Cinderella Tonight

Scarlett shoved on her light blue heels while trying to hop over to the stairs. Mistress Charlotte—also known as her mother--stood waiting at the foot of the stairs, in the entryway. A disapproving frown hung on her face, while Scarlett raced down the stairs.

“I’m ready.” She said, suddenly standing in front of her mother. Charlotte looked her daughter over with a grimace, but decided she was as ready as she ever would be. No time to change that now, so she beckoned her daughter forward. One of the maids—Clarissa was her name, Scarlett remembered—handed them their coats and opened the door for them. They stepped out onto the patio and slowly walked toward the carriage waiting at the end of the walkway. A coachman offered his hand to help them up and they soon were trotting down the street toward the ball.

Prince Alexander was holding a ball so that he may meet his new wife. Every girl above the age of sixteen and below the age of nineteen was invited. The Prince was to dance with every girl that attended and at the end of the night, he would pick one girl to marry. This was a chance of a lifetime, so Scarlett’s mother insisted on going.

Scarlett’s family wasn’t exactly royalty, but they were third cousins of a family that used to be holding the crown. They held quite a reputation for being quite rich and a close friend of the King’s. So Scarlett already knew Alexander from past meetings. She was sure every girl wanted to be with him, but that just wasn’t her. She didn’t want to get married to some guy she barely knew. Scarlett sure already knew that she wasn’t in love with him or would ever be. She wasn’t interested. But Charlotte wouldn’t let her pass it up.

They reached the castle, and this time they were helped down by one of the guards. Scarlett and Charlotte were soon walking up the stairs to get to the entrance. Her mother had only come along because she’d said that she had some catching up to do with some old friends. So Scarlett was left to stand in line and wait to have a dance with the Prince like everyone else.

They had gotten to the castle early, so Scarlett wasn’t far behind in the line. She was only about ten people in front of her. That wasn’t long. She started looking around, remembering everything as she saw it. It was huge of course, and very elegant. Scarlett hated it. She liked simple. She liked the idea of working to get what she wanted. She wanted to be a peasant living in a cottage in the fields. But she knew she should be grateful for what she had because the peasants living in the cottages were wishing they lived in a palace like mine. Scarlett sighed.

Up ahead, Scarlett heard several girls bickering about who got to marry the Prince. She rolled her eyes. She couldn’t understand these girls. They had no idea what Alexander liked to read or what he planned to do once he was King. Of course, Scarlett knew those things. She understood his point of view on them, but did not agree with him. Scarlett had expressed herself on that matter more than one occasion.

She reached up to twirl her long blonde hair, but then realized she had it up. Scarlett never wore it up but her mother insisted. She felt like Cinderella with the blue dress and her blonde hair up. If only she had the glass slippers… but of course she didn’t want to marry the Prince like Cinderella did. And of course, she wasn’t just some wash rag around an evil step-mother’s house. Scarlett had it way better than Cinderella, Scarlett sometimes thought.

She was always being foolish, her mother said. She never put any elegance into anything because she liked to be wild and crazy. She liked to jump around and slide down the banister. Isn’t that why you’re supposed to do when you’re a kid: have fun? But Charlotte kept telling her that Scarlett had no time for fun. If she acted to right way and did the right things, Scarlett could get far. But Scarlett didn’t care. She could be cast into the streets and she didn’t think she would care much. It would leave a challenge for her, sure, but Scarlett liked a challenge.

Soon, it was Scarlett’s turn to dance with the Prince. She was nervous or excited. She kept on a straight face and was soon dancing through the ballroom with Prince Alexander.
“Nice to see you’re not making a scene out of yourself this time, Miss Anderson.” He murmured into her ear.

“Only doing what pleases Mistress Charlotte.” She said right back. Her dress swayed back and forth as they danced across the floor. There were a few others dancing on the sides but not many.

“Ha.” He leaned back to look at her face. “You have never been known to do anything anyone pleases.”

“Now that’s not fair,” she said sternly. “You can’t say that of me, when you could ask me to marry you any second and then you would be stuck with me and all my quirks.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right.” He smiled. “But, I don’t think that will happen.”

Scarlett wasn’t offended by his last comment, because she didn’t think it would happen either. For the rest of the song, they danced in silence. When they were done, Scarlett curtsied at the same moment that he bowed. Alexander soon took the next lady in line, and Scarlett headed over to stand by the rest of the guests that were just there to chat and watch.

She accidentally bumped into someone with her arm and quickly said her apologies. But something stopped her. There was a tingling in her arm where she bumped into him. It felt as if a frenzy had begun by that mere touch. She then saw who she’d bumped into. It was a gorgeous guy with jet black hair that covered one of his eyes. He had the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen. And his body was so evenly built. Scarlett felt herself staring. But the guy, she noticed, had also stopped in what he was doing. He was staring right back, like the touch had done the same thing to him. But he quickly recovered and he reached over and pushed her jaw up, leaving another tingling sensation there. She hadn’t realized her mouth had been hanging open.

He did an elegant bow and said,”Peter Callahan.”

She did a curtsy in return, but not as elegant as his bow had been. “Scarlett Anderson.”

He nodded. It seemed like he’d already known this. Of course, most people knew her. Peter quickly tried to make conversation. “So, are you hoping to wed Prince Alexander like every other girl in this joint?”

He said the word “joint” like he’d rather be somewhere else. Scarlett smiled. “Sadly, no. I’m not really interested in marrying someone that plans to cut down Marylyn Forest once he’s King. Besides, I’d rather be off doing something fun than sitting a desk all day.”

He smiled back. He liked what she had to say. Peter looked around at all the people that seemed to be gathering. “You want to go outside and talk? Much quieter.”

“Sure, sure.”

Peter led her through the crowd of people; always looking back to make sure she was right behind him. They went out a side door that led onto a stoned path. They walked on it until they found a gazebo that was lit with candles. They sat down on the swing hanging in the middle.

Conversation was tense at first, but they were soon laughing and talking like they were old friends. They talked about nothing, nothing at all. Time went by and they didn’t care. They could be there forever. They didn’t know when they would get to meet again, and they didn’t know if they would be in each other’s future. But they both knew that they were each two pieces of a puzzle, fitting perfectly together. The future didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were together at that very moment and nothing could break them apart. Scarlett was in pure bliss just sitting there with him. She sat thinking and she thought, this was what she’d been waiting for all her life. This guy. Now that she’d found him, she didn’t want to let him go. Things were forever changed.

Sure, she wasn’t Cinderella. But she could’ve been, the way the night ended. She felt like for one night she was Cinderella. Only, Scarlett didn’t feel like she had to leave behind a glass slipper.