Well I'm so happy everyone enjoyed the last chapter. It was just so much fun! ^^ But unfortunately all good things must come to an end. I really wish i could drag out the prince and Taylor scene some more, but we'll just have to see what happens here. So hope you all enjoy this next chapter, cause here comes the climax!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The night was quickly coming to an end and before Taylor knew it, she and Chad were at the porch behind the castle kissing on the steps. She had completely forgotten about the warning her fairy godmother gave her or what time it was. She just didn't want the night to end. It was the best thing to happen to her in years and it was going to be so heartbreaking when the night would be over. Little did Taylor know her time was more limited than she realized. It was just past five to midnight, barely giving Taylor any time to get out of there. So when she and Chad broke away from their mini make-out session, Taylor found herself in a rude awakening.
"This has been so great." Chad told her with a smile. "I thought tonight was gonna be so boring."
"Did it turn out better than you planned?" Taylor inquired.
"Way better." he smiled. "I got to meet you."
"Ok, now you're just kissing up." Taylor giggled.
"Yeah, well I'm about to do it again." Chad grinned. He leaned in for another kiss.
Taylor was almost ready to return it, and she gladly would have. But there was that minor issue of the time constraint. As she leaned in, from the corner of her eye she caught a quick glimpse of the clock tower - and the time.
"Oh my God!" she gasped, pulling away a little too fast for comfort.
Chad nearly fell over, shocked at her sudden rejection. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"It's almost midnight." Taylor said as she got up and looked at him.
Chad looked at the clock nearby. "So it is." he said simply, having no idea of the time's significance.
"I've got to go." Taylor turned around about to leave.
"Wait, what?" Chad gasped as he got up to follow her. He managed to lightly grab her arm before she got too far.
"I have to go." she repeated.
"But why?" Chad asked. After meeting this girl he was going to do everything it took to get her to stay. He wasn't about to lose her so easily.
"Please, you don't understand." she shook her head. She tried getting away again.
"But so soon?" Chad replied, barely managing to keep her in one place. "It's still early. And even if it were late you could stay here for the night if you wanted to."
Boy was he stubborn. It wasn't like Taylor wanted to go, and she didn't want him to think that at all. But she knew that if she stayed around those last few minutes then the spell would wear off and he'd see her for who she really was. Not to mention if her step family caught her she'd be deader than dead. She just couldn't believe she got distracted so easily and forgot the time. Taylor was not this kind of irresponsible person. All she had to do was think of some way to get out of here...and fast!
"Well...see I forgot to.... The prince!" she exclaimed.
"What?" he raised an eyebrow.
"I haven't met the prince." Taylor fibbed.
"The prince?" Chad repeated. But he thought that he was.... Oh snap, he didn't! But he did! He didn't even tell her who he was. What was he thinking? He didn't even get her name! Boy, was Chad no prince. He was the King of Loser-dom! He had to tell her now, while there was still a chance. "But didn't you know that...?"
He didn't get the last words in thanks to the clock tower. It began dinging, saying that ther was one minute left until midnight.
Taylor took that chance to get out of Chad's grasp. "Good-bye." she said quickly before rushing back into the castle to get out.
"Wait...wait, you can't go!" Chad gasped chasing after her. "Please come back!"
As Taylor entered the castle, he quickly turned to him once more. "Good-bye." she repeated before running again.
No, she was getting away! This couldn't be happening! After all this urging from his father and all this hunting, Chad had finally found his dream girl. And she was running away from him! He just couldn't let her get away. Why was she running? Was it something he said? Something he'd done? Chad had to find out and fix it before it was too late.
"But I don't even know your name! How am I gonna find you?" he called desperately. "Wait! Please wait!" He started running after her again, hoping that he could still catch up with her somehow.
