The next morning I awoke and stretched languidly where I lay. The night before was a dream. Christian's lips were only pressed to mine for a few seconds but it was enough to make my heart soar. The rest of the night floated by and came to an end all too soon. We danced and talked and laughed. It was more perfect than I could have ever imagined. At the end of the night we met Hector and Victoria by the carriage where we were all invited to join the royal family today to see the wonder that is fairy blacksmithing. I would be able to spend another day with Christian. I was sure now that I was in no danger of Giselle weaseling her way between us. Just this once, I was the preference over her.

The two princes came to call just after midday in their golden carriage. Giselle was stonily silent all morning and barely even looked at me. I could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears. She was furious that I was going along with them yet again, but this time could say nothing since I was personally invited by Hector. I made sure that I looked my best in one of my favorite dresses. I did not put my hair up and I felt truly comfortable in my appearance for the first time.

"Hello, Ebony," Christian greeted me with a light kiss on the cheek.

The carriage ride was a bit tight with five people, but it just meant that I got to sit closer to Christian and I didn't mind at all. Hector once again held onto Victoria's hand like he had the night of the ball. They whispered together and giggled. It looked as if Victoria was charming the prince and he was falling for it.

"Have you ever seen a fairy forge before?" Christian asked me after a few minutes.

I shook my head. He went on to explain how amazing they were to see and the wonderful things they make as we passed through the city to the fairy district.

It was a different part of the fairy district that I had not seen before. The smithy building surprised me when the carriage stopped in front of it. Joslynn and Reginald were already there waiting. It was not made of wood or stone, but rather something that appeared to be clear crystal that sparkles in the sun. I could see the distorted images of the fairy smiths and their tools through the iridescent walls. The first thing I noticed when we entered was that there was no stove or furnace for heating at all. A large burly fairy and his assistant were working on making something, even without the use of an oven. The lead smith was holing a container filled with some glowing hot material. I wondered where he had heated it. He carefully poured the molten substance into two molds on a heavy black anvil. The assistant then shaped the material in the molds with various metal rods. When she was done, they both pointed one hand at the molds and what looked like white flame engulfed the surface of the anvil. I gasped.

"That's a fairy flame," Reginald said proudly. "It is only mastered by skilled fairies and is not used by amateurs. The process of producing and containing the flame takes at least two years to learn before a fairy even gets to begin to learn forging."

Joslynn smiled at her fiancée and hugged his arm. "That's my Reggie. He knows simply everything about fairy blacksmithing. It is his most favorite subject. If her were one of the fae, then I am sure he would have been the greatest blacksmith who ever lived."

Reginald's cheeks turned faintly pink at Joslynn's praise. "I doubt I would be the best. I would love to be able to have the magic that goes with fairy blacksmithing however. But alas, I will just have to settle for watching real fairies in their forges."

The two fairies were now lifting the molds from the anvils and lightly shaking the contents out. My eyes widened as I saw a pair of glass dancing shoes fall out into the palms of the blacksmiths. They were made of completely clear glass except for swirls of white, as if some of the fairy flame was still trapped inside. They were lovely.

"Do you like them?" Christian whispered to me.

I nodded dumbly. They were the most beautiful shoes I had ever seen. The blacksmith and laid both shoes side by side on the anvil and was inspecting them when Christian waved to him. "Can those shoes be worn by a person?"

The big fairy looked up from his work. "Of course they can be worn. They will not break and won't chafe the skin of the wearer. When worn they will feel like the most comfortable and expensive shoes that have ever been made."

I was surprised when Christian put his hand on my lower back and pushed me forward. "Then can you make them fit her? I would like to buy them."

The smith nodded and motioned me to step closer. Tentatively, I approached where he stood by the anvil – completely aware that all eyes were on me now. He picked up the left shoe and knelt before me. Anticipating what he wanted, I slipped my foot out of my own slipper and held it out towards him. He tried to put the shoe on my foot but it was too small to fit completely around my heel. I sighed at the pity it was that the shoes did not fit me, but he did not seem perturbed. He simply returned the shoe to where its mate sat and picked up the metal rods that had shaped the shoes in the first place. I stepped back as he conjured more flames and reshaped the glass. The next time he put the glass slipper to my foot it fit perfectly.

