Cinderella [One-Shot]
AN: Hey guys, i wrote this a little while ago, but i really wanted to release it because you made me SO happy that i reached 300 reviews for the first time, but also because i LOVE you guys so much and want to thank you all for the AMAZING support you guys have given me for the past year. All of the people who have been my fans since the start and have reviewed on every chapter of one of my stories (and of course the FANTASTIC people who review every chapter for MORE than one of my stories), this story is dedicated to you guys. It is dedicated to my fans, the friends that i have made on fanfiction, and the people who have supported me.
I love you guys so much, and will never forget your support. I remember every review that you guys sumbit, and how it makes me smile no matter what happens. My grandmother is sick right now, really sick, and i smiled for the first time in days when i read your reviews for my stories. I even went back and re-read the reviews that you guys wrote for my other stories. I swear, i cried at some of them.
This is sadnly not that much of a Troyella story. There is Troyella, don't get me wrong, but i wanted to write the story of a father/daughter relationship in honor of the one that i have with my father. This story was insipired by the BEAUTIFUL song called "Cinderella" by Stephen Curtis Chapman.
So please, would you review and tell me what you think of my story.
Love all of you guys!
xoxo,
Lar
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To say time flies, is an understatement.
It feels like just yesterday I was in the hospital, holding my wife's hand tightly as she went through her contractions. I wiped her brow of perspiration as she worked hard to deliver the baby that she had carried around for nine months. Finally, after thirteen painful hours of labour, a cry finally filled through the room.
My baby girl had entered the world.
Tears streamed down my face as the nurse handed me the little pink bundle. I looked down to see a tiny pink face staring up at me. The little girls cerulean eyes looked up into mine, and a small gurgle emitted from her mouth.
She had my eyes.
"Hey baby girl." I whispered, gently stroking my daughter's cheek with the tip of my finger. "I'm your daddy."
She lifted her arms up in the air, wiggling her fingers. I placed my hand near her, and she immediately grabbed my index finger in her tiny hand as tightly as she possible could.
That moment was the most cherished memory that I had.
She spins and She sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And sitting here, wearing,
The weight of the world on my shoulders
A year later, I was sitting in the living room with my wife and daughter, laughing as kicked her legs wildly every time my wife lifted her in the air, giggling.
"You're a silly girl, aren't you." I crooned as my daughter stood directly across from me, her mother supporting her gently by the arms.
"Yes she is." My beautiful wife said as she kissed our daughter lightly on the top of her head. While my daughter had inherited my eyes and smile, the rest of her features were completely her mothers. Her cheeks, her dimples, and her dark brunette hair.
I outstretched my arms towards my daughter.
"You wanna try walking again today, baby girl?" I shifted towards her, close enough to catch her if she fell. My wife took hold of our daughter's wrists gently. The little girl lifted her right leg high in the air, narrowly missing my left arm, and placed it down on the ground. She repeated the same with her left leg.
She had taken her first steps.
My daughter fell right into my arms, and I pulled her close towards me.
"You did it baby, you did it." I said as I rocked her back in forth in my arms.
My wife came over beside me, and I adjusted my daughter on my leg as I wrapped my other arm around my wife.
We were a perfect family.
Its been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me, saying 'dad I need you'
'There's a ball at the castle, and I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing'
Oh please, daddy please
Music played gently in the background as I sat in my office, attempting to sort of the piles of paper work that had gathered over the weekend.
"Daddy?" a quiet voice asked from the doorway. I turned in my chair to see my now three-year-old daughter looking up at me. Her hair was tied up in two pigtails, and she was wearing a small plastic tiara on top. With her little pink dress and light up pink shoes, she looked like she had walked right out of a Disney movie. Clutched tightly in her right arm was Teddy, the small white bear I had bought her when she was just a baby. She went everywhere with that bear.
"Hey princess." I said as I got out of my chair and sat down on the small couch I had in my office. "Come here." She nodded and walked towards me, her shoes glowing red with every step, before she finally reached me. I lifted her off the ground and settled her in my lap.
"Do you like my dress? Mommy bought it for me."
"Of course princess. It's a very pretty dress. And it looks even prettier on you." She giggled.
"Do I look like Cinderella?" her favourite Disney character was Cinderella, and she always wanted to be compared to her.
"You look exactly like Cinderella princess. Maybe even prettier." The little girl's eyes brightened at the thought.
We stayed silent for a moment, before a familiar song began softly playing through my speakers. It was my wife's and my song, a song that now my daughter had dubbed as 'her song' as well.
"DADDY!" She squealed. "It's the song."
