Broken Strings and Shattered Dreams: Part 1

September 1878

The sky was dark and cloudy and rain flooded the streets of Paris, France. But a figure in a dark cloak, hat and white mask didn't think a thing about it. He didn't flinch at the loud thunder or the flashes of lightning in the sky. He soon came upon a huge building. The Palais Garnier or otherwise known as the Paris Opera House. Around to the side there was a grate with the screws halfway undone. The figure held a basket close against his chest, as his cloak billowed in the wind. Kneeling down to finish unscrewing the four screws, he suddenly heard an interesting sound. It was a howl. He looked around. He stepped to where the busy streets were. No one seemed to hear the loud howling. So the figure went to discover where the howling was coming from. There was no one there in the alley-like area, but the man himself. He went around to where empty, broken and dirty crates and baskets were littered, along with trash and empty whiskey bottles. He lifted each and every crate up and to his shock and horror, under the lowest crate was a bundle of rags. Gently removing the top rag, the man gasped and dropped the cloth. Whatever was under the rags was howling and moving. He lifted the rag and to his utter horror, there was a baby. The baby was pale and skinny. When the rag was lifted from the baby's face, the young one stopped crying. Lifting the baby out, the man studied the infant. He or she had to have been there for at least a couple hours or so. There was no note or any message from anyone. Not knowing what to do, the man paced with the baby in his arms. He was so preoccupied, that he didn't noticed the way that the baby started to gurgle happily. All of a sudden the man heard shouting. It came nearer as he quickly dove to where the grate was. He undid the screws and slid inside with the baby, before pulling the grate back in place. He walked away with the bundle of rags in his arms. When he reached the lake, he placed the baby gently in the gondola and took the stick to cross to the other side of the lake. When he tied to boat up, he picked up the baby and his basket, and headed down the maze of tunnels and secret doors until he came to his living quarters. It was nothing much. Three rooms was what his home consisted of. The first room was his bedroom where there was a small black coffin, the second room was the kitchen and the main room contained a table, two chairs, his precious organ and some random dressers everywhere. Candelabras with their soft glow made this man's home complete. 

The first thing that the man did was dump everything in his basket out and then he set the baby in the place of his parcels in the basket, before disappearing to find some milk. He didn't take the baby for the fear of drawing attention to himself. When he reached the kitchen in the opera house, he immediately went in search of milk. He found that and a bottle and disappeared once again. He returned to see the baby gurgling in the basket. The man stoked the fire in the fireplace and popped off the cap of the milk. With his hands he dumped a good amount of the cold milk into one of the two pots hanging above the first, and with his skillful foot, he scooted the baby nearer to the fire so the baby could warm up and rocked the infant back and forth. When he dipped his bony finger into the milk, he nodded with satisfaction and poured it into the bottle. He then took off his cloak and hung it up, before picking the baby up and feeding the infant the warm milk. Not long after, the baby was asleep. Though the man knew nothing about babies or how to take care of them, the man learned along the way. He soon discovered it was a baby girl. She was a small little one, with soft green eyes and little wisps of brown hair. Her skin was pink and soft, and her hands and feet were tiny and delicate. The man fed, bathed, changed and rocked the baby every day for about six months. 

Phantom Phan-fiction Announcement

Hey everyone! Today, I am in need of some advice for something. But I need to tell you the "back story" of it first. Just a while ago, I got back onto my account on what is now my sister's laptop. I pretty much took my school hard drive and put it all on the stick before transferring it all to what is now me and my sister's laptop. I've been reading over my old stories and all my files. I threw out my entire series just because I hate it now (like, I wrote it two/three years ago) and I decided to reread my Phantom Phan-fiction. And, to be honest, I was disappointed that I stopped writing it. I have been writing it on fanfiction.net but it hasn't been updated in forever. And I don't feel like going through all the trouble of doing blah, blah, blah for it and all that (besides I can't upload it (my story) on my phone either). So I was wondering how many people would continue to read it on here.

I would probably start from the beginning on here and I would update it once every one/two/maybe even three weeks on here. I would just want to know how many people would read it, or if you guys would even be interested remotely.

Here is a synopsis and the cover:

*Discretion: This photo was found on Pinterest, I added the words to it*

Sixteen Brigitte always knew about her past. Abandoned on the street, she was taken in by a ballerina named Antoinette. Or so she thought. Her real saviour was Erik, a man with a cruel past and no future. When they meet and piece the pieces back together, can there be a future for them? Or will there be more Broken Strings and Shattered Dreams? (This was the summary that I used for fanfiction.net)

Let me know if/how many of you all would be interested in reading this!

