Where Do You Buy Glass Slippers?

After what seems like five hours in Beauty, I am just about ready to kill myself. I looked at Astra and was amazed, she was weeding out dresses like no tomorrow. Do stars ever get tired?

"Astra, we have to get going," I whined. I have already tried yelling at her and have found that it does not work. Maybe she will go for my sympathy tactic. Instead the girl ignored me and continued on her quest for the perfect dress. The shop owner left us to assist another costumer, so I plopped down on a chair, deciding that I did not have the energy to argue with her. After I had been sitting there for several minutes my mind began to wander. It is only normal that I taught of Chris, I mean, I just saw him. I was happy that he said he was hoping to see me again. But the way he said goodbye was off. I was pondering this when Astra gasped.

"IT'S PERFECT!" she screamed, holding her chest. She waltzed over and presented me with the gown with a huge smile on her face. I have to hand it to her, the dress was not that bad. I tried it on and when I showed Astra she was overcome with joy. "You look beautiful"

The gown was strapless with a full a-line skirt. The bodice was incrusted with jewels. At the hem, the jewels go completely around the skirt in an intricate pattern. The dress itself was a satin royal blue. It seemed a little too sparkly for my taste but Astra loved it. Once out the store, with the gown in hand, I was filled with a new found confidence. I had the dress, I had Astra, and I was thinking that maybe this would all work out. I could Astra home, find some way to break it gently to the prince, and then go on with my life. All I could do now was hope I did not mess it up.

******

By the time we made it to the manor it had been dark for several hours.

"Hello," I called wearily, upon entering the house through the kitchen door. No one answered. I motioned for Astra to follow me and quickly lead her to my room. The house was silent. "Do you have something to do with this?" I asked Astra.

"Have anything to do with what?"

"My step-mother should have been waiting by the door ready to give me a good beating," I said.

"Oh," she replied, turning her head to one side.

"I will be right back, stay here." I left the kitchen quickly and turned into the parlor, which was eerily quiet and dark. Upon going upstairs I discovered that I was, in fact, alone. Very confused, I walked out of the house and to the shed where Ben slept.

I opened the thick door and it creaked loudly. Ben stirred in his sleep. I walked over to him and shook his shoulder. Startled, he jumped up. When he saw me he gave me a worried look. "What is it?" he asked groggily.

I sat down next to him. "No one is home."

"What do you mean?"

"I checked the whole house and it's empty." He glared his eyes up.

"Take it as a blessing." He smirked, ready to go back to sleep. "If you want I will go in with you."

"No, that's okay. It is just that a lot of weird stuff has been going on lately."

"Like what?" I took a deep breath.

"I don't know," I said, deciding not to tell him. "I am going to bed."

"Good idea." With that he turned away from me and pulled his sheets closer to his chin. I got up and walked back to the manor. Ben was right, this is one thing that I should not be worrying about. I guessed the whole wish thing was putting a lot of stress on me.

In front of the manor, Astra sat pensively. She was studying the sky and smiling to herself. I decided not to ask and whispered a quiet goodnight before walking into the house, into my room, and collapsing on my bed. Fact Number 5: Shopping is tiring. And when I say tiring I mean utterly exhausting.

******

"AHHHHHH!" I shot up quickly startled by the sudden loud sound. As soon as the scream registered I rolled my eyes. You would think after years living with my step-family, I would have gotten use to their shrieks; yet, they still continued to amaze me. A shriek filled my room again, Alison from the sound of it. I was debating whether to go back to sleep and decided that with this mayhem I was probably going to be called on soon.

"Isabella," someone said right on cue. "Isabelllaaaa!"

"Coming!" I hollered back. I threw on a simple dress and hurried out of my room. In the parlor, Alison was standing on one of the chairs, screaming for dear life. Madison looked as if she was going to faint any second. My step-mother saw standing by the door looking livid and a woman I did not recognize was next to her, taking in the whole situation. To top it all off packages were thrown everywhere, garments were on the floor, and it took all my strength not to die of laughter.

"Well don't just stand there," Madison said. "Do something!"

"What is ever the matter?" I asked, laughing at the ridiculous scene.

