Cinderella Twins

Chapter One

"I'M NOT GOING!!!" I watched Adelaide storm into the library, looking over the top of my book as Father followed suit, his brows furrowed and his face red. What are they arguing about this time?

"You must!" Father yelled back. "It would be rude to refuse the invitation!"

Adelaide whirled around, glaring at Father. "Rude?! You just want to marry me off to the prince in order to make yourself richer! To hell with 'rude'!"

"Adelaide, language!"

"Screw you!" Adelaide spat back. I stifled a gasp, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. 

Father's face mottled red and he was about to say something when he suddenly turned, noticing me sitting off to the side. He opened and closed his mouth before frowning and looking back at Adelaide. "We'll speak of this later."

As soon as he was gone, Adelaide scoffed and crossed her arms. "What was that all about?" I spoke up.

Adelaide turned to me and grinned. Rushing over to me, she pulled me into a hug, my book dropping to the floor. "Adrian! I'm so glad you're here! Dad was trying to marry me off again."

"How?" I rolled my eyes. This was the fourth time he's tried to marry her off. They never work out, though. Adelaide is far too... flamboyant to allow anyone but herself to choose her husband. That didn't keep Father from trying, though.

"He wants to send me to this ball one of our neighboring kingdoms is hosting. He's hoping I'll catch the eye of the prince and marry him, so he can unite the kingdoms and become rich beyond his dreams." Adelaide waved her hand, rolling her eyes with a sigh.

I blinked. "A ball? What's that like?" I'd heard of balls before, but I've never been to one. Father's... Given up on trying to do anything with me. Even though he doesn't say anything, and they're always arguing, I know he much prefers Adelaide, the proud, leader-like twin, to me, the shy, nervous twin who can't do anything right. So, of course, he does anything he can to keep me inside and away from others. Not that he really needed to; I prefer to stay inside a lot anyway.

"Really boring," Adelaide began. I knew she was lying, from the way she averted her eyes. She was just trying to make me feel better, and I loved her for that. "All anyone does is stand around and insult everyone else's outfit. And dance. Trust me, that's the worst; imagine trying to dance in a suffocating corset and blister-inducing heels."

"I don't know," I shrugged, picking up the book I'd dropped earlier. "Sounds kind of fun."

"I'd rather hang out with you," Adelaide smiled.

"Me too," I grinned. "Come on, let's go riding."

***

The field just outside the stables behind the palace was probably my favorite place to be. Besides the library, of course. It was vast and beautiful, with luscious green grass that you could sink down into and sleep away under the sun. There were hundreds of blooming flowers, and lots of trees on the outskirts for shade. Adelaide and I steered our horses towards the trees, smiling and laughing as we talked. I took in the fresh air, letting the wind blow my hair gently. I liked the library and spent a lot of time there, but even I had to admit it was quite stuffy in there. It was nice to get out every so often. And, as Adelaide says, "I could always use the tan."

"Nice out today, isn't it?" Adelaide said as we dismounted.

I rubbed the neck of my horse, who nuzzled me back. My horse, Storm, and Adelaide's horse, Cloud, are twins like us. They are also polar opposites just like us. Where Cloud loves to run free and speak his mind, Storm would rather trot along, or let me brush her mane. Mother found it hilarious that our horses were exactly like us, and would never let us forget it. She jokingly told us we should name our horses for each other, but we thought it was a good idea and went with it. Adelaide was going to name her horse Storm, since he has a black coat, and I was going to name mine Cloud for the same reason. Now, they're switched; Cloud is the black horse, and Storm the white one.