IV- Tragedy

The fact that Lady Tremaine walked from one end of the many parlors about the mansion over to the wall length window after having walked over to that end not long before counted as pacing for her. She moved off from the window after only a little bit as well. Anastasia and Dresella sat on the couch by the wall, watching their mother's pacing. While over her little outburst of earlier, Anastasia hadn't completely done away with the feelings of guilt over what had happened, and she watched her mother with a worried expression.

It was unwise, she knew it was unwise, but the girl couldn't help herself. "Are you ok mot--". The sentence didn't even fully leave Anastasia's lips before her mother turned to her sharply, that once statement spoken to break the silence that had spanned since the accident was also enough to break the uneasy truce. Now her mother's full anger was raging.

"What were you thinking?!" she said, "what lady fritters her time away on horses when there are far more lady like activities to be engaged in! Now your father is injured because of you, do you want us to end up out in the street?!".

"It's not her fault" a timid yet surprised voice said. All three of the room's occupants turned to see Cinderella, with very red eyes, coming from where she had been watching over her father from the doorway as the doctor examined his injuries. Lady Tremaine frowned. "It was an accident, mother, that's all" Cinderella continued. It was the first time the girl had used the title and it was lost on Lady Tremaine in the emotion of the moment.

No matter how much work both Dresella and, more so, Anastasia, may need they were still her own daughters and to an extent Lady Tremaine was unable to think of them as anything but perfect. Cinderella, on the other hand, was under no such restrictions. Lady Tremaine's frown deepened. She seemed to be trying to format an answer that would fit the treatment of her husband and provider's daughter, when the doctor interrupted everyone by walking into the room behind Cinderella.

The girl stepped out of the way and no one was comforted by the look on the doctor's face. "Lady Tremaine, I wonder if I might speak to you in private" he said softly. The lady of the manor nodded slowly, "Yes, of course". She followed the doctor from the room. All three girls watched the two go.

"I--I don't like his look" Anastasia said softly, worry evident in her voice. She turned to face Cinderella again, "How--how did he seem?" she asked softly. The blonde glanced down, "Not good...". Anastasia turned her gaze forward once more. She slowly closed her eyes, "What have I done?" she said.

Cinderella was immediately by her step sister's side, "You didn't do anything, Anastasia, of course you didn't" she reassured, "it was an accident". Dresella frowned, "Mother was right, you two shouldn't have been messing with that horse!". Cinderella sent her a shocked look that she would say such a harsh statement. Anastasia merely looked down, seeming to take in and agree with her sister's statement...she shouldn't have been messing with that horse, she shouldn't have leapt up like she did.

The doctor and Lady Tremaine returned and all three girl's looked up to greet them. The doctor gave a quick nod in parting to them and with words which sounded like, "...so sorry" exited the mansion escorted out by Lady Tremaine. All three girls slowly rose from their spots in the time it took before she came back again into the room.

"Is everything...alright mother" Dresella said. Lady Tremaine's expressions seemed to harden into a more stoic expression and what she said was the last any expected of her, "Cinderella, that vile horse of yours in to be sold immediately" she said in an even tone, "We can't afford to keep him anyway and besides...".

Cinderella felt she couldn't have been cut lower than to imagine such a thing. "Oh no, please!" she begged, rushing over to her step mother's side, "you can't sell...".

Lady Tremaine would hear of no argument though, "Well after your father has left us destitute we have to have some means of income, even temporary". It took a moment for the meaning of such words to make it through to all three girls. As soon as it did, though, Dresella looked thoughtful, as if pondering through what her mother was thinking of how would they live now. Anastasia felt her grip on reality slip away into a strange sort of haze. Cinderella looked horrified and rushed from the room up the stairs to the room her father was still laying in.

Lady Tremaine took both her daughters hands and followed, still Anastasia could barely respond from the haze that seemed to have descended on her. Even as they entered the room and stood aloof as Cinderella cried her eyes out on the blanket of the bed where her...their...father lay. Anastasia looked in that direction, saw the bed, the form upon it, her step sisters grief stricken form, yet still none of it seemed real and she could only stand there by her mother's side in a stoic silence. She'd lost her father...again. She opened herself up to her new father and now he was...was...

After what seemed an eternity, Lady Tremaine spoke. "I suppose, if you were willing to do your part so that we could alleviate the staff and servants, we might keep the horse" she said to the child by the bed. Cinderella could bear little other heartache in her life and quickly nodded, "Yes, yes of course, anything to help us keep him" she said, turning her wet and grief stricken eyes of pleading to this woman who now held her entire life in her hands.

"and..." the small girl's voice went on, "Bruno, our dog, we...can't". Lady Tremaine scoffed and turned from the room, "As I said, if you do your part" she answered, "but he mustn't bother Lucifer too much". Dresella quickly followed on her mother's heels as she left the room. Still Anastasia stood there. Cinderella's gaze turned to take in her step sister and at that moment the red head seemed to snap from her daze. The chocking sound of a sob trying to break free sounded in the stillness of the room.

Cinderella rose to comfort her step sister and just as Anastasia took a step to possibly accept such, her mother's harsh words sounded, "Anastasia, come along". She paused. Cinderella gave a small smile, "Oh you can let her wait a while" she said in what was meant to be a kind and cheering up statement. "Anastasia!" her mother's call came again.

At that moment, deep down, the child wanted nothing more than to fly to her step sister's comfort, for the two of them to make it through this hard time together, but...a division had been put into the household she knew, even at this young she knew, and...she'd lost a father, she couldn't loose her mother too. For the sake of her own survival. She wanted a sister's love more than a mother's but...she needed a mother's love more than a sister's.

So, the girl frowned, "How dare you says such things about my mother!" she tried to sound as stern as both her own mother and Dresella would. It didn't work perfectly though, and as Cinderealla looked only a bit shocked, Anastasia's frown softened, "I...I have to go...with her" she said softly, before putting her mask back up and walking out of the room to where her mother waited. She knew it was only a matter of time before she got better at this.

Cinderella watched her go and a slow soft sigh escaped her. She realized why Anastasia had made the choice she had, yet it still saddened her to loose the one step sister who had shown a chance of a relationship with her. It seemed she had lost absolutely everything on this one day.