The Little Glass Slipper
An erotic tale of love, fairies, and footwear
Chapter One
My father had always told me that I was special, but I had no illusions to my position in life. I knew that most fathers said such things to their children; it was the way of parents. But my father had been speaking the truth. I just didn't understand it until years after he died.
My mother had disappeared when I was a little girl; just left one day and never returned. My father gave me some fanciful tale about her being a fairy, and how she had begun to wither in our world. She had to go home, but she left me with him, to ease his heartache.
Then another woman eased him in ways that I couldn't. Father remarried. My stepmother moved into our home with her three daughters: Hazel, Kaylee, and Ava. They were mean to me when father wasn't around, but I ignored them for him. Then he died, and my life changed drastically.
I became a servant to them; moved out of my spacious bedroom to sleep in the kitchen. I was given rags to wear and hard labor to perform. My hatred festered in my heart, but I tried to hold onto hope. Someday, I would find the strength to leave my home and begin again.
But the world outside was harsh and scary for a young woman, especially in our little kingdom. The land was ruled by lascivious monarchs who had taught their three sons to be just as hedonistic and lecherous as they were. They held erotic parties where young girls were brought in to entertain their guests, and these girls were not always there willingly. It was unsafe to roam the streets after dark. You'd be seen as a “woman of the night” and taken into custody to serve the King and Queen.
So, I hid in the kitchens and slept on the hearth. My stepsisters teased me about the ash on my cheeks and the unkempt state of my hair, but I ignored them and forged on.
Then an invitation arrived.
The King and Queen had decided that it was time for their sons to choose wives. They were holding a grand ball and inviting all the nobles of the land to attend. My father had been a duke, and so his surviving wife was invited to bring her daughters to be presented to the royal princes.
I made a face as I listened to them preen about being princesses. May they be so unlucky as to catch the eye of one of those princes. I would happily stay in the kitchen and keep my honor intact.
But I was special.
Chapter Two
“What has happened here?” A woman shrieked in the garden.
I went running outside before she could wake my stepmother. There would be hell to pay if the Duchess's beauty sleep were interrupted. Yes, that requires an eye roll.
“Shh!” I waved to the woman. “You'll wake them.”
“Wake who?” She started to get angry and then froze, staring at me in shock.
She was a lovely woman, with a pile of golden curls atop her head and a lithe body swathed in gossamer silk. Her skin was pale as milk and just as perfect. Her eyes were the color of the sea on a sunny day, also perfect. But they suddenly looked sad.
“Madelyn?”
“Yes,” I said. “Do I know you?”
“Do you not recall my face?” She asked. “Has it been so long?”
I stared harder and sorted through my memories until a hazy image surfaced.
“Mother?”
“Maddie!” She rushed forward and hugged me tightly. “Sweet child, I've missed you.”
“I thought you were dead,” I mumbled as she pulled back to look me over. “Or in Venice.”
“And I thought you were being cared for,” she snapped. “I see that we were both wrong. Where is your father? I must speak to him immediately.”
“He's dead,” I said hollowly. “He remarried, and after he passed away, his wife took charge of the manor. She has treated me horribly.”
“Oh, Maddie,” her face fell. “I'm so sorry, my darling.”
“Where have you been, Mother?”
