Chapter 4: Cinderella
Kelson smiled and then left the room.
All alone, I looked around my new room and moved slowly, still in shock by this beautiful room. Then, I crouched on the ground to touch the green rug. I smiled. It was really fluffy and soft.
“Wow…”
I then touched the furniture. It was so glossy and smooth, which was the complete opposite of my dirty and rough hands. The thought of that made me slightly frown. But then, someone came in and I immediately took my hands off the furniture in shock.
It was a middle-aged woman. She had both a round figure and face, but that just made her look more softer and kind. She then smiled sweetly at me.
“Hello, I’m Annie. I’ll be tending to you from now on.” She said with a sweet voice.
“Hello, I’m Pink Eyes,” I sheepishly replied back.
Annie slightly frowned by my name, but then quickly reverted back to her soft smile. “The Duke will give you a prettier name. Shall we wash up first?”
She then took me to the bathroom after I nodded in response. The other maids carried the hot water while Annie started to take my clothes off. After undressing me, she gave a short sigh.
“You should eat a lot of delicious food,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
I tried to cover myself with my hands, ashamed of my bony body. My knees which seemed like it was about to pop out looked so ugly. Even my hands and my face had become so worn out…
Annie helped me wash up. It felt really relaxing because it was my first time washing with hot water. After being washed two or three times, I applied perfume, which smelled very good, from head to toe. Then, I put on clothes which were light and soft. I was in awe again; I think this was the first time that I had ever worn such a pretty dress.
Annie dried my long hair several times with a thick brush. Because my hair was long enough, she spread it out on the bed before carefully brushing it.
“Miss, I’ll be cutting a bit of your hair. Your ends are too damaged.”
“Yes,” I replied while lightly nodding. Annie had the maid bring her scissors, and she then cut my hair down to my waist. I looked at the pool of faded gold hair on the ground, feeling lighter than ever before.
“Excuse me…”
Noticing that I was unsure of how I should address her, she smiled.
“Please call me Annie.”
I nodded. “Annie, what’s going to happen to me now?”
“Well… I don’t know yet. But the Duke will take care of it. All you have to do now is to play well and eat well.” Annie said as she softly fondled my cheeks. “And, you need to gain more weight,” she added firmly.
I had no choice but to nod my head.
***
I can’t believe I became Cinderella overnight.
Surrounded by my soft, silk bedding, I looked at the ceiling.
When I was young, my mother locked me in a box. As I trembled and shut my eyes tightly, I focused my mind on somewhere else. I would pull up the pieces of my past memory and try to visualize them. Bright streetlights, cool air conditioning, clear skies, tall skyscrapers, sparkling windows, and so many more. It became a habit to think of these things every night.
But more than anything, I tried to think of the things close to my past life’s heart. Her sweet parents, her lovely sister, and her cute little dog.
I was Seo-yeong, and at the same time, I was Pink Eyes. And now, I am Estelle.
“Estelle.”
I stood myself up as I pronounced my new name. It is said to mean ‘star,’ but my father must have not known that when he chose that name for me.
‘Maybe he thought it fitted me.’
I’ve never seen my father since I was sold for 20,000 gold that day. I was both relieved and anxious. If the next time I see him again, will he tell me to become a maid, or will he kick me out of the house?
When I first came to this house, I didn’t mind becoming a maid. But now that I have been living luxuriously, I’m afraid to give it up.
‘No, but being a maid here is better than getting kicked out into the streets.’
At first, I thought the maids here would be addressed more formally. After all, Annie was better dressed than her biological mother. How did she and my father ever get along?
Questions ran through my head as I jumped down from my high bed. The soft rug which touched my rough, bare feet made me smile. I then ran to the door of the veranda and struggled to open it. As soon as I opened the door, the cold early morning air poured in.
‘It’s cool.’
I deeply inhaled the cold air as I stepped carefully on the veranda. I could feel the cold touch of the stone floor. I then raised my head on the railing and looked down at the garden full of dawn fog. The garden was so wide that one could take a walk in a carriage or by horse.
‘I wish I could sit on the railing. I probably can’t do it now, but I could try later when I find the right footrest.’
I then leaned against the railing and watched the fog slip away. It was quite peaceful.
In a moment, however, the mansion was then filled with movement. Annie’s voice then came from behind me.
“Oh, my goodness, miss! What are you doing there?!” Annie exclaimed with fear in her voice.
“I was watching the sunrise.”
“If you breathe cold air on the veranda in just your pajamas, you will catch a cold!” Annie said as she then quickly brought me back into the room and wrapped me around with a blanket. She then brushed my hair and changed my clothes as I dined on fresh, warm milk and cookies.
I noticed that my stomach seemed to double in size during my stay here. After all, they have offered me so much delicious food. I like the cookies and cakes that they serve, but my absolute favorite thing was fruit. A bite of a big peach would make all my worries of the world disappear.
After having breakfast, it was free time. Annie said to me that I can run around in the garden or do whatever I want, so I explored the mansion with a big rabbit doll that Annie gave me.
The amount of rooms in this mansion seemed endless, and each room were full of colorful things. Some rooms were filled with only chicken-related decorations. It was a funny room that had chicken tapestry, chicken-palm prints on the wall, and a carved chicken statue. Some rooms were full of floral prints, and some rooms had luxurious ornaments stacked like mountains.
Though I explored much of the mansion, there were still rooms that I have yet to discover. And so, today was the day to attack the south side of the mansion.
I entered a new section past the usual corridor. While I was traveling from room to room, the servants pretended to not notice. Is there a reason as to why they act like I’m invisible? What do they think of me? It made me really curious.
Click!
I opened the big door carefully.
“Wow.”
It was bigger than all the other rooms I explored. I would usually search every nook and cranny of the room, but as soon as I entered the bedroom, I jumped.
‘The Duke?!?’
My heart fluttered as I immediately froze. It didn’t occur to me that maybe I should have ran away at that moment.
Realizing that I had not been spotted for a while, I started to crawl towards the bed. I then climbed on it.
‘He’s not the Duke. Who is he?’