Lady Tremaine’s head snapped in her daughters’ direction. “How dare you defend Cinderella to me! After everything she did! She is the reason we are trapped here. I won’t hear her name again. I won’t!” she said, returning her attention to Lucifer.

“Oh, Lucifer, what shall I do with my daughters? I spent the last of our money on those spoiled girls, buying them the most beautiful wedding dresses, and this is how they treat me? What shall I do?”

The cat blinked and meowed in reply, and Lady Tremaine cocked her head as if she could understand him.

“What’s that, Lucifer? Put the little beasts in the cellar again? I think that might just do it! That will teach them to obey their mother.”

“Mother, no! Please! We won’t go in the basement again! We won’t!” Drizella was crying, her hands shaking with fear. “It’s cold and dark down there. I won’t do it!”

“You will do as I say, Drizella!” said Lady Tremaine. “You know the punishment for defending Cinderella.” She grabbed Drizella by the hair, dragging her to the cellar stairs. “You dare defy me? After all I’ve done for you? You’re as bad as Cinderella!” She pushed her daughter to the ground and held her there, taking a pair of large scissors out of her pocket. “All you two ever do is talk of Cinderella! Cinderella this and Cinderella that! It wasn’t her fault, it was her father’s! Oh, Mama, we feel bad for how we treated her! Well, I’m sick to death of it! I won’t hear it anymore!”

Anastasia stood frozen as her mother held down her sister. She wanted to pull her off Drizella, but she was paralyzed with fear as her mother screamed into her sister’s face.

“You’re useless, the both of you! You have never been able to do anything right! You can’t even wear the dresses I bought you! Oh, Mama, we look horrible. Can’t we please take off these dirty dresses? If you think you look horrible now, just you wait until I am finished with you!”

To Anastasia’s horror, Lady Tremaine started hacking away at Drizella’s ringlets.

“Traitor!” she screeched, over and over. “You don’t think I know your dirty little secrets, the ones you whisper in the dark of night? Do you think I’m a fool? How else would Cinderella have known we were planning to leave if you hadn’t told her? You all betrayed me!” she bellowed as she hacked off more of her daughter’s hair.

“Mother, no!” said Anastasia as she tried to pull her mother off her sister, but Lady Tremaine swung back at her, slicing her arm with the scissors. Anastasia screamed, recoiling in fear and horror as she watched Drizella struggling to free herself.

Chapter XIX: Happily Ever After