I'm No Cinderella

Chapter 5

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A Stupid Girl

Ash was nowhere to be found.

The same man who had taken our names earlier at the grand entry– robust, with ruddy cheeks and a big, booming voice– had reappeared in the doorway to instruct us to follow him to the ballroom. By the time I had reluctantly risen from my seat to join the horde of humans as they trailed behind him, Ash, along with the pretty blonde he had been chatting with, had vanished from sight.

A few minutes later, as I struggled to avoid being overrun by the stampede of bodies surrounding me, Anna was lost in the crowd as well.

I'm alone in the alpha's castle.

Despite the warmth of the congested corridor, I found myself shivering. When we were deposited in a cavernous room, the likes of which I never could have imagined prior, my jaw was clenched so tightly shut to keep my teeth from chattering that it had started to ache. I need to find Ash.

The breath left my lungs in a rush as I made it to the edge of our group and peered out over the room, realizing we were not the first to arrive. Hundreds of sets of eyes were already turned in our direction. My stomach dropped as I took in their numbers. On the outside, they looked nearly human, but with so many in one place, even my dull human senses could feel the power radiating from their side of the room. I had to swallow the instinct to run for my life as I watched a few heads tilt upward, as if to sniff the air. Rooted to the spot, I could only stare, paralyzed with fear.

Find Ash. The thought broke me from my terror induced trance. I reentered the crowd, if only to hide from the watchful eyes of the creatures across the room, and began hunting for my brother.

When trumpets blared from atop the grand staircase, across the swarm of monsters from where I stood, I nearly leapt from my skin. Heart beating frantically in my chest, I paused my search and followed suit as the entire room quieted down giving the man their attention.

He was the same man from the front door, the one who had only just led the humans into this monster-infested ballroom. My lone hope is that they all ate their fill at the feast and will leave the rest of us alone. "This is a historic event, the first ever time that members of every single royal family on the continent are together in one place. It is my utmost honor to introduce them all to you now."

All of them? 

No way I was going to stand around for that. I started pushing through the crowd again, not caring that I was the only one moving. Atop the staircase, the man pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and cleared his throat. "Of the humans, we have the Johnson family, Prince Daniel, Princess Angeline, and Princess Kimberly." As he read off the names, figures appeared behind him and descended gracefully to stand near the bottom of the stairs, each a few steps away from the last. I couldn't help glancing curiously at them as I weaved through the sea of people.

"Of the Anderson family, we have Prince Phillip and Prince Stephen. Of the Manly family, Prince Paul, Princess Daniella, and Princess Janine. Of the Smith family, Princess Annabel and Prince Jasper." The man paused and allowed the last of the human royals to find their positions on the stairs, each one of them wearing a fortune in jewels alone. I alternated between searching the faces of the people around me and memorizing the faces of the royals on the steps.

"Joining us from Spiora to the west, we have the Duff family, Princess Davina, Princess Elspeth, Princess Freya, and Prince Braden." As the four figures began their descent, the room grew deathly quiet.