Beastly ever After

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE

Ana dragged three baskets filled to the brim with laundry.

It was not an unusual task but after doing this for over seven years she had to wonder how they always wore this many clothes in a week yet expected her to go on with the meager clothing she had.

Ana had however long learned not to ask such questions the last time she had even tried she had received a slap for her trouble. When she had then tried helping herself to their used clothing which mind you could still be worn many more months and not look bad she had realized that her family members were selfish and cruel.

Days later when Eleanor had recognized her clothes she proceeded to gather all of Ana's clothes and burned them, she cried buckets of tears over that but it did not stop her she had just become sneakier she took unfashionable clothes, and dyed them different colors, if anyone noticed she was never threadbare they chose to ignore it and she let them be.

She tugged at the bag of laundry glancing woefully at the inadequate washing machine before breathing out a sigh she took Eleanor's bag first she was the grumpiest of the three of her laundry was late not that she knew how to wash a single piece of clothing.

She started by sorting out the clothes light colors from dark ones then she dumped soap into the washer set its timer and tossed in the clothes, she started up again with Elizabeth's clothes, the one thing that Ana liked about her 'family' was that she could manipulate them quite well,they thrived on extravagance and luxury so when she had mentioned that the O 'Neil's use a triple spaced washer it had not taken a week for them to order a new triple washer and another seven days for it to arrive,they had promptly thrown out the old one but as she did with clothes she had kept it and she didn't let it bother her at all their loss was her gain

As she pulled out the laundry and tossed in another she tried and failed in not thinking about the castle she had seen by the O' Neil's property it was a dismal failure she somehow remembered every single detail and although she had not been able to go back there was this itching feeling she had to go back and uncover the secret of that place but luckily she was not that dumb or so she hoped.

She shoved another set of clothes when she heard a shriek from upstairs as her name rang around the whole house

"Ana Ana come here now" the voice called letting out a sigh of exasperation she fan toward the stairs

"How I wish they'd all jump off a cliff sometime soon" she muttered beneath her breath, she raced past the last room to find the shrieking sisters and their mother hanging precariously over the bed. It was quite funny when you allowed yourself to look at it,Elizabeth and her princesses were perched atop the comforter staring frightened at a mouse who seemed unnaturally enamored with all three of them because it just seemed to stare at them either he was dropped on its head as a baby or it was just a plain dumb mouse

"What are you doing standing there kill it"Eleanor shrieked and she rolled her eyes,she was not interested in killing mice ,she stumbled forward drunkenly using her left foot to nudge the mouse before shrieking herself making the sister shriek even louder.

"For God's sake, Ana kill the damn thing"Elizabeth scolded her feet inches off the bed

"I can't, it is gone" she cried

"Mother we can't stay here, I refuse to sleep in a mouse infested house" Eleanor whined

" It's probably mice, they never come alone where there's one there's a horde of them" she added slyly and almost felt pity when she saw Elaine shudder, almost.

"See Mother, let's move into a hotel."

Eleanor said gingerly sliding off the bed

"I'll go pack" Elaine said

"So will I," Elizabeth finally said after long bouts of silence

"And I will call the exterminator" she replied turning to the door.

It took thirty minutes to get an exterminator that agreed to visit at least the next day,most companies were booked full it had taken the witches twenty minutes to get packed and ready to leave,each woman had tugged a suitcase the size of a small country with them,

"Clean up the house,and call us when the rodents are gone " Elizabeth instructed causing Eleanor to shudder

"Can't we just move we've been in this rundown town for years" she complained Ana resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Their town had a population of five thousand people and was hardly small but it didn't matter to her

"No Eleanor I am not interested in leaving a home I have had for years" Elizabeth said harshly turning to the road as the taxi screeched into the driveway

"Clean my room thoroughly,and finish my laundry when we come back I want you to make chicken pot pie"

She nodded demurely taking the bags into her hands and moving to the taxi she stuffed them in along with the other bags she watched all three of them ply into the cab before it zoomed off heaving a sigh and waving them quite happily she watched them leave.

Turning back into the house she shut the doors opened the window and moved down to the laundry room,something tiny skittered past her making her jump a little

" uhnf" she muttered staring as it stopped by the tall next to Eleanor'sroom.

It turned and stared at her for a long time like it wasn't afraid of her, squeaking before it scurried away, it was quite unsettling but she decided to ignore it she had laundry to attend to.

The timer had gone off a while ago and she focused on settling the remaining clothes she hummed a tune beneath her breath as she tossed new ones in and and dried out the clothes.

She was done by midnight which was an improvement from the usual she locked the doors and took the back porch that led into her home she was tired, hungry, and stinky there were no classes until tomorrow so she could afford to sleep in.

She turned on the ancient box TV tuning it to a rerun of the bold and the beautiful before shrugging out of her clothes she pulled open her bathroom door turned on the shower letting it run hot before she slid in sighing when taunt muscle settled down she took a leisurely shower which happened rarely while the voice of the actress came on through the bathroom.

The water ran cold minutes later and she leaped out of the shower turning it off grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, she picked another towel and worked on her hair once done she stared at her reflection in the pint-sized mirror and sighed, she looked haggard her blue eyes were dimmer than they should have been her hair which had been pale blonde was ragged around the edges and in need of serious care. Her life was not supposed to have been like this she was supposed to have gotten her degree with a good job and maybe even a boyfriend but life was never fair and it seemed she would not be getting a break any time soon, she padded softly into her room with its beige walls and little nick knacks it was all she had but hell she would keep it until she got something better changing into an oversized T-shirt she sat on the sofa just as the bell to the main house rang, her name echoing.

"Cinderrr"