---
Meanwhile, unaware of the events that had been occurring in the courtyard, Troy had just remained in front of the curtains making sure that no one would get through. And he'd been doing a good job of it too, especially after everyone left the ballroom. Good thing the king prepared a huge feast in the dining room, or else the ballroom would still be a madhouse and people would still be begging to see who the prince was with. Of course, there was the matter of a few minor distractions. And one of those distractions just so happened to be Gabriella. It just started with her bringing Troy some food from the dining room and then they started talking and...well, you get the picture. Let's just say it was a good thing no one was around to even try to get through the curtains.
"So...how is your uncle doing?" Troy wondered, barely getting over his nervousness of talking to this girl.
"He should be better in a week." Gabriella replied. "And he apologizes profusely for not being able to do his job."
"Oh, it's fine. Really." Troy said quickly. "He's got you to do it. i mean, not that you have a loud voice. I mean you don't, you have a great voice. But not loud. See what I mean to say it..."
Gabriella raised an eyebrow from curiosity, wondering just what it was that Troy was trying to say. She liked him, she did. But Troy just always got his words jumbled up in front of her and she had no idea what it meant. Was he nervous about something, or was he stressed, or did it have to do with her? She just couldn't put her finger on it.
Troy froze for a moment before going all gaga and nearly falling off his chair. "You're pretty tonight."
That had Gabriella blushing and giggling. Alright, he'd won her over. "Why, thank you."
Troy smiled in a goofy manner. Yes, he was winning her over! "So then maybe one night we can go out on a..." he started in his smoothest voice possible. Sadly, he didn't get to complete his question. The next thing he knew the curtains were flying in his face. Troy gasped and fell off his chair. Gabriella covered her mouth before rushing over to help him up.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Troy nodded as he let Gabriella help him up.
Gabriella nodded and then turned to see what caused the curtains to hit Troy. That's when she saw Taylor standing there looking desperately for a way to get out. While Gabriella didn't know this girl by name, she did have an idea of who she was.
"Hey, you were dancing before. You were with..." she realized.
Taylor turned around. "Can you please tell me how to get out of here?" she interrupted. Not that she meant to, but she was kind of freaking out. It was a few seconds to midnight and she had no time to get out of here.
"Yeah...you run around the corner and straight down the stairs to the left. You'll be outside in no time." Gabriella answered, somewhat confused.
"Thank you. Good-bye!" Taylor responded before running again.
Troy smiled and waved to her as she left. "Nice girl. Chad seemed really happy with her..." he started to Gabriella. He stopped in mid-sentence and his jaw dropped. "Wait a second...did she just say good-bye?"
"Yeah. Why?" Gabriella asked, concerned.
"Dad's gonna kill me." Troy breathed. "I promised him I wouldn't let her leave and let him know when Chad pops the question." He let go of her hand and ran after Taylor.
"Wait...what are you talking about?" she gasped.
Troy stopped briefly and faced her again. "When Chad comes rushing out of there just tell him I'm trying to catch her. Tell him not to worry...I hope!" he answered before dashing after Taylor again. "Miss, come back!"
Gabriella almost started running after him but sighed heavily and stopped, knowing that Chad would be worrying about where this girl was going. And it was her duty to help him so she thought it best to let him know what Troy was doing. Surely enough, moments later Chad came bursting through the curtains.
"Wait!" he called, almost falling down. Then he looked around, seeing no sign of Taylor. He faced Gabriella worriedly. "Where did she go?"
"Troy's chasing after her. He's trying to catch her for you." Gabriella answered, doing her best to calm him down.
"I've gotta catch her...I can't let her get away!" Chad said. He took a few steps forward only to stop again when he heard some screaming girls.
"It's the Prince!"
"The Prince has come back!"
"Let's get him!"
Gabriella bit her tongue as she saw the crazy girls rush to Chad. "Um...sir...?"
"Gotta go." Chad mumbled before running in the opposite direction he meant to go, doing the best he could to get away from his fans. Boy, they picked the worst time to start an angry mob over him!