A Little More Food For Thought

Leaving Your Mark on the World

There are a lot of people in this world. Some are okay with being mediocre. Others strive to be the best they can be. Those people who are striving, working, running to be what all they can be are usually the people who think the most. I am one of those people. I am the one who wants to be remembered. I am the one who wants to leave their mark on the world. I am the one who wants to be seen. I am the one who is stopped by insecurities, by fear, by doubt, by that little voice in my head telling me that I can't do it, by everyone's voice telling me no, no, no. I've been kept in a box, chained up, and one of these days I'll find the key and break free. And you better bet that this world will remember ME.

An Open Letter to My Future Son

Dear future son,

There are but little bits of advice I can give you to ease your journey through life

They are to make you brave

They are to make you strong

They are to make you fearless

Dear future son,

Of course words will be daggers

They will tear you up inside

And if you allow it

They'll have the power to destroy you

Don't give it that power

Dear future son,

Of course fights will be wars

They will hurt you physically, emotionally, mentally

And if you allow it

They'll have the authority to break the greatest bonds

Don't give it that authority

Dear future son,

Of course tears are broken mirror shards

They will portray you as weak and broken

And if you allow it

They'll have the puppet strings to control you

Don't give it that control

Dear future son, 

Of course Anger will be fire

It can burn you everywhere inside and out

And if you allow it

It'll have the chance to deprive your heart of love

Don't give it that chance

Dear future son,

Of course happiness will be rain

It can make a flood or save the day

And if you allow it

It'll have the opportunity to make everything okay

DO give it that opportunity

Ode to Fear

Fear is a clenched fist

He has a deadly aim

But whose blood is on his fists?

It cripples and cuts us down like a lumberjack

Hours we spend falling on our knees

And why can we not rise?

You’ll never leave us alone

Our minds take in your poison with no extra thought

You needn’t even disguise it as something good to drink

You pounce with power

We feel your grip wash over us like waves on the sand

But your undertow takes us to places we’ve never been

Spiral out of control, already

You’ve made a maze of my mind already

Why would you stop to clean it up?

Attack with your sword

Stab me through the head

Would you even hesitate?

Feed us with your friend Doubt

It’s somewhat the same as you

There isn’t a soul on this earth that you haven’t visited yet

Chain us to a rock and throw us out to sea; leave us alone

Drowning in the cool waves is better than living with you inside my head

There isn’t a better way to die than to be surrounded by the waves

Fear leave! Doubt leave!

I’ve cleaned my mind; it’s an open grassy park

Did you think I wouldn’t bother to rid my mind of your twisted mazes?

Hope is a new feeling; Reassurance is as well

But we like the feeling

Why would we ever give it away?

We wouldn’t

Kept in the dark

I’ve been kept in the dark

Away from everyone

I’ve heard the screams, the shouts, the cries

But no one could hear mine

I close my eyes to brace myself

Against the hourglass of time

But I watch as the sky falls down

All around myself

I’ve shook hands with the sunrise for she was cruel to me

Accountable she was not

I was glad when she went away

For that is when I became alive

I touch the water like I touch a snake

Afraid of it biting my hand

I was glad when the water was gone

For then I wouldn’t drown

When we were wrong we would watch the truth die

Abiding by the falseness of everyone’s lies

We were glad when the hourglass ended

For then we would suffer no more

I’ve been kept in the dark

With nothing but my thoughts

Who would have guessed that thinking could be deadly

I assure you, I did not

To Move a Mountain

What does it mean to 'move a mountain? Some think in literal terms of a real mountain, standing all tall and proud. Most say it's impossible to move mountains. Others tell their children that they will. So what does it mean to 'move a mountain?'

To move a mountain, first and foremost, you have to have courage. You have to look at that mountain no different than you once looked at the next sofa to get over the lava which was the floor. You have to determine that nothing is going to stop you; no one and nothing is going to stand in your way. And by all means, you must have that adrenaline rush when you decide to take that leap of faith.

To move a mountain, you must be strong. Not in the physical sense, of course, but in the emotional and mental sense. You must bear the most trying people. Other's words and actions cannot phase you. You have the power, the authority, the choice to ignore it all.

