[Slipper and the Rose: Drabble] "The True Love Ball" [G]
Title: The True Love Ball
Prompt: writerverse challenge #3 table of doom, alpha list #4 ‘if the shoe fits’
Word Count: 752
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: The Slipper and the Rose (a version of Cinderella)
Pairings: implied Cinderella/Prince
Summary: Princess Louisa’s parents met at a ball- but she’s not looking forward to this year’s dance.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
The True Love Ball
Everyone in the entire kingdom was looking forward to the True Love Ball except, she was certain, for Princess Louisa.
The ball was the highlight of the Euphrainian social season, a tradition that had started with the ‘bride-finding ball’ where her parents had met. Every year, the eligible children from the noble families and surrounding kingdoms came to meet and every year, at least one couple who’d met at the ball were married. The year Louisa had turned four, there had been seven!
This year, Louisa herself was old enough to stay for the dancing. And she was terrified.
She wasn’t smart and engaging, like her oldest brother, Reginald, who had met his wife-to-be at last year’s ball. She wasn’t beautiful and graceful like her sister, Elizabeth, who danced with dozens of potential suitors every year. She wasn’t charming, like Arthur; or a good singer, like Corrine; or funny like Jacob.
She was shy and small and plain, and usually nobody even noticed her- which did not bother Louisa in the least.
Two days before the True Love Ball, Louisa’s mother found her sitting alone in her room, staring at the beautiful new ball gown hanging from her wardrobe door.
“It is lovely, isn’t it?” Cinderella asked.
Louisa blinked. “What? Oh, yes, Mama, my dress is very lovely.”
The queen sat on the bed beside her. “What’s troubling you, my darling?”
“I just…” Louisa began, the sighed and admitted, “I’m nervous, Mama. I’ve never stayed for the dancing before. What if… what if nobody asks me?”
“I’m sure someone will ask you, Louisa.”
She frowned. “But I’m so… so… small.”
That was certainly true. Elizabeth and Corrine, both petite themselves, were several inches taller than their sister, still, and Louisa was unlikely to grow any further.
Queen Cinderella reached for her daughter’s hand. “Do you know why Papa and I started hosting the True Love Ball?”
The story of her parents’ meeting was almost a legend in Euphrania and beyond- Louisa had heard it from everyone involved, though she liked her honorary Uncle John’s telling best- and she’d always assumed the True Love Ball was just an anniversary of sorts.
She shook her head.
“Because Papa almost married the wrong girl,” said Cinderella. “When Papa chose to marry me, instead of the princess Grandpapa had arranged for him to marry, there could have been a war between our nations. But the princess found her own true love, Cousin Montague. After that, Papa and I decided to hold a ball every year, so that could happen again.”
She smiled. “You are beautiful and intelligent, dear one, and you will find your own love soon enough.”
Louisa sighed again. “If you say so, Mama.”
“You just need some magic, that’s all,” her mother said. “Wait right here.”
Confused, Louisa stayed put. A few moments later, the queen came back, carrying the loveliest pair of slippers Louisa had ever seen, delicate and beautiful. She set them on the bedside table with a click and the princess realized what they were.
“Your slippers,” she breathed. “Your glass slippers. Oh, Mama-”
“By the time they could stay for the dancing, your sisters were too big to wear them,” said Cinderella. “They both took after your father. But you inherited my tiny feet.”
Louisa picked up one shoe, running gentle fingers along the smooth surface, then froze. “Mama, do you… do you mean I can wear them?”
The queen nodded, smiling. “I insist that you do, darling,” she said, tucking a strand of Louisa’s honey-blonde hair behind her ear. “And I hope they bring you as much confidence as they gave me.”
The glass slippers clicked cheerfully as Louisa entered the ball room. The herald called her name, and she paused in the doorway, looking around. Many of the guests were people she knew, but a few of them she had never seen before. One young man, with wild dark curls and bright blue eyes, smiled at her, nervously hopeful, but quickly looked away when she caught his eye. His suit was crisp and the height of fashion, but there was a smear of dirt beside his ear.
Louisa moved into the room, purposely walking toward him. The young man still looked nervous, but took a step forward.
“Would you care to dance?” he asked, softly.
She took his hand, feeling calluses beneath her fingers- perhaps he’d had help getting to the ball, as her mother once had.
“I would be delighted,” she replied, with a smile.
