AN: Hello everyone! Here marks the beginning of the Beta'ed version of this story. This has been beta'ed by the Lovely Adam's Gurl - who has a mammoth task in front of her and is doing a splendid job at making this the best version it can be ~Hannah (03/04/2018)

Summary: Cinderella, there wasn't a person alive who didn't know the story of how she came to be. The ugliness of the step-sisters, the evilness of the step-mother or the true love shared with the Prince. Our Cinderella was known as Ella and though her past wasn't as horrific, she was soon to be swept off her feet by her own Prince Charming.

Warning: In this story Renee is not a nice Mother to my original character. There are no 'singers' but I have adopted the concept of 'mates' similar to imprinting but slightly different. This is an Edward/OC story; I haven't decided who Bella will be paired with yet. Due to my MC's upbringing she is outgoing and seems strong but she suffers from anxiety & panic attacks, has low self-esteem & self-worth. If any of the book characters seem OOC to you – that's because I struggle with Twilight as so much of it annoys me. This story is being written as a personal request to a friend of mine. This will be a slow progressing story, not an instant 'oh my gosh you're made for me let's get married and have babies' & Charlie will be a lot brighter and accepting of all things supernatural. There will be no werewolves in this story, instead I'm bringing in another supernatural creature. The storyline will deviate from the original plot after James.

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Twilight but I've made up this plot & my MC Ella.

Chapter One – The Beginning

I had been a secret blessing – to one parent at least. See, my parents had been expecting just one child but then I had appeared as number two. There was an error with the sonogram – or the Doctor had been drinking – and they hadn't seen me. We are twins, Bella and I, and being the smaller twin, I wasn't even expected to survive. I'm sixteen now so I guess I proved them wrong.

Our mother, Renee, changed after our birth. Everyone said it was a faze but it wasn't and she never moved past it. Renee loves Bella with all her heart but me, well, apart from her being my real mum and not Step-Mum, she was as harsh as the fairy-tale equivalent. To my knowledge, I'd never done anything other than survive but apparently even my presence was too much for her to bear. If only Dad had won the custody battle…

I could have become a problem child with Renee's attitude towards me but thankfully my relationship with my dad kept me grounded. Despite what Renee said about Dad, he was a wonderful man and I wouldn't trade him for anything.

Bella and I were incredibly close, for twins whose parents love was divided, but we were incredibly different. Where Bella was bookish, shy and uncoordinated, I was bubbly, creative and talented. My hair was the colour of honeycomb and I had blue eyes with hints of grey, while Bella had luscious brown locks and chocolate coloured eyes.

Over the years and especially after our parents divorced, I'd had a hard time with life. Renee had got sole custody of us and the divide between us began impacting my personality. I soon changed from my outgoing self and into a quieter version. It was inevitable when you had a bully constantly breathing down your neck, not to be affected by it. Once I hit my teens it seemed that Bella and Dad made it their mission to cheer me up and remind me of my greatness and self-worth. I was grateful for it, their positivity shining like a beacon in my otherwise bleak life.

Bella was my lifeline, she looked after me when it all got too much. She stood as a protective barrier between Mum and I. Bella knew of the unfair way our Mother operated. Renee idolized Bella and whereas I never came close to even getting 'well done'. I'd talk to Dad almost every night, he helped ease the pain and reminded me that at least one parent loved me. I knew that both Bella and my Dad were working on getting me away from Renee's poisonous clutches but I wasn't sure if they'd ever manage it.

Of course, there was only so much hatred I could take, before the cracks started to form and the pain I was going through became obvious to everyone else. Nothing I ever did was good enough for Renee and I wished I'd been old enough to fight for the right to live with Dad when our parent's divorced. It had come to the point with Renee where I had stopped fighting. Making an effort had only hurt me further and Renee's harsh words were hurt enough for me.

As Renee's second marriage began to flourish, she eased up on her vicious remarks in favour of wanting more of her husband's company. In some ways, I wasn't sure which was worse, the vicious remarks or the silence that had replaced them. Being ignored by Renee was a whole different experience and not one I relished. It seemed that Bella had noticed I was near breaking point and though my sister loved the heat of home, she made a decision she disliked to benefit me. It was clear that Renee wasn't happy having to stay at home while her new husband Phil, travelled, so Bella put forth the idea that we move in with our Dad.

At first, Renee was against it but as time moved on it seemed she was changing her opinion on things. Finally, she said yes – probably because she realised she'd be shot of me. I was ecstatic. I'd spent the long years growing up, spending a month with Dad every summer. That was until I turned fourteen and Renee decided I wasn't allowed to go anymore. I well knew that she just wanted to take away my happiness.

Bella and I now stood in the airport, waiting to catch our flight. Renee was weeping with her arms wrapped tightly around Bella, almost begging her not to go. Not surprisingly, I received no goodbye from Renee and when they called our flight number, I walked away from my mother without a backward glance. Soon enough we were settled on the plane to Forks, Washington and our dad and I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders.

