And so it was that I, Marina Lennon, became their “Cinderetta” and gave up riches forever. I was fourteen at the time, almost a woman. My mother was dead, my father was dead, I was cutoff from my old friends, the servants that I adored were gone and it was just me, the landscapers, the cook and my wicked step-family. I was fourteen and I already hated my life.

I had grown up in a life of privilege and had it all taken away in an instant. Luckily for me, my destiny was on it’s way to sweep me away. I remember the incident that triggered it all. Like a gunshot that signals the races to start, this particular happening with The Wickeds [as I had grown fond of calling them] set my life in motion.

“Cinderetta! Answer the damn door!” Margarete yelled. I hoped, for the sake of preserving some of my family’s former honor, that whoever was waiting outside didn’t hear. Dutifully, I went to the door and swung open the heavy oak to reveal none other than the royal messengers.