To move a mountain, you must have perseverance. The same perseverance you had when you conquered the monkey bars at school. Though your hands were moist with sweat and your arms were burning hot, you had the mindset of a warrior, determined to finish his mission.

To move a mountain you must have attitude. No, child, you don't have to be arrogant or prideful. But you must be confident and be proud of yourself, just like when you got up in front of the crowd and performed for the first time. Stand up for yourself just like that mountain stands all tall and proud.

To move a mountain you must have faith. Faith is something that can be demonstrated or found. It's something you can feel deep inside of yourself. Faith is believing that you can do anything, no matter how far fetched or how impossible it may seem.

Moving a mountain is no easy task, little one. It will try your very soul and tear away at all that is left in your dying heart. But you have the courage, that adrenaline, that strength, that perseverance, that attitude, that faith. You have all that you will ever need to move a mountain.

So by all means, do those things, little one, and watch that mountain move.

Why I Write Poetry

Why do I write poetry, you ask? Aren't they just empty words? Aren't they just another human's soul being poured out on paper? Don't I know that no one cares?

Well, you should know that I don't write poetry just for people. I write poetry because it's the antidote to my wilder mind. It's the drug that eases my breaking heart. It's the rain that saves the crops. It's the music to my listening ears. Poetry has become an outlet for me. When I write poetry it's the only thing (because a person wouldn't) that let's me be me freely. I don't have to hold anything back. I'm not confined to what people think I should be, or what people think that I should write. This is me; I am the one who has ink mixing with her blood in her veins.

Why is your poetry so morbid?? Why are you so morbid, you may ask?

Who wouldn't be morbid? It's almost like being mad. As Alice from Alice and Wonderland says, "You're mad. Off your head. Bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret, all the best people are." Though my mind is morbid, writing it down gets it off of my head. It keeps me from doing awful things I'll come to regret. Writing poetry and cleaning my morbid mind is a way of taking out what is inside and putting it out there for everyone to see. I write what I feel because I lack the speaking capability and the words to say what I really feel. Writing what people think is morbid is my saving grace some days. Some days it calms my beating, broken, breaking heart so much that I no longer have the need or the want to be angry. What you can morbid is what I call beautiful. That's why being morbid isn't so bad.

Aren't you afraid of being judged?

Of course I've afraid of being judged! I am judged. You are judged. We all are judged. So why should we be afraid? Ha ha! Why, what would happen when I all would stop being afraid? Would it make things better? Or in fact, would it make it worse? It's better to have your misunderstood people than to have a utopia where everything is perfect, but you really don't think. I think, I think it is better this way.

This is why I write poetry.

The Blogging-About-Blogs Tag

Credit to: Heidi from at Along the Brandywine (I couldn't resist using this, Heidi!)

Hello my stars! I apologise for not getting a post out sooner. Also, ignore the white box around this one post. I don't even know how it became to be... But I have three draft posts that weren't finished by my deadlines, so I feel as if I were saved by Heidi at Along the Brandywine who nominated me for this tag. Thank you so much Heidi! Here are my answers:

Blog that makes me laugh

Hmmm. This is hard........ I really don't know.... So I guess I'll have to do a repeat of another blog: Natalie at Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

Blog that makes me think

Matt Walsh at The Matt Walsh Blog

Blog that teaches me things

MaryLu Tyndall at Cross and Cutlass

Blog with beautiful headers

Natalie at Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

Blogger who takes great pictures

Payton Marie at Payton Marie

Blogger whose recommendations I trust

Samantha at Le Chaim on the Right (I mean, I should trust my sister......... Right??? :))

New blog I'm enjoying

Abigail at Lavender Spring

Blog I've followed the longest

I don't know if this is right, but I think is one of the first blogs I followed. (I don't anymore, because she switched to Wordpress). But this is a link to her old blog: Eva at Ramblings of a Janeite

Blog I've started following the most recently

Heidi at Along the Brandywine

Blog that is always a refreshing happiness

Boyer Sisters at Boyer Family Singers Blog

Blog where I revel in the words

Jarrid Wilson at Jarrid Wilson

Alright, so there they are! Thank you so much for nominating me Heidi!! And here are the people I'm tagging: (Sorry for the few people listed! Most of the blogs I follow have already been nominated) 

Natalie at Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

Cassie and Rebekah at Calico Clodhoppers

Maribeth at Formidable Courage

Abigail at Lavender Spring

And to make things so much easier on you all, here are all the questions in bulk: 

Blog that makes me laugh

Blog that makes me think

Blog that teaches me things

Blog with beautiful headers

Blogger who takes great pictures

Blogger whose recommendations I trust

New blog I'm enjoying

Blog I've followed the longest

Blog I've started following the most recently

Blog that is always a refreshing happiness

Blog where I revel in the words

I had so much fun doing this tag and I hope everyone else will as well!

