CHAPTER 38 (RESCUE)

"Um… Um…" Pamela began to mumble as she looked at the two of us, completely flabbergasted.

I couldn't speak as well.

Oh my goodness. Why did this have to happen?

"Cinderella… I… I… I'm here to… er… escort you", Harold sputtered.

"Um… You do?" I asked feebly.

He nodded slowly. "Y-yes. Pardon my outfit. I'm er…. Trying something unfamiliar. You know, revolutionizing fashion."

The crowd began laughing now. They noticed that we had caused such a huge disaster.

Still, we had to fix it.

"Well then! Into the coach!" Pamela suddenly squeaked and rushed us to a coach made out of wood.

We nodded and hastily got in. The props people moved the coach until it got to the other wing. The curtains of the other wing opened and revealed Jessica and Danny dining at the ball.

They didn't know that Harold was here.

Yet.

As we got out of the coach, I threw an anxious glance at Harold.

What was going to happen now?

"Harold, why are you here?" I whispered.

"Um… Um… I was supposed to tell you something important, but apparently I came at the wrong time", he whispered back.

Oh great. Simply great.

"There are no fair princesses here", Jessica sighed.

Danny chuckled. "I'm sure one will turn up. Just wait."

The two were sipping on glasses of wine (it was actually Coke) as a few couples danced behind them.

"Why, I think here comes one now", Danny smiled as he saw me entering. He sipped on his wine.

Jessica's jaw dropped. "Um… Um… Um…"

"What?" Danny asked, obviously not taking notice of Harold yet.

Harold had just appeared behind me.

Danny spat out the wine he was drinking, completely surprised.

He could not believe it. What was Harold doing here? Why here?

Danny coughed and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. "S-sorry."

"It's okay", Jessica said, trying to make her voice manly.

I sat down on one chair, like I was supposed to. Harold sat down on the other chair, completely flushed.

"Harold, just exit okay?" I told him as we sat down.

He nodded and gulped. "I know."

Yes. That was the best thing.

Danny was supposed to ask me to the dance first. After that, Jessica would notice me and then ask me to dance.

Danny approached me, a smile on his face. I saw him glare at Harold a bit, but returned his focus on the play.

"May I dance with you?" Danny asked, extending his hand to me.

I smiled. "Yes."

Harold was boiling. Danny smirked at him.

Too bad Harold changed his mind about exiting as he saw Danny.

Harold cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. "Eh-hem. She's with me."

Danny frowned. "No. I'll dance with her."

Harold stood up and grabbed my hand. "No. I'll dance with her."

Danny stopped him. "Excuse me, you aren't even dressed for the occasion."

Harold ignored him and dragged me to where the couples were dancing. "I can dance better at least!"

Danny was mad but he couldn't do anything now as Harold dragged me.

What was Harold doing??

Harold placed his hand on my waist and began to dance with me.

He could move pretty well too.

But still, I wished he hadn't complicated things. I wished he hadn't lost his temper with Danny and done something as irrational as this.

"Harry, you shouldn't have lost your temper", I told him quietly as we danced.

He looked apologetic. "I'm sorry…"

"Why don't you like Danny?"

I wanted to know what could make him hate Danny so much.

He paused. "I'm sorry. It's just that…"

"Just that what?"

He twirled me around before answering. "I can't answer now. Sorry."

I sighed. Oh well. There was no use of forcing him.

"Suit yourself Harry", I mumbled.

All of a sudden, Jessica approached me and asked me to dance.

"May I dance with you?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes."

Before I left, I signalled to Harold that he should leave now. He reluctantly agreed.

"What's he doing here??" Jessica hissed, a panicked expression on her face.

"Oh gosh. I don't know. If he and Danny get into a fight, this'll be tragic", I whispered as we danced.

Harold was about to exit, until he met Danny. Harold smirked at him. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"You do realize that you're doing something irrational", Danny muttered.

"Yes. I do. But I don't care. I was so close to telling her", Harold replied.

Danny flinched. How dare he do that to his girlfriend?

"Listen. Quit chasing after my girlfriend okay? Like I said, I won't let her go. So stop bothering her", Danny warned him.

Harold let out a little chuckle. "Are you sure you're enough for her?"

"I'm not sure if I'm enough. But I'm sure of one thing: she chose me over you."

That wiped the smile off Harold's face.

Danny was right. If Anthea did like Harold, she would've just left Danny for him.

And that thought simply made him mad.

Before Harold could stop himself, he seized a pair of wooden swords leaning on the wall. He threw one of them to Danny who looked surprised.

Jessica and I stopped dancing. I gasped as I saw that two of them.

"Oh no!" I moaned.

Harold had a frown on his face as he looked at Danny.

"Are you out of your mind?" Danny protested.

"No. I am not. Come on. Show me you're enough for her!" Harold bellowed.

The crowd seemed excited, thinking that all of this was a show. I even saw one having a huge grin on her face.

"Harry!" I called out, trying to stop him.

However, he had already stricken a blow to Danny. Luckily, Danny managed to block it.

The two continued fighting. Harold was always the striker and Danny was the defender. From the look of things, it seemed like Danny didn't want to fight at all.

However, if Harold kept on pushing him, he just might attack.

