The Shoe That Fits Two

Two

It only took a few minutes before Cinderella approached the King's castle. Butterflies fluttered around her stomach as she stepped out of the carriage and walked towards the glowing castle. She felt like a real princess in her beautiful ball gown and her sparkling glass slippers. When she walked into the open ball room of the castle, she heard multiple gasps and heads turned in her direction. She had never gotten so much attention before, and it was slightly overwhelming. She turned to leave, but suddenly felt a warm hand grasp her wrist and spin her back around. She was left lost in the stunning dark eyes of the handsome prince. His white smile was blinding and when he looked into her eyes, she felt chills travel up and down her spine and the butterflies in her stomach only intensified.

"I couldn't help but notice you and before you leave, I was wondering if you could at least stay and dance with me," the prince said. Cinderella couldn't help but blush while she nodded and the prince took her hand, leading her off towards the middle of the dance floor. Cinderella had never danced before, but she took a deep breath and let the prince guide her around the dance floor. It didn't take long to realize that Cinderella was a natural dancer, and she and the prince swept across the dance floor in perfect harmony.

Cinderella and the prince danced late into the night, and soon they lost track of time. After what seemed like minutes, Cinderella heard a clock chime midnight and she was overwhelmed with panic. She had completely forgotten that she would change back into the dirt-caked servant dressed in rags. No prince would ever want to dance with her then.

"I'm sorry, I have to go!" Cinderella cried. She started to leave when the prince placed his hands on her face and kissed her. Goosebumps went from her head to her toes and her stomach felt like it had more butterflies in it than could fit. They broke apart and exchanged a sad look before Cinderella bolted out the door. She looked over her shoulder to see the prince trying to get through the crowd of people and chase after her. As Cinderella stumbled down the steps towards her horse-drawn carriage, she lost one of her glass slippers on the stairs. She heard the prince yelling to her, asking for her name, but she couldn't turn back now. She could feel a tingling sensation spreading through her body and she knew that in only a matter of moments everything would transform back to the way it was. She tried to shout back to the prince, but her voice just got lost in the wind. The horses took of towards the mansion as soon as Cinderella jumped into the carriage. She looked out through the windows back towards the castle and saw the prince watching her carriage drive farther away, then he picked up Cinderella's glass slipper she left on the stairs and walked back to the castle with a look of determination. She knew what he was thinking. He was going to find her, and nothing could get in his way.

Not long after the night of the dance, posters were posted all over kingdom and letters were sent out to everyone saying that the king and the prince were going to search every house in the kingdom to find the girl who fit into the glass slipper that the prince had. Cinderella knew that was her glass slipper that had fallen off her foot, but there was no way the prince would find her. Besides, she was already locked up every night as punishment for sneaking out to the ball, and she couldn't leave the house and was forced to clean the mansion all day.

Days passed before the king and the prince came to Lady Tremaine's mansion. Cinderella's stepmother bolted her bedroom door shut with Cinderella locked inside, and went to greet the king at the front door. Cinderella wept helplessly in her room, knowing she would never be with her prince again. Just as Cinderella suspected, the glass slipper didn't fit Drizella, but Cinderella felt like screaming when she heard a squeal of glee from Anastasia and growl of jealousy from Drizella. Though Cinderella couldn't imagine how, her glass slipper had somehow fit one of her stepsisters. She could hear the confusion and denial in the prince's voice as he argued with his father, saying how he was sure this wasn't the girl he danced with at the ball. The king insisted that this was the girl, considering that she fit the shoe, even though he had never seen the girl before. After a few more minutes of argument, Cinderella's Prince Charming walked out the door with her stepsister, as Cinderella remained alone and locked in her room, cleaning her stepmother's mansion until the day she died.