Let the Music Move You: Instrumentals

Hello everyone! First off, I probably sound ridiculous, but it's good to be back here on Blogger. After not blogging for seven months, I feel as if I've come back refreshed, in a good way. True also, is that fact that I'm sometimes struggling with what to write about. I like to write about things I like to write about, but at the same time, I'm an over-thinker person. I find myself going through my stats and analyzing them to death. I want to also write about what you all like to read (so, like, I'm looking at page views, key word searches, etc.). And as I have mentioned before, not blogging for seventh months has literally killed my recent traffic flow (dropping from 40-50 views a day to 23-28) so I unfortunately feel as if I'm starting all over at square one. It's disappointing, you know, that I've been in the blogging world for about two and a half years and I've just now reached 30,000 views. And I happen to wonder just how many I would have now if I hadn't become lazy and stopped blogging. But I'm back and the Cinderella blog party has given my stats a grest boost over the past few days, so I'm hoping to get back to where I was and potentially become better. I've looked back to see that my writing posts about my books and such and my book reviews haven't done so great. The best ones seem to come from The Phantom of the Opera, musical reviews, and such. But, selfishly, one of my favourite little "series posts" that I love to do are my "Let the Music Move You" posts.

So here I am to share some of my favourite instrumentals with you! I love intrumentals because they give off what lyrics sometimes fail to do. Most of the time, some intrumentals don't even need lyrics to show what the feeling and tone of them are. And those are the best kinds. Truth be told, I cannot study to instrumentals, I actually use them when writing or readings; that's where they work the best for me. So here are five of my favourites:

This is one of the songs that our band did for state and won

The Giver

Pearl Harbour

Tell me what you think of these instrumentals in the comments!

Inspirational Thursday's: "If I Should Ever Have a Daughter" By Sarah Kay (Video)

*Update* I just saw my own mistake on the date of this post. It was originally set to go out on a Thursday about a week or so ago, which is why it's "Inspirational Thursday's", but I'll just keep it out; no use undoing it when people have already seen it. My apologies!

Hello my stars! So, there's not much to say today, at least not from me. But I am instead going to show you a video that my creative writing teacher showed me a few days ago. I actually really liked it.

I have heard this poem before; it was used as a talent monologue for one girl for our local Distinguished Young Women or "Junior Miss" this year (which my sister ended up winning). But honestly, though I was backstage in the wings, I didn't hear it. I only heard the beginning of it, ever so briefly. After seeing the "show" two/three times (rehearsal with the tech crew) I kind of was just ready to get my work done and that was it. 

I had always meant to look it up and see it again, but it kind of slipped my mind. So when my teacher showed us this video, I was............ I don't even know how to explain it..... I don't even know if I can use the word 'inspired' to describe how I felt. I guess maybe I'll put it as feeling motivated..... That's not a good word either. But anyways, it was really good. Sarah Kay in this video was extremely impressive as a spoken-word poet. She put a lot of feeling and emotion in what she was saying, and her back story was even more motivational. And it shouldn't even be just for me, but for other aspiring writers/poets anywhere. 

In short, I hope that you enjoy this video (you actually don't have to watch it, you can listen to it while you do other things- it's about 18 minutes or so) and I guess that I hope you end it feeling sort of motivated, maybe even a little inspired. 

Let me know your thoughts on this video in the comments below!

Cinderella Blog Party: Ever After Review and Farewell

*DISCRETION: None of these photos displayed on this post are mine. I don't own any of them.*

Hello everyone! I hope that you liked my last review of La Cenerentola. Today, I am reviewing another one of my "Cinderella" favourites: Ever After! This is a pretty popular version of Cinderella, starring Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Houston, and Dougray Scott. It was released in 1998 and is set in the Renaissance period in France.

Right off the bat, I have to say that I love the way it starts out. The Grimm brothers go over to a rich woman's house (the Grande Dame) because she wants to speak to them. She starts off by saying that their version of Cinderella and everyone else's is pretty farfetched. One of the brothers then pointed out a beautiful painting of a mysterious woman and asked who she was. The Grande Dame proceeds to bring forth a glass slipper and retell the true story of "Cinderella".

