We were half asleep on each other's shoulder when suddenly the carriage stopped and we fell forward.
By the time we reached home, we were tired, sweaty, and half-dead. Mother rushed to her room to complain about everything in private after ordering Cinderella to bring a tea for better sleep, so Drizella and I dragged ourselves to the sitting room like injured swans.
Cinderella was already there with tea. Of course.
"Welcome back," she said in that soft voice of hers.
I dropped into a chair. "Balls are evil."
Drizella flopped beside me. "Dancing is pain."
Cinderella smiled a little. "How was it?"
Drizella and I talked over each other at once:
"I almost died on the dance floor—" "I almost became someone' second wife—" "Rowan tried to drown me with glass of water—" "I met a guard named Kit—" "There was spinning involved—" "Someone insulted my dress—"
Cinderella blinked. "That sounds… eventful."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "And you? What did you do? You looked very happy when I saw you, then I couldn't find you at all."
Cinderella looked away. "Oh… I walked around."
"Just walked?" Drizella asked.
"Yes. I like gardens," Cinderella said quickly.
I leaned in. "Tou danced with the prince. After that went to the garden. Did you dance there too?"
Cinderella froze for half a second. "I… may have."
Drizella gasped. "May?! Either you did or you didn't!"
Cinderella stared very hard at her tea. "It was only a short dance."
"Then what happened?" I asked. "After dancing? In the garden? You didn't come back for a long time."
She blew on her tea even though it wasn't hot. "We just talked."
"Talked about what?" Drizella demanded.
"Flowers," Cinderella said.
We both stared at her.
"Flowers?" I repeated.
"Yes," she said, nodding too quickly. "Many flowers."
Drizella frowned. "For that long?"
Cinderella gulped. "Very long flowers."
Before we could question her again, Mother's door slammed upstairs. That meant the interrogation was over for now.
We exchanged a look that clearly meant: She is hiding something.
But sister rules meant we would wait.
Next morning when I woke up, everything hurt. My feet felt like they had been run over by horses. I dragged my body out of my room. Same goes for Drizella.
Drizella groaned like an old man.
"I regret dancing," she whispered.
"You didn't dance," I reminded her. "You spun."
"Spinning counts," she mumbled.
We limped downstairs together. Cinderella was already up, sweeping, humming, and acting as if she hadn't spent hours in a royal garden with a prince.
"Good morning," she said.
"No," I replied. "It is not good."
"Our legs died," Drizella added.
Cinderella tried not to laugh. She gave us warm bread and water like a doctor treating injured soldiers.
While we ate, I poked her gently with a spoon. "So. These flowers."
She nearly dropped the loaf. "What flowers?"
"The long ones," Drizella said. "From last night."
Cinderella's cheeks went pink. "Oh. Those. They're not important."
I leaned closer. "Was the prince nice?"
She nodded. "Very."
"And?" Drizella asked.
"And tall," Cinderella whispered.
We gasped. Tall was important.
But that was all she would say. No details. No secret smiles. No explanation for why she didn't return until late.
Suspicious.
Cinderella went back to sweeping, acting very normal. Too normal. Which only made us more curious.
Drizella nudged me. "We will ask again later."
I nodded. "She will crack eventually."
And with that, breakfast continued.
My legs still hurt, Drizella couldn't stop talking about Rowan the Hydration Man, and Cinderella kept smiling to herself like she knew a very big secret.
Which, honestly, she probably did.
* * *
Rowan stood by the long table, staring at the shoe like it had insulted him.
L His brows were pulled together tight.
"Very well," he muttered. "We find the girl who fits this shoe. Simple idea. Hard execution."
He pulled parchment toward him and started writing.
First, he listed all the noble houses who came to the ball. Then, the neighboring towns. Then, the villages.
Last, he circled: Market and commoner district.
"It's not just some fairy tale thing," Rowan said, tapping his pen. "People have different foot sizes. We make a record of shoe sizes by area. Start from those closest to the palace. Move outward. We'll find her faster."
