No. No sleep. She didn't have time to sleep. She couldn't sleep. She had to plan. She needed to escape. The poor girl was desperate to leave her wretched prison. So she plotted and schemed and conspired to not just run away, but murder. This would be her justice.

It was morning. As she sat down for a bitter breakfast, she scanned the room for her father. He was nowhere in sight.

Perfect, she thought, This will be easier with him gone.

Ella started to wolf down her meal, realizing that she was starving from skipping meals the day before.

"Oh," a voice mused,"has Cinderella become a pig? I guess it was only a matter of time before you showed your true colors."

It was Ella's step-mother.

And that was going to be the last insult she would hear from that witch.

Ella rose from her seat and grabbed a bottle from the kitchen counter. As she examined the glass, she saw it was her father's alcohol. It only made her more resentful. She smashed the bottle against the edge of the counter and turned towards the demon. She was prepared to kill.

"You... you are going to let me l-leave," Ella stuttered,"And if you don't, I-I'll stab you!"

Both of them had fear in them, but Ella had one more thing: Desperation.

"Fine!" yelled the step-mother,"Run! Run all you like! Just know that when you come crawling back to me, I will show no mercy! You'll have wished you cut my heart out!"

Ella took the chance and bolted out the door. She ran past houses, streets, and out of town. Not once did she stop to catch her breath.

Eventually, she made it out of town. In front of her stood a tall, imposing forest. But it didn't scare Ella. All those trees meant one thing to her: Freedom.

It has been four days since Ella had left her prison. The forest was beautiful but massive. During the day she would scavenge and wander. At night she laid in the grass and stared at the stars. She would connect them to make funny shapes. Ella was in paradise.

Except for the insects. She hated the damn things. They would pester and annoy the young woman. Eventually, she was covered in bites and scratches, but she didn't mind. She was free. She was happy, something she hadn't felt since she was a child, before her father... changed.

Finally, Ella realized how badly scratched she was one morning. Her arm was all red, covered in bumps and scars and other horrid things. She examined herself and found this was what her whole body looked like. She finally realized how much her body hurt and burned. All these marks reminded her of how her step-mother would beat her. But then another thing came to mind: The kitchen knife. Ella could use the grave thing to give her jailer all the scratches she had. And why not her father, too? To Ella, her father died after he picked up that first bottle of ale. But the thought of harming her father so bad... it jolted her back into sanity. She couldn't do that. That would make her as bad as her step-mother. And Ella would rather die than become her.

As Ella traveled on, she came across a place that filled her with dread. Her face turned pale. She had forgotten this was here. How could she? It was a graveyard, a small one, where her real mother lied.She trudged over, the tombstone and read it.

Here lies Kyla Jones

The happiness she brought shall stay with us.

"The happiness she brought shall stay with us," Ella thought, No. It died with her.

Ella tried to gather herself again, but couldn't. It hurt far too much, so the poor girl broke down and cried. For a moment, all she felt was sadness. Then anger came. Anger at her step-mother, at her father, at herself, and even her real mother. Damn her for dying and leaving Ella. It all went downhill from there, so far down she fell in Hell.

Ella kept crying for what seemed like hours until she heard footsteps in the grass. She whipped her head around and saw a young woman. But her eyes... they looked so much older than the woman. Ella rose steadily, her eyes bloodshot.

"Child, are you alright?' asked the stranger.

"I-I'm fine," Ella sniffled."Better than I've felt in years." That wasn't a complete lie.

"Ah," the stranger said, making a face,"I understand a, uh, good sobbing session helps...."

It was then that Ella noticed the flowers in the woman's hand.

"Who are you," Ella asked.

"Just an... old friend."

"I-I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"No, you were too young to remember, but I was a friend of your mother. Call me Esmerelda."

Ella sniffled.

"Esmeralda... could you please help me?"

"How so, my dear?"

"Can you help me...," Ella choked back a sob."Help me find a home? Somewhere I'd be... loved."

The odd woman looked down and made a face like she was grieving.

"I'm sorry, young one, but... there are many things I wish I could do, but alas, that is not one of them," A tear trickled down her face,"The story must go on."

The woman stepped toward Ella who cowered back.

"I'm sorry."

In a flash, Ella was unconscious.,

"Sometimes I wonder if this job is really a blessing and not a curse...."

A/N

Thank you WeaponsOfCl for being an awesome human being and editing this chapter and giving me a bunch of ideas for it. Yeah, so go and follow him he's working on a short story that has yet to be published but I have great expectations for.