The Princess Pages: A Girl Like Cinderella

Epilogue: Start of Something New

February 19, 2016. 6:45pm.

On that Friday Evening, in the two-bedroom apartment Lucy Heartwood shared with her younger brother, Vance, an air of panic and worry streamed behind the brunette as she babbled and frantically paced all around the small but furnished living room.

"Oh God, Oh God," the 18-year-old girl chanted under her breath while her finger drummed on her full pink lips. She was a tumble weed of mess and paranoia, but to Vance, she was ready.

While the brown-haired 13-year-old in a beige shirt and long pajamas was comfortably sitting on the plush red sofa, with his sock-wrapped feet resting on the coffee table, The Little Prince on his lap, evidence that he planned to finish the book in one sitting,every now and then, his bluish green eyes would flicker to his elder sister's fussy behavior, clasping and unclasping her purse, which was the same deep red shade as her two-inch sandals with ankle straps that emphasized her long, flexible legs. Around her neck she wore her gold heart locket, and around her wrist dangled her silver moon bracelet. She decided not to wear her glasses and earrings tonight.

Vance stifled his laughter, shielding his face using his thick novel, as his sister evaluated her reflection in the oval mirror pinned against the wall beside the closed bathroom door.

In his opinion, Lucy was more than prepared for her first date with Trent Morgan, which was also the very first date in her eighteen years of existence. Her silky black hair fell into straight columns on her nude shoulders. She wore subtle makeup, her full pink lips tinted with lip gloss,making them look moist. She didn't need blush--her cheeks were naturally rosy, and she wouldn't stop blushing at the thought of her date picking her up at seven, which was in a few minutes time.

After she'd rummaged in her bulging closet of clothes for the perfect outfit, Lucy had selected a simple but elegant black,sleeveless dress. It had thin straps sliding over her bare shoulders, and the chiffon fabric hugged her slender waist with ease. Her skirt flowed like a black waterfall above her ankles, and Lucy contemplated if she should bring her pale red scarf just in case.

"You look fantastic, L," Vance said without looking up from his book.

"Really?" The brunette asked, oblivious to her natural beauty.

Her brother flipped to the next page. "Yes, really. Now shut up so I can concentrate."

"And here I thought you were giving me a real compliment," Lucy sighed, her spirits deflating.

"I was," the 13-year-old clarified, darting a glance at his sister.

Lucy checked the wall-clock for the nth time. 6:55. She bit her thumbnail. "Maybe he's not coming." Would he do that? Would he suddenly get caught up in a random errand and forget about their date tonight?

Vance gave a derisive snort, scoffing at his sister's constant fretting. Her bluebell gaze settled on him as he tucked his bookmark more securely between two pages.

"L, he flew all the way from Paris, France to Stanford just to see you. Do you honestly believe that a guy who would travel from Europe to America in order to pursue someone he hasn't seen for a year, stand her up on the night of their first date?"

His words made all the tension flood from Lucy's body. The heaviness lifted from her shoulders.

"Or he could be stuck in traffic and not make it in time," he said as an afterthought. "Just saying."

Lucy seized a square throw pillow from the sofa and chucked it at her brother's head.

He dissolved into barely suppressed snickers, dodging his sister's pillow attacks. Soon, they were both laughing and engaged in a one-to-one pillow fight, caught in peals of hearty laughter.