Hello everyone! This is the first fanfic I've written in years, but I loved the 2015 Cinderella so much that i didn't want it to end, so I decided to write my own addition to the story! This will essentially take place from the slipper scene at the end of the movie up until their wedding, covering the whole of their engagement. It will also alternate POVs between Kit and Ella.

Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!

Obviously I do not own the rights to Cinderella. Those rights belong exclusively with the Disney company.

Now, on with the show!

(UPDATE: This chapter has been -slightly- edited as of 6/2/2016)

Kit was trying very hard to keep his composure and avoid calling attention to himself. No one knew he was there, save the two guards to his side who were in on his little scheme, and he wanted to keep it that way. But he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold in his frustration. They had been searching for nearly a week now, throughout the whole kingdom, looking for the girl. Looking for her. And they still hadn't found her. On the fourth day with no progress to show, despite the Grand Duke insisting he was doing all he could, Kit decided to take matters into his own hands. Now, he was disguised as one of the guards, no one paying him a bit of attention. Frankly, he was surprised that his plan had worked so well. He wouldn't have had to do it in the first place, if he felt he could trust the Grand Duke. But something in him told him that there was something off with the man, ever since the ball. And so, here he was, pretending to be an officer, making certain for himself that the Mystery Princess would indeed be searched for in a thorough manner.

The Captain of the Guard seemed to be just as despondent as he, as they approached the last house on their journey. The Duke, however, seemed more than cheerful, urging the captain and the men not to lose hope.

"What's wrong, Captain?" the Duke asked.

"We haven't found the girl," the captain replied. "I'm disappointed for our king."

"Come on, now. Don't lose heart! There's one more house!" the Duke exclaimed. "We must leave no stone unturned." And so they were off to the final house on their long and fruitless journey, Kit becoming more anxious with every second.

As the company approached the house, the shrill shrieking of young "ladies" was heard coming from inside. This was not the first time their arrival had caused overexcitement, but it was more than beginning to grate on Kit's nerves. Certainly his Mystery Princess was not one of the women in this house… she would not shriek and shout at the chance of seeing him again. As the officers filed in line, the captain and the Grand Duke approached the door, where they were greeted by the elegant and intimidating lady who could only have been the mistress of the house.

"Gentlemen!" she said, opening the front doors with a grand flourish. She dropped into a graceful curtsy.

"A moment of your time, my good lady?" the Duke asked.

"Of course, your grace," the lady responded in a low and simpering voice, leading the men into the house. "Please, this way." The captain and the Grand Duke followed her into the house, leaving Kit to

It seemed like an eternity that they were kept waiting. While Kit was waiting for the party to come back out of the house, he took some time to look around the property. It was a charming chateau, made of grey stone and housing a small garden and a lovely fountain in front. It looked like a pleasant place to be, though the house did look a little overrun, as if there weren't enough members of staff to keep it up properly.

He could hear some shouting coming from inside, though he couldn't really see what was going on, though from his previous experiences of these searches it sounded like the girls inside were trying to break their feet if it meant fitting into the shoe. Only the previous day, someone had actually suggested cutting off her own toes to fit the shoe, and Kit hadn't been able to tell if she was joking.

There really wasn't a very good explanation as to why the shoe had not fit a single woman in the kingdom. At first Kit's plan was to narrow down the women of the kingdom by only allowing the women who fit the shoe to be granted an audience with him; that way he could find her more easily. But then, it seemed as though the slipper would not fit anyone, of any shoe size. It was odd- there was nothing particularly special about the shoe… it wasn't abnormally small or large. Some women should have been able to fit it, but it was as if some charm had been placed upon it, as if it refused to fit anyone but its owner. Now his only hope was to find her- for she had to be the only woman in the kingdom that the shoe could possibly belong to.

The scuffle coming from the inside of the house eventually subsided, and the captain and Grand Duke stepped out of the front door, looking terribly disappointed. Kit felt his heart sink. Now he would have to keep his word, and marry Princess Chelina of Zaragoza. The thought filled him with more dread than he possibly could have imagined.

