A/N: LJ very short story prompt! My chosen prompt word was "midnight". Can we guess which character I chose to write about? ;)
Hat scrubbed free of all the desert dust, cravat held stiffly in place by a sharp, red-jeweled tack, silver vest almost glittering with soft golden threads in the trim, a deep blue jacket that accented the silver, pants hemmed to perfection with creases ironed by critical professionals, boots shined and polished to catch the light of the evening lamps. Tonight was a special occasion, a rare opportunity, a dream come true.
He chuckled at the thought, wondering at how alike he must now seem to the heroine of the Grimm tale he had read the children just days ago. He spent his days dirty, weary, working himself to exhaustion only for the sake of those around him. He was perpetually broke, ridiculed, and made to feel unworthy of some of the company he kept. Yet here he was now, going to his own Royal Ball of sorts, dressed to dance with members of the highest class.
And dance he would.
The type of dance he would be performing, however, would not be a waltz. He would move with his hands, his fingers gliding across his cards with the ease and grace of a ballerina moving across a stage. His voice would weave its own tune, comforting and lulling his audience with a sense of trust, an assurance that he belonged in their company. His targeted partner would not be a handsome prince, but rather a scheming political official. Ezra would captivate the man with his talents, not seeking to steal the man's crooked heart, but rather his confidence. There would be no slipper left for the man to find, only the knowledge that he had spilled all his secrets of deceit to a lawman; but even that realization would come too late. The peacekeepers of Four Corners would take him down long before he realized that the Southern gentleman with the silver vest and easy smile was not who he appeared to be.
A clock chimed the midnight hour as Ezra stepped up to the massive doors of the Grand Hotel Ballroom. His mirth grew even more as a bellman checked the forged gold-leafed invitation, and stepped back to allow the conman entrance. Cinderella would have been rushing out the ornate doorway right now. For Ezra, his magical night of fooling royalty was just beginning…