Da Vinci's painting of Danielle

Danielle de Barbarac is just a little eight year old girl living with her father, Auguste de Barbarac. Her mother has died and her father has decided to remarry. On the day that her step mother and sisters arrive, Danielle gets all fancied up- only to get all muddy with her best friend Gustave when they arrive. It is immediately known that there is tension between Danielle and her new step mother the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent and her step-sisters Marguerite and Jacqueline. Unfortunately, Danielle's father's life is cut short when he suddenly dies of a heart attack. Danielle is left basically alone, except with the company of Gustave and the house servants. She does all the work and is treated terribly by Marguerite and the Baroness. Jacqueline is the quiet one who is always trying to keep the tension down between them all.

Now, fast forward ten years. Danielle is a beautiful eighteen year old girl. She cleans and cooks and does all the house chores with two other staff members. But one day, she hears that Maurice, another servant who is married to one of the older female servants, is to be shipped to America because the Baroness can't pay her debt, so she hatches a plan to get him back. Earlier that day, she ran into Prince Henry. She thought he had been stealing one of their horses and threw apples at him until he eventually fell off. He pays her in gold to keep her silent. When the family is out, Danielle puts on a royal-looking dress, puts her hair back, and take the gold to goes off to the palace to get Maurice back. She does so successfully- only after Prince Henry intervenes. He is intrigued by the girl who valiantly stood up for her servant, but she runs away from him, leaving him wondering about her.

Danielle and Prince Henry together

Danielle spends most of her time trying to avoid Henry, but is actually bad at it. There's several run-ins between them with her as a servant as she tries to hide her true identity. Then comes the time of the ball. Every girl in the kingdom is invited (including the gypsies (inside joke)) and Danielle hopes to go. Unfortunately, the Baroness and Marguerite are caught sneaking through Danielle's trunk. They find Danielle's mother's dress and shoes. Danielle is furious and when Marguerite insults Danielle's deceased mother, she punches her in the face. A chase is followed by that, but soon comes to the climax when Marguerite holds Danielle's "Utopia" book from her father over the burning fire and threatens to throw it in. The Baroness gives Danielle a choice: Her mother's shoes or her father's book. Danielle gives the shoes to Marguerite, but in spite, Marguerite throws the book into the fire anyways. Danielle is whipped as a punishment for her actions. Jacqueline tends to her whippings and tells Danielle that Marguerite should never had said what she said about Danielle's mother. In this time, there is a growing kindness between them.

After all this, the night arrives for the ball. After Danielle insults Marguerite, the Baroness locks her in the pantry and she and her daughters leave for the ball. Gustave runs to get Leonardo da Vinci and they help her escape and go to the ball. At the ball, Henry is delighted to see Danielle arrive and immediately goes to introduce her to his parents, despite Danielle's telling him that she needed to tell him something. The Baroness tears the wings of Danielle's costume and tells the truth of Danielle's true identity. Henry feels betrayed and deceived and refuses to hear anything Danielle tells him. Danielle runs away in shame, leaving her shoe behind while Henry stalks off to be alone. Da Vinci lectures him to no avail, and eventually leaves Henry.

Her costume is so beautiful! I hate it when the Baroness tears the wings :'(

The next day Danielle finds out that the Baroness has sold her to an awful man named Pierre le Pieu. Henry is forced to marry a princess from Spain, but stops the wedding, as she is crying and begging not to marry him. He realises that happiness is most important and leaves the wedding to find Danielle. Unfortunately, it's too late. Jacqueline tells him that she was sold to le Pieu. Henry goes after her to win her over again. Danielle has been put into shackles so she won't run away, but when le Pieu makes inappropriate actions towards her, she takes his sword and swipes him across the face. She threatens to dismember him if he does not release her. He does so, giving her the key to her shackles. Henry arrives just as she comes out of the house a free woman. He apologises to her and proposes to her after he places the glass slipper on her foot. They get married, but it's not over yet.

The Baroness and her daughters are summoned to the Palace. The queen puts her on the spot and accuses her of lying. The king tells them that if no one will speak on their behalf, they will be sent and exiled to the Americas. No one will speak for them, until Danielle (Obviously, now a princess) speaks for them. "All I ask, your Majesties, is that you show her the same courtesy that she has bestowed upon me.", says Danielle. The Baroness loses her title and she a Marguerite are basically sentenced to be laundry maids for the rest of their lives. What happened to Jacqueline, you may ask? Because of her kindness to Danielle, she doesn't get punished and becomes Danielle's lady-in-waiting. Da Vinci then reveals a painting of Danielle and Danielle and Henry kiss.