"I know. Would you like to dance?" She nodded her head up and down, setting 'Teddy' down on the couch beside us. I got up with her still in my arms, and rested her gently on my hip. Slowly, I began swaying back and fourth. My little girl rested her head gently on my shoulder. Our dance lasted for the full song.
This scene became a regular occurrence in the household.
So I will Dance with, Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
Cause I know, something the prince never knew
I walked hand-in-hand with my daughter as we headed to the bus stop. It was her first day of grade one, and her first time riding on the bus to school. When we got there the familiar yellow bus was already waiting, parents letting off their children one by one.
"Is that the bus daddy?" she asked.
"Yes princess. That's the bus."
"It's big." She observed as she stared up at the giant vehicle in front of her.
"That's so it can carry a lot of princesses like you." We finally got to the doors into the bus, and my daughter's grade one teacher was waiting for them.
"Hello." I greeted. My daughter grabbed onto the back of my leg tightly, hiding behind it.
"Seems someone's shy." The woman said.
"Yeah." I bent down to be at my daughter's height. "Princess, this is your teacher. She's nice remember? She's mommy's friend." The little girl nodded her head.
"Are you going daddy?"
"I have to princess. But I'll be waiting right here for you when you come back. Okay?"
"Promise?"
"I promise." My daughter wrapped her arms around my neck tightly before finally letting go, and nervously walking towards her teacher. A single tear tickled down my face as my daughter walked onto the bus.
Soon, her face appeared in the window before me. I waved to her, and she waved back.
This continued until the bus finally disappeared down the road.
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song
Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
"Daddy, can you please not hold my hand?" my thirteen-year-old daughter asked as we walked through the mall. "I'm a big girl now, I don't need my daddy holding onto me."
"Is that the real reason, or do you think it's not cool?" I questioned, and knew I was correct when her cheeks flushed scarlet.
"Really dad. It's not like I'm going to get lost."
"I don't want to take the chance."
"But why, it's embarrass – " she cut herself off as she quickly ducked behind me. "Hide me!" she yelped.
"What is it?"
"Over there." She whispered.
"Where?" I asked.
"By the fountain." I looked in that direction, to find three teenage boys sitting there drinking smoothies.
"The boys?"
"Yes dad, the boys. I just… don't want them to see me." I laughed.
"You like one of them." My daughter groaned.
"You're just like mom."
"So it's true."
"Fine dad. I like one of them. Now, can we please leave before I am caught shopping with my dad." She said it as if it was a crime to shop with your father.
My little girl was growing up.
She's says he's a nice guy, and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says 'dad the prom is just one week away'
'And I need to practice my dancing'
Oh please, daddy please
"You like it?" My daughter asked as she spun around in front of me. The light blue material flowed gently as she continued to spin around.
"You look beautiful sweetie."
"Thanks Daddy. Do you think Jarrod will like it?" The boyfriend.
I was surprised I was even letting her go to her senior prom.
"Of course he will." I said as I took her into my arms. A flash lighted up the room. I turned to see my wife looking though the doorway, camera in her hand.
"MOM!"
"Aww come on sweetie. You know that you love looking at pictures after they've been taken."
"But it is just so boring taking all those pictures." I leaned down and whispered into her ear.
"I went through it for years. Believe me, you'll appreciate it when you're older." She rolled her eyes.
"You always say that dad. You just stick up for mom." The doorbell didn't allow us to continue our conversation.
"He's HERE!" my daughter yelled as she ran towards the door to let her boyfriend in.
Where had the time gone?
So I will Dance with, Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
Cause I know, something the prince never knew
Graduation caps flew through the air as the grade twelve's cheered. I looked around to find my daughter talking to her friends, looking sharp in her black graduation gown. She clutched her diploma tightly in one hand, holding her clutch purse in the other. I walked up towards her, and when she saw me she tore away from her friends and straight into my arms.
"I'm so proud of you princess." I said as I tightly held her in my arms.
"Thanks daddy." She replied. I pulled back to look her over. Her cerulean eyes were shining brightly with excitement. Her brunette hair was curled and half pinned up.
She was now a young woman.
"You were great out there. Your speech was beautiful." Of course, my brilliant daughter had inherited all of her brains from her mother. She was chosen as valedictorian for the graduating class, and did a phenomenal job at it.
"I'm surprised you didn't fall asleep, you've heard it so many times." For the last three weeks, it had become a pattern of ours to go over her speech for an hour, ensuring she would get it perfectly when the time came to see it.
"Never princess. That was your moment to shine, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song
Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
She will be gone
Suitcases and boxes were being unloaded from the car and onto the freshly mowed lawn.
"You need help carrying it up to your dorm?"
