We all know the story of Cinderella. And we all know the famous characters that helped shaped the story into what it is. A beautiful young maiden that held onto her dreams when all seemed loss, and managed to marry the prince at the end. Yes, for all reasons of practicality, you could say that you know the story inside-out. Or do you?

There is one character that is so seldom mentioned that they are nearly forgotten in everyone's mind. This character had no secret love affairs with the prince, or had any harsh words towards Cinderella. Not at all. This character stood in the shadows as Cinderella's fairy tale unraveled completely.

Now, you could say that since this character had nothing to do with Cinderella's story, that it doesn't really make a difference. You would be right if you think this…on a certain level, that is. While this character may not have impacted Cinderella's story in any obvious way, it is the fact that Cinderella impacted her story in the most obvious way possible.

But to understand this character's story, one must travel back into the past, quite a few years back, and see it all start from the beginning...

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived a happy royal family. You had the king, Eadberht, his queen, Cassandra, and their lively six year old son, Charmond. They had the perfect life. With servants to attend to them at all hours of the day and night, a kingdom that loved them, and a strong family dynamic, all seemed to be wonderful.

Or, at least, things were wonderful until the queen found out that she was with child.

The news shocked the court and kingdom, but none were more surprised than the king and queen. They had thought that Char would remain their only child, because after years of trying, they had finally given up on the idea of a playmate for their son. Well, it was a little too much to handle all in one swallow. It took a few weeks of slowly warming up to the idea of another child until the monarchs realized that they were really, truly happy.

The pregnancy progressed nicely for the queen, better than her earlier one had been in fact. There was nothing to be concerned about, absolutely nothing…so no one was. The servants busily prepared for the new arrival, the king fell in love with the unborn child, the queen was perfectly content in her pregnancy, and the young, just-turned-seven-year-old prince happily dreamed away his days of what he and the baby would do together in the near future. Things just couldn't have been any better.

And then came the day of the birth. The labor pains had come too quickly, too painfully, in the middle of the night. By the time the doctor had been summoned, and the midwife had been awoken, the baby was halfway out. Blood poured out of the woman at an alarming rate, and though every method was tried, it was in vain. Nothing could be done to save their beloved queen. All they could do was stand by and watch.

The queen wasn't an idiot. She could feel her life slipping away from her. She knew that so much blood loss was not normal when having a child. But she also knew that if she did not hurry, her child would be taken with her. So giving one last, final big push, the queen felt her child rush out of her, and she felt herself become pale and lightheaded. She'd be dead before dawn broke.

King Eadberht had been pacing outside of the master chamber, worriedly wondering what all the commotion inside was about, and if that meant something was wrong. He could not admit to himself what he feared might be true. When the doors to his bed chamber opened all he saw were somber faces and the only thing he heard were the soft painful words that his beloved wife was on the brink of death; he should go in and say his goodbye's now.

The heartbroken king tried to keep himself from falling apart in front of his now dying wife, he really did. He had never imagined a life without her…and now, suddenly, the imaginative idea was starting to become a reality. A horrid reality at that. Hot tears filled his vision; he lasted all of two minutes before he started to cry like a young, hurt child.

Queen Cassandra took in every part of her newborn child, savoring every moment she had with the healthy, tiny thing. This child would never know what it felt like to be showered with so much affection that it seemed to be too much. This child would never know how it felt to be rocked to sleep by a gentle voice reading aloud a story. This child would grow up without a mother. This child…would grow up without her.

Eadberht cried, Cassandra felt her heart break, and the newborn child who had been the cause of all of this, slept as though nothing in the world was happening. Feeling a sudden pain in her abdomen, Cassandra's eyes went wide and she thrust the babe out towards its father; she had to speak now before all was lost.

With a strained, painful, and quiet voice the woman begged her king two things. One, to raise their son into the kind of man all would admire. That was the easy wish; Eadberht agreed to it immediately. Two though…two was harder to speak aloud. But blood was starting to stain the sheets again, and the queen knew that she had no time to think this through. Two, she begged with wet eyes, always love their newborn child. Always.

Eadberht did not answer right away; he wasn't sure he could. The babe in his arms stirred and let out a feeble whimper to let all know that it was hungry. Cassandra gave a pained laugh, reaching out a hand to stroke her child's face…and then went limp. She was gone.

Eadberht blinked. He'd thought that death would be a final thing for him, death would somehow make all this make sense. But it didn't. It made everything he'd been feeling erupt tenfold inside of him. He felt her hand; it was starting to lose its warmth. His sobs came only moments later.

When, almost an hour later, his sobs had diminished, he finally looked down at the child in his arms. The newborn embodied its mother in every way that he could think of…and every way that made him feel as though a thousand knives were stabbing him all at once. It wasn't fair. Holding the child closer to him for a moment, he breathed inwards, calming his system, before gently lowering the pitiful thing into a make-shift bassinet at the end of their…no, his bed. He vowed that it would be the last time he would hold the tiny girl again.

Time went on, as it has a tendency to do, and the baby was finally named by a governess; Gwendolyn. The king managed to keep his vow, and never held the girl in his warm arms. For all accounts, he ignored her and instead showered his son with everlasting attention. Charmond was only a young child when his sister was born, but the loss he felt when his mother left him was only replaced by the attention given to him by his father. He ignored his sister as well, believing that it was only the right thing to do.

Gwendolyn became a quiet, withdrawn child. She spoke only when spoken too, and never once did something that anyone could think of her as a nuisance. Most of her governesses lasted less or just about a year, always leaving fed up with such a black-sheep of the family, and of the all the experiments-gone-wrong caused by the girl. She was hardly ever allowed to attend a social event, and if on the off chance the king was in a wonderful mood and let her go, all she was to anyone was wallpaper.

But, in her mind, and in her small journal, she was strong. The girl, shockingly to those who were fortunate enough to see it, had a personality that defied all the odds against her.

Her name was often forgotten, her title simply overlooked, and her face just one more in a castle full of souls. Her father showed absolutely no feelings for her, her brother sometimes had to be reminded that she still existed, and most people did not seem to even notice her presence. Gwendolyn knew by the time she turned six that she was to be a forgotten princess. Forever.

And now, with the introduction done, I do believe we can start this story.

Hi guys! This is my first Cinderella fanfic, and I have been neglecting my other stories for months now because this story was driving me nuts and I needed to write it all out. So, here it is. I hope you like it! Oh, and please review! :)