I tried to edit the entire story so far. I fixed a lot of typos and weird sentences. But there's still a lot to fix. If you could point out any errors in reviews that would be great! Keep reading, there's much more to come! ~Clargirl5~

The Strange Bed

I rolled over in my sleep. Really I was only half asleep; I was awake but I wasn't ready to open my eyes. The bed didn't groan on its normal iron springs. Instead in crackled a little, but it was extremely soft. My pillow was so thick and spongy I sank into it. I normally had a firm mattress with thin piece of cloth my parents called a pillow. This didn't seem to be my normal bed. But I didn't care, it was more comfortable then anything I had ever slept on. I just lay there and waited for my alarm to sound; it never did come.

Out of nowhere I herd a shrill feminine voice that didn't belong to any member of my family. It shrieked, "CINDERELLAAAA!"

I rolled over again, thinking I was dreaming, but the voice got steadily louder. It kept repeating the same name, Cinderella. Now, I knew that name. It was the name from the storybook, the girl with the glass slipper; that's why I thought I was dreaming.

The door to what I thought was my room burst open and in pounded several pairs of stomping feet. "CINDERELLA! How dare you sleep in the guest bedroom? How many times must I PUNISH you," The shrill voice came closer and closer. I opened my eyes only to see the twisted face of what could only be the wicked stepmother. She had long gray hair topped on her head so that it made her look at least a foot taller. She had beady black eyes and a tremendously long nose, which she looked down in order to see me. Her lips had long lost all color and she was impossibly skinny but had muscles that showed of hard work, from labor or maybe from dealing out punishments.

"I'm not Cinderella," I replied, "and why are you in my room?" I looked around; this wasn't my room. It was lavishly furnished with a Persian rug and many porcelain ceramics. Its walls were covered with pictures of important nobles. The bed I was laying in was covered in deep red satin and was so soft looking it seemed to be made of one large feather. "This isn't my room… where am I?" I asked.

"You bet this isn't your room! Your room is the cupboard in the kitchen. How dare you sneak into the guest bedroom," said a girl who could only be an ugly stepsister. She had stiff, frizzy dirty blond hair that fell to her waist in tangles. Her eyes were just as beady as her mothers but her nose was plump and rounded. Her face and body were elongated and skinny. It seemed that she had been stretched out. She stood just behind her mother looking fiercely irritated.

"Get up you lazy girl! You're needed in the kitchens to cook our breakfast. If you hurry and have breakfast ready in the next ten minuets I will spare you your punishment," said the evil stepmother. She knew this was impossible and looked forward to seeing me hurry around the house trying to complete the task.

"No! If I'm so lazy then why am I being forced to cook YOUR breakfast? Why don't you go down to the kitchens and cook ME breakfast you lazy hag?" I replied. But, as soon as I was done saying it I knew I shouldn't have.

Her face turned red then purple, the color of the Persian rug. From her belt she pulled a short black wipe. It was made of leather and had a small piece of wood attached to the whipping end. She grabbed me by the shoulders and flipped me around. She instructed her daughter to hold me down so I couldn't get away. I thrashed wildly but I just couldn't get up.

"Lets see how you like a good long whipping, how about 30 lashes then? You took 20 last time," She screeched She raised the whip high above her head a struck me square across the back ripping my bed shirt.

I screamed in pain. White-hot fire flooding over my back and through my entire body I could feel every muscle in my back screaming in pain. I couldn't handle it. I had never experienced so much pain. I passed out as a cloud of black covered my eyes. I was asleep once more on the most comfortable, yet the strangest bed I had ever slept on.

"Get up you ninny!" Cried a voice in my ear. I rolled over.

"Five more minutes mom," I moaned. The voice laughed, it was a big booming laugh that echoed around the room. I sat up straight; was I still stuck in the strange place where they thought I was Cinderella? I looked around; I was in a dirty little room on a cot like bed with a thin sheet and no pillow. It was dark except for a sliver of light coming in from the crack beneath the door and a candle sitting on the stool next to the cot.