Danielle as the new Princess

The movie ends with the Grande Dame finishing the story as the narrator when the Grimm Brothers leave.

"My great-great grandmother's portrait hung in the University up until the Revolution. By then, the truth about their romance had been reduced to a simple fairy tale. And, while Cinderella and her prince did live happily ever after, the point, gentlemen, is that they lived."

~ Last words of the movie

I love this movie so much. It is truly fairy-tale-ish, but really don't mind. I love Danielle's spirit and her fire. And I kind of like her deviating from the "sweet and kind" Cinderella. Because I truly do not know one person who could put up with ten years of abuse and still be all happy. I would think that that abuse would take at least a little bit of a toll on Cinderella. So it was nice to see Danielle portrayed as a little more realistic. It made it feel more real, instead of just being a "fairy-tale" that the Grande Dame was telling. Prince Henry is awesome.... But I really don't like his hair. It drives me nuts. Aside from Danielle, my favourite characters were Gustave and Leonardo da Vinci. I also loved the dresses worn and the scenery.

Overall, this version is pretty clean, there's some low necklines, and kissing, and le Pieu makes some inappropriate moves towards Danielle, but there's nothing too severe. I recommend this to anyone who wants to try a different version of Cinderella. 

This blog party was so fun to participate in! Though I couldn't do as much as I would have wanted to (Because I saw it last minute), it was still a great time. Thank you to Heidi Peterson from Along the Brandywine for hosting this grand party and letting me participate in it!

I hope that you enjoyed the Cinderella themed posts! Tell me what you thought about my posts in the comments section!

Cinderella Blog Party: La Cenerentola Review

Hello everyone! This is for the Cinderella Blog Party hosted by Heidi from Along the Brandywine.

**DISCRETION: Absolutely none of the photos on this post are mine, not even the photo above!!**

I usually find the most interesting things in my boredom it seems. For instance, North and South. Anyways, this was some time ago, I was bored on Youtube and I wanted to watch something free, full, and interesting. So, I believe that I just ended up looking up 'Cinderella full movie' and that's when this came up:

La Cenerentola

It was in Italian with English subtitles, but I've watched some foreign language films, such as La Vita è Bella and it wasn't horrible at all. I actually liked listening to the beautiful Italian throughout the movie. 

This version of Cinderella began with a lovely young girl named Aurora who is also a skilled pianist. Her father, Valerio, is a conductor living in a fine villa. When Aurora is 13, she grows close to Sebastian, one of the boys who lives next door. He is soft-spoken and understanding and soon wins Aurora's heart. However, they move away, leaving Aurora sad and heartbroken. When her father decides to hire a woman to take care of the household when Aurora's mother dies, he ends up marrying her. Irene, disagreeable woman with two daughters of her own is happy together with Valerio. Together, they live in Valerio's villa- up until his death. Aurora's step mother is a cold-hearted woman. She turns the villa into a hotel and makes Aurora work for her keep, stating that it's a way of paying off the debt that her father left them in. Though Aurora has an inheritance, she cannot even touch it until her 21st birthday. So Aurora works silently and without much protest. Irene makes her quit school and her piano lessons. This doesn't stop her from playing, even if she can't hear it. She traces and paints a piano on her windowsill and sometimes play in a storage house on the real piano when Irene isn't watching. Her friends are the other staff and the young neighbor boys.

Aurora grown up

Now, present day, Aurora is now twenty, I believe. She has grown into a beautiful young woman, when a familiar face moves in next door. A grown-up Sebastian has return, but not his brother who has died some years ago. Another happening is the mysterious guest named Mrs. Cooper who shows up at the hotel and takes an interest in Aurora. Aurora continues to work and even meets up with Sebastian. To be honest, I don't think he realises it's her until the very end. There is an attraction between both of them and though it puts a damper on the relationship because he is to be married, they still see each other.

The ball. I love the contrast of his black and her white costumes

Now, to be honest, I forget how Aurora goes to the ball. Like, I think an invitation comes for the household like the original story goes, but I'm not 100 percent sure. It was a year or so since I watched the movie, so forgive me for any mistakes that I make.

