Years have gone by and the Tremaine's had been blessed with two little girls. The elder daughter was named Drizella, after her late grandmother, the Lady Drizella Tremaine. She had curly brown hair, dark eyes, a pointy nose, thin red lips, and wore green a lot with a big blue boy in her hair. She wasn't very pretty but she wasn't ugly either, she was only plainly pretty. She resembled her late grandmother and a little bit from her mother. She also was also very much like her grandmother because of her snobbish attitude and love for the more superficial things in life. However, she didn't inherit her grandmother's grace, class, or elegance. She was very clumsy, aggressive, and had horrible table manners. She would make her mother cringe with the way she ate like the pigs she fed on the farm. Victoria, now preferring to have people call her Lady Tremaine, had also become more like her mother-in-law, except unlike her daughter, also had the class and sophistication of her mother-in-law.

The younger daughter was named Anastasia, which means reborn, for Lady Tremaine planned to relive the childhood she wished she had through her daughters by giving them everything she never had but always wanted. Anastasia, while also clumsy and lacked grace like her older sister, wasn't a snob. She took after her father, Francis, much more than she did her mother, but feared her mother just like he feared his mother. She also resembled her father very much. She had long and beautiful red hair, a round face, small eyes, and an odd looking nose. She was prettier than her sister, but it was clear that she wasn't going to grow up to be a great beauty than men would fight over. She believed that she was so plain looking, but her father told her she was beautiful and he truly believed she was. He knew she wasn't the prettiest little girl in the world, but still believed she was beautiful.

Francis had also changed. His hair had thinned out to the point that the top of his head was bald, he had gotten to be very fat, and had aged quite a lot. He makes a lot of money for his family, but also makes sure he has time for his family. He tries to protect his daughters from the influence of their mother, who had changed from the women she used to be. It was too late to help Drizella, no matter how much he still tries, but he is determined to protect Anastasia.

Lady Tremaine had aged and her beauty was fading because she was never a natural beauty. Her beauty was always so stiff, but still wasn't exactly ugly yet and was still a handsome woman. But her outer appearance isn't what changed the most, it was who she was on the inside because she was truly just like her late mother-in-law.

The Tremaines were having their afternoon tea, which they mainly had so Lady Tremaine could teach her daughters how to sit, speak, drink, and eat like proper ladies. Drizella was never good at eating like a proper lady, or like any kind of human being. She also had a habit of picking her nose. Anastasia, while she had better table manners than her sister, wasn't very good at sitting and speaking like a proper lady. Her mother would also always force her to put her long hair into high pinned up curls, which she hated.

"Drizella, stop picking your nose!" demanded Lady Tremaine.

"But mother, my nose itches!" complained Drizella.

"You must learn to ignore it like a lady. I've had to be in corsets for hours and have a hard time breathing, but I got through it, so you can deal with your nose itching," scolded Lady Tremaine. "Anastasia, stop hunching over and sit up straight!"

"But it's harder to drink and eat sitting up without making a mess," said Anastasia.

"That's why we practice this every day! So you can learn how," responded Lady Tremaine.

"Dear, there's no need to be so hard on the girls," said Francis.

"Stop smothering them!" glared Lady Tremaine. "They need to learn how to behave like proper ladies in order to get anywhere in society, especially if one day one of them will marry the Prince."

"I'm going to marry the Prince!" declared Drizella. "After all, I'm the oldest and I'm much more of a lady than this clumsy twit!"

"Says the girl with the table manners of a wild animal!" argued Anastasia. "That is, what little good you can actually get in your mouth."

Drizella then threw a piece of pie at her little sister. "Looks like you can't get food in your mouth either," laughed Drizella.

"Girls, both of you stop this behavior at once!" demanded Lady Tremaine.

"Drizella, apologize for throwing a pie at your sister!" demanded Francis.

"Mother says a true lady never apologizes to anyone, except royalty or anyone high up than them," said Drizella.

"Young lady, you apologize to your sister right now!" demanded Francis.

"A lady never apologizes, even if she's in the wrong!" said Lady Tremaine.

"How can you teach our daughter something like that?" asked Francis. "You're going to turn her into a greedy, egocentric, spoiled brat!"

"No, she'll be a lady who knows that she deserves nothing but the best," responded Lady Tremaine.

"She needs to know about good manners and how to behave!" argued Francis. "Now Drizella, apologize to your sister right now!"

"No!" pouted Drizella.

"Than you can just march up to your room and not come out until you do," ordered Francis.

"What?" shouted Drizella.

"You heard me young lady! Now go!" demanded Francis.

"Drizella, stay seated!" said Lady Tremaine. "Teatime isn't over!"

"It is now and so are the other lessons you have planned for today!" Francis defied Lady Tremaine. "Drizella, march! Anastasia, go get cleaned up."