---
Taylor was almost at the front of the castle. Her carriage and animal friends disguised as humans and other animals were just in sight. She could hear the clock dinging again and she knew very well that it was midnight. There was no time to lose, she had to hurry and move faster. Down the stairs she could see Donny and Jimmie signalling her to come over and run faster. Even they knew that they were out of time. Taylor had no idea how much longer the spell could last after the clock stroke midnight. She could already feel her hair tangling up and probably falling out of the incredible do her fairy godmother made for her. Taylor had them reached the foot of the steps only to feel half shorter. She spun around and saw that one of her glass slippers had fallen off; it was still on one of the steps. She was about to run and get it until she saw Troy approaching, calling for her. At the same time, she could hear the sounds of her animal friends. She hesitated for a moment, then sighed heavily and ran to the carriage. Taylor didn't want to leave one of her glass slippers behind, but she knew she had no choice.
"Miss! Miss, come back!" Troy called. He could see a slight sparkle coming from the slipper on the stairs. And then he saw her running towards a carriage. That had to be her shoe, and that had to be her! but why wasn't she answering? Maybe he should try something else. "Mademoiselle!" He stopped in front of the shoe to pick it up and looked up to see Taylor slowly disappearing from his sight. "Señorita!" He started again, just as the carriage was leaving with her. "Señorina! Just a minute!" he called again. Alright, he's tried calling for her in English, French, Spanish, and Italian...would it just be better to use Gibberish?
The carriage was rapidly approaching the gate. Troy knew now that it wouldn't even make sense to call saying she forgot her shoe. The best thing to do would be to make sure she didn't escape, catch her, and not get in trouble with his dad...oh yes, and make Chad happy. Troy called out to the guards in the castle, who were luckily on watch 24/7. If anyone could make sure Taylor wouldn't escape, it was them.
"Guys, stop that girl! Close those gates!" Troy yelled.
The guards at the gates worked quick to close the gates. But much to their shock and suspense, the carriage made it out just in the nick of time. And they were still running faster than Troy had seen any carriage rush off the castle grounds.
"Alright, go with plan b! Follow that girl! We can't let her get away!" he gasped. "Bring her back here!"
The gates opened up again and speeding out after Taylor and her carriage were a bunch of men in black on their black horses. They were catching up pretty fast and the spell was beginning to wear off at an even more noticeable rate. Taylor's mouth dropped and she watched in fright as they chased her like she had committed some horrible crime. But they still couldn't catch her. If they could just get far enough away from those men then they'd be safe. By now the carriage was beginning to hollow out and it was about two minutes after midnight. Fortunate enough to make it half way back home by the fifth or so ding of the clock, the guards were out of sight to see the carriage turning back into a pumpkin. As the next ding rang and faded out, the hoses were poofed right back into little mice. Not even realizing it, the mice kept running. Zeke was the first to see this and tugged on his friend's tails. The three stopped running and looked behind them. Everything had looked back to normal now. Taylor was in her torn up dress, Donny was a pooch again, and Jimmie was back as a horse. The carriage had also transformed back into a pumpkin and Taylor was sitting on it with Donny laying behind her and Jimmie sitting in front. Taylor rubbed her head, amazed that the spell was able to last even a few minutes longer than planned. Then she heard footsteps in the distance. She gasped and realized it was the guards.
"Get out of the way!" she warned her friends before all of them dashed into the bushes nearby, leaving the pumpkin in the middle of the road. From behind the safety of the leaves, Taylor watched as the horses ran over the pumpkin, crushing it and all of the fairy dust that was left with it. As the last horse stomped on it while following the rest of the guards, the pumpkin began to rot and with that, the magic of the evening was gone.
