Elin worked like she had magic, even though I know that she didn't. She got a bath ready and started to cook a simple meal while I cleaned myself up. After getting clean and eating, she did my hair and make up so fast that I barely blinked, and it was done. Or so it seemed like that. After that, it was time for me to get the dress on. I was wearing other accessories as well. Lots of them that Elin's grandmother had from when she was younger. By the time that she was done, I felt like a princess, and looked like one too. I just wish that the feeling went more than skin deep, because I was nervous as hell.
While I had gotten ready, Jannick got the carriage ready. He had two horses and was sitting in the driver's seat in his best outfit. He looked like a proper gentleman at that moment. And I saw that he already had the ladder waiting next to his house so that he could help me get back to my room when it was time for me to go home.
All that was left was for me to climb inside of that powder blue carriage. It truly did make me think about Cinderella's carriage. At least I had the look down. I just didn't have the attitude or mannerisms down.
"I hope this works." I whispered as we rode through the gate into the castle.
There were people everywhere. There were a lot of people still arriving, so I didn't feel like I was too late to the party. Thank God for that. If I would have been late and somehow missed my chance, that would be the end of it all as well.
"Welcome young Miss." A man in a tuxedo opened the door to the carriage and helped me out of it. I saw his eyes go wide when he saw me and I felt like he was telling me that I looked beautiful, but I wasn't sure about it. It could be the opposite. Doubtful, but possible.
"I will be waiting for you here, when you are ready to go. I think we should leave by midnight." He grinned at me, inadvertently setting the same time limit to me that the story would have done regardless.
"I will be back by then, Jannick. Thank you."
I walked toward the large entry doors to the castle. I wanted to make sure that I made my grand entrance for them all to see. And then if the family saw me here and then I was back at home, they would think that it was just someone that looked like me. Oh, and I wasn't using my story book name. Nope, I had another option here.
"Welcome to the castle, young Miss. We are pleased to have you as a guest." A man in an impeccable white uniform greeted me. He looked like a soldier and was bowing to me. "Whom shall I say has arrived for the prince's ball?"
"My name is Cinderella." I smiled and curtsied to him. It was time to see how good my acting was.
"Very well, please come with me." He held his hand out to me and I took it gently. With that, he guided me to the top of the stairs, pushed a door open, and led me into the ballroom.
So far, the castle looked so much like a cartoon or storybook come to life that I wanted to laugh. It was white with blue decorations everywhere. There were statues, paintings, and plants all over the halls. It was beautiful, but a little too sweet for me to process.
"May I present to the prince, Lady Cinderella." He didn't ask me anything about my family, but he was calling me a lady. Maybe tonight, and only for tonight, everyone was on equal footing.
Everyone was staring at me, and that was uncomfortable. I noticed Milly and the unfortunate twins staring at me as well. I did my best to pretend that I didn't know who they were and just keep my eyes forward. I needed to find the prince. And then I needed to make sure that he was my counterpart. He had to have that birthmark that the keeper mentioned, the one that looked just like mine.
And unfortunately, that birthmark was in full view right now. The bodice of the dress pushed my breasts into the perfect position to make it easily seen. Maybe the counterpart, or the prince, would see it and feel instantly drawn to me.
***JAKE'S POV***
I was avoiding the dance floor for the beginning of the ball. My fake father, the king, was not very happy with me at the moment, but I just kept telling him that I was waiting for the right girl to arrive. I was hoping that unlike me, she actually had a name in this story. I mean, she was the main character of it, she should be named.
I saw some very ugly girls arrive while I was waiting too. They were the twins that were so ugly that I wanted to gag. And the first thing that they did was make a beeline for me. I didn't want to talk to them at all. Hell, I didn't even want to look at them.
It took some tactical avoidance measures, and putting my quick footing from soccer into play here, but I did manage to move away from them and lose them completely. That was a good thing. Or at least it was for a moment.
While I was running away from them, the herald came in with a beautiful girl in the most gorgeous dress that was in the entire ball. I knew that this had to be the one that I was looking for. I mean, she even looked like my dream girl. I swear, that was Alex through and through.
"Thank you, keeper. Thank you." I had to say it. They made the girl look like that for me. And that was the nicest thing that I felt like the keeper could ever do for me. Well, besides not bringing me in here to begin with. However, now I got to make the girl of my dreams fall in love with me. Even if it wasn't real, it was going to be the best time of my life.
The herald stopped at the top of the stairs and let go of the storybook Alex's hand. Then, in a loud and proud voice, he introduced her.
"May I present to the prince, Lady Cinderella."
I knew it. I knew that was her. I knew that she was the one that I was here to meet. The only bad thing was, the twins that had been chasing me had finally caught up to me.
"Prince! Prince! I am happy that we found you." One of them said and I instantly felt my stomach turn.
"We want to dance with you, Prince. Please dance with us."
"I am sorry, ladies, but I am looking for someone else."
Despite my having turned them down, the twins did not let go of my arm. They were holding on tightly like they had glued themselves to me. I almost thought that they had, until I finally managed to shake them off.
"Is everything OK here?" My friend Stephen came over when he noticed my distressed state.
"I am attempting to visit with more guests, but these ladies are not allowing me to leave." With that, they suddenly released my arm. I knew that they were scared now, since Stephen was my princely character's best friend and bodyguard. He was going to see to it that the girls left me alone.
As I walked away, I could tell that the twins were glaring at Cinderella. They knew that I was going to her and that they would never again have my attention. That had to piss them off.
The closer that I got to the girl that was Cinderella, the more that I felt like she looked like Alex. This was just too good to be true. The keeper had to have taken her image directly from my mind. And that was fine with me. At least she would notice me somewhere, since it wasn't in the real world.
"Hello there?" I called out to the girl as I stepped in front of her. "It is an honor to meet you." I gently took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you for coming to my ball." There was shock on her face for a moment but then she grinned and her eyes lit up. Alex would never do that. And honestly, from what I knew of her, she would have hated the way that I kissed her hand like that. Even though it was 'princely', it was also egotistical and misogynistic. "Ahh, allow me to apologize. I should not have taken the liberty to kiss your hand like that. It was inappropriate. Please, accept my apologies and allow me to get to know you. Your name is Cinderella, correct?" I was trying to fix this. I would practice with this character so that I could get the courage to ask out the real Alex when I went back home.
"Thank you." She looked even happier following my apology. "It is nice to meet you. Yes, my name is Cinderella. What is your name?"
"My name is Jake." My character was unnamed, so I decided to give her my real name. It would work this time at least. I didn't know how the other stories would be though. Either way, I had taken the first step.