Another guard nodded like this made great sense.
The prince sat nearby on a couch, back relaxed, hands folded. He looked much less stressed than Rowan.
Rowan noticed. "You're very calm for a man who supposedly fell in love last night."
Prince Adrien shrugged slightly. "I already know who she is."
Rowan froze. "You WHAT?"
"I saw her run out. I know her face very well," Adrien replied, sounding dreamy for half a second. Then he straightened. "But she asked me to wait and not reveal her yet. I gave my word."
Rowan stared at him like Kit had grown two heads. "So we're doing this huge plan because you made a promise?"
"Yes."
"You're ridiculous."
"Correct."
Rowan sighed and wrote again, muttering something about duty and romantic people causing trouble.
Then, of course, the teasing began.
"Still," Rowan said as he lifted the shoe, "I'm impressed. You managed to charm not one girl—but two."
Kit blinked. "Two?"
"Yes! Ell——or Ella—whatever her name is. And Anastasia."
"Anastasia who?" Adrien asked.
"You know... The girl with red hair. You was laughing with in the garden."
"So her name is Anastasia..." Prince bend forward with interest to listen more. "How did you know?"
"Her sister told me." Rowan replied while sitting on the armchair beside the table.
"Sister.... You mean the only girl you interacted with, in the whole ball." Prince threw a teasing smirk towards Rowan.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you my highness, I might not be as capable as you." Rowan mimicked.
They paused then started laughing out loud.
A guard entered with maps, and Rowan returned to serious planning.
"Alright. Shoe-size lists from villages. Record families. Identify girls who match height and shoe size. Then we test the shoe."
He glanced at Adrien again. "You really won't skip all this and just tell me who she is?"
Adrien leaned back. "A promise is a promise."
Rowan sighed like a long-suffering hero. But the prince looked happy—almost peaceful. Like for the first time, things were moving in the right way.
* * *
Rowan was still talking about shoe sizes, town lists, and which families we should visit first. I could hear his voice, but I wasn't really listening anymore. My mind kept wandering back to the ball.
To Cinderella.
She was calm from the moment I met her. Quiet, gentle, soft-spoken. She never tried to show off. She never tried to win attention. She just existed, and somehow that was enough. Being near her felt peaceful, like someone had taken all the noise out of my head.
But then there was Anastasia.
Bold. Funny. Unfiltered in the best way. She spoke her mind without worrying if it was polite or correct. She teased me like I was just a bored guard hiding from work, not a prince at all. And I liked that more than I should admit.
With Anastasia, I felt like myself—just Adrien, not the future king, not a polished figure everyone stared at, just… me. It was nice. Simple. Real.
I remembered how she came into the ballroom, trying to shine. People looked at her for a moment, then turned away like she wasn't important. It bothered me more than it should have. She was beautiful too—just differently from Cinderella. Less perfect, more alive.
If Cinderella was beauty, soft and graceful, then Anastasia was cute—bright, messy, and unexpectedly charming.
Cinderella made my heart quiet.
Anastasia made it laugh.
Cinderella felt like a secret I wanted to protect.
Anastasia felt like sunlight I didn't want to lose.
Rowan suddenly slammed a map on the table, and I blinked out of my thoughts. He started talking faster about routes and strategies. I didn't stop him. I promised Cinderella I wouldn't say who she was. A promise like that isn't something I break.
Still, as Rowan paced around with the shoe in his hand, I couldn't help feeling lucky. Not every prince meets kindness and bold honesty in the same night.
But prince Adrien had no idea those two girls, so different in every way, were connected more than he could ever guess.
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SIDE NOTE: Just to be clear, prince hasn't fallen for anyone yet. It's just his curiosity. I definitely do not want to make it love at first sight.
I still don't know how am I gonna do the search part without magic cause at this rate the shoe is going to fit at least a quarter of girls. 😅😅 wish me luck.🍀🤞
If you like my story then give it a star and share it with your friends, this will help me to keep motivated and write new stories.