A/N: Side note: Angel, Minerva and Flare don't know (or care) that Levy's last name is McGarden.

Shout-out to LumiSusi: Thank you! I don't really like princess stories, either, with the exception of Mulan. I'm glad you like my version!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Cinderella.

Levy ran through the ballroom. She dodged and weaved past carriages until she saw her pumpkin-looking one. She leapt in and the horses galloped off. Droy sat beside her, his uniform still unwrinkled.

"Hello Levy-chan!" Droy said.

"Hmm? Oh, hello Droy." Levy said distractedly. Curse that clock! Why couldn't time go slower? Why couldn't her "godmothers" extend the time limit? She clenched her fists.

"Did you have fun?" Droy asked, "Your face is flushed."

"Mmmmm…" Levy said, looking out the window.

To her horror, she saw her enchanted gown begin to change back into her ruined frock. Droy's sharp uniform was doing the same, revealing striped pajamas. And as they neared home, the carriage began to shrink. Levy and Droy dove out of carriage, landing on the dirt path to the manor. The carriage gave one final shudder, and transformed into a fat, ripe pumpkin that was promptly smashed when Jet fell on it.

With the excitement dying down, the three headed out to get ready for when Levy's step family came home. Jet led Bisca and Alzack to the stables, Droy headed in to grab a midnight snack (literally) and Levy headed in to change into her night-dress. The ball was still fresh in her mind.

She entered the house, and as promised, it was clean. So clean, in fact, that it seemed to sparkle. Maybe it was Levy's imagination. A small card was left on the table in the main hall.

Dear Levy, it read.

I hope you had a good time! I cleaned the house for you! But I guess you already know that. If you are reading this, you have already found out that we can only make things transform or manipulate them, not appear out of thin air. The pumpkin was Droy's idea. Levy sweat-dropped. Droy…

We will be back on Wednesday, so don't you fret! You'll be reunited with your prince! Please hold out until then.

With love,

Mirajane, Lisanna, and Lucy

Levy smiled. They were really like her guardians. After tossing the card into the fire to destroy the evidence, she grabbed a book to read.

After a few hours (and three books), Minerva, Flare, and Angel returned home.

"I can't believe it!" Minerva raged, "The Prince didn't even look at me! He only had eyes for Miss McGarden." she sneered as Levy took her coat. "No title at all!"

"She must have been a witch! An enchantress!" Angel declared as she tossed her fur overcoat at Levy.

"I hate her type." Minerva said in disgust. Flare handed her coat to Levy with a sad look.

"Levy! Fetch me a pitcher of water! I need to wash up before bed." Minerva ordered.

Levy rolled her eyes, but delivered the water to her stepsister's room. She was careful to spill some of it on Minerva's silk nightclothes.

-o-o-o-

Finally, the last guests were leaving. Gajeel heaved a sigh and sank into one of the plush chairs, covering his face with his hands.

"Heartsick?" Pantherlily materialized beside him, as he always did in a crisis.

"Shaddup, Lil." Gajeel replied, dragging a hand across his face.

"I know." Pantherlily smiled smugly, crossing his arms.

"How would you know?" Gajeel asked. "And I'm not heartsick."

Pantherlily scoffed. "I would know because I've felt the same way before."

"Oh?" Gajeel asked, intrigued. "Who is it?"

Pantherlily grinned, "Acting like an excited maiden now? Now, let's get you to bed. Don't want you to be looking sleep-deprived on Wednesday." Lily led Gajeel quickly to his quarters and bowed. "Goodnight, Gajeel." He shut the door before Gajeel could prod further.

"That was weird…." Gajeel said, changing into his sleeping clothes. He sank down onto his bed. Miss McGarden… No, Lev-Shrimp. Who is she? What a mysterious girl…

And he fell into a deep sleep.

-o-o-o-

It was the day after the ball, and Levy was floating. She replayed the magical encounter over in her head as she polished the silver. She planned for the next ball as she did the laundry. She daydreamed so much that she got yelled at by Angel when she her favorite potted plant knocked to the floor, dirt flung everywhere. She didn't mind, though. She was still going over the scene on the balcony.

The second ball of the week was a costume ball. A masked one, of course. Levy had no idea what to go as, so she decided to leave it up to the goddesses.

"Levy!" Minerva's sharp call snapped her out of her reverie. "Hurry and clean yourself up! I need you to go to the market for some more rouge and kohl. I also need a new pair of tweezers. Now!"

Levy rolled her eyes.

-o-o-o-

"Wait, what?!" Gajeel asked incredulously. "Ryos and I are switchin' places?"

Rouge, Gajeel's cousin nodded, "Yes." he mumbled, "And my name isn't Ryos…"

Metalicana nodded. "To hide your identity and help your maiden gain less attention, we will have Rouge here pose as you. Is that alright?"

Gajeel grunted. "Fine." His eyes widened as he thought of something. How will Shrimp know it's me?

"Good, good!" Metalicana clapped his hands cheerily. "Lily, Sting, you are dismissed. Thank you for your cooperation." Pantherlily and Rouge's adopted brother stepped out of the shadows and headed for the door.

"Wha-?"

