

"Oh, I know! I know," Nikolai burst out, nearly jumping out of his seat in excitement. "Dirty Toris!" he exclaimed. His family laughed.

"Nice one Nikolai."

"Dirty Toris," Ivan sneered at the boy. "I think that suits you."

"It's perfect," Nikolai insisted.

"Take these dishes back to the kitchen Dirty Toris," Dimitry mocked. "And then come back up here when they are clean. No dawdling now."

Toris nodded, collected the dishes, and fled.

He stumbled into the kitchen, dropped the tray on a cabinet, and sank to the floor. Without permission, a choked sob escaped from his lips. Surprised, Toris slapped his hand over his mouth, glancing at the door. If Ivan heard, Toris knew he would be teased relentlessly. But no one appeared. An image reflected in the bronze kettle caught his eye. The distorted face of a man with brown hair, and wide, tired blue eyes stared back at him. Toris closed his eyes but then forced himself to look. Dirt streaked his narrow and pinched face. "Dirty Toris," he hissed, I really am. Sobbing in anger and shame, Toris buried his head in his arms. I just need a moment, he told himself. Just a moment. Then I'll get back to work. I just need one moment.

There was a soft tug on his hair. "Ah! Eduard, you're back." Toris' mouth curled into a small, sad smile as he reached his hand to his head. Eduard jumped onto the calloused palm. "Back for more food? You're getting greedy," Toris told the bird good-naturedly. The bird pecked his hand and then jumped onto the table in response, making Toris laugh. "I'm sorry then. Why are you here?"

The bird twittered intently, while Toris listened. He dunked the dishes in the soapy water bucket, scrubbing away food remains. The scraps were put to the side, for his breakfast when he was done. Eduard fell silent and cocked his head. Hearing something, he flew at the kitchen door, pulling up before he collided with it. Setting down his dish, Toris followed. When he opened the door, a tiny bunny hopped onto his foot. Toris scoped him up and stroked the rabbit's soft fur. "Hello, Raivis," he murmured so not to startle the skittish animal. "Thank you for coming by, you…you guys must have realized I needed you." Though he didn't have much time, Toris took a moment to pet his animals, his only friends in the world. Once he gained control of his emotions, he put his friends aside, giving Eduard a few more breadcrumbs, and Raivis a tiny piece of leftover apple. Then he finished the dishes, ate his breakfast and hurried upstairs.

XXX

"There you are, Dirty Toris," Ivan said. "I thought I'd need to fetch you; you were taking so long."

"I'm sorry, sir," Toris replied softly.

"You're always sorry, but you never change. We are going to have to work on that. I heard Nikolai calling you this morning. Did you sleep in?

Toris bit his lip. "N-not on purpose Master. I promise!" he felt sick, worrying about what Ivan might do to him.

"Well, we are going to have to make sure that such things don't happen again. Perhaps I shall add another chore for the early morning?"

Toris wanted to protest. He already had so much to do, gather water for the day, feed the animals, milk the cow, and make breakfast all before eight in the morning, which was when his family woke up. But he remained silent, it was not his place to argue with Ivan.

"From now on, I want you to let Natalya out, so she can hunt. See, I can be lenient. That's not a bad chore, right?"

"Right, M-master," was all Toris could say. He wished Ivan had given him a harder chore. Ivan's fluffy white cat, Natalya, hated everyone but her owner. She harbored a particular dislike for Toris ever since he accidentally stepped on her tail while she was sunbathing and he was carrying laundry. It seemed to him that the cat went out of her way to torment him with bites and scratches.

"Good, I'm glad that is out of the way. Now, onto business. Today we are going to town, you'll come too. We're going to the tailor, while you need to pick up food at the market, you know what we need I assume. I've heard that one of the washerwomen has an old dress or two, so we'll pick those up. Yours is getting ridiculously threadbare."

Toris turned bright red at the mention of his clothes. Nervously he played with the folds of his skirt. "M-master, I have been really good lately, and-"

Nikolai snorted. Toris frowned, hurt, but continued on. "Do you think maybe, I could ware m-men's clothes? Please?"

Ivan cupped Toris' chin and forced the younger man to meet his eyes. Toris adverted his gaze and stared at Ivan's rather large nose instead. "Now, now Toris, are you complaining about your clothes?"

"N-no Master! I just-"

"Because if you don't like them tell me. I won't make you wear them." Ivan's tone was sweet and concerned. It made Toris shiver. Ivan continued, "You could go around naked if dresses upset you so much."

"No, Master, please!" Toris whimpered. "I, I just wanted to have a p-pair of trousers. Why must I wear a dress?"

"Because we are not completely sure you're a man," Dimitry said. The comment made Toris grow more distressed.

"Please Master?" He asked piteously.

Ivan, still holding Toris' chin, let out a laugh. "Oh, silly Toris. We have this conversation every time we get you new clothes. How about this time you tell me why you have to wear a dress?"

In a rare bout of bravery, Toris remained quiet. I will not humiliate myself more than I have too, he firmly comforted himself.

Ivan sighed. "You forgot again." He said, in a voice that clearly indicated he knew Toris was just stubborn. "You really are stupid. You wear a dress because you are weak. Pitiful. You live completely off of my charity and must be reminded of your place."

"But-"

"Hush! The less one hears of you, the better. You're lower than any servant, nothing but a disgraced orphan, and wearing trousers would allow you to try placing yourself above others. Really, I do it for your own good. If you went out in the town, tried to fit in, make something of yourself, they would laugh at you. The dress keeps you safe because it reminds of who you are. And you know who you are, don't you Toris?

Toris nodded his head.

"Remind me, what are you?"

"L-lazy."

"And?"

"A-and stupid."

"Toris," Ivan's voice held a warning. "Stop making me spoon-feed you. Tell me the whole thing.

"I-I'm stupid, and lazy and good for nothing." A sob caught in his throat, desperate to get out, but Toris refused to cry in front of these people.

"Good boy." Ivan patted his head as if the boy were a dog. "Now, go ready the horses and let us be off!"