As the lady of the house was bidding farewell to the search party and they all prepared to leave, suddenly there was a sound coming from somewhere in the house. It sounded like singing. The group fell quiet so that they could hear it better. The sound was a lovely folk song being sung sweetly by a girl, somewhere in the house. And she sounded nothing like the girls that had been presented to try on the shoe.

Kit's heart lept up to his throat. That could be her. Surely the Grand Duke was going to investigate.

"Do you hear that, Your Grace?" asked the captain, as every motion of every person was stopped by the sound.

The Duke, for his part, looked a bit nervous and did not answer the captain's question. "Let's be off, Captain," he responded.

"Just a moment," the captain said, turning to the lady. "Madame, there is no… other maiden in your house?"

The woman's eyes went wide, her smile became larger and more artificial. "No," she said, through dazzling, gritted teeth that made her lie all too obvious.

"Then tell me," the captain replied, "Has your cat learned to sing?"

The woman could only respond in a shrill, frantic laugh, for she was obviously aware that her charade was not working. Kit watched on, expecting (or at least hoping) that the Grand Duke would keep his word in sparing no effort and investigate the sound. He did not expect what happened next.

"There's been enough play-acting today, Captain," the Grand Duke said, quietly and haltingly. "L-Let's be off." The captain turned to him in astonishment.

"But she's lying, Your Grace!"

"Nonsense," he said. "I trust the lady. We're leaving."

That was it. Kit had seen and heard enough. There was no way on Earth he would allow the search party to return without investigating the source of the singing. And there was no way the Duke was going to get away with whatever plan he had in place.

"Grand Duke," he said, pulling his cape and hat off and revealing himself. The Grand Duke himself looked both mortified and shocked; the Captain looked amused and the lady's eyes widened until they almost popped out of her skull. His men gave him a bow, and the lady sunk to the ground in absolute amazement, whispering, "Your Majesty…" Kit, for his part, smiled at his small triumph.

"Such sweet singing. It makes me want to tarry just a little." Kit silently relished in the humiliation of the Duke, who was sputtering to find some sort of explanation for his actions. "Captain, if you would be so kind as to investigate."

"It would be my pleasure, Your Majesty," the Captain said, rather smugly, as he turned and passed the lady on his way into the house. She followed him in a rather reluctant manner. Kit, in turn, followed them in, accompanied by the Grand Duke.

The house was rather lovely on the inside- tasteful and unassuming, filled with objects from all over the continent and heirlooms that seemed to be generations old. Though it seemed a little run down, as was the case on the outside, as if the efforts of the household staff were not enough to keep up with it, the house still possessed a cheery and welcoming air. The coldness of the lady did not seem to match the house she lived in- this place was warm, and inviting. It gave the impression of a close, loving family. This woman had shown her family as anything but that.

The two daughters of the house, whom Kit assumed to be twins and very vaguely remembered from the ball, gasped when they saw him and both curtsied in their most elegant manner (which, quite frankly, was not very elegant). They led him into the front parlor, both stunned into silence. And with that, they both curtsied again, Kit gave them a nod of the head in acknowledgement, and they left the room.

Kit observed the room, and made to sit on one of the worn but comfortable looking chairs, before deciding he was too nervous to sit. He instead walked over to the small fireplace to wait and to listen.

The lovely singing could be heard much more clearly now, and it was obvious that the maiden was unaware of what was going on. Her voice was beautiful- gentle and sweet. Her song was something Kit had never heard before- he thought it was a country folk song, but now seemed more like a lullaby. And with every word sung, he felt more confident that the girl upstairs was the girl he had been looking for.

Let the birds sing, dilly dilly

And the lambs play,

We shall be safe, dilly dilly

Out of harm's way.

Lavender's green, dilly dilly

Lavender's blue,

If you'll love me, dilly dilly

I will love...

The singing ceased, and Kit assumed it was because the captain had found her. There were muffled voices coming from one of the upper floors of the house. Kit felt his heart beat a little faster. He felt more nervous than ever at the prospect of seeing her again. What on earth would he say to her? The last time he had tried to charm her with his eloquence he had forgotten what he was saying and got lost in her eyes. What would he do this time?His mind was swimming with questions unanswered, but he decided that if he had indeed found her, he would not ask her or overwhelm her with queries. The circumstances of her situation, and how she came to be at the ball and how she was in this place... those were all her tales to tell.

