Cinderella Evans

"Wake up, Cinderella." A relaxing voice roused me from my slumber.

"What? Go away." I snapped crankily, not realizing that I was talking to the crown prince of Ever After. However, once the grogginess of my nap wore off, I looked up and saw the amused face of my boyfriend next to me. I shot up like a rocket, clapped my hand over my mouth, and mumbled, "Oh my God, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, it's just that I was having this wonderful dream about cotton candy and you know That-Evil-Woman-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named NEVER let me eat candy so naturally I would crave it more and then sometimes I would eat so much when she was gone that I would throw up the next day- "

"Relax, it's cool. People don't usually talk to me like that, but I'm cool with it. It's nice to see someone speak to me like a normal person." My boyfriend cut me off and stopped me from my embarrassing rant.

"Anyways, I think it's cute that you used to love candy so much that you would eat until you threw up. I bet you were adorable when you were little," he added.

Ducking my head, I turned bright red and muttered,

"Actually, that only happened three days ago."

His boisterous laughter just made me blush an even darker shade of red. Grumpily, I asked, "Well, was there even a reason for you to wake me up then, besides make fun of me and my dreams?"

It took him five more minutes before he could actually calm down and wheeze out his sentence.

"I…just wanted…to say…that we have…arrived at the Palace of Ever After."

Suddenly, I forgot all about my mortification. My eyes lit up and I dove towards the window, only to succeed in crashing my head into the side. Hearing the prince burst into another round of laughter, all the blood rose back into my cheeks and I grumbled, "Well, I'm glad that my pain could provide such fun entertainment for you, but if you don't mind, I would love some help here getting up. Not that I don't enjoy faceplanting into windows and getting concussions, but I would much rather enjoy it from the seat than from the floor."

In a moment, the light mood in the car changed and I could see the prince peering down at me, concern written all over his face. Awww, I thought he's so worried about li'l ol' me. He's so cute when he's frowning, like a little lost puppy. I smiled at the thought, which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, because my boyfriend apparently thought I had lost my mind. I actually probably did look insane, lying on the floor of the Rolls-Royce, grinning like an idiot after banging my head into the car, but I was fine, save for that bump growing on the side of my head.

He extended his arm towards me and helped me lift myself up. Then he frantically held up two fingers in front of my face and asked, "Okay, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"I can't count when you're waving them all around like those inflatable things you see in front of those drugstores!"

Apparently, Charlie had only heard the first part, and had his foot out the door and yelling for medical attention. "Someone, help! My girlfriend forgot how to count!"

I rolled my eyes and prepared to sort out the inevitable confusion and rush.

I was not, however, ready for the sight that greeted me as soon as my foot stepped out of the vehicle.

In front of me stood the most magnificent building I had ever seen. Of course, I had seen the castle at night, but in the daylight, I could finally appreciate it in all of its shining glory. It was huge, with many turrets and towers jutting out. In the front was a beautiful garden, and in the center was a marble fountain of an angel. The heavy walls made it seem intimidating, but the friendly looks on everyone's faces put me at ease.

Seeing everyone's attention, albeit friendly, on me made me nervous. I never did well in front of large groups. I raised my hand in an awkward peace sign and asked weakly, "What's up dudes and dudettes?"

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I wanted to shrivel up in a hole and die. Could I have said anything more embarrassing? Thankfully, my prince came to my rescue, and saved the poor damsel (me) from further distress. He guided me away from everyone and greeted a tall man at the front door.

"Albert, this is my girlfriend, Cinderella. Could you please show her to her room and have someone take her bags? Thanks"

Albert nodded stiffly and replied,

"I'll have Priscilla come over and get everything, Your Highness."

With that, my boyfriend left me at the mercy of his snooty butler and disappeared.

I dutifully followed Albert down countless hallways and winding stairways until we reached a white door with an intricate gold handle. Just by judging the outside, I could tell that the interior was going to be fancy, not that I expected otherwise, seeing as how Ever After was one of the richest countries in the world. Albert pushed open the door and I held my breath as I waited to see my new living quarters for the foreseeable future.

I dismissed Albert so I could discover this place on my own, thanking him politely as he left.

The room was my new Heaven. It was about fifty times the size of the old closet I had previously been forced to live in. The interior decoration was classy, with a touch of modern. My closet was well stocked with clothing and shoes from various designer brands, and even though I didn't really care about that stuff, I really appreciated it. I had my own bathroom with a Jacuzzi and a shower. The shelves were stocked with hair products, makeup products, cleaning products, and anything else to do with looking amazing. In the center of it all, like my own personal island, was the king-sized bed. It had a gauzy canopy draped over it, and fluffy down pillows were carefully arranged amidst a sea of inviting comforters and blankets.

