Lily sat mournfully at the window of a small house in Godric's Hollow. Her red hair was tied up in a messy bun, and her bloodshot eyes surveyed the night sky dubiously.

He was going to get her ….

Voldemort was going to get her …

Voldemort was going to kill her.

And James wasn't even here to tell. He was still gone on one of his Auror missions. He might even be back to carry her off into the sunset. They might not even be able to get married. Lily shivered at the thought. She wanted James to be there to protect her. She wanted James to be there so she could protect him. They needed to protect each other.

Still looking out the window, Lily thought what it might be like to have some Prince Charming come to save you on his milk white stead, and carry you off gloriously into the sunset. Then there would be no troubles in "happily ever after."

No Voldemort to kill you.

Lily had always had a secret love of Cinderella. Since she was little she always loved pretending to be the cinder girl. She would sweep the floor of her house, still did as a matter of fact, and sing, "sing sweet nightingales" the whole time. She had never known that James listened to her song while she was doing so. She never knew the delight it brought him.

And even though Lily had James, she still wanted to have her ball, to ride off into the sunset, to live…. Oh! Lily wanted to live. She wanted life to be a fairy tale. Fairy tales were simple and easy to understand, real life wasn't. Lily had had her share of complexity; she was not a wimp backing out of life. She had just had too complicated of a life for too long. She felt she deserved some simplicity now.

But there wasn't any.

Even her love for James wasn't simple. He was always going here and about on his Auror missions, not seeming to notice the pain to brought her. She never knew the pain it brought him. Ever since they had been together there had only been silent understandings and un-said words between them about the future. Lily suddenly wanted to say them.

She was waiting for her Prince Charming to return to the castle…

Lily took a spare notebook from her bedside table by the window and got out a stubbed pencil from the drawer. The words just seemed to flow and Lily barely knew what her head was telling her hand to write down.

I am a Cinderella in waiting,

Not finding a fairy Godmother

And waiting for the ashes

At midnight to slowly smolder out

And leave me with nothing,

No ball,

No disappearing glass slippers,

No broken pumpkins,

And no sweet memories

To save me.

I sit and watch the sunrise.

No glass slippers have disappeared

From under my feet at midnight

For they have vanished slowly

Leaving my feet cold.

I have no hope.

I have no scheming mice

Or kind old ladies to

Help me.

"Happily ever after" isn't coming

to me, so all I can do is sigh

And sing softly of sweet nightingales.

Just then Lily put down her pen. Words seemed useless now. There would be no milk white stead, no happily ever after, but there was James….

The man she loved.

The man who loved her.

And suddenly the faucet of the world was turned off, and all of the useless grief poured into water was stopped. And everything was almost alright.

Almost.

Then Lily heard a door open quietly. James was home.

" 'ello? Lily are you there? Lils?"

And Lily ran down the stairs to meet him.

"There you are! You've no idea how I've missed you."

"I think I might….all those long nights in the mud outside….I missed you so much" And he hugged her tightly, but gently. He seemed to want to make sure this wasn't another one of his dreams, and that she was really there.

"You know Lily, when I would sit there out at nights I got to thinking…"

"Yes, I'm sure that's news in itself James…"

"Haha. You don't want me to propose in a hurry, do you?"

"What." This was certainly a shock, not an unpleasant one mind you.

"Well….I'm trying to propose and you interrupted."

"Sorry, I didn't know you were in the act of proposing. Care to continue?"

James got down on one knee.

"Lily Evans, will you do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?" James was serious behind his dramatic fun.

And she was no longer a Cinderella in waiting.

Prince Charming was home.

A/N Um…..this is a "sort of" sequel to my separate fics "Blessed Hindsight" , "Tale as Old as Time" or "Deep Inside of You." Personally I'd go with "Blessed Hindsight." It seems to fight the writing mood I was in during that more. So if you're looking for a couple L/Js, go ahead and check those out. I'd love you if you review. I live for reviews.

Sorry this one is so weird….it needs editing, and it probably shall get it later on. For now I am posting and just hoping for some reviews.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!!

REIVEW!!!!!!!

The Minnesotan in England

aka Mr. Zelgadis

aka Ilse-Anne-Valancy

aka Miz Thang

aka

@@@gnome girl aka marzoog@@@