BLUE

       Not far from us, Cendrillon’s castle loomed atop the rolling hills of tamed emerald. Its ancient walls were lighted up with torches that burnt a bright white, giving them the impression of a white sun glowing softly against the dark satin of night. 

Above, its turrets of midnight blue overlooked the town, high and mighty as if to remind us how we would never stand abreast their ranks. They blended into the night sky so perfectly that if it wasn’t for the sea of silver stars, one might not even realize they were there. 

Herman sprang to his feet and got out as soon as the carriage pulled to a halt. The warm glow from the castle cast hues of silvery orange on his features as he extended a hand to me. “I expect the best act from you today as well.”

I took his hand, momentarily peeling my eyes from the display of inappropriate placement of wealth that could’ve been used to feed the villagers instead of squandering on the height of stacked bricks. 

The place was deserted except for palace guards that lined either side of the grand staircase of polished marble. They continued to stand in attention with their backs straight and unmoving as we passed, their crimson uniforms a stark contrast to the white of the steps.  

“Sit tight and enjoy the show,” I whispered over my shoulders. The clattering of hooves echoed in the distance, a song that matched the steps of my excruciating journey up. I drew my shoulders back, head held high as if the teeny corset wasn’t choking the air out of my lungs.

I took my ‘royal’ time admiring the walls of portraits down the hallway of baby blue—all the way from the first king with a bald head and curled moustache to the prince with dark chocolate locks combed back neatly, flashing a dazzling smile. Typical princey-prince if you ask me. Not that it mattered. 

First lesson in acting ‘The Princess’, a lady never hurries no matter how late she is. Never frets no matter how freaked out she is. The key was to act like nothing’s too much of a big deal because you are the big deal itself. No one will ever doubt that you are not of royal blood since the royals are the only ones who have too much time to spare.

The rest of us have real work to slave at.

A few steps away from the archway leading to the ballroom (if Tink’s map of the castle’s interior proved to be reliable this time) I reached behind my back and conjured up an invitation letter, away from the sight of the doorman on duty.

“Good evening, milady. Have you journeyed from afar?” the doorman with a speck of freckles on his nose asked with a pre-set smile as I handed him the letter. Somehow, he reminded me of Peter. Though clearly without the mischievous streak the fae boy was born with. 

The doorman broke the fabricated red wax seal in the shape of a lily and scanned it with brows drawn.

Uh-oh. They are not supposed to study it that closely.

“Yes, far up north from the Pixie Hollow,” I faked an exasperated sigh as I explained, rubbing my temples to add to the melodrama act. “It is…troublesome to travel through that particular forest, you see.” 

Partly true. HQ was up north from Tink’s place, only it wasn’t far and I haven’t gone back for months.

“Ah, the pixies.” The doorman’s chestnut eyes lighted up with understanding before holding the double doors open for me. “May the ball wash away any distress caused by the mischievous creatures, milady.”

You have no idea. I thanked him and stepped inside. If anyone could cause Tink distress, it would be me, not the other way around. Except, maybe when she got our assignments’ details wrong. 

Stopping atop the curved stairs of gold and silver, I hunted for a single dazzling smile among thousands below. Dark hazel hair cropped short, sky blue eyes untouched by darkness, two rows of perfect pearl whites—the image filled my mind and drowned my ears immediately with Ella’s soft whispers. 

Talk about obsessiveness. 

With the temporary heart I borrowed from her on a rampage, my ears turned deaf to the announcement of my nonsensical pseudonym. With the Star on our side, the royal musicians timely ceased their performance, allowing each of the doorman’s words to crash over the attending crowd. Loud and clear. Thousands of eyes zoomed in on me with strings of whispers that were bound to follow.

Party-crashing 101 from the big book of Fairy Tale Basics: the later you reach, the more likely people are going to focus on you when you walk through the doors. Especially useful when you are dressed in a gown laced with fae dust and trying to catch the attention of someone who everybody in the room was trying desperately to do the same. 

Namely, the Prince. Who currently has his eyes locked on me from the centre of the dance floor. 

A warm smile broke across his thin lips, eyes sparkled the moment he recognized my temporary face. Ella’s stepsisters clung to either sides of him, two leeches in matching dress of nightmares that Herman would readily mourn and wipe away from his page. 

Really, pink and green on a dress? What form of evil taught them that?

A glance at Ella’s stepmother not far away from the duo answered my question. Duck green and hibiscus red. These three were definitely certified evil. The dresses alone were a painful sight to behold.   

I smiled the brightest smile I could coax out of Ella’s unfamiliar face muscles as I descended the stairs, deliberately slow, while the Prince waded his way through the crowd of looped skirts towards me.

His gaze caressed the contours of Ella’s face, craving each line to mind as if he was afraid I would disappear in a puff of smoke. “You came,” he whispered breathlessly when he successfully slipped from the sisters of fashion-hell.  

With glamour cast over my temporary shell, the stepsisters who couldn’t recognize Ella could only shriek and stomp their big feet behind him. The Star knew how glad I (and evidently, everybody else) was when the guards dragged them away. 

The Prince took my hand and forced my attention back to him with a flash of that trademark smile that had Ella swooning—even unconscious as she is now. “I have something to show you.”

The watching crowd around us, royalties and townsmen, parted like the petals of a blooming flower as he guided me towards the ornamented double doors at the far end of the ballroom. Two imperial guards dressed in crisp white uniforms were stationed on either sides, their faces placid and void of any expressions.   

As Blue the snappy fae mom, I was against following a stranger to deserted places. But as Ella the Main, I said nothing and followed the Prince, a doll on strings with all smiles and sweetness as the guards bowed deeply and shut us in with a click.

♦♦♦♦♦

The silver moon hung high in the sky, painting the ocean of purple flowers below with a hint of ghostly white that made one wonder if the place was touched by magic. Identical cone trees thrice my height stood in a circle that enclosed the garden. Only the singing voices of crickets and occasional toads filled the silence between us. 

We strolled hand in hand under the moonlight, grinning and chatting about every mundane thing under the sky as the branches on the trees swayed, performing a dance only for our eyes. 

Take it from the fae mom, there is no humour in acting the role of a princess. It came in a package with facial muscle cramps and backache and a bunch of boring chats that Readers would thank Herman for omitting from the pages. 

Even if you were dressed in the best dress of the century (by yours truly) in the most beautiful garden in the kingdom, the arms of a ‘dashing’ prince wrapped around your waist, you still can’t feel anything dreamy about the whole thing.

Of course, that was Blue speaking. I couldn’t say the same about Ella since her heart hasn’t stopped threatening to hammer its way out of the small of her chest. However non-existing my love life may be, I believed this was the legendary love-struck symptom often associated with the widespread plague called love at first sight.

By the time the Prince guided me to the gazebo with painted glass dome, Star knew how grateful I was for the cool marble that became the permanent sanctuary for my butt. 

No wonder Lily had to send me to replace Ella. Even with only half her mind, the girl could barely keep her legs working in front of the Prince. It only got worse when he settled a little too close to me, our shoulders practically stuck together. 

I leaned onto his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around me. Not that I was much of a willing party but I no longer have the control of Ella’s body with all the bones in her helplessly melting away.

“Tonight shall be engraved in the deepest of my heart till my dying days,” the Prince whispered and held me tighter, his chin resting atop my head.

I peered at the Prince’s face, about to murmur a cliche reply of my own—when I realized I hadn’t the slightest idea what his name was. 

Tink and her info gathering team. Lily might as well employ trolls into the team. At least those do their work if paid with gold.

“Charming,” I uttered in the end and Herman laughed a little too loud in the shades nearby.