Sienna had never felt so light-headed. Gram and Paige had spun around her faster then she could think, curling her dead-straight brown hair, adding makeup, and tossing one pair of shoes at her after another. In the end, she was saddled with a pair of one-inch pin heels, elegant but not too uncomfortable.

After dressing her up, they shooed her out. Paige was saying some nonsense about not giving too much away before she had commitment and Gram said something about it was okay to dig a hole with the guy by starting with grandchildren, then moving up to marriage.

Unable to answer either of them, she got in the car and they yelled at her to go. She did. It had been a numb, unconscious reflex, but it wasn't hard. The rest of the city was headed the same way she was: towards the palace.

The line seemed endless, with crowds of people waiting at the door to go in. Most were groups of ladies, laughing and chatting as if they were used to such lives. Sienna recognized a few and knew for a fact the dresses they wore were borrowed, if not bought only to be returned the next day. They all had perfect hair and nails with brightly colored dresses on, their shoes bright and shiny with diamonds or overdone with bows.

Sienna couldn't help but feel plain. She wore no jewelry, her hair was simply curled and not twisted up in an elaborate fashion, and she most certainly didn't have the height these girls did. She couldn't even imagine wedging her feet into their size shoe.

Feeling dread, she focused on the line ahead. Safe distance, she thought. Maintain a very careful speed; if you hit one these cars, you'll pay for it the rest of your life, even if they take some pity on you.

Easing her foot off the gas pedal, she measured the space between herself and the doors. She wasn't far now, but she was the end of the line. The girls outside were beginning to surge forward, sensing the start of the party. It wouldn't be long now.

After a long five minutes, she was next. The crowd had moved right up to the door, but very few had yet to go in. They bunched up around, talking and pointing and laughing as cars unloaded. When Sienna got up to the drop off, she realized just how bad of a situation she was in.

She was alone. The exterior of her car was less then presentable. Her dress was tight up top and strapless. To her horror, she realized she was dressed like a gold-digging whore.

"Ma'am?" the valet called her back.

Sienna's head snapped back to look at him. "Oh, sorry."

"Can I take your car?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," she opened the door and stepped out, the navy blue dress falling around her.

"Your name?" he asked.

She tried to smile. "Carlton," she said. "Sienna Carlton."

The valet smiled back. "Thank you, Ms. Carlton." He slid into the car after her. "I'll take extra care of you car. Enjoy your evening."

"Thank you."

She watched her car drive away without her. If this was what letting go of your child was like, she didn't want children. It hurt to watch it go. The good news was it was a piece of crap that no one would take for a joyride. Sighing, she turned to face the crowd.

"Did you see the car she came in?" someone whispered.

Another one laughed. "What a piece of junk!"

"When they said everyone, they didn't mean everyone."

"How sad, she's clearly after his money."

Sienna stood her ground. In the back of her mind, a little voice told her Lori wouldn't take this. Paige wouldn't either. Keeping her head high, she took hold of her dress and held it high as she walked up the steps. A few stray men looked at her as she walked. She couldn't help but notice their reactions.

At first, they looked her up and down, grading her appearance with their eyes. Next, compared to the other girls, they offered her a look of pity. When they received no admiration for their condolences, they simply moved on completely.

Hell, they thought she was easy!

She couldn't help it. The tears sprang to her eyes faster then she could blink, and making a quick duck for the bathroom, she strutted out of sight and out of mind.

Inside the bathroom, she picked a stall, wadded up a bunch of tissue paper, and picked a corner that looked cleaner than the rest. Settling into a crouch so not to ruin the dress, she gently dabbed her eyes and forced the tears back.

Lori wouldn't cry, she chanted silently to herself. Paige wouldn't shed a tear. I come from a family of bad-ass girls. Even my grandma told me to go out and get laid in less then said words.

But she still felt so stupid and embarrassed. Somehow, she'd been tricked into the most embarrassing moment of her life.

"I didn't even want to go," she whispered angrily.

"Really?" a voice said behind her. "Let's be honest, honey, if you really didn't want to go, then you dressed up pretty nicely for church."

Letting out a strangled breath, Sienna stood up and turned around. Before her was a familiar face, an angelic-looking girl with blonde ringlets. She was dressed in a tighter-then-hell mermaid dress the color of the ocean and smelled like tropical flowers.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Let's just say Paige gave me a call," she said, moving forward. Taking the paper from Sienna, she dabbed at her eyes and pulled a tube of mascara out of her bag. "I'm Camryn."

"How do you know Paige?" she sniffed. "Paige is like fifteen."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Camryn said, letting her fingers trace the stray eye shadow and smudging her eyeliner back into place. "Believe it or not, I'm sixteen. If you ever tell anyone I work the party circuit with Paige, I'll kill you. I have a reputation to upkeep." She smiled. "There you are. You're beautiful all over again."

Wadding up some more tissue paper, Sienna blew her nose. "Why are you helping me?" she asked. "Don't you want to snag a prince, too?"

"Honey, I can, any day of the week," she said with a sympathetic smile. "I don't want to get personal with you, but I'm all alone here, too. Believe it or not, this is a mutual relationship."

