The Princess Pages: A Girl Like Cinderella

Song Sixty Nine

THAT MOMENT YOU WISH LASTED FOREVER

That Wednesday evening, William Sweet Palace was a magnificent white building against a pitch black canvas, the sky without stars for the time being.

W.S.P was a two-story Italian villa converted into an event-venue intended for lavish parties, annual celebrations, and special occasions such as the Graduation Ball. 

The building had three entrances, with balconies in and out of the second floor. Lush grass and potted floral plants inertly sat in appropriate corners of the property.

Needless to say, when the thirteen teenagers stepped inside, it was breathtakingly gorgeous, with small lanterns pinned on thin pillars, wall-to-floor Italian windows framed with burnt-orange velvet curtains. Buffet tables lined against the sky-high vanilla walls. A live classical band was set up on a small stage, but the playlist was modern and upbeat.

"LOOK! It's Cara Wall!"

"She looks so fab in red!"

"I love the new mask!"

"Cara, you're so pretty!"

"Where did you get that necklace from?"

The last question made her bare hand curl around her moon necklace, and Cara parted her pink lips to speak when the large crowd parted for someone, and from behind her red, stunning mask, her jade eyes clouded at the sight of a tall blond male wearing a charcoal gray vest over a white long-sleeved polo, his black tie matching his pants and shoes. His sleeves cuffed around his elbows, exposing his lean arms.

Cara's heart stilled when the handsome blond stopped only a few inches away from her.

Trent Morgan casually slid his hands into his pockets. He looked at her with his green eyes carrying a dim spark.

Did he know? Was this going to be a public confrontation? How would she handle this--

"How important is that necklace to you?"

The girl in a red dress gained her bearings. "Excuse me?" The pad of her fingers traced the moon pendant dangling from a silver chain around her neck.

Hands still in his pockets, the model gestured to the accessory by jerking his chin at her collarbone.

"That necklace. I gave it to you. Are you willing to part with it?" he asked again, his voice flat.

Cara tightened her hold around the tiny sphere, her palm cold. All eyes were on them.

"No," she answered firmly, her gaze locked on his. He may have broken her heart twice, once as Cara, once as Lucy, but she wasn't going to give him the upper hand. Not tonight, not when this ball was her last masquerade as the blonde princess, or should she say, Princess of Lies?

"I see," Trent mused, his expression unyielding. He crossed his arms and said: "So you're more interested in a material object than a person's company."

"That isn't what I meant," the blonde contradicted sternly.

"Then why have you been flirting with me ever since we met?" He circled around her, uncaring of the gasps and increasing murmurs from the ocean of teenagers amidst the music in the background.

Cara was fuming at that point, but she chained down her temper, knowing he was trying to provoke her into losing her composure.

"Would you rather I rebuff your advances?" She craned her neck and glanced over her shoulder as the tall blond continued to walk around her, his forest green eyes subtly assessing her.

Even angry, she was still beautiful, Trent painfully thought as he gazed at Cara; her blonde hair was artfully swept into an elegant side bun. Alluring pink lips. Shimmery blue eye-shadow. And her red, sleeveless turtleneck dress with a black satin belt cinching her waist, and the skirt streamed down to her knees in a deep red waterfall. Her ankles were circled by black strapped shoes.

And currently, the red, intricate mask did nothing to hide the irritation in her green orbs.

Cara looked like a walking daydream on Christmas day. Except it was March. And far from winter.

Unable to get a response from Trent, the blonde in red folded her arms over her chest and frowned at him.

The onlookers had lost interest and started to bust a move, creating a mass of gyration in time with the ongoing song 'Turn Down For What.'

"So." Cara cleared her throat,feeling discomfited. "Did the Almighty Trent Morgan go stag?"

She intended to sound cold and snobbish, but her voice betrayed her and came out as teasing.

"Me? Dateless?" He recoiled for dramatic effect. "She's just fashionably late."

The easy banter quickly melted away into another unpleasant silence. Of course he had a date.

Who else could it be but Honey Houston?

"And you?" Trent bounced back the query, eschewing eye-contact.

The masked blonde raised her head to look at him. "He--"

"--is right here," a voice supplied, and the owner was suddenly standing next to Cara.

Josh Mantle's blue hair was newly cut, short and neat. He wore a black suit with a red tie.

A sour vibe radiated from Trent Morgan as he shook hands with the brown-eyed teenager.

"Is he bothering you, Cara?" Josh asked his date.

Before the girl could answer, Trent cut in stonily: "Are you referring to me as a nuisance?"

"Do you mind?" The swimmer arched a brow. "I was talking to Cara."

"I was engaging her first before you so annoyingly butted in," said the tall musician.

Her thread thinning, Cara stood between the steaming males. "Girls, girls. You're both pretty. Now if you want to bash your faces in, feel free to do so while I fetch some food."

The blonde in a red mask and dress began to ditch the two guys when they caught her wrists.

"You do not want to deprive me of junk food," she said calmly, but when she made to yank her arms from them, the live band finished a song and made an announcement.

"Well, folks, it's that time of the night," the male vocalist in his late twenties said. "I'd like to ask each gentleman to invite a lady he did not accompany this evening to dance the king and queen's waltz."

The three teenagers stood still as the slow intro of 'So Close' from the Disney movie Enchanted played through the ballroom.

Josh nodded at Cara before he escorted a random brunette in yellow to the dance floor.

Suddenly nervous, the blonde bit her lip and watched as more couples filed into position.

"Shall we?" a gallant voice asked.

Cara whirled around to see Trent offering his hand. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she placed her palm on his, and he gracefully led her to the very center of the room.