"I'm not your mother; now get up before the mistresses get even angrier. I've taken care of your morning chores for you while you rested but I won't be doing your work any longer. I can't believe you only took one lash Ella, you're stronger then that. Is it that time of the month then?" asked the woman. She was an older woman in her fifties. She wore a simple brown dress with a few patches and a torn hem. Her apron was very stained and she smelled of baked bread. She had blonde hair, speckled with gray. Her skin was tan and rough looking like she had labored all her life. But her face was soft, like that of a mother or any kind-hearted soul.

"NO! And who are you?" I asked. I sat up and winced. The wound that ugly woman gave me was still fresh and it hurt like hell. This place was getting creepier then ever. It was like I was trapped in a fairy tale for god sake. Where was the electricity and hygiene? I mean I went to sleep in the twenty first century and woke up in the sixteenth.

"Ella did you lose your memory or something? It's me Rebecca. Ah, stop playing I'll not be doing anymore of your chores little girl. Get up, its time to sweep out the kitchen and clean the bed sheets." Rebecca replied.

"Right whatever," I groggily rolled out of bed and decided to play along with this charade until some stupid reality show host jumped out from behind a wall and screamed 'Gottcah'. Besides if I was Cinderella there was a handsome prince in my future right?

Rebecca showed me where I could find the broom and I set off sweeping. When I finished and Rebecca was satisfied I went upstairs to get the sheets off the beds. I walked past a sitting room where my "stepsisters" and "stepmother" were playing the harp and singing so off key that I rushed to get the sheets so I could take refuge from their voices.

I had just made it down the stairs when I heard a sharp rapping at the door. My "step-family" was obviously too occupied to answer it so I went to the door. Outside was a short little man dressed in an odd costume with a scroll. Without looking up he began to read.

"Dear sir or madam of this fine household. Please pardon this interruption as I inform you of a royal invitation," he handed me a sealed letter and kept on reading, "King Rupert and Queen Ann are holding a royal ball on behalf of their son Prince Hubert heir to the throne, in hopes that he will find a fiancé. They have graciously invited all eligible maidens in the surrounding area to attend. King Rupert, Queen Ann and Prince Hubert, hope that you, sir or madam, and your household will attend the ball and have a delightful evening. Thank you for listening to this royal decree and good day to you, sir or madam." At this point in his long drawn out decree he looked up and noticed my tattered clothing and disheveled hair. The look on his face was of such pure disgust that it almost made me laugh. I gave a deep curtsy.

"Thank you kind Sir, I will be sure to tell my Mother and sisters of this fine affair so that we can attend. I am sure it will be a most enjoyable evening. My mother, the mistress of this house, so does enjoy all social meetings," I replied with a smile spreading from ear to ear.

"Ah yes well, do note that this is a FORMAL affair and umm dress clothes are required," he replied his eyes searching from my feet to my hair.

"Yes of course I will inform my family, good day to you sir," I curtsied and closed the door. As soon as it shut I burst out laughing so hard that I began to get teary eyed. Just then my "Step" family came running down the stairs.

"Cinderella! What is so amusing," my evil stepmother asked. I couldn't answer her I just held up the letter and she snatched it from my hand. As she read it her eyes grew huge and she looked down at me as she passed it to my older sister. "I hope you did not laugh at the ROYAL herald who delivered this letter."

"It took all my will power not to but I did not Madame."

" Mother, Mother, is it true are we really to go to a royal ball. An engagement ball for the prince?" Asked the older sister.

"Yes dear Lucinda and you, the loveliest girl in the whole kingdom, will surely be picked for his bride," my stepmother replied.

"Oh mother how wonderful! But what shall I wear! None of my gowns will do! I need to have the best gown! Mother! Mother!" Lucinda whined.

"And what about me mother can't I go to?" Asked my younger stepsister. She was plump and squat. Her hair was black like coal from a fire. It was frizzy and stuck up from her head in odd angles. Her nose was bent slightly to the right as if she had broken it. Her eyes were set close together and were so dark they were almost black. She looked like a walking disaster.

"Why of course Jocasta, you will be going. Maybe you can meet a fine Knight to marry. All right girls the ball is in four days time we must hurry. TO THE MARKET!" My stepmother shouted.