Fairy Tale Wedding (Book One: The Road to Ever After)

Chapter Twelve

High, swirling melodies sparkled through the open windows of the castle ballroom. Every chandelier was ablaze with glistening light, reflecting joy a million directions a moment. Ballgowns crunched and dashed against one another as partners circled the room in a rhythm learned during childhood. Laughter tinkled up to the ceiling and pattered back down like stardust upon the happy heads of all the ball-goers.

In the very middle of the room, at the center of Once-upon-a Time's attention, danced Princess Adeline and Prince Darrik. The high spirits produced a winning effect upon them both. Together, they looked the most radiant couple upon the floor, beaming with youthful delight and never missing a step of the waltz. The prince held the princess delicately in his arms, the perfect picture of Fairy Tale romance. They were beautiful, or handsome as the case may be, in their exquisite, fancy dress. And as they smiled into one another's faces, all the distinguished citizens of the kingdom heard bells ring with rapturous promise.

Princess Adeline felt she had never been so happy. The cares of state were dashed far away and all she was aware of was the mindless pleasure of dancing. She felt lovely tonight in her ideal ballgown. It was a local creation sewn to her imagination's whim. The skirt was massive and looked like an upside down, open, blue flower. The top of the gown was white with a light layer of silver sequence that glimmered in rainbow glory when the chandelier light hit it just right. There were no sleeves but five strings of large, perfectly round pearls that held the dress upon each shoulder. Though they were scarcely ever seen, Princess Adeline wore actual glass-heeled slippers upon her feet. With a dainty taira atop her head and gloves up to her elbows, she was perhaps the image of every little girl's royal dreams.

A nightingale sang over the animal orchestra and lent a sleepy mood to the room. The steps of this dance were slow, elegant. Prince Darrik felt like clouds were seeping into the room and separating each couple into their own private paradise. He, surprisingly, did not feel a need to yawn. He was not at all bored, though the pace of the evening had slowed. He had to wonder what had produced the change in him. He loved a good ball, but usually he would be getting restless and uncomfortable in his tightly buttoned, high shouldered outfit. Sure, he looked seriously handsome and it probably had a large hand in his Prince Charming of the Year win, but this get up was stiff and borderline suffocating. Good posture was not that critical a characteristic, come on!

Yet Prince Darrik felt no negativity in the air of this ballroom. He was content, finding no flaws. What inspired this change?

Could it be the darling young lady smiling up at him in eternal good humor? A tingling sensation convinced him that really just might be the case. He was slowly coming to believe that anything was possible on this night.

Princess Adeline glanced about the moving crowd and noticed the joy on everyone's faces. There were no wallflowers waiting for a partner against the ballroom's borders. There were no grumpy, old men leaning against their canes and deriding the loudness or savagery of the music. No frumpy, fat widows surrounded the great, golden punch bowl and complained at the meagerness of the banquet. Every soul was satisfied. The night was a success on all fronts. No critics fouled the air. Everything gleamed with a positive perspective.

And Princess Adeline could not imagine sharing such a remarkable evening with anyone else. The superficial glistening of vain pleasure blinded her insight. All she wanted was to continue this dance with Darrik forever.

The great clock on the castle's exterior struck eleven. The ball was fading fast. Prince Darrik felt some urgency clasp its fist around his heart. Only one more hour before the ball's spell would be washed away. He felt there was still so much he had to do. The orchestra sank into silence as the song ended. All the couples on the dance floor halted in their choreography to applaud the songbird soloist. There was always a bit of confusion between tunes, as partners came and went from the center of the ballroom floor. This would be the moment for Prince Darrik and Princess Adeline to slip away unnoticed. Darrik knew he must act now or risk this opportunity passing him by.