The Stepsisters

Chapter 18

(Please vote and leave a comment! I appreciate it sooo much!) 

As soon as Cinderella walks away, I make it my mission to find Charming before she does.

I finally find him in the middle of a crowd, and I attempt to shove my way through the giggling women.

"Hey." I say loudly, hoping that he can hear me over the chatter.

"Oh hey." He says with a small smile.

"I was wondering if you wanted to dance." I suggest. There's nothing wrong with me asking him versus the other way around, regardless of the weird looks I'm getting.

"Yeah, sure." He says, and gestures for me to follow him.

Another song begins to play, to my luck, it's not a slow song this time. I awkwardly try to clap along but my lanky arms just don't work well with dancing.

"So, do you dance a lot?" He flashes his perfect smile.

I cover my face in embarrassment. "I'm horrible." I say, laughing.

"Hey, don't worry. I had years and years of training and practice just to master this move." He says, while shaking his arms and hips.

I look around and those girls from the crowd earlier are pointing towards me and shaking their heads. I bet they're wondering why someone like him would be dancing with a mess like me. Maybe he should just be with Cinderella.

"Anybody home?" He asks, waving his hand in front of my face.

"Sorry, just got distracted. So, tell me about yourself, your highness." I jokingly curtsy towards him.

He shakes his head. "Please don't treat me like that, that's what I like about you. You talked to me before you even knew who I was and that means a lot to me." He says.

I smile at his choice of words. He likes me. Am I pushing it too far? Okay, so he likes me, as a person. I guess that's better than nothing.

"I totally understand that. I just don't see the point in pretending to like someone because of their status, I mean, I understand but I just don't think it's worth it. People who do that are just wasting their own time and the other person's time too. I would rather be with someone who was completely broke but I actually liked than someone rich that I don't care for." I say. I'm probably talking too much again. "But I don't know." I add.

"Well I wish you would tell that to everyone else here. I like what I do, I like that one day I'll be able to take care of all of my people. This ball was actually my idea, I wanted the chance to meet everyone in the village, not just the royal people. But if I could really chose for myself, I would love to live in a little cottage somewhere with a family and a farm. No more having someone always tell me what I have to say or do and no more feeling like everyone is always watching me. I was born into this, it wasn't exactly my choice, you know?" He says.

I nod. "So, you would leave behind all of this if you could?" I ask.

He pauses to think about it. "Yeah, I would. So, what is it that you want to do?"

"I don't know what I want to do yet. I mean, I know most girls get married and stay home, become a housewife and cook all day. That's what my mother became when she married Rupert. Rupert is... was, my stepfather. Before that she would always go out into town, she would work on her garden and even sell fresh vegetables. She had her own purpose. That's what I want. I want to find something I love and just do that for myself." I say.

"And what is it that you love to do?" He asks.

"Well, right now I'm working at a bakery. I like that but I don't know if I love it. I like singing but I'm not very good at it, not like my stepsister is. I also like writing, but I've never let anyone read my stuff." I reply. I realize that we aren't even attempting to dance anymore, we are just standing around talking.

"Well, at least you have options. At least you get to decide for yourself." He offers.

I guess that he is right. He may be a prince, but I kind of feel sorry for him. I don't know what it would be like to already have my future set for me before I was even born.

"But you get everything you want basically, don't you? I have no idea what it must be like to have everyone instantly love you." I say.

He shakes his head. "Trust me, it's the worst when people love you before they even talk to you. It just proves that they don't love you, they just love what you represent." 

"That's super deep." I try and lighten the mood.

He laughs. "Oh no, speaking of people telling me what to do." He says, gesturing to that skinny man with the spectacle I saw earlier. "I have to go or he will have my head, I will try to find you later. It was really nice seeing you, Anastasia." He says.

"Okay, see you around." I say.

I kind of respect him even more that I know more about him. I love the fact that he doesn't care to be royal, I love that he actually cares about his people. I look at the clock and it's 11:30, Cinderella will have to be leaving soon. I still haven't seen my Mother, I hope Drizella found her. 

I finally find Drizella, and thankfully she is with our mother. "Did she see?" I whisper to Drizella. 

She shakes her head, discretely. "No, she didn't." She whispers back.

We stand around and talk, eat delicious food, and point out our favourite outfits from the crowd. When I look at the dance floor, I notice that Cinderella is dancing and talking with Charming again. Urgh, why can't she just leave it alone. How am I supposed to compete with her? 

Before I know it, the clock strikes 12. I watch Cinderella, as she notices the clock, and breaks her hold from the prince. She begins to run off, up the huge staircase and out of the royal palace and Charming runs after her. Does she really have to be so dramatic? I hope she gets home and returns the glass slippers before we return home. Mother already acts really resentful towards her, like she blames her for what Rupert did to her but also for Rupert dying. If she found out that Cinderella stole her prized possession, there is no way that she would forgive her. 

Charming returns back into the palace holding one of the glass slippers in his hand, he looks disappointed. Why does he have the other shoe? I keep expecting Cinderella to come back to retrieve the shoe, but she doesn't return. There's no way she's going to get them back before Mother finds out now. 

I push through the commotion, and make my way towards Charming. "Where did she go? Why do you have that?" I ask him.

"She dropped it while she was running. I don't know if I said something to her..." He says.

"Here, I'll take it and return it to her. I think she lives near me." I lie, trying to grab the shoe. If I can just get my hands on it, I can probably sneak it back in Mother's room before she notices.

He pulls the shoe back. "No, it's fine. I will." He says abruptly, and walks off. His tone seems different.

I follow behind him.  "What's wrong?" I ask.

He doesn't stop walking. "Nothing, just leave me alone please." 

I watch him walk off, holding my mother's shoe in his hand. He approaches the man with the spectacle again, and I can faintly hear him talking. "I have to return this to her. We will commence a search tomorrow, I must find her."

Why? Why must he find her, and why was he being rude to me?

It's almost 12:30 now, and people are beginning to leave. I can see the disappointment in their eyes, they probably know that they will never see the inside of the royal palace ever again. A ball where the entire village is invited is pretty much nonexistent in this kingdom.

"I guess we better go." I say to my Mother and Drizella. 

I look around to say goodbye to the Baker, but I don't see him anywhere. He must have left early too. 

We walk back out the doors, and it feels as if all the magic has died. I was so excited for tonight, and it didn't exactly turn out like I had expected. I thought tonight was supposed to be my happily ever after, I thought that Charming was going to fall in love with me. Yet, he spent half the time with her. I take one last look at the beautiful castle and sigh. I now know that I'm in the same position as everyone else here. This is probably the last time I will ever see the royal palace.