Suddenly he heard the smallest of sounds from behind him- footsteps on a rug. Looking up into the mirror, he saw the outline of a figure in blue. He turned around, and there she was. She gave him a small smile that hid so much more joy than she was willing to express, and gave the smallest of curtsies before looking back at him with as much anxiety as Kit felt in his own heart.

She was dressed in the simple blue dress she had worn when they first met, though on closer inspection it was filthy and had holes in the bottom of it. How had he never noticed before? Her hair was a mess, and she had what appeared to be ash on her face. This was no princess, that much was obvious. This was a servant girl. Her eyes were shining, she was breathing quite heavily, and Kit could tell she was just as frightened as he was. To him, she had never been more beautiful, because she was not being elusive, and she was not running away from him. She was here, open to him, showing herself as she truly was.

"Who are you?" Kit asked. It was the only thing he could say. It was the burning question that had nearly driven him mad. The girl looked him straight in the eyes, her head held high. "I am Cinderella," she said, almost breathlessly.

Cinderella. An unusual name, but a name. Something to call her. Something to hold on to. It was the greatest gift Kit could receive and he felt elated.

"Your Majesty," Cinderella started, taking small steps forward, towards him. "I am no princess. I have no carriage… no parents… no dowry. I don't even know if that beautiful slipper will fit, but…" she trailed off. Kit smiled. They both knew the shoe would fit. Why wouldn't it? "if it does…" she continued. Kit grew nervous again. Would she not take him? Why not? Was he not worthy of her? He didn't know how he would bear her rejection.

"Will you take me as I am?" she finished. "An honest country girl who loves you?"

"Of course I will," Kit breathed. He could hardly believe that she would think he would turn her away for her humble origins- it was at once heartbreaking and somewhat adorable. "But only if you will take me as I am," he said, quite seriously. "An apprentice, still learning his trade." He smiled at her in complete adoration. "Please," he said, gesturing to the chair next to him.

A small smile played on her face and she looked at the ground, before looking back at him, and she sat, obligingly. Kit kneeled before her, trying to keep from shaking. For his joy matched hers, and he could hardly believe such happiness could have existed before. She slipped off her old, worn blue shoe, and he looked into her eyes for a moment. There was such clarity there, though it made his own head spin. He took a deep breath, and then lifted the beautiful glass shoe to her foot. It slid onto her foot as if it was spun by magic, especially for her.

Kit looked back at her, and they both grinned at each other, absolute love in their eyes. They stood, and Kit made to close the gap between them in a kiss.

"Cinderella!" shouting came from the hall as the two sisters barged in.

"Ella! My dear sister! I'm sorry," said the one dressed in yellow and green.

"So very sorry," echoed the one in pink and blue. Kit and Ella turned to them and they curtsied.

Sister? These were her sisters? It didn't make sense to Kit; Cinderella looked to be their servant, in fact the only servant in the household, for he hadn't seen any others. And could she really be related to that harsh woman and these silly girls? No, Kit would not ask an explanation, not until she was ready to give one. And so he turned back to Cinderella and smiled. "Shall we?"

She smiled back at him, and then bent down to replace the glass slipper with her old, worn one. He took her hand in his, and she cradled the sparkling shoe in her other hand. They walked past her two sisters, past the Duke, and were about to turn out of the door when Kit saw the lady, Cinderella's mother, he supposed, standing at the top of the staircase. They both turned to look at the woman. She was standing tall and proud, and it seemed to Kit that she and Cinderella were having an entire conversation (that certainly did not include him) in the silence. After several very long moments, Ella held her head higher, straightened her shoulders, and said, softly, "I forgive you."

The woman didn't say anything, and Kit knew now was not the time for him to ask anything. He would add it to the growing list of things he did not yet know about the woman he loved: what exactly the woman had to forgive. Hopefully in time she would see fit to tell him. He looked at her, silently asking if she was alright. She gave him a small smile, and they walked out the door and into the sunlight.