Cinderella (The Price of Gold)

"Every year when I was growing up, I used to watch these fireworks from afar... and I knew what they meant. Something special was happening at the palace."

- Cinderella to Prince Thomas

Princess Cinderella, also known as Ella, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the fourth episode of the first season. She is portrayed by guest star Jessy Schram, and is the Enchanted Forest counterpart of Ashley Boyd.

Cinderella is based on a character of the same name from the fairytale, "Cinderella".

Before the Curse
Cinderella is a house maid of her stepmother's manor. While she is in the courtyard sweeping, her stepmother and two stepsisters walk out dressed in gowns. She watches sadly as they enter a carriage and go off to the royal ball. Once they are gone, the Fairy Godmother appears in minature fairy form and transforms into human size; surprising Cinderella greatly. She listens intently as the Fairy Godmother presents the opportunity to go meet her prince at the ball. Mid-sentence, a large fireball hits the Fairy Godmother from behind causing the magical being to explode into orange dust.

Horrified, Cinderella drops her broom. She turns to see the culprit; Rumplestiltskin, who says he was doing her a favor. In reality, he was only after the Fairy Godmother's wand. He believes Cinderella doesn't have what it takes in changing her life, but Cinderella insists otherwise, which prompts Rumplestiltskin to give her a contract to sign. He promises to alter her wretched circumstances for an unspecified precious item. Desperate, she agrees. With the wand, Rumplestiltskin wields it to turn Cinderella's ragged clothing into a blue dress and pairs the outfit with glass slippers.

At the royal ball, she woos the heart of Prince Thomas and they have an evening wedding celebration. During the night of the fireworks display, Cinderella blissfully watches from the balcony. Then, she and Prince Thomas ascend down to the main hall where the all their wedding guests applaud at their presence. The young couple greet Snow White, Prince Charming and the King, who is Thomas's father. The celebration commences with a waltz, to which the King takes the first dance with Cinderella. He expresses fond hopes to see a grandchild soon. Cinderella's next partner is Prince Charming and he gives her good wishes to a happy marriage. Thirdly, Prince Thomas cuts in to have some time with his new wife, but is stolen away for some girl time with Snow White. As the two women dance together, Snow White praises her for examplifying to others what changing one's life can do. The time comes to change partners again, but Cinderella is stunned to come face-to-face with Rumplestiltskin. He reveals the precious item he wants as part of their agreement is not money or jewels, but her first-born child. After he has told her this, Rumplestiltskin leaves a shocked Cinderella behind.

Some time passes, and Cinderella discovers she is pregnant. With Rumplestiltskin's asking price still hanging over her head, she decides to run away from the kingdom. While packing her belongings, Thomas returns from a canceled hunting trip. Perplexed, he wonders if they are going somewhere, though her refusal to answer tells him that only she is leaving for elsewhere. After much questioning, Cinderella finally admits she is expecting. Though Thomas is ecstatic, she tells him of the devastating news in the bargain she had previously made with Rumplestiltskin, and as his payment he wants their child. Thomas assures her he will fix this, and they simply need to make a new deal to undo the old deal.

Thomas, with the help of Prince Charming and Grumpy, plan to tempt Rumplestiltskin with a new deal. By tricking him into believing Cinderella is carrying twins, a new contract will be signed to give away both children. The catch is the Blue Fairy enchants a special quill filled with squid ink that, if used by Rumplestiltskin, will paralyze him in place. As a future means to prevent from taking away Cinderella's baby, he'll be secured in escape-proof prison.

Cinderella is hesitant to use magic to undo magic, but they go through with the plan. Thomas promises to pay whatever price is required for the Blue Fairy's magic. Although Rumplestiltskin is suspicious of Cinderella's new deal, he still signs the contract and is captured. However, the price for trying to break the original deal is Thomas's disappearance. Rumplestiltskin heeds he will only return when payment from the first deal is done.

Trivia

 * In some cultures, the tale of Cinderella is called "The Little Glass Slippers".
 * Cinderella's interactions with Rumplestiltskin allude to the original fairytale.
 * The name "Cinderella" is of French origin derived from the name "Cendrillon" that means "little ashes".
 * The Fairy Godmother, who appears to Cinderella, is also patron to King George's family.
 * Cinderella and Snow White were pregnant at the same time. However, Snow White gave birth before the Dark Curse arrived and Cinderella did not. This resulted in her counterpart Ashley's 28 years long pregnancy until giving birth following Emma's arrival to Storybrooke.