Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Ella Enchanted. All rights go to RIB and Miramax Films.
A/N: So I think I've decided to do two more chapters of younger Rachel- she's going to be a teenager in these next two chapters and then after that she will be 18 for the rest of the story. In this chapter Rachel is 13. Updates of this will be less frequent now that I'm back at school but I will try to update as often as I can.
Chapter 3: Dinner Party
The next time I saw Finn, I was 13 years old. The entire kingdom, even us poor people it seemed had been invited to a party celebrating Finn's 14th birthday. I was angry when my father received the invitation. Not because I didn't want to see him again but because he hadn't told me who he was when we first met. Besides the fact that it had been four years since I first met him and I hadn't seen him once. So I went to the party with all intentions of yelling at him. That did happen but what happened after that was seriously unexpected.
For the first time in years my father had bought me a new dress. Of course I found out afterwards that the new dress was a way of dissipating my anger. "I'm engaged sweetheart" he told me.
"Engaged?" I screamed my eyebrows raising in shock.
"Yes. She's a lovely woman, I'm sure you'll like her. And her two daughters" he says.
"When exactly is the wedding?" I ask.
"Won't be for a while yet. She has very particular taste so it could take some time to plan" my father says.
"If you'll excuse me I need to get ready. We are still going to this party tonight, yes?" I say.
"Yes of course darling. Dame Susan will be there with her two daughters Quinn and Brittany" he says.
"Can't wait" I mutter sarcastically.
I wanted to find Finn as soon as I made it to the party but my dad insisted that I just had to meet Dame Susan and her "delightful" daughters first. I knew I was going to hate them the moment I laid eyes on them. Dame Susan looked more like a man than a woman with her short hair, both daughters were blonde and stick thin.
"This is my beautiful Quinn and my special Brittany" she says gesturing to her daughters. I hold out her hand for them to shake.
"Eww you expect me to touch a poor person?" the one named Quinn says.
"Nice to meet you too" I mutter sarcastically.
"Be nice Quinn" Rachel's father warns the girl.
"I'm sorry I didn't get your name" Quinn says looking pointedly at Rachel.
"Rachel. Rachel of Frell" she says. Quinn shakes her hand.
"I'd say it's nice to meet you but I'd be lying" she says.
"See I just wasn't going to say anything and let you work out that I wasn't pleased to meet you for yourself" I say.
"Stay away from Finn Hudson, he's mine. One day I'm going to be his wife" she snarls.
"I think Finn should be able to make up his mind for himself. Don't you?" Rachel says faking a smile.
"Quinn's president of the Prince Finn fan club" Brittany says. She shakes my hand with less reluctance than the ice queen.
"Really? Isn't that a bit sad?" Rachel says.
"You've seen the prince. He's dreamy" Quinn says.
I'll admit that Finn is of course quite cute. But I couldn't believe these girls were part of a fan club for him. I bet that most of them hadn't even met him. Admittedly I had only met him once but that was probably one more time than Quinn.
"Have you ever even met the Prince?" I ask her.
"No. But I've lived in Lamere my entire life. We live opposite the castle. I bet that's closer than you've ever come to the prince" Quinn says.
"Actually I've met Finn before. He came to my mother's funeral four years ago" I say. I take satisfaction in watching Quinn's mouth drop open in shock before walking away from them. I didn't want to spend any more time than I had to in the company of that horrid girl.
The dinner is a buffet so I join the line to get some food. As I am walking back to the table I bump into someone causing them to drop their food. I look up and see that the person I have bumped into is Finn.
"You're making a habit of bumping into me every time we meet aren't you Miss Berry?" Finn says laughing good naturedly.
"I guess I am, Prince Finn" I say making sure that the anger in my voice is clear.
He takes me by the hand and drags me into a different room in the castle. "Look I'm sorry I didn't mention the whole being a Prince thing" he says.
"You lied to me. You said you were "just Finn"" I say.
"I didn't lie. I am Finn. I just didn't mention that I was a prince. You don't seem to like posh people very much" he says.
"I like you" I say.
"If it makes you feel any better I don't really want to be Prince Finn. I don't want to rule a kingdom. I just want to be me, do the things that I want to do rather than going to these stupid events with all these posh people that I hate" he says.
"I'm not really mad at you. It's not nice being forced to do something that you don't want to do. Believe me I have more experience than anyone" I say.
"What do you mean by that?" Finn asks curiously.
I realize then that I've said too much. I can't tell Finn about the curse, I can't tell anyone. I promised my mother. Besides it was an order and I can't disobey orders.
"Nothing, it's not important" I say hoping he will change the subject.
He looks at me strangely after that. I think he knows I'm hiding something but as I'd hoped he changes the subject.
"You didn't seem too happy earlier. What was wrong?" he asks.
"Oh my dad's getting married again. I'd just met his fiancée and my new stepsisters Quinn and Brittany. Quinn's a nasty piece of work. Really into you though, she's president of your fan club" I say.
"I always hated the whole fan club thing. Besides I'm not interested in Quinn. I've never met her but she's probably the same as all the other girls in Lamere. Blonde, thin and the only thing she'll be interested in is money" he says.
"So what kind of girls are you interested in then?" I ask hoping he'll say girls like me.
"It's not a type, it's one specific girl" he says.
"Who's that then?" I ask.
"I think you know" he says.
"Do I?" I ask.
"It's you Rachel. I was only 10 when we met but I knew that I liked you. You had the most beautiful voice I'd ever heard and you weren't afraid to argue with me. You're the one for me. I'm only thirteen but I know that" he says.
"That's really sweet" I say my anger at my dad and new stepfamily melting away in that moment.
"You know you can kiss me if you want to" I say desperately hoping that he does.
"Oh I want to" he says. He steps forward and places his arms around my waist. Then his lips meet mine and we share a beautiful kiss-my first ever kiss.
"You're a good kisser" I say.
"Thank you, you're not bad yourself. Was the first kiss good enough for a second?" he asks.
"I think so" I say and we kiss once more. Just then the door to the room opens and Quinn enters.
"Rachel, get away from him. You are not playing tonsil tennis with my future husband" she yells. I have to step away due to the curse but I don't want to.
"Finn your uncle's looking for you" Quinn says.
"I'll talk to you later Rach, okay?" he says.
"Save me a place at the table" I reply.
"You are not to fool around with him Rachel. You are to stay away from him" she says.
"I'll do whatever I please. I like Finn. He likes me" I say.
"No he doesn't he's probably just being nice" she says.
"You're just jealous because he kissed me and not you. He likes me and not you. That's just the way it is" I say. Because I like having the last word I storm out of the room and slam the door before Quinn can.
A/N: I'm sorry I didn't get this up sooner, I will try to update all of my stories as quickly as is possible although it may be slower now that I'm back at school. The next chapter will be Rachel's father and her stepmother's wedding when she is 15.
Review?