The coachman opened the door for Cinderella to climb out. Then he was back in his spot before she had closed the door. Cinderella and her two bags stood in front of the tall ominous gates of the grand castle. Cinderella turned to the coachman for any information or advice he could offer. He didn't even look at her as he raised the reins, but before he lowered them he said with a scoff "Good luck." Then whipped the reins. His laughter could be heard as the coach drove away into the mist. So Cinderella was left alone to face her fate. She slowly turned around to face the gate and her future.

Cinderella squeezed through the gap between the gates and made the long lonely walk to the front gate of the castle. During this time Cinderella thought over of her life. She was seven when her mother died. Over the following year she became very close to her father, whom in the following year married her step-mother. When her father died less that a year after his new marriage Cinderella saw the true side of her step-mother and step-sisters. Cinderella shuddered at the thought of her step-family. "Let's not start this new adventure on thinking of them." She said aloud. "This is going to be good for me. A new place to forget all my woes. I'll try to think of something happy." So she did. She thought of how her life here would be different from home. How she might find a friend and be loved again.

Finally she stopped at the grand front doors of the castle. Cinderella thought that maybe she should seek out the servant's entrance but since it was her first time there she decided to use the front doors. She reached up on her toes and clonked the knocker three times then waited. She waited less then ten seconds and the doors opened slowly. Cinderella picked up her bags and walked into the dark castle. The doors closed behind her. She turned around to thank the person who opened them but there was no one there. So her "Thank you." feel to no one. Cinderella waited several minutes for someone to receive her. No one came. Seeing light coming from a room just down the hallway a bit she decided to it. Cinderella made her way to the room. She found no one in side. However there was a fireplace, a chair in the corner and table in the center of the room. On the table was a mantle clock, a tea pot, and a light candelabra. "Someone should be back soon. They left their candle burning." Said Cinderella. She put her bags in the corner by the door and sat in front of the fireplace. The hot flames comforted her. Fire was familiar. The same here as it was a home. So she waited. Hours past and no one came to receive her. She started to worry that leaving the front doors wasn't a good idea. Getting up Cinderella decided to check what time it was. Going to the table she reached for the clock to bring it closer to read the time. As she reached the clock opened one eye barely a crack and then quickly shut it. Surprised Cinderella backed away from the table. She glanced at the other objects and saw the tea pot shake a little and the candelabra winked at her. Cinderella gasped.