Drizella stomped off to her from throwing a tantrum, while Anastasia walked a good distance behind her sister, in case she took it out on her. It was a good thing they had rooms on opposite sides of the house. It was clear that Francis needed to talk to his wife and she clearly had a lot to say too. What they didn't know was that Anastasia could hear them from where the bathtub. She was used to them fighting, but it was still sometimes too much for her to take.

"How dare you contradict me in front of our daughters!" said Lady Tremaine.

"How dare you encourage bad behavior to our daughters!" retaliated Francis. "You acting just like my mother!"

"Is that so bad?" asked Lady Tremaine.

"Is that so bad? questioned the shocked Francis. "Victoria, she's the same woman who treated you like dirt when she first met you and wouldn't let you marry me unless you gave her your farm to dig up gold! Of course it's a bad thing! You're not being the woman I fell in love with."

"Love is weakness!" declared Lady Tremaine. "Our daughters aren't going to let something like that get in their way."

"How can you act like this when you used to be a farmer's daughter?" asked Francis.

"Because I never plan to go back to that life or to have my daughters be part of that life. One of them will be the future Queen of the kingdom," responded Lady Tremaine.

"Victoria, there are hundreds of families that are grooming their daughters to win the Prince's heart when they grow up. It's not very likely that one of our daughters will marry the Prince with so much competition," reasoned Francis.

"Exactly, and those girls all have someone that gives them a better chance than our girls, their looks. Let's face it, our daughters aren't exactly beauties. Drizella, while she looks fine now, will grow up to be ugly and Anastasia will be very plain. So we need to train them to be the perfect proper ladies and try to hide their looks to make them seem attractive," said Lady Tremaine.

"Victoria, the men that marry our daughters should love them for who they are. Besides, the Prince might fall in love with someone else," argued Francis.

"Love won't be a factor in who the Prince marries. There's a better chance of him marrying a scullery maid," retaliated Lady Tremaine. "Our girls will be given the best and nothing less."

"Our girls will learn to behave and not be trained like horses in order to satisfy your greed!" said Francis. "And as long as I'm here and controlling the money, things are going to change. I should've done this a long time ago, but better late than never. No more of this greed and wicked behavior! And that's final!"

Francis walked off, finally letting out everything he had wanted to say for a long time but never had the courage to do. However, Lady Tremaine was angry and said in her mind that it wasn't over. Meanwhile, Anastasia had to sometimes put her head in the water in order to drown out all the yelling, but did very little good. However, she was happy that her father was finally stopping her mother's ways, which always frightened her.

It was late at night and Anastasia was laying in bed, waiting for her father to read her a bedtime story like he always did every night. She was getting worried that he wasn't coming, until he finally came in, much to her relief. She had a hard time enjoying the story because she kept thinking about the fight her parents had. Francis noticed something was bothering her, so he stopped reading the book.

"Anastasia, is there something bothering you?" asked Francis.

"No, I'm fine, just tired," answered Anastasia.

"You can't fool me. Usually I've had to tell you several times to go to sleep because you keep wanting more stories," said Francis with a sly smile. "Now what's bothering you?"

"I heard you and mother fighting when I was cleaning myself up," answered Anastasia.

"Oh, well, mommy and daddy just had a little argument and it's nothing to worry about," said Francis.

"I can't help but worry. Mother scares me," said Anastasia.

"You're afraid of your mother? Why?" asked Francis.

"She always wants me to be perfect at everything and get mad when I can't do something right. Plus whenever Drizella starts something, she never gets onto her or makes her apologize. I never feel good enough for her and I'm afraid of her getting angry at me," answered Anastasia. "Why is mother so mean?"

"Your mother has been through a lot. She was a farmer's daughter but wanted to be more than that. She wants to give you girls everything she never had but always wanted. She was also influenced a lot by your grandmother, who was a lot like your mother. She also had her father that want to keep her on the farm and control her life. She's just trying to do what she thinks is best for you girls, even if it's not," answered Francis.

"I just want her to love me," said Anastasia with a tear going down her face.

Francis wipes the tear off his daughter's face. "Anastasia, your mother does love you. She's doing all of this for you and your sister. But I want you to be who you want to be and not who your mother or anyone else wants you to be," said Francis.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" asked Anastasia.

"I think you're beautiful," answered Francis. "You're not the prettiest girl in the world, but you're beautiful in your own way. Besides, being a good person on the inside is what makes one beautiful."

"Am I pretty enough to marry the Prince?" asked Anastasia.

"If he doesn't want to marry you, then some lucky young man will and he'll appreciate you like you deserve," answered Francis.

He then continued to tell his daughter the story, seeing that she had cheered up. After the story was finished, he kissed her goodnight and left to talk to his wife. However, Lady Tremaine had been waiting for him in her bedroom.

"Victoria, I think we need to talk," said Francis.

"Yes, but first, I have something for you," responded Lady Tremaine as she handed him a cup of tea. "I wanted to break the ice with a peace offering. I made it myself."