Sienna was amazed. "You're smart."

"Well-educated, dear," Camryn corrected, "You're in a proper place. Don't act at all like Paige. Now show me your backside."

Sienna spun around. Behind her, there was a relieved sigh.

"Thank goodness you didn't total this thing when you crouched down. I would have killed you with my bare hands. There's only so much a diva can fix." Putting her hand on Sienna's shoulder, Camryn wheeled her around. "You're absolutely breathtaking. That confidence thing out there was great—your issue, however, was locking eyes with the enemy. Don't give anyone the time of day. Repeat after me: You. Are. The. Shit."

Sienna shook her head, "I don't know—"

"Cinderella, I'm not going to sit around with you and hold your freaking hand," Camryn warned.

"I. AM. THE. SHIT."

Camryn smiled. "Good, we understand one another." Leaning against the stall door, she crossed her arms. "Now, listen to me. This is playing hard-to-get. I have two guys out there—total pigs, to be honest—waiting for us. When I hand you off to one, look completely bored: some other loser will pick up on it and pick you up. Got it?" Sienna nodded. "Perfect." Camryn extended her arm. Sienna hooked her elbow. "We are bad-ass bitches now."

Together, they walked out of the bathroom. Together, they walked out onto the dance floor. Together, they approached two geeky-looking boys. With a wink from Camryn, Sienna put her hand out but looked bored with the idea of dancing. Somehow the boy was unfazed. Apparently he didn't understand body language.

Sooner than Sienna had expected, a man cut in. "I'm sorry," he said. "Were you waiting for me?"

Instinct took over. "There you are," Sienna felt herself lying between her teeth. "Where have you been?"

The nerd, rejected, fled to a corner of the dance floor to claim another girl. In his stead, Sienna found herself hand-in-hand with the stranger, but couldn't help but smile.

"You have no idea what you just saved me from," she said.

The boy glanced back in the nerd's direction. "Trust me, I have some idea." He said.

Sienna took his word for it.

This guy was a much better dancer and talker, careful to watch her feet and gliding her into a comforting waltz.

So this is why Lori wanted to know how to waltz, Sienna realized. Not to impress Prince Charming, but to be confident and careful. This is more fun than dancing with your father.

"Have you done this before?" he asked.

"Oh, once or twice," Sienna admitted.

He laughed. He thought she was kidding.

"So, you out trying to snag a prince, too?" he asked. Sienna was thoughtful for a second. "I hear he's one hell-of-a-guy."

"Not really," Sienna smiled. "I'm just in it for the fun."

"You're joking," he said.

"Nope," she said. "I had no intention of dancing with him whatsoever. Heck, I don't even know what the guy looks like."

The guy's eyebrow arched. "Really?"

"Yeah," Sienna laughed. "If I do meet him, it'll be awkward. I have no idea how to act in front of a prince. I figured it'd be best to keep my distance. Who knows what stupid thing I do?"

The boy nodded as if he understood. "True, true." He smiled as if he were comfortable with the turn this conversation had taken. "Wouldn't want to get thrown in prison for rambling on to His Highness, would you?"

Sienna laughed. "That would be horrible! He's not that type of guy, is he? I've never heard anything like that. I was thinking more along the lines of stepping on his feet."

The boy grinned. "That's your biggest fear? Stepping on the poor guy's feet?"

"I told you," Sienna blushed. "I haven't done this too many times before."

"You're joking," he said again.

"I kid you not," she swooped under his arm in a graceful way and caught his arm in a hold. He twisted her back around and in too close for comfort. She blushed.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Too close for comfort," she admitted.

His grip loosened and she fell away, still in a bit of a grip, but more comfortable than before. Relaxing her grip, she looked around for Camryn. The girl was on sidelines, staring at her with both her hands over her mouth and terror-stricken eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

Sienna's attention went back to his face. "Uh, yeah, sorry, I'm fine," she said quickly. "One of my friends was giving me the strangest look. I hope she's not mad I ditched the guy she set me up with."

"Who?" he asked.

"The blonde girl," Sienna said. "Over…"

She looked back again, but Camryn had disappeared.

"Huh. That's weird. She's gone."

That was when the cold hand touched the top of Sienna's hand. It peeled her off of the boy's shoulder. With a motion Sienna couldn't even see, she was off in the dance floor and big, blonde bob had moved into her place with lightning speed.

"Camryn?" the boy said in surprise.

"Prince Matthew," Camryn said, her voice heavy with an angry undertone and a conservative emotion that edged on a warning. The boy's eyes filled with shock. Slowly, he leaned around Camryn's shoulder and stared at Sienna. He smiled.

Sienna felt her heart drop to her shoes. So that was what the prince looked like. He was medium-height, neither muscled nor weak; with the most normal-looking brown hair she had ever seen and green, but not gorgeous, eyes. He was a boy. Just a boy.

But watching Camryn sweep in and steal him away, roughly pulling him along as if she owned him, their eyes locked in a way Sienna had never seen before, made her feel robbed.

Too think, she thought, I was beginning to understand why finding an average guy rather than going on prince-hunt sounded kind of nice.