"A mouse, I saw a mouse," Alison shrieked.

"Girls get a hold of yourselves," my step-mother said, taking control of the situation. She was obviously embarrassed in front of our guest.

"But mother I saw it. The nasty vermin was huge." My step-mother glared at her and Alison was silenced. She jumped off the chair and sat down on a chaise lounge, smoothing her skirt. Madison then joined her.

"Pick up this mess Isabella, and bring it to the attic." I nodded. As I mentioned before there were quite a bit of garments on the floor. I took my time picking up, much to the annoyance of my step-mother. I wanted to know who this woman was and where my step-family had been the previous night.

"Well girls, you certainly have grown," the woman began after everyone had settled in. My step-mother beamed.

"Oh yes. Madison is the eldest and fluent in three languages. She has studied music extensively and is wonderfully well-rounded girl." As if it was rehearsed, Madison got up and curtsied for the woman. My step-mother nodded. "Alison is my beauty. She has already received two marriage offers. She sings like an angle." I let out a snort. The woman glared at me.

"And the help Regina?" she said chuckling.

"That, unfortunately, is my step-daughter. Her poor father died several years ago leaving me with the girl and her brother." She waved her hand, as if to dismiss me. I huffed under my breath and was about to say something in reply when I saw him. Sir Lawrence was stuck into between the cushions of the chaise lounge that Madison and Alison were sitting on. He was trying, unsuccessfully, to wiggle his way from the cushions. I tried to catch his attention but it was no use.

"The ball will take place in four days time," the woman went on. "As you all know, all maidens have been invited to attend. The Crown Prince has been very difficult in choosing a bride. The King and Queen hope that this ball will give him a chance to meet the one he intends to marry. The Queen will be hosting a tea party for all real potential marriage candidates. Most lucky maidens have already received their invitation to this exclusive party, and a chance to socialize with the Queen and Crown Prince intimately." The mouse continued to wiggle around and Madison moved in her seat. He was now trapped there until she stood.

"Now I will try my hardest to secure you both an invitation, but I cannot make any promises. Only the girls present at this party are likely to marry the prince."

"Now, I am so glad we ran into you in Faris." Their dialogue then turned to what the girls had bought for the ball and apparently the Queen's tea party. I hurriedly tidied up and brought the packages to the attic.

My best guess what that the woman was some type of lady in waiting for the Queen and obviously had a lot of influence on her. My step-mother said she meet her in Faris, which makes sense, it being the fashion capital of Brenna. Now I could not wait to see their gowns. I chuckled to myself. From the attic's window, I saw Astra outside. She caught my eye and waved to me. I waved back and turned from the window. When I descended the stairs I saw that my step-family was showing our guest around. I discovered Sir Lawrence in the kitchen.

"You could have helped me you know." I laughed. "I know you noticed me, trapped underneath that ... girl, for lack of a better word."

"What was I suppose to do?" I asked sweetly.

"Anything you needed to do, it was positively dreadful. And another thing, you should take to dusting under those cushions, they are filled with debris." I rolled my eyes. He whipped his clothes for added emphasis.

"I am sorry Sir Lawrence," I told him sincerely.

"Apology accepted," he said bowing. I giggled. "How was shopping?" he asked with a lopsided grin.

"Don't ask." He nodded.

"Where were you last night, when Astra and I arrived?"

"Oh, I was… here." I raised my eyebrow. "What? I was here with the annoying bird. Can you do something about her? She is horrible. The thing goes on and on about how she found the star." He was babbling, which he only did when he was nervous, which had to mean he was lying. "Then your step-mother got home and yelled for you. One of the girls said you were out which angered her. Then they called the carriage and went out to lord knows where and did not return until this morning. But I was here the entire night." I stopped him before he continued. He was hiding something, and I was determined to figure out what it was.

Well that's chapter six. Sorry for not updating in 2 weeks, school has been crazy. Please let me know what you think. All comments appreciated. So thanks for reading. I reached a slow spot with this story. I need some new inspiration. If you have any ideas don't hesitate to let me KNOW. Basically review, they make me happy. OK so enough begging for reviews, hope to have an update soon. Tired, ~Iris Lily~