Well, that was a surprise. At first, I thought that this man was just going to be like every other story book male. He was going to kiss my hand. He was going to tell me that I should do as he says, and he would take care of me. All of those things. You know, the typical story book stuff. But that wasn't how it ended up.
Yeah, sure, he did kiss my hand, but then he immediately apologized for it. He said that it was wrong of him to do that. Maybe he was testing me, trying to see how I would respond to the two ways that he was acting. I would take the version of him that didn't think that he could just touch me when he wanted. Though, he was still holding my hand as he talked to me.
I have to admit, this was the first time that a man other than my dad had held my hand and I didn't want to deck him in the face. Yeah, my dad was my dad and that meant that he was supposed to hold my hand. He had done it since before I could remember. However, no other man had been allowed to touch me for no reason at all and not get punished for it.
Things like Jannick saving me wouldn't be punished. And when I wasn't in this world and needing to abide by this story's rules, I would have beaten the shit out of Gilly that first day that he dared to get rough with me. I didn't like to be touched, that was the plain and simple truth.
"Cinderella, will you dance with me?" Jake, the prince, was smiling at me. All he was touching was my hand, but I felt like he was being more intimate with me than any other man that I had ever met. Was that just part of the story? And why didn't I hate it?
"Of course, Prince Jake." I smiled at him and tried to act as polite as possible.
"Please don't call me that. I would prefer you to just call me Jake." He looked shy and a little out of his element. Well, I guess that was why they needed a ball for him. He was not a very outgoing prince, so he needed some help finding a wife. At least he was good looking and not some troll.
"Then Jake it is." I nodded but I didn't say another word as he led me out onto the dance floor.
"You are quite beautiful, Cinderella, did you know that?" He was smiling at me. "I have wanted to ask you to dance with me since the moment that I saw you." I had to stifle my laughter. Maybe in the original version of the story, the prince worked up the courage to talk to the girl and he had just gotten to it before midnight. That would explain that line away. I mean, he had just seen me for like two minutes before he said that, how long did he really have to wait?
"I am glad that you did." And for some reason, that didn't feel like a lie. He was not the typical guy that just made me angry. He was behaving himself. Even as he danced with me, he kept his hands in a very respectable place.
"You remind me of someone I used to know. Someone that I have always had a bit of a crush on." He was blushing now, how cute was that?
As I watched him blushing, I looked at him closely. He was tall, a lot taller than I was in this story or real life. Thankfully these heels that I was wearing were making it easier for me to stand next to him. Still, he was over six feet tall, maybe by three inches or so. And his blue eyes were so beautiful and inviting that I couldn't take my eyes off of them. And that hair, it was a dark brown that looked like chocolate. And I don't know a girl that doesn't like chocolate. He had a bit of a rugged look to him. He was clean shaven and all that but he looked like he belonged outdoors and not in a stuffy castle. But, oddly enough, I feel like I had seen him before. I don't know why, but he struck a chord with me. Somehow, someway, he looked like someone that I met in my real life, but I didn't know who it was.
"You're going to make me blush, staring at me that much." He was smiling, but I saw that he was also gaining some confidence. That was good. I didn't want a guy that had no confidence in himself at all. Not that this was for real life, it was all for the sake of the story.
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking that you look familiar. I don't know where I would have met you before, but I feel like I have." That made him grin even more. Maybe the story me and this prince had met by accident once and that was all that I was feeling.
"I am so glad that you recognize me Al-, uhm, I mean Cinderella." That was odd. It almost seemed like he was about to call me Alex. Was the story messing up? Has the Keeper of the Tales slipped or something? This was very strange.
"W..well, let us move on." I stammered a little. I knew that I was going to make this prince fall for me, that was my plan, but I didn't think that I was going to be affected as well. "Can you tell me about yourself?" He looked confused and sad for a moment. It was almost as if he needed to think about something really hard before he could answer.
"Well, I am the prince. Son of the King. My mother passed away. And now I am looking for a wife." Of course, there would be no actual details about this character. He couldn't tell me what he liked in life since it wasn't written for him.
"Well, I like to be outside. I like to work in the gar-, in the barn. I like to smell the fresh air and run in the grass with no shoes on." I grinned at him. I hoped that this wouldn't turn him off.
"Well now, I guess we have a lot in common. I hate shoes most of the time. I would walk on the beach or in the grass barefoot if I could. I love to lay on the balcony or the roof at night and watch the stars. And I like to smell the fresh air as well." He was laughing. Good, he didn't think that I was being weird. I still had a chance to make this man my prince. "Cinderella, I feel that we will run out of time if I do not say this now, but I love you. I fell in love with you when I first saw you. I was swept away by your beauty and was only further entranced by you when I got to know you more. I would like you to be my wife. And just in case we run out of time, can you tell me if there is another name that you go by. I want to be able to find you. I want to be able to rescue you if I need to."
That was oddly specific. I was not able to fathom how or why he would know to ask me those. And that declaration of love felt so sincere that it didn't seem like it was done after just minutes of knowing me. There had to be more to the story of me and the prince named Jake. There was more going on between us that I didn't know. And because of that, I didn't know how it was going to affect my time here in the book.
"Jake, there is another name, yes. And I am afraid that my time here is limited. If I don't get home before too much longer, my stepmother will punish my little brother."
"What is your name? Tell me. Please."
"It's Ashenella. That is my name. That is what my family calls me. Please, Jake, I need to go. She's coming."
I looked behind him just then and saw that Milly was stomping across the room, straight toward me and Jake.
"I will come for you. I will find you. Please, Ashenella, wait for me." And with that, Jake pulled me toward him and kissed me on the cheek. I thought that he was going to go for my lips, but he didn't. He was definitely not the man that I expected. And because of that, I could actually see myself with him. You know, if he wasn't all made up and just a character in the story.
"Don't take too long." I smirked at him when he pulled away from me. Milly was just about to reach us then. I had to go. I didn't want to go, for some reason. And I found myself looking back more than once. I looked back to see him, and to see how close Milly was getting to me. Thankfully, she stopped at the prince with her unfortunate duo in tow. They weren't giving up on him just yet. And, thankfully, he seemed to be distracting them for me. Though he did turn to look at me with a smile on more than one occasion.
That was not how I expected the night to go, but I wasn't upset about it.