"Now these are made especially for you and will fit no one else." The blacksmith explained as he put the other shoe on my foot so I now wore the pair. He spoke the truth when he said they felt as fine as the most expensive shoes man could make. It hardly felt like I was wearing shoes at all. "And they cost fifty gold coins."

Christian nodded at the price and pulled the money from his satchel. The blacksmith took the money and I took a few dancing steps in my new shoes. It was like I was dancing on a cloud in them and I danced right over to Christian and hugged him tightly before giving him a kiss on the cheek in thanks. His arms wrapped around me and held me loosely to himself. "So you like them then?" He smiled.

I beamed at him and nodded vigorously. "I have never liked anything half as much and I will treasure them as long as I live. Thank you so much! I don't know how I can repay you."

His arms tightened slightly around me and he murmured. "I'm sure I can think of a way."

I blushed and became aware that we were not the only people in the room and shyly pulled away. Joslynn and Reginald had turned and were examining the blacksmiths so they hadn't noticed our intimate moment. Victoria and Giselle had though. Victoria was frowning but her sister looked about ready to burst into a rage. She controlled her face after a few seconds, but her fists stayed clenched tightly at her sides.

"Hector, it is so terribly hot in here and I do not care for the blacksmith at all," Victoria whispered quietly, but not so quietly that I could not hear. "Perhaps we could go outside and wait by the carriage. I'm sure Giselle and Christian would accompany us."

I did not miss the way she deliberately left me out from her plan and neither did Hector. He brushed his fingers along her cheek and she closed her eyes at his touch. "Would your sister Ebony not want to join us as well?" He said gently. "I do not want to go outside just yet. It means a lot to my sister that two of her close friends and two of her brothers have come along with her to see something Reginald likes so much. She is even starting to get to know Ebony better. We cannot abandon Reginald on his day. It is important that we bond as a family. Do you think you can endure a little heat for that?"

I expected Victoria to respond with some slightly manipulative comment that would make Hector do what she wanted, instead she complied easily without complaint. "If it is so important to you that I stay - then stay I will."

"You brother seems to be a positive influence on Victoria. I have never seen her give up so easily before. She did not even argue. I daresay that your brother has done the impossible and make my stepsister actually act nice for a change." I whispered to Christian.

He laughed and looked at the couple who had joined Joslynn and Reginald at looking at other things the smith made. "I did not take Victoria to be an evil stepsister. She always seemed rather pleasant when I have known her. Both of your stepsisters are lovely to be around. I can't imagine either of them being argumentative and mean."

I nodded but did not respond. If I went around gossiping about them it would make me appear to be the evil stepsister especially when they were so well behaved in public. I hoped that one day Christian would see them for what they truly were and would no longer be deceived.

We spent another hour watching the fairy blacksmiths make other magical items. Reginald and Joslynn each bought one piece of a matching set of iron wolves. The two wolves would dance together if they were set down next to each other. Victoria received a small jewelry box from Hector that was fashioned from many different metals. He said it was a small gift for being patient with him. She cradled it in her hands the entire way back to the inn. A little time after I got my glass slippers, Giselle went to wait by the carriage. No one thought to get her a gift; even Victoria seemed to have forgotten about her while she looked at things with Hector. This time, she was the odd one out in the group.

"Will you spend the day with me tomorrow, Ebony?" Christian asked as we all stood before the Gilded Leopard. Victoria and Hector had ridden behind our carriage with Joslynn and Reginald in their carriage.

Before I could respond, Giselle quickly answered for me. "No, Ebony cannot go anywhere with you!" She spat a bit too quickly. She regained her composure and explained more calmly. "My dear stepsister Ebony is going to be joining Victoria and me while we go shopping with some of our closest friends. She has been so excited to go and I wouldn't want her to miss it."

"That's alright, I wouldn't mind…" I tried to correct Giselle and confirm that I actually would prefer to spend the day with Christian.

Giselle would not let me speak though and quickly stopped my words by grabbing my arm and squeezing quite painfully. "Don't be silly, Ebony. I'm sure the prince will understand if you were not to join him tomorrow. The girls so want to see you again and you don't want to let them down do you?"

Christian smiled. "Well, in that case I will just have to wait until the tournament to see you again."

Giselle did not give me any time to respond before she hauled be off back into the inn.

Oh my goodness, 50 chapters! This chapter was kind of abrupt, but I needed to get those glass slippers in.