THE END
Current Mood:
geeky
Prompt: writerverse challenge #3 table of doom, alpha list #4 ‘if the shoe fits’
Word Count: 752
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: The Slipper and the Rose (a version of Cinderella)
Pairings: implied Cinderella/Prince
Summary: Princess Louisa’s parents met at a ball- but she’s not looking forward to this year’s dance.
Note(s): originally posted to the writerverse wv_library
The True Love Ball
Everyone in the entire kingdom was looking forward to the True Love Ball except, she was certain, for Princess Louisa.
The ball was the highlight of the Euphrainian social season, a tradition that had started with the ‘bride-finding ball’ where her parents had met. Every year, the eligible children from the noble families and surrounding kingdoms came to meet and every year, at least one couple who’d met at the ball were married. The year Louisa had turned four, there had been seven!
This year, Louisa herself was old enough to stay for the dancing. And she was terrified.
She wasn’t smart and engaging, like her oldest brother, Reginald, who had met his wife-to-be at last year’s ball. She wasn’t beautiful and graceful like her sister, Elizabeth, who danced with dozens of potential suitors every year. She wasn’t charming, like Arthur; or a good singer, like Corrine; or funny like Jacob.
She was shy and small and plain, and usually nobody even noticed her- which did not bother Louisa in the least.
Two days before the True Love Ball, Louisa’s mother found her sitting alone in her room, staring at the beautiful new ball gown hanging from her wardrobe door.
“It is lovely, isn’t it?” Cinderella asked.
Louisa blinked. “What? Oh, yes, Mama, my dress is very lovely.”
The queen sat on the bed beside her. “What’s troubling you, my darling?”
“I just…” Louisa began, the sighed and admitted, “I’m nervous, Mama. I’ve never stayed for the dancing before. What if… what if nobody asks me?”
“I’m sure someone will ask you, Louisa.”
She frowned. “But I’m so… so… small.”
That was certainly true. Elizabeth and Corrine, both petite themselves, were several inches taller than their sister, still, and Louisa was unlikely to grow any further.
Queen Cinderella reached for her daughter’s hand. “Do you know why Papa and I started hosting the True Love Ball?”
The story of her parents’ meeting was almost a legend in Euphrania and beyond- Louisa had heard it from everyone involved, though she liked her honorary Uncle John’s telling best- and she’d always assumed the True Love Ball was just an anniversary of sorts.
She shook her head.
“Because Papa almost married the wrong girl,” said Cinderella. “When Papa chose to marry me, instead of the princess Grandpapa had arranged for him to marry, there could have been a war between our nations. But the princess found her own true love, Cousin Montague. After that, Papa and I decided to hold a ball every year, so that could happen again.”
She smiled. “You are beautiful and intelligent, dear one, and you will find your own love soon enough.”
Louisa sighed again. “If you say so, Mama.”
“You just need some magic, that’s all,” her mother said. “Wait right here.”
Confused, Louisa stayed put. A few moments later, the queen came back, carrying the loveliest pair of slippers Louisa had ever seen, delicate and beautiful. She set them on the bedside table with a click and the princess realized what they were.
“Your slippers,” she breathed. “Your glass slippers. Oh, Mama-”
“By the time they could stay for the dancing, your sisters were too big to wear them,” said Cinderella. “They both took after your father. But you inherited my tiny feet.”
Louisa picked up one shoe, running gentle fingers along the smooth surface, then froze. “Mama, do you… do you mean I can wear them?”
The queen nodded, smiling. “I insist that you do, darling,” she said, tucking a strand of Louisa’s honey-blonde hair behind her ear. “And I hope they bring you as much confidence as they gave me.”
The glass slippers clicked cheerfully as Louisa entered the ball room. The herald called her name, and she paused in the doorway, looking around. Many of the guests were people she knew, but a few of them she had never seen before. One young man, with wild dark curls and bright blue eyes, smiled at her, nervously hopeful, but quickly looked away when she caught his eye. His suit was crisp and the height of fashion, but there was a smear of dirt beside his ear.
Louisa moved into the room, purposely walking toward him. The young man still looked nervous, but took a step forward.
“Would you care to dance?” he asked, softly.
She took his hand, feeling calluses beneath her fingers- perhaps he’d had help getting to the ball, as her mother once had.
“I would be delighted,” she replied, with a smile.
THE END
Current Mood:
geeky