"Could you try to contain yourself even a little?"

I giggled, I couldn't help the fact that I was excited. Practically bouncing in my seat probably wasn't the best thing to do but I just couldn't help it.

"Bella," I moaned. "I can't possibly sit still! We're in Forks! We get to see Dad! Just look at all this greenness! We definitely won't stand out with our skin colour, here."

Bella rolled her eyes at me but I could tell she was secretly pleased with my lively attitude. I knew Bella felt guilty that she'd been powerless to help when I'd fallen into a deep depression last year. It must have been hard for her to handle and if I could have prevented it, I would have. The same way she didn't like seeing me in a bad way, I didn't like seeing her in one.

We walked through the airport relatively quietly till I saw Dad waiting for us with a sign that read 'Welcome Home'. Due to Renee's controlling behaviour, I hadn't seen Dad in two years so I might have overreacted a little… OK, I screamed and jump-hugged him. Despite Dad's embarrassment at my scream he managed to catch me in his arms and hug me just as tightly as I was hugging him.

"Daddy, I've missed you." There were tears in my eyes, I could feel them.

We cuddled for a few seconds longer before until Dad set me down and turned to greet Bella. Bella had never been good at physical affection. She could do it with me – personally I think that was a twin thing – but when it came to others; Renee, Dad, boys at school, she just clammed up and couldn't cope with things.

I knew, however, that she wouldn't want to upset Dad, so they embraced in an awkward one-armed hug before letting go of each other. I tuned out while they made conversation with each other. Both Dad and Bella were shy quiet people and when they got together even the simplest of conversations ended up putting anyone listening to sleep!

Tuning back in when Bella mentioned something about her hair growing out, I linked one arm with my Dad and the other with Bella and practically dragged them to where Dad's police cruiser was waiting. Dad was the Chief of Police in Forks, a fact that I was incredibly proud of. Bella was proud too but she would never admit it. She tended to be a little embarrassed about the fact that they always had to drive around in the police cruiser but it never bothered me. I sat in the back while Bella took the front seat.

Chatting with Dad all the way home, I gave Bella a chance to relax and take in the evergreen landscape that I knew she disliked. I knew I would have to help Bella in adjusting to Forks once more. She was clumsy and didn't do well when it rained or snowed. It always rained in Forks…

We pulled up at the same two-story house that Renee ran from when she realised the life she should have been committed to, wasn't for her. I loved that it still looked like it did when Bella and I were born, it was like coming back to home. Nudging Bella in the side, I reminded her to smile as Dad pointed out where we would be staying. He had a couple of surprises up his sleeve as well.

I never thought Dad would be one to drastically change the house and I couldn't believe that he had never mentioned anything before. In the two years since I'd seen him, he'd extended the house out the back, this meant that both Bella and I got separate rooms and private bathrooms. There was a third bedroom for visiting guests as well. Though I grilled Dad about it, it was apparently something he had been planning for a while, long before he knew that Bella and I were coming to stay with him.

Later in the day while Bella was still coming to terms with her graduation present – the burnt orange wasn't doing it for me, but I could see the 'cool' factor in having a truck – Dad had taken me off to the side.

"Ella, I don't want you to think that I've left you out."

"It's alright Dad, Bella and I can take turns driving the truck, we both have our licences &, it wouldn't make sense to buy two cars."

Dad nodded, "I still got you something."

My eyes lit up with glee, I couldn't help it, I just love getting presents and giving presents – I'm wicked at curling ribbons!

He pointed in the direction of the sitting room. I hadn't noticed before, but there was a large object covered by a white sheet pushed against the wall. Racing over I ripped the sheet off and screamed in excitement. Bella came running but rolled her eyes when she realised I wasn't in danger.

Dad had bought me a small house piano. It was second-hand like Bella's truck, but I didn't care; I'd been wanting my own piano since I was little. I loved music – playing music was a talent I had and it could both relax me and send me into a temporary escape – usually from Renee.

Dad wasn't one for words of emotion but he did pull me into a tight hug to show his appreciation for my repeated 'thank you's'.

"You girls ready to start school on Monday?"

"Yes."

"No."

Bella and I laughed as we realised we'd spoken in unison. We used to do it all the time when we were little but not so much anymore.

"I'm excited to make new friends but I'll look after Bella the way she looks after me."

"I don't need looking after, Ella."

I smiled at her silliness.

It's surprising how fast time flies when you have things to unpack. Bella had it harder than me as she didn't already have stuff at Dad's, so I helped her. When it came to sleeping, I just couldn't will my mind to stop and my eyes to close. I was excited and worried, anxious, stressed and panicked all in one. I crept into Bella's room and into her bed. We'd always comforted each other when we were scared. I knew Bella would always be there for me.

"It'll be OK Ella, you'll see. I'll keep you safe. We've got a new start here; you can be who you want without fear."

"Thanks, Bella," I whispered.