3 You Need to Endure!

"ERELLA! ERELLA! EREEEEEEELLLLLLLAAAAAA!" Graciella, her stepsister angrily called her. Erella who was in the kitchen cooking their lunch rolled her eyes upward.

"Here we go again." She murmured. She knew her stepsisters will do something to increase her workload.

"EEEEEEERRRREEEELLLLLLLLAAAA!" Graciella screamed her lungs out. When Erella heard it again, she hurriedly ran into her stepsister's room.

"What can I do for you big sister?" She asked her stepsister politely while panting. Then looked around the room. She saw the mess inside her stepsister's room. And she knew right away who did it. She took a deep breath and calm herself down.

Very childish! Erella thought.

She was talking about the two ladies in front of her. She knew these two bratty ladies were the ones who mess up the room but they will blame it on their pet cat Cakey.

"What's wrong with you!? Are you deaf?! How many times do I need to call you before you come up here?" Graciella questioned her irritatingly.

"I'm sorry big sister. I was cooki------------- Audrey, her other stepsister cut her off.

"Don't give us some excuses! You are just lazy to come up here right away."

Erella didn't answer Audrey. She just turned to Graciella and asked her again.

"What can I do for you big sister?"

Audrey burst into anger because she ignored her.

"How dare you ignore me, you lowly life!" She yelled and slapped Erella on her cheek. Erella fell to the ground while holding her swollen cheek. She looked at Audrey furiously while clenching her small fist. She really wanted to slap Audrey back but she held back. She knew if she did that, she will get hurt more. She still can't fight them with her tiny body.

'Just you wait when I get the power I need. You will suffer ten times what I suffered.' Erella thought. The power she was talking about was when she will be together with the prince charming.

Audrey was taken aback when she saw the fire in Erella's eyes. But she regained her composure back after a couple of minutes.

"How dare you look at me like that?!" Audrey shouted angrily and pulled Erella's hair. But before she could do it, Erella's heart was acting up again. She clasped her chest tightly then groaned painfully. Audrey and Graciella started to panic. They knew she was not acting up because her face became pale like a ghost.

"Darn it, Audrey! Why did you hit her? This is not what we planned. We just want to increase her workload. MY GOSH! If something happens to her, you will be in great trouble!"Graciella said to her sister and quickly ran out of the room. Audrey was left with Erella. She was scared. She was pacing back and forth in front of Erella.

"ARGHHHH! I know you are just acting so suit yourself!" Audrey told Erella and also stormed out of Graciella's room.

'UNBELIEVABLE!' Erella couldn't believe what happened. Her two stepsisters just left her inside the room while she was sick. She took a deep breath and read all the quotes she knew to make herself calm.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. I am very calm." She murmured then take a deep breath again.

"Life is too short to get angry. Calm down myself. Calm down." She murmured again. Then after a while. The pain in her chest slowly disappeared. Then she went back to the kitchen. Her little friends gathered around her as soon as she came back. Her little friends didn't notice her swollen cheek.

"Erella... Suzy and I already finished cutting the carrots," Eddy said proudly.

"I'm also done preparing the plates," Tubby said with his tummy poking out from his shirt. Erella smiled at them.

"Thank you, guys." She said with tears in her eyes as a warm feeling spread through her heart. She really appreciates these tiny friends she had now. Because of them she still enduring the ill-treatments her stepmother and stepsisters give her every day. Then she thought that animals are better than humans. Now, she wanted to smack her former self for hating rats and mice.

"Are you okay dear?" Suzy asked worriedly then she saw Erella's swollen cheek.

"What happened to your cheek?" Suzy asked.

"Is it the two evil stepsisters who did that to you, Erella?" Eddy asked with anger shown on his face.

"What?! Those two evil witches?! If I am near them, I will let them feel my super punch." Tubby said while punching his tiny hands in the air.

"Nonsense! You can't even go near them because you are scared!" Eddy scoffed at him.

"I'm scared because of their cat! But if that stupid cat is not there, they will really experience my super punch!" Tubby explained bravely while punching near Eddy.

"Hmph! Don't be ridiculous!" Eddy told him annoyingly while pushing Tubby. Suddenly, Erella burst into laughter.

"Ok, ok my dear Tubby. I will wait for that time to happen." She said while patting his head. Tubby became shy. His cheeks turned red.

"Here, put this on your cheek." Suzy interrupted them and gave her a cold wet towel. She thanked Suzy. Then seriously looked at them.

"Don't worry guys. We can get this through. Just wait. You just need to endure for a little bit more." Erella said with conviction and smiled. The three little mice nodded their head in unison.

For the whole day, Erella kept on working. And her work kept on compiling because of those two bratty stepsisters of hers. They kept on messing with everything she just cleaned. Instead of doing it once, she did it twice or three times. So every day, she will finish her works until late in the evening instead of finishing them early. Thank goodness, she had little friends to help her with her work. And her meal was always late and they gave her only leftovers.

'No wonder, Erella was too small and skinny for her actual age.' She thought.

"I need to plump up this body so when I will meet the prince, he will fall in love with me at first sight."She murmured.

"So wait for me, my prince!" She said while grasping something from the air.

'But first I need to have a beauty rest. I need to maintain this beauty.' She giggled at her thought. Then went to sleep with her little friends. But before she went to sleep, she whispered goodnight to her sleeping little friends. Then asked forgiveness from the real Erella.

'I'm sorry Erella. I will not think you are a pushover again.' Sandy, who possessed Erella's body realized that it was not Erella's choice to be a pushover. She felt bad for the real Erella, who died from the high fever she had over a week ago.

"Don't worry. I will have your revenge someday!"She promised the real Erella. Then after a while, she fell asleep.