If you're wondering, Mrs. Cooper is the "fairy godmother" character in this version

Mrs. Cooper immediately sets out to help Aurora attend the ball without her step-family knowing, after the step sisters and step mother destroy Aurora's dress that she was working on for the ball. Mrs. Cooper buys her shoes, a beautiful dress, a mask, and everything else. Aurora goes to the ball and eventually has to run from Sebastian before midnight. Even after this, Sebastian continues to go out for a night on the town with Aurora without knowing that his "princess" is the same girl. After she plays the piano at a restaurant, I think that is when he realises that she is indeed his childhood friend from way back when....... I think....

Anyways, this is the version when the "prince" finds out that Aurora and the mysterious girl are the same person. He feels betrayed and deceived and breaks everything off. Aurora is heart-broken and her step-family treat her even worse than before. Aurora also learns a stunning secret about Mrs. Cooper and pushes her away as well. Aurora then decides to move out, with two of the hotel staff members. She goes to an audition of some sort and is accepted in.

When she goes to play in front of a large crowd (it's a song her parents wrote for her) Sebastian arrives unexpectedly, after breaking off his wedding with the other girl (literally, she was in a wedding dress) and forgiving Aurora and they pretty much live happily ever after.

This is the bare synopsis. I think I've missed some details, and I also haven't put many spoilers in at all, so there is some crucial parts missing to it, but that's all in the mystery.

What I love about this movie, was how it took the original story and put a twist on it. And it wasn't the kind that butchers the beautiful fairy-tale while trying to make it unique. It is a miniseries, but it was worth the entire 3 hours(?) of my life. It was so good! And if I could watch it again, I would, but *sigh* they took it off of YouTube. I loved Aurora as a character, quiet, kind, musical, and full of all those good Cinderella traits. Sebastian was also great as well, though it bothered me that it took him so long to see that Aurora was really his childhood friend from way back when. The step-mother and step-sisters were awesome as well. They were mean to Cinderella just like the original, so that didn't deviate from the story. I actually liked Mrs. Cooper a lot, she had a lot of wisdom and was a good 'motherly' figure to Aurora. But I have a guilty confession, I guess. I feel as if the only reason that I like this even remotely as much as I do, is because of the music. The music is beautiful, and "Per Aurora" is so beautifully played on the piano. I'm actually working on trying to play it by ear, since most of the notes are clear up until 51 seconds in.......... Because the strings come in, and it makes it just a trifle hard to decided which notes are which. We'll have to see just how good my ear is for music...... It's definitely been a trying process, trying my patience and my time, but I hope to get it down in time.

Overall, this is a great version of Cinderella and I recommend it for anyone who wants to watch it. It is a clean version, no sexual things (aside from them kissing), no violence, no drugs. There might be alcohol shown, but not in anything horrible. I rate La Cenerentola 9 out of 10.

Let me know if you have seen La Cenerentola before and what you thought of it! If not, let me know if it's on your to-watch list for the future! 

Cinderella Tag! Hosted By: Heidi Peterson from Along the Brandywine

Hello my stars! Instead of messing around, I'll get right to business this time. I found out about this awesome party from my fellow blogger Natalie. It's a Cinderella themed blog party hosted by Heidi Peterson from Along the Brandywine  that looked too good to pass up. This is the tag that was required and I had so much fun filling in with my answers. You should probably expect a post every day; I'll be letting out potentially two/three reviews of some type of Cinderella movie. After the party is done, I'll go back to posting every two/three/four days. 

*rubs hands* So here we go!

1. In the vast array of fairytale heroines, what particular character qualities most define Cinderella? 

I believe that her kindness defines hers. She's known for her kindness and her good spirit. And I believe that it's something to admire. True, she only needed a fairy god-mother, a grand dress, carriage, and a nice pair of glass slippers to win over the prince, but she had a hard life before that. It's nice to see that she had patience and that she kept her good spirit and remained kind even to her step-sisters and her step-mother through all of this. That takes some character, let me tell you. I don't think I could have put up with it without getting rebellious.......... or even playing a few tricks on them........

2. What are some of the deeper, big picture differences you see between retellings where both stepsisters are nasty and others where one is nasty and one is kind? How do you think the two takes differently develop/illuminate/affect Cinderella’s character and also the overarching story itself?