I took off my shoes and leaped onto the bed. The bed was perfect; it was softer than a cloud and it was the perfect temperature. I squealed excitedly. Could my life get more perfect?

It was while I was preparing to take my nap that I didn't notice a gentle breeze that blew in from the window. Just as I was slipping into the bed, I heard a new voice behind me ask,

"Having fun?"

I screamed, afraid that there was somehow an axe murderer in my room. I spun around, only to be faced with the familiar face of my best friend, Keira Hughes. She grinned cheekily at me.

"Sorry, old friend, but I just love it when people freak out like that!"

I rolled my eyes and said sarcastically, "Gee, thanks. I'm glad that the fact that you just shortened my life by about 20 years is so amusing to you. Unlike you, death is a highly plausible thing for some people."

Her large doe eyes welled with tears and I immediately felt like a monster for saying that. You see, Keira is my highly talked about, elusive "Fairy Godmother" that everyone seems to know. She is immortal, but that is because she had already died once before, and from what I can gather from her rare slipups is that her past saddened her greatly. It was because she had such a terrible life before that she was given special powers, such as the ability to grant wishes or shape shifting, like she did to get into my room.

"I'm sorry, Keira," I apologized, "That was uncalled for." I went over and gave her a great big hug that I hoped would cheer her up.

She sniffled, wiped away her tears and said, "It's fine." Then, as if someone had turned on a switch inside her, she gave me a large smile and said perkily, "So, any cute boys so far?"

Besides the whole "Immortal/Guardian Angel/Fairy Godmother," thing, Keira was just like a typical teenage girl: obsessed with hair, makeup, fashion, and most importantly, boys.

I rolled my eyes at her foolishness.

"Um, hello? I have a boyfriend? That's kinda the reason why I'm living in this FREAKIN PALACE!" I said the last part excitedly. Sure, I'm not a girly girl, but my inner female liked to come out every now and then.

Keira giggled at my joy. Her childish laughter is infectious, and soon enough, we were both rolling on the floor, cracking up.

When we sobered up, she turned towards me, placed one hand on my shoulder, and said, "All jokes aside though, I'm really glad that you finally can live this dream life. You deserve it the most." Her seriousness of her tone touches me and I lean over to crush her in another hug.

"You really are the best friend a girl could ever ask for, Kei"

"And of course my magical powers have nothing to do with it, but I love you too Cindy" She replies.

I smile innocently at her, "Well, I knew there was a reason I kept you around anyways"

We may tease and annoy each other constantly, but Keira Hughes is one of those people (er, immortals), that you don't meet often, and once you do, you know that you better hold onto them. I know that she'll always have my back, just like I've always got hers.

A knock at the door snaps us out of our mushy reunion. We scrambled to find some place for Keira to hide, because one of her few, but strict rules from whoever gave her her powers was that no one else was allowed to see her.

After making sure she was well hidden, I called, "Come on in," to whoever was at the door.

My lovely boyfriend bashfully stepped into the room and nervously asked, "Is everything okay? Do you like it? Is it too much? It's too much, isn't it? I told my mom that you wouldn't want all this stuff but did she listen? No, that woman is as stubborn as a donkey. She was all 'Your girlfriend might just be the next queen of Ever After and she deserves the best,' not that I don't agree with her-"

It was my turn to be amused as I watched the prince babble fretfully over my well-being. The way his ears were such a bright pink made me melt a little inside at the adorableness.

I cut him off. "Charlie, it's fine. I love everything. It couldn't be more perfect. Honestly, and compared to my old room? You know I would definitely adore this place. Stop worrying. Was there something else you wanted to tell me, or are you just hear to check up on me?"

"Yes actually…um…well, you know with all the excitement and everything…I might have…you know…forgotten to mention something?"

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything," I tried to coax out of him, feeling equally nervous. I was afraid that he was going to suddenly kick me out and tell me that everything was a lie, that my great new home was just a joke for switching Gertrude's shampoo with super glue or something.

"If you don't want me here, you can just tell me. I'll be all alone, out unprotected on the dangerous streets where delicate girls like me are unsafe, but I would never want to burden anyone," I sighed dramatically.

"What? No, no, stay, it's fine. I want you here, remember? You're my girlfriend, I could never kick you out and leave you to fend for yourself. No, what I really wanted to say was…"

"Was what?" I snapped, feeling a little impatient and embarrassed by my theatrics.

"The King and Queen will be joining us for dinner. In other words, you'll meet my parents tonight."

Oh, great.

AN: Extra long update for the long wait! Sorry! If you want to read more, check out my Wattpad. My username is queenglow. Same title. I usually update more often there, I don't really know why.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!