Pigtails, Horse Tails and Fairy Tales

ELLA

Many of you know how I was transformed from the dusty and filthy cinder girl to the prince’s princess all because of the ever famous glass slippers.

Many believe we fell in love during the dance – the dance that was cut when the clock struck twelve.

What many of you don’t know is that the dance that we shared was not our first meeting.

I met him a few weeks after my mother died. My father and I were invited to the palace.

I remembered my dress that day. It was a frilly pink one. I also remembered my hair.  My father had asked for a nanny for me, but no one seemed interested. We had no other choice.  He had to fix my curly hair and it took him more than an hour to do so. Despite all his efforts, my pig tails were still askew.

I felt really awkward entering the palace that day. We were courteously greeted and immediately ushered into the grand dining room.

The king and the queen welcomed us. We bowed to their royal highnesses. Next to the queen was the prince. It was my first time to see him that close. He had his arms crossed. He was pouting. He was forced by his mother to acknowledge our greeting.

I wanted to laugh. I didn’t know royal bloods could also have tantrums. I realized that they were normal people after all.

 “Can I go to my horse now?” he asked the queen.

“Of course not, you’re supposed to have lunch with us,” the queen said softly but firmly.

“But … my horse’s tail is-- “

He could not continue what he was about to say because the queen looked at him sternly.

I wondered what the problem was with his horse’s tail. I stared at him as we took our seats in the grand table. He seemed liked he was muttering something. I thought he was really cute and charming.

He caught my gaze. I knew he was contemplating whether he would retain his poker face or smile at me. He looked away instead.

I was seated next to my father and in front of him. He was still looking away from me. Maybe he found me ugly. But I doubt it; my mother always told me I’m the prettiest girl in the world. I had this sudden feeling of sadness with just that thought. I think my eyes glistened a bit.

The hors d'oeuvre was served and I had bruschetta and canapés on my plate. I politely declined when the servant offered the escargot. I never liked snails.

I noticed he got a lot of escargot. He skillfully removed those awful snails out of their shells. Oh, what a show off!

The king started conversation with my father. I heard him give his condolences. The queen also said she was sorry for our loss. Their conversation shifted to business after. Something I never really understood that time, so I just concentrated on eating the appetizers. The next courses were served and I was just delighted with all the scrumptious dishes served. Father and I never had a decent meal since mother died.

I remembered my mother again. No matter how thrilled I was with the food, I still couldn’t help but be sad. I knew I would never taste her cooking again. Even with the greatest dishes from best chefs in the world, I knew my mother’s cooking will remain the best for me. I did not notice I was already staring at my food for a long time. And when I lifted my head, I saw him watching me. I couldn’t really decode his gaze. He seemed stunned but at the same time irritated. Ah, royalty … they’re hard to figure out sometimes.

After the meal, my father and the king were already shaking hands on some sort of a business deal and I heard names of strange places. I had this theory that the more unfamiliar the name of the place was, the farther it was. And that scared me … it scared me a lot.