"Thank you, Victoria," said Francis with a smile as he drank the tea. However, he suddenly felt weak, his head was dizzy, and he could hardly breathe. "What did you put in this tea?"

"The same thing that I put in my father's tea... poison..." answered Lady Tremaine.

"You killed your father all those years ago?" questioned Francis struggling on the floor.

"And nobody knew but your mother and I. And now you, but not for long," answered Lady Tremaine. "I had to kill him to finally have control of my life, even though I loved him."

"Did you even love me?" asked Francis.

"I always loved you and I never stopped," answered Lady Tremaine.

"Than why did you poison me?" asked Francis.

"Because even when you love someone, if they try to take away what's rightfully yours and keep you from having control, you have to stop them and let them know that they can't because it's yours!" answered Lady Tremaine. "You're trying to take away my control on the girls lives and are even affecting the way Anastasia is acting. Filling her head with nonsense that will get her nowhere. With you gone, I'll have control over them and one of them will become the Queen of the kingdom."

"You realize that even if that happens, you'll never be truly happy... You won't have love... Just an empty heart..." said Francis still trying to hold on to his life.

"An empty heart is just what I need. You may have gotten me to a higher social class, but you were also my weakness. You're the only man that I ever truly loved... Which is why I had to do this because I can't have any more weaknesses if I want to help our daughters. From now on I'm never going to marry for love again, just for money," said Lady Tremaine as she bent down to her dying husband. "You will remain the only man that I'll ever love..."

Lady Tremaine then kissed her husband one last time before he died. The news was spread that Sir Francis Tremaine died from a sudden sickness. Lady Tremaine felt sadness, but she managed to keep it locked away because it was for the better, at least, that's what she thought. A funeral was held and the one who truly mourned the death of Francis was Anastasia. She no longer had him to protect her from her mother.

However, a new problem arose, Lady Tremaine needed to find a rich man to marry in order to provide for her daughters. She's already had to sell all of her husband's belongings in order to make money, much to Anastasia's sadness. But Anastasia was the most upset about her favorite book her father read her, but Lady Tremaine wouldn't have any of her whining. She made it clear that she was to do as she said from now on and she was not to defy her or even think about disagreeing with her ever again. She tried to make her daughter cope with her father's death by getting her a cat. Unfortunately, the cat wasn't very nice, so Lady Tremaine kept the cat for herself because he would do what she said. She named him Lucifer.

Lady Tremaine saw a woman, one more beautiful than any she had ever seen before in her life. She had brown hair that was shoulder length, sparkling blue eyes, lips pink like blossoms, and a dazzling smile. With her was a little girl that looked just like her, except she had blonde hair. This made Lady Tremaine jealous because she knew when that little girl grew up that she would be able to win the Prince's heart easily.

Lady Tremaine then saw a handsome man with dark hair stand next to them and got an idea. She would be able to both provide for her daughters and keep this beautiful little girl out of the way. She would find a way to poison this beautiful young woman, win the heart of her husband, wait awhile before she poisons him, and then make this girl a servant. Unfortunately, the wicked woman's plan was carried out. She took advantage of the widowed gentleman's vulnerability by using her fake vulnerability to unite together in marriage, never knowing she's the one who killed his wife. Once she had killed her second husband, her true nature was revealed to her stepdaughter, Cinderella.

Without her second husband, Lady Tremaine had to get rid of the servants, leaving all the work to Cinderella. Since Cinderella's family also had a farm, she was forced to do all the work there too in order to help make money. The cruel Lady Tremaine also gave away all of Cinderella's things, including her parents belongings. However, Cinderella managed to save her mother's favorite dress, which she hoped to wear someday. Cinderella was even kicked out of her own room and forced to live in the attic.

Lady Tremaine and her daughters treated Cinderella horribly, like she was a parasite, a nothing. Anastasia normally wouldn't be like that, but she wanted her mother was the only parent she had left and she wanted her love. Besides, much like her mother and sister, she was bitterly jealous of Cinderella's charm, grace, and beauty. However, before the death of her stepfather, she was jealous that Cinderella still had her father to love her. However, when he died, Anastasia did feel some sympathy for her stepsister. She still treated her with cruelty, but wasn't as bad as her mother and sister were. She even was abused by her sister herself, which unfortunately made her take it out on Cinderella. She still struggled to have her mother's approval, but at least felt superior to Cinderella.

However, through it all, Cinderella remained gentle and kind. Unlike her stepmother, she didn't lose her strength from her kindness and big heart from doing hard work and being treated badly. But it wouldn't matter what her stepmother would do because as we all know, in the end Cinderella lives happily ever after with the Prince. Love isn't weakness, it's strength. Cinderella even forgives Anastasia, who felt horrible for what she had done to her stepsister. She even finds love and breaks free from her mother... but that's another story.

THE END