"They were here to hold you down if you didn't agree." Metalicana grinned. "Now, time for your costume fittings! And yes, Gajeel, you must wear a wig. Or cut off your hair. Or wear a big hat. No suspicious happenings will happen at my-your ball! Also, don't try and steal the limelight from 'Gajeel'." the King made finger quotes in the air, "Stay away! You can brood by the snack bar! Act like Rouge!"

Rouge spluttered, insisting that he didn't brood.

Gajeel was slightly panicking, not hearing anything. What if she can't find me?

"Everything must be perfect!"

This was going to be a long day.

-o-o-o-

Levy walked in through the servant's door, laden with groceries and beauty supplies. Her basket groaned under the sheer weight of fresh fruits and vegetables that she bought from the market. She dumped the cosmetics in Minerva's room and headed to the fruit bowl to put away the food. Surprisingly, she wasn't sad or angry. Flare stuck her head out of her room and saw that Levy was happily skipping down the hall towards the cellar, humming the latest Viennese waltz.

"Blue-hair…" she murmured, before dashing back inside to try on another dress.

Levy, who was oblivious to her departed audience, was replaying her dances with the Prin-Gajeel. Gajeel. Did he really mean it? To call him Gajeel? Just to be safe, maybe she should only call him that when they were alone. Would they be alone tomorrow night? Levy flushed, covering her face with cool hands.

"Ah~!" Is this what it felt like to be in love?

Then Levy went to go read a book. Maybe a romance this time…

-o-o-o-

At long last, the new day broke and Levy woke up excited. She screamed into her pillow. Then she went downstairs from her attic bedroom to break her fast with some toast.

The day went on, seeming to take forever as Levy dutifully attended to her mistresses' needs. Finally, after she had laced up the last bodice and straightened the last hairpin, they were ready.

"How do we look?" Flare asked nervously. Her burnt red hair was braided and piled on her head. She had chosen to dress up as some type of fire spirit, Levy supposed. She certainly looked the part, with her hair and the fiery gown she was wearing. The neckline was daringly low, and Levy admired that she had the courage to wear such a racy outfit in public.

"Flare, darling, of course we look stunning." Minerva said from behind her. "We are our mother's daughters after all!" She had dressed up as an angel, of all things, with a white gossamer dress and pearls laced into her hair. To top it all off, she had huge, feathered wings sprouting from the back of her dress that jiggled artlessly whenever she moved. She had tried to move gracefully, but the dress was restricting and her skirts looked stiff. Minerva's jet black hair clashed with the white of her dress and her eyebrows looked over plucked. She sneered. "Well? How do we look?"

"Y-you look splendid." Levy said, trying to keep a straight face. Flare looked fine, but Minerva, well, she was a disaster. Oh dear.

"Hurry, girls!" Angel called. "Don't want to be late for the ball!"

And with that, Levy's step sisters were finally gone.

-o-o-o-

"Gajeel. Lady Evergreen and Duke Strauss are not attending tonight's ball. Lady Evergreen is 'feeling sick'." Lily murmured to Gajeel who was sitting on a chair in the empty ballroom. There were a few more hours until the ball, and he was trying to stay as silent and still as possible, to practice being his broody cousin.

"Mm." he grunted. He watched Pantherlily walk away and turned his attention to the maids and manservants setting up the decorations for the gala. Would Shrimp be there? Would she recognize him? What if she didn't? What if she danced with Ryos?

The young prince grabbed a pen out of his pocket and scribbled madly on a piece of parchment he found in his coat. What if she ran away again? What if Ryos fell in love with her? Why would that matter, exactly? Wait, what if she married Ryos?

"Ahhh!" Gajeel roared, frightening the maids. "LILY! LILY, COME'RE!"

"Yes, Gajeel?" Pantherlily strode up to him, a smirk on his face.

"Cancel the ball! Call Ryos! I want to switch places! Go!" Gajeel bellowed, frantic.

"Oh? What's with your sudden change of attitude? …Does it have anything to do with this 'Shrimp'?" Pantherlily held up a scrap of parchment, the word "SHIRMP" scrawled all over it.

"Wha-? No! I was just… uh… craving some shrimp for dinner! Y-yum…" Gajeel stammered, natching the parchment from Lily. His ears were burning.

"…But you don't even like seafood."

"Shaddup, Lil."

-o-o-o-

Levy headed up towards her room, waiting for her "godmothers" to arrive. Just as she was climbing up the ladder to her attic room, they appeared.

"Hello, Levy."

"Oof!" Levy fell ungracefully off the ladder, landing on her behind. "Oww…" she rubbed her sore tail bone but brightened up when she saw the goddesses behind her.

"Mira! Lisanna! Lucy! Hello!" Levy cried, wrapping a hug around each of them.

"Levy! Are you ready for the next ball?" Lisanna asked, excited.

"Yes!"

"Good." Lucy smiled warmly at the young woman. "Mira? It's your turn to choose the dress! Keep in mind, no wedding gowns. It's a costume ball!"

Levy sweat dropped. Wedding gowns?

"Aww… Lucy, you ruin all my fun." Mira pouted, but snapped her fingers and Levy's clothes transformed.

A/N: Aaaaaand there you have it! Chapter 4! Hope you enjoyed.

Stick around and grab your masks! We're heading to a costume ball!

Questions? Comments? Editing advice? Leave a review!

Signing off,

Miss Quiet Writer