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"Either I find my prince charming here and live happily ever after, or I end up on the streets," Belinda muttered, peering out of her carriage window at the glimpse of the lighted courtyard just behind the castle gates. "If Harry finds out about this, I'm out of a job by tomorrow."
"Not to worry, my dear," her fairy godmother reassured. "The king and queen's anniversary celebration is one of the biggest events of the year. There are all sorts of eligible young men at this ball, many of them nobility! You're bound to find one."
"Wouldn't it be easier if you just...I don't know, picked one out and cast some sort of spell on him to make him fall in love with me?" the girl asked pleadingly. It was one of the very few times in her life she had really been nervous about something, but she had a lot riding on this night.
"Trust me, my dear. Love is better when it happens naturally. Now, go on! Don't just sit here! The carriage will be back to pick you up," she added as Belinda stepped out of the carriage. "Have a good time!" And before she could turn around again, the carriage had driven off.
Taking a deep breath, Belinda squared her shoulders and tilted her chin up; she knew she was just a pub worker, but for tonight, she was determined to come off looking like a princess. Nodding her thanks to the gatekeeper as he admitted her, she stepped through iron gates into the huge, brightly lit courtyard, which was filled with more people than she had seen in her entire life. There was a large staircase extending down to the lower section of the courtyard, and, her head still held high despite the fact that she was trembling inside, she started down the stairs confidently, discreetly eyeing the other guests all the while. Even with heels on, she was several inches shorter than most of the lithe, willowy girls dancing or milling about, but from the way she saw some of the men looking up at her approach and stopping a moment to stare appreciatively, she was confidant that she was just as pretty as any other woman there. After all, she had seen her reflection already, and there was no denying it; she looked gorgeous. She couldn't help but smirk a little as she saw a couple of the other women smacking their partners on the arm to bring their attention back where they thought it belonged; one man stepped on his lady's foot while dancing, and she stormed off angrily.
Once at the bottom of the stairs, Belinda paused, and for a split second, came very close to panicking; she had no earthly idea what to do next. She looked around, trying desperately to remain calm....then spotted the buffet over towards the edge of the dance floor. Of course! The default place to be at any party! Making sure to cast a seductive smile at any man who caught her eye (and receiving some dirty looks from several women), she made her way over to the table and reached for the punch.
"Allow me," a deep voice said before she got her hand on the ladle, and she glanced up. A tall, handsome, dark-haired man dressed in hunter green velvet was smiling at her as he poured two glasses of punch and handed one to her. She returned the smile and dipped her head a little in thanks.
"That's very kind of you, mister...?" she began, offering her hand.
"Sir Victor," he supplied, bowing as he kissed the back of her hand. He straightened up and took a sip of his own punch, looking around. "Are you....here with anyone?" he asked casually.
"No, I came alone," she replied, and started to add 'though I hope not to leave the same way', but thought better of it. After all, he was only the first man she had talked to so far, and there was no sense in putting ideas in his head.
"Wonderful," he answered, still smiling. His eyes were a beautiful, deep shade of green that nearly matched his clothing, and the thought crossed Belinda's mind that she should have asked for a pale green dress to match her own eyes, although she did like the blue. She didn't have much time to dwell on that, though, because Sir Victor was asking her to dance.
She accepted his invitation, and enjoyed the dance they shared; then, the moment he left her side to retrieve their punch, another man came up and asked her for the same favor. This one was somewhat shorter, but not any less handsome, with sandy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. After him there came another, and another, in an almost steady stream of partners. The stream of unhappy women left in their wake was just as constant. Belinda danced with knights, dukes, earls...some too old for her to even consider, some barely old enough to shave. All of them rich, all of them handsome...and all of them full of themselves. Of course, that wasn't something she minded terribly; rich was all she really needed them to be in order to get her out of Harry's pub and into something worthwhile.
Still, as much as she wanted an easy life, she was just like any ordinary woman her age: old enough to know that love isn't always easy, but young enough to still believe in true love and fairytale romances. No matter how well she thought she knew the ways of men, Belinda was still inexperienced when it came to being in love. Sure, she had been in relationships, and they had sometimes been ended messily, but she had never known the pain of a badly broken heart. That naivety kept her hopeful, and there was no telling how drastically being hurt might change her.
The night flew by, and before she knew it, carriages were lining up to take the guests away and the orchestra was warming up for its final song. Belinda bit her lip as the baron's son she had been dancing with bowed and excused himself; she was out of time, and although she had enjoyed herself immensely, she seemed to be no closer to finding the man of her dreams than she had been at the beginning of the night. Looking through the now open gates of the courtyard as a few people started to drift out to their carriages early in order to beat the traffic, she could see her own carriage, and her heart sank slightly. There was no point in staying any longer. Forcing back a sigh, she started towards the exit.