"I'm fine dad. Jarrod said he would help me." The high school sweetheart. They had been inseparable and were still going strong into their fifth year of dating.
"You sure, because – "
"Daddy, I'm fine." She said. I sighed.
"I know. It's just… hard to say goodbye." My daughter looked at me, looking more and more like her mother, and smiled gently.
"It's okay dad. I'll see you over thanksgiving. Not to mention you can come visit me any time that you want to."
"I know. It's just going to be lonely in the house, only you and your mother."
"I'll call a lot." I smiled, and wrapped her in my arms.
"I know sweetie." I kissed her on the forehead
My daughter was in university.
She was finally leaving the nest and starting out on her own.
She came home today, with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and tell us, all they had planned
She says 'dad the weddings just six months away'
'And I need to practice my dancing'
Oh please, daddy please
A diamond ring sparkled on the hand that she had extended towards my wife and me.
An engagement ring.
"Isn't it just beautiful daddy? Jarrod has excellent taste." I nodded.
"It's beautiful."
"Are you okay, I mean, you look kind of pale." My daughter questioned. My wife gently grabbed my hand and squeezed it comfortingly.
"Yeah. It's just, aren't you a bit young to be getting married?"
"Dad, I'm twenty-five. It's old enough." She looked up at her fiancé, before turning back towards me. "Besides, now that I'm done with school, I want to get settled down somewhere and maybe start a family." I gulped.
A family? Already?
"Yeah. Of course." I managed to choke out. My daughter smiled at me, and gave me a tight hug.
"It's okay daddy. I'll still be the number one girl in your life. Nobody can replace you."
So I will Dance with, Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
Cause I know, something the prince never knew
The last twenty-six years of my life has flashed by in a blur. One moment, my little girl was sitting on my lap, giggling as I ticked her. The next, she was graduating from law school at Stanford University.
I looked in the mirror one last time, checking if everything was perfect, before finally walking out of the room. My wife greeted me in the hallway.
"She's waiting for you." I nodded. "You'll be fine." My wife said comfortingly.
"Yeah. It's just, today's finally here. It feels like just two days ago my little girl was taking her first breath, and now she's getting married."
"I know." I sighed.
"She grew up too fast."
"But she's still your little girl?" I smiled, and nodded.
"Yes. She's still my little girl. And always will be."
My wife and I parted, and I headed to where my daughter was waiting for me. Her white dress glowed against her tan skin, the veil resting gently against her back.
"Oh honey, you look beautiful." I said.
"Thanks daddy."
"I can't believe it. My baby girl's getting married." My daughter's eyes sparkled, showing me she was excited.
"Aw dad… don't make me cry. Mom would kill you if I ruined my makeup." I laughed.
"That's true." I looked my daughter over once more, and then outstretched my arms towards her.
"Are you ready?" I asked her. She linked her arm with mine.
"Yes." I smiled, and heard the familiar Wedding March begin to play from inside the doors. The bridesmaids all walked down the aisle, one by one, and finally it was my turn.
As I walked down the aisle, memories of the last twenty-six years flashed through my mind.
The first time that I laid eyes on her.
The first time that she called me dada.
The first time she went to school on her own.
The first time she went on a date.
The first time she had a boyfriend.
All of the firsts that I got to experience with her.
When we finally reached the end of the aisle, I turned my daughter to face me. I lifted the veil off of her face, and looked deep into her eyes.
"This is it." I said.
"Thank you daddy." I smiled, and leaned forward kissing her on the forehead.
"I'm proud of you baby girl. You've grown up, and have become the perfect daughter for me." Tears streamed down my face as well as my daughters.
It was the final time that she was officially mine.
From now of, she would be with her husband. Her family would take priority, and I wouldn't see her as often.
But I knew I was doing the right thing.
I squeezed my daughter's hand comfortingly.
"I love you sweetheart."
"I love you too, Daddy."
I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song
Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
My daughter now had a daughter of her own. A tiny little baby who looked exactly like her, passing on the famous family blue eyes. I adored my granddaughter, cherishing every moment I shared with her.
Just like I had done with my own baby girl.
My daughter moved in three houses from me, using the excuse that she would need a babysitter as Jarrod and her were at work.
Secretly, I knew she missed me.
She was now a grown girl, living her own life. She had a well paying job, was able to support herself, and still managed to find time to be a perfect mother to a precious little girl.
I watched as my daughter grew older, and as my family expanded. More and more grandchildren had arrived, and the house was always filled on holidays.
My daughter had grown up, and I was so proud of what she had accomplished.
But, deep in my heart, she was still my baby girl.
And she always would be.
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AN: Again, please don't forget to review and tell me what you think. Love you guys!