Asher looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing his white nutcracker suit, as he called it.
He groaned "If I hadn't slipped out to town there wouldn't be a ball. And I wouldn't have to pick a bride that I don't love." He ran his hands through his hair "I guess I asked for it."
"Asher!" his mother called through the door "It's time to go down! The girls… I mean guests are arriving."
The prince rolled his eyes "Yes mother." He looked at himself one more time before he went downstairs.
As the ball went on, Asher sat in his throne watching all the people. There were no girls there that even seemed nice. They all appeared to be haughty and self-centered.
Then a girl in a pink dress caught his attention. Her hair was long and golden, and unlike the other girls, her face was sweet and sincere. She didn't have on any makeup, but her natural beauty outshone all the other girls.
He watched as she walked over to the buffet table and just stood there.
He slowing rose from his seat and walked towards her.
"Where's he going?" The queen whispered to her husband.
The king pointed to the golden haired beauty "I think he saw her."
Asher walked up behind the girl and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around and looked at him, her eyes growing wide in shock.
Cinderella couldn't believe she was standing there looking into the eyes of Asher. Again.
Then her gaze flew to the crown on his head. She gasped "You're the prince?"
He chuckled softly and nodded "Apparently." Then he cocked his head "Have I met you before?"
Cinderella shook her head "I doubt that." There was no way she could tell him she was the girl he had met in the forest or he would know that she had stolen the dress... secretly borrowed.
He held his hand out to her "May I have the honor?"
"No." she shook her head and stepped back "I don't dance."
He gently took her hand "Then perhaps you can start."
She nodded mutely. There was nothing else she could do. Her feet moved on their own as he guided her to the center of the floor.
Tanya peeked out from under the table and stared "She said she wouldn't dance. Oh well." Then she continued slipping food off of the table into her bag.
As they started to dance, Cinderella found herself remembering back when she was a little girl. Her dad used to dance with her around the living while her mother watched and sang. Her feet started to move automatically to the tune.
Asher smiled at her "You're a wonderful dancer."
She blushed slightly "Thank you." she looked up and lost herself in those blue eyes again.
Asher was trying to figure out where he had seen this girl before. There was something about her face that was so familiar, but he couldn't place her. He loved how she was acting normal. She wasn't running his ear off or batting her eyelashes. She was just smiling sweetly.
As the ball continued, one song after another, the prince and Cinderella danced. They couldn't seem to stop.
When Tanya was finished getting all the food she could, she tried to signal Cinderella, but she wasn't paying attention she was lost in a world where only her and her prince existed.
Right about the middle of the ball, the king called a halt and thanked everyone for coming "I'm sorry to interrupt the dancing, but we would like to take a moment to remember our faithful sea captain. Captain James Howard."
Cinderella gasped as her father's name was mentioned. Then she spotted her stepmother talking to the queen.
The king sighed "He was a good friend and noble captain. He held his family high above everything else." He cleared his throat to push off emotions "We talked often. And now, we will play a song that he said was his wife's favorite, thus it was his favorite."
Asher bowed and extended his hand to her. She nodded and accepted his hand. When the intro to the music started, the memory of her mother singing that song flew through her mind. Her father looking lovingly over at her before asking his young girl to dance.
They were so happy then. She had everything she wanted and needed. When they started playing the song, Cinderella didn't realize she started singing. The prince looked at her in shock. Her voice was beautiful!
"There is music in the air
Can you hear it?
It's in two, no maybe three, or maybe four
And I see me dressed in white
With two feet that feel so light
It's as though they've never ever touched the floor!"
(Chorus)One Dance
Just you and me beneath the moon beside the sea
One Dance
And it's happily ever after
One dance
And you will see we're not so different you and me.
Just us two. Me and you.
One dance."
The rest of the guests cleared off the floor as the prince and Cinderella continued dancing.
As the song ended, Asher smiled down at her. How could someone feel so much for someone they had just met?
The whole building held its breath as the prince slowly started to lean in towards the girl. Closer and closer.
Tanya peeked out from under the table in just enough time to see Asher and Cinderella kiss. She gasped and losing her balance she fell into the floor.
"We have a little thief in here!" a guard shouted as Tanya scooted out from under the buffet table and ran.
Cinderella jumped away from the prince and watched in horror as the six year old ran out of the room, three guards right behind her. She spun around and ran for one of the nearby doors that lead into the palace gardens.
"Wait!" Asher called as he tried to grab her arm, but he grabbed her sleeve instead. Cinderella gasped as she felt the half the sleeve rip off. She looked at her arm, then up at Asher who was holding the half sleeve in his hand. Then she ran.
Asher heard the pattering of her feet as she ran for the exit? Hold on a second, patter of feet?
He looked down to the hem of her skirt that she had raised so she could run. Yep, she was barefooted. She ran out the door and disappeared. Asher skid to a stop when he reached the doorway. Which way did she go? He ran to the left, hoping he was right. As soon as he rounded a corner, Cinderella jumped down from her position in a tree that was right outside the door. She started to run, but her foot caught in the hem and the sound of cloth ripping filled the air. With a groan she lifted up the skirt and ran. She had to get to Tanya before the guards did! She was wishing she had on her old ripped clothes. They were so much easier to run in!
She spotted Tanya running pell-mell down the main street of town. After taking a few shortcuts, Cinderella outdistanced the guards and the running girl. She grabbed onto a tree and swung up. As soon as Tanya was close enough, she gave a low pitched whistle. The girl looked up and jumped. Cinderella grabbed her and pulled her up into the tree.
The guards ran underneath the tree and stopped.
Cinderella and Tanya were holding their breaths. Cinderella knew if they even glanced up they would see her. There was no way they would miss the bright pink dress covered in sparkles.
After what seemed like an eternity, the guards finally left. With a sigh of relief, the two runaways dropped to the ground.
"That was close." Cinderella said, letting out a big breath of air.
Tanya nodded "But… I've still got the food!"
Cinderella smiled "Come on. Jilly and Jonny are probably wondering where we are."
Tanya nodded "Probably. We've been gone for five hours!"
"We have?" Cinderella exclaimed as the clock struck midnight. She sighed "I guess we have."
They walked back to their little campsite where Jilly was pacing "I was starting to think you'd been captured!" she gushed.
Tanya handed her the bag of food "Just distracted." She waited until Cinderella had disappeared into the woods to change clothes before she spilled out everything that had happened at the ball "And then they kissed!"
"What!?" Jilly's mouth fell open "Cinderella and the prince?"
Tanya nodded "That's when I got found. I was so shocked, I fell right out from under the table!"
Cinderella walked back into the clearing, so the two girls quit talking.
She carefully placed the dress back into the box, and the accessories into the bag "I'm going to go ahead and return these, tonight."
The kids nodded as she left.
Cinderella slipped into the dress shop and placed the box on the shelf where a sticker that said "Pink butterfly dress" had been stuck.
She slipped back out the door and looked up at the castle. Bright lights were shining on the white brick, making in glow in the dark.
She sighed "No chance of that fairytale coming true." Then she went back into the woods, turning her back everything that had just happened.