"Excuse me, miss?" a voice called, and she turned automatically. Her mouth fell open slightly at what she saw, and she snapped it shut again quickly. Striding towards her was by far the most handsome man she had ever set eyes on. His golden hair was glossy and wavy, his complexion perfectly smooth and lightly tanned, his frame muscular, and, when he was close enough for her to see them, his eyes were simply breathtaking. They were an almost indescribable shade that fell between blue and grey, and they put Belinda in mind of a summer sky just after a rain shower. He smiled at her, and she felt her heart flutter slightly as he bowed and kissed her hand. She curtseyed gracefully in response, and, without so much as a word of introduction, he led her back to the dance floor.
None of the other men she had met even remotely compared to this one. His clothes sparkled faintly in the light; there were strands of silver thread woven into the pale blue fabric. He was extremely light on his feet as they waltzed across the floor, and Belinda found herself feeling a little lightheaded. Unlike the other men she had been with, he didn't ramble on and on about himself; he simply gazed at her, smiling gently. She was so lost in those wonderful eyes that she didn't even realize that the other guests had pretty much cleared the area and stood to the sides, watching the couple and whispering behind their hands.
When the music ended, the young man bowed to her again, and Belinda dropped into a curtsey, but neither one lowered their heads completely, still locked in one another's gaze. It wasn't until the circle that had formed around them started applauding that she even remembered anyone else was there. She looked around, startled at the attention, but turned her eyes back to the man she had been dancing with when he took her hand. He gave her a quick wink, as if telling her to play along, and her heart skipped at beat at his devil-may-care grin as he bowed to the crowd, still holding her hand. Taking the hint, she curtseyed alongside him, and then waved right along with him as he led her away from the courtyard towards the carriages. Although she had absolutely no idea what had just happened, she had discovered one thing; she absolutely loved the rush of adrenaline that came with being in the limelight.
"Sorry about that," he apologized once they were away from everyone else. "Which carriage is yours?" She pointed towards a midnight blue carriage drawn by four sleek grey horses, and he raised an eyebrow a little, grinning. "Not a bad rig."
She opened her mouth to say that it wasn't really hers, but what came out instead was, "Thank you." Smiling back at him, she nodded back towards the direction of the courtyard. "What was that all about?"
"Oh, them," he said, shaking his head. "You see, I had been staying away from the dance floor the entire night, and apparently everyone has been just dying to see who I would finally end up picking as a partner." She didn't say anything in reply, but he must have known that she had no idea what he was talking about, and he chuckled slightly, stopping just in front of her carriage door and bowing to her again. "I'm afraid I didn't introduce myself, m'lady, and for that I apologize." He kissed her hand, then straightened up. "I'm Prince Frederick. And you would be...?"
She just blinked at him for a moment, letting the fact that she'd been dancing with an incredibly handsome prince without knowing it sink in, then said quickly. "Belinda." She didn't give a last name, and prayed that he wouldn't ask for one; it would be all too easy to find out who she really was.
"Belinda," he echoed, reaching up to cup her cheek in one hand, and her heart skipped a few more beats. "Beautiful name...worthy of such a beautiful woman," he added in a whisper, leaning towards her. Their lips met for a moment before he pulled away, leaving her breathless as the carriage door was opened. "I do hope you'll be returning for the rest of the celebration tomorrow night?" he questioned, giving her that winning smile again. She merely nodded, unable to wipe the smile from her face as he closed the door, waving at her as the carriage drove off.
"Well, you look happy!" Belinda jumped as the fairy godmother appeared out of nowhere in the carriage. "I take it things went well?"
"Mmhmm," she murmured in response, leaning back against the seat. There was a short pause, then the older woman prompted,
"Well? Who was he? What happened? I would have stayed to watch, but you know how it goes...there's always someone in need of a happily ever after."
"His name is Prince Frederick...I didn't even realize he was there until it was almost time to leave...he's absolutely dreamy, too, and much more charming than any of the other men I met..." Belinda trailed off, noticing that the fairy godmother suddenly looked a little worried. "What is it?"
"Oh, nothing, my dear! You just...reminded me of something I have to do, that's all!" came the cheerful reply. Belinda narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but before she could question further, the fairy godmother continued, "Well, I've got to be off, dear. The carriage will be back to pick you up tomorrow night, and if you need anything before then, I'm just a tear drop away!" And with that, she disappeared.
By the time Belinda snuck up the stairs into her room again, it was after five in the morning; the eastern horizon was already somewhat lighter than the rest of the sky. Slipping out of her fancy gown and hanging it in the closet alongside her drab work clothes, she changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed with a groan, knowing she'd have to go to work all too soon. Luckily, Harry himself usually didn't rise before noon and didn't open the pub up until then, so she could at least get in a few decent hours sleep. She drifted off almost immediately, and the last thought in her mind was of Prince Frederick's kiss.
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A/N (again): My original idea for this has changed drastically after hearing a line from the movie again, but I think it has changed for the better...anyway, more on that will be revealed later on. I know that my chapters may seem a bit short, but I like to put things up once I get to a good breaking point in order to get feedback along the way; reviewers can give helpful insight sometimes.