When I see the films and movies where both step-sisters are mean, I guess I don't question it. After all, I believe that the first Cinderella I had seen was the Disney one where both of them were mean (That was before Cinderella two and three came out). But then when I had seen some with one of her step-sisters being nice, I liked it. It almost seemed more believable. Because I believe there is such a good chance that at least one of them is bound to almost admire Cinderella for her good spirits and kind nature. And, like in Ever After, I believe that it is possible for one sister to out-shine the other, and there's a good chance that the one feels one step below her sister and one step above Cinderella, so it would be somewhere in the middle.

3. Are you an animal lover? Would you eagerly count mice, lizards, cows, and geese as friends? Dogs and cats? 

Hm..... to be honest, I'm not sure. I've had at least four rabbits, but have never grown super attached to them.... I'm allergic to cats (and I don't like them) and I've been allergic to dogs so long that even though I am not now, I still don't like them near me. I would gladly welcome geese, cows, horses (even though I'm allergic to them too), or hedgehogs..... or even turtles as friends..... So I guess I qualify under a "picky animal lover"

4. After asking question #3, I realized how remarkably many of the adaptations I’ve seen have Cinderella either horseback riding or involved with horses. Have you ever ridden? If so, have you ever ridden sidesaddle or bareback? 

Actually, I am very allergic to horses. But now that I've been getting allergy shots for some years, I have actually ridden a horse before. I didn't ride side saddle or bare-back. I would just ride the regular way, straddling the horse in the saddle.

5. Your favorite Cinderella dress/s? 
Ahhhh. I'd have to say the new dresses from the live action Cinderella and Danielle's dress from Ever After. Also Aurora's dress from La Cenerentola, but it's so unknown, that I couldn't find a full length photo and it's been taken down from Youtube.

Ah, it's so puffy!

I love this one, because it's modern and fairy-tale-ish all wrapped in one dress

Aww, she looks so happy and so beautiful...... 

This was the best photo I could find..... I love her mask as well as her dress

6. Do you ever think of Cinderella while doing your household chores? :)

Hm.... I'm sure I did once, because way back when I was writing my own country Cinderella version. But usually when I do chores now, I think of the song "It's a Hard Knock Life" from "Annie" the musical. :)

7. What major character traits do you think are essential in a faithful prince? 

Um........... I want to say honesty, but ya know, Kit didn't exactly tell the whole truth, nor did he tell a lie. Well, I'll be shallow *hides face is superb shame* and say he has to look decent (I mean who in all truth and honesty wants to marry an ugly guy?), but you know, most of all, not super judgmental, kind, respectful, he has to have a heart as wide as his kingdom is......... He must have a sense of loyalty to his subjects and to his kingdom. 

8. Your top THREE favorite fairy tales (as in the original folk tales, not adaptations). 

This is a hard question. I know for sure that Beauty and the Beast would be among them.... But I'm not sure for the rest. The Grimm version of Cinderella kind of creeps me out, with the step-sisters cutting of parts of their feet to fit into the slipper. Mulan would probably be second... And I don't know if I could name a third.

9. Your top FIVE current favorite fairy tale/legend type films (BESIDES any Cinderella adaptations). 

Fairy tales.... I would say that Beauty and the Beast. I don't know many legends..... But I love the Disney film of Hercules and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. I don't know if these would count, but I'm just going to leave them. I guess I'm not a super grand fairy-tale or legend type of person. But admittedly, I have a huge interest in Greek mythology (though I don't believe in it) and deep down, I believe that Atlantis could have existed.

10. If you could play Cinderella and the story could be set in any region of the world and any time period, what would you pick? And what would your dream ‘ball gown’ for it be like? 

Ooh. I think that it would be set in France in the 1880s. And none of my dresses go with the time period, so maybe I could be the straight-forward new trend setter. ;) I am an indecisive person, and I couldn't choose between three dresses, though I'd probably go for the first........

This dress is so beautiful. I actually screen shot these when I had an Instagram account

This is just the back view

                                                   

This dress is also so beautiful. I love blue and mint/ice blue anyways, so there's a 97% chance that my dress would be a form of blue

One last choice for my dress

 11. And (purely for fun :))… what color/s do you immediately associate with Cinderella?

Hm. I associate blue, white, fucshia pink, and greenish-yellow. Blue for Cinderella's dress, fucshia pink for Anastasia, greenish-yellow for Drizella, and white for the fairy godmother.

So, here are my answers for the tag! I hope you enjoy them and be sure to tell me some of your answers or what you think of mine in the comments!