Once it was safe to move freely again, the mice got on a few rocks and looked up at Taylor. Donny lay down beside Taylor and rested his head on her lap and Jimmie stood beside her. The animals looked at Taylor concerned, wondering what happened to make her run so late and if everything was ok. But Taylor was still in a bit of a daze, thinking about the night. Snapping out of it, she saw her friends watching her. She giggled lightly and shook her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry. I guess I just forgot about everything." she admitted. "I didn't even realize the time. But...but it was just so wonderful. Jut like a dream come true."
Their expressions softened, no longer feeling worried or any sort of mad at Taylor. The goal of the night was to make her happy and that mission was well accomplished.
Taylor sighed contently as she thought about Chad. "And that guy...he was so hot."
Jason couldn't help but chuckle a little when she said that. It wasn't like Taylor to describe someone that way.
"It does sound a little silly. But he was." Taylor giggled a bit herself. "Oh, and when we danced...I doubt even the prince himself could feel so...so..." What was the word she was looking for? Happy? Alive? Carefree? In love?
Jason cuddled up to Zeke feeling so warmed by Taylor's comments. It just put him in his happy place. Zeke was feeling just as content with her happiness...until he felt Jason against him. Zeke scrunched his nose and quickly shoved Jason off of him. Zeke then straightened his little jacket and shook a finger at Jason, who just looked confused. What, no one else liked cuddling when they were happy?
"Oh well," Taylor sighed standing up. "I suppose it doesn't matter. I mean, it is over now and..."
"Tay-Tay!" Zeke gasped. He jumped up and down, pointing at her foot. "Tay-Tay looky!"
"Yeah Tay-Tay! Looky looky!" Jason exclaimed.
Taylor watched as the pair of mice did that, wondering what had gotten into them.
"Tay-Tay, a slipper!" Zeke insisted.
"Uh-huh! Slippy!" Jason pointed.
Taylor looked down, following their gazes and saw that the slipper she hadn't lose was still on her foot. It was still sparkling with its glassy glow and having that same feel of fairy dust and magic to it. Taylor had thought that everything disappeared when time ran out. But the slipper was still left. She wondered why. Was it because she had lost the other one, or because it was a gift from her fairy godmother? She knelt down and took the slipper off her foot. Taylor held it carefully in her arms, knowing not to break it. It was the last reminder left of her dream night. It had to be handled with the utmost care. Even as more of a reason - it was the last reminder of her dancing with that man.
"I don't believe it." she breathed in total awe. Just looking at the slipper, she knew it was something her fairy godmother left her. Even though the night was over and Taylor would be going back to the old ways before she knew it, she knew now that there would be some of that magic everyday and that maybe, just maybe, it would give her hope of seeing him again. And none of that would have even been possible if she hadn't believed and her fairy godmother hadn't come. She owed so much to that woman and Taylor couldn't be more grateful. This was something she would cherish until the day she died. Taylor held the slipper close to her and looked up, knowing fairy godmother Kelsi had to be watching from somewhere.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. For everything."
And that's another chapter complete! I wanted to try and get it up while there was still a chance, cause I know it's only a matter of time before getting slaughtered with homework again (i still have a lot of it to do this weekend, actually). I did kind of rush this chapter a little, but that's also because the scene was happening so quickly. It's like one minute she's kissing prince charming, then she's running away, then jumping in the carriage, then getting chased by castle guards. But we all liked the previous chapter so much better didn't we? XD Let's just rewind and watch that again instead of seeing the night come crashing down. Anyway, the next chapter won't be from the movie. It's going to be a bonus chapter I was planning on putting in. More on that in the next a/n. Anyway, there's about six or seven chapters left, and I doubt i'll be able to get it finished before the semester is over (it's about 4 or 5 weeks). But when this story is over, i'll be asking you guys what you'd like to read next. And if given the chance, I'm also trying to figure out how to do a one-shot based off of when Chad asked Taylor to prom in HSM3. So everyone, enjoy writing and reading other stories, enjoy the weekend...try to enjoy homework/work if you have any (XDD) and stay tuned for the next chapter! C=