The crowd was still watching intensely. Some screamed a bit whenever Harold would deliver a forceful blow.

I was still amazed though that the two could fight so well. It's as if they were fencing champions.

I was absolutely horrified. What if Danny got hurt? What if Harold got hurt?

The two were still fighting. It looked like they wouldn't stop.

Now I was really worried.

"Harry! Please! Stop!" I pleaded.

I hoped that he would listen. He seemed to have heard what I said, but he certainly didn't listen. He still kept on striking swords with Danny.

For a moment, I grew angry with Harold. What was wrong with him? He heard me! Why wouldn't he listen?

Ugh. He was being stubborn again, like before.

In fact, I think I began to hate him once more.

The crowd seemed to be enjoying every bit of this though. One blow nearly hit Danny's side. Jessica and I screamed.

"Danny!" I cried out.

Danny blocked another blow from Harold. "I'll be fine! I'll—arrgh!"

Harold had hit his side when he was too slow to block it. Everyone gasped. I couldn't believe it… Harold hit him!! How could he do that?!

Danny staggered. Fortunately, Harold stopped. He was panting.

"Stop!" Evangeline's voice suddenly said.

We all turned around and saw Evangeline in a princess outfit.

Whoa! What's going to happen now? Could the play get any crazier?

Nevertheless, the crowd looked excited. They were watching intently.

"Wha-wha?" Harold asked, completely thrown.

Evangeline approached Harold in furious strides. All of a sudden, she slapped him.

Jessica and I gasped.

What was she doing??

"I know you haven't forgotten about us! But he has nothing to do with it!" Evangeline said dramatically.

The she turned to Danny and slapped him too. "Prince! Show some manners in public!"

"What did I do?" Danny protested.

"Um… Um… I just felt like taking my anger out on you", Evangeline said hurriedly, probably saying that because that was the first thing that came to her mind.

The crowd howled with laughter. This was a great scene for them. Some were already clapping their hands.

"And… I've moved on… I have… um… I have…" she began to sputter.

"You have me!" another voice cried out.

It was Harry.

He came from the left wing of the stage. He donned a prince suit.

He looked very handsome.

I would've admired him even more if we were under normal circumstances.

"Yes! I have… Prince… Er… Ting!" Evangeline blurted out.

Huh. 'Ting'?

Harry looked mortified and even mouthed. 'Ting??'

Harry snapped out of it. "Yes. I am Prince Ting. I'm from… er… China!"

Harold seemed to have given up and he decided to go along with the play. "I'm… sorry. I was foolish… I loved you. How could I forget so easily? I'm sorry for accusing you."

Danny raised an eyebrow but nodded. "It's no… er… problem."

"Fine. I'll leave now. I'm… sorry", Harold said and exited the stage.

He passed by me and looked at me. "I'm sorry."

I didn't answer but nodded instead.

"Prince! Let's treat your wounds! Darling! Carry him!" Evangeline commanded Harry.

Harry's eyes widened. "Me?"

"Yes, you! He needs help. Let's go!"

Harry moaned and the audience laughed and cheered.

Finally, the play was back on track.

The play carried on like it should be. Luckily, Harold didn't pop out anymore. Whenever I passed backstage, I'd check if Danny was okay. He seemed okay on my third visit. Finally, the play ended with Jessica proposing to me. We bowed and the audience clapped their hands loudly. They really loved the play. But I wished that things had been different. I wished that Danny didn't get hurt.

Jessica and I exited the stage. Now Pamela, as the fairy godmother, had to say something. Sort of like a nice conclusion.

"How's Danny?" Jessica asked me when we were at the backstage.

"He's fine now", I replied.

"Cinderella is a girl, who despite all of her hardships, made her dream comes true. Sure she had magic on her side, but we too have the same thing. We may not have our own fairy godmother, but we make the magic", Pamela said sweetly.

Gosh. She was so cute and convincing. She was definitely a cogent speaker.

Her speech was supposed to end here.

Much to our surprise, she added some more. Something that was out of the script.

"As for the two who fought… we have to learn to accept things. Sometimes, we should move on. Because there's something much better for us out there. So, find that", Pamela said and the audience clapped their hands.

Pamela rushed backstage.

"The play was a disaster on our part but a great show for the audience", she said breathlessly.

Jessica and I nodded.

"I know", we both said at the same time.

Evangeline, Harry and Danny emerged. Danny looked fine now. He looked like he wasn't in pain anymore.

I ran to Danny.

"Danny, are you okay now?" I asked him worriedly.

He nodded and smiled. "Yup. I'm still okay."

"Dude, you were a riot", Dougie said as he approached us.

"You too Evangeline", Tom smiled.

"I was going ballistic, but you saved the play. Nice speech sis", Nicole said.

Pamela grinned. "I had to say it. Or that scene wouldn't make any sense."

We all went home after the play. I heard some people saying how great Harold was. I only frowned. I wasn't happy with Harold at all. I can't believe he hurt Danny.

I passed by Harold, but I frowned at him; showing how disappointed he was. He only walked away quickly, feeling guilty.

As I got home, I kept on thinking about Harold's behaviour. He was so immature and how could he do that to our play? Most of all, I was sad that he hurt Danny.

I didn't hate him now, but I was very disappointed. I had been hoping that he had changed. I was wrong.