Barefoot Cinderella 4

“No! What news?”
“Surely, you must have heard in her circles” her friend continued
“What?”
“Are you so out of touch? Do you not read the gossip magazines?”
“You know I don’t. It would make me far too self-conscious.”
“Well you know Prince Stephen the heir to Sestonia has been having an affair with a mystery woman. The press are calling her the Barefoot Cinderella.

“Why?” asked the princess bemused.

“Because there isn’t a glass slipper! “sighed the friend,
“and as he was caught in disguise they reckon she’s some commoner he can’t marry.”

“Oh” squeaked the princess

“And you know in his country he cannot marry anybody who is not blue blood. You should have got in there he’s gorgeous a real prince Charming.”

The princess cut off her friend blaming royal duties and rushed to her chambers. Before she even turned on her laptop she knew who the prince was going to be. There on her screen on all the internet news on all the servers’ viewers were photographs of herself and the prince. She was devastated.

She called his number. “Sorry the number is no longer a subscriber”.

Dam! she should have guessed that. Her answer machine blipped

“You have three messages,
• First message. Need to speak
• Second message. I’m sorry things could get difficult.
• Third message. We can never see each other again. I love you and always will, but our destinies are not to be together.

The princess began pacing around her chambers back and forth. How could she contact him? Officially, it was impossible. He had done similar things to her, coloured lenses, had obviously used stacked heels to make him look taller, as she had worn her hair short, his had been longer. There was no way to get in touch without exposing her own deception and she wanted him to be the first to know. She must see him, if he knew the truth things would be fine. There had always been good relations between their countries they had met years ago as children but she could hardly remember. After supper she had felt even worse as her father mentioned they had been considered a possible match. Her stomach still sank as she recalled the king’s words, impossible now he had boomed.

Her disguise appeared to have remained intact. Nevertheless, somebody had watched, somebody had suspected and had chosen their moment to expose them.

Sheer exhaustion set in and at last, she slept. However the next day she awoke to heartbreaking news; there had been an official announcement. He was to be married to the youngest daughter of the Grand Duke and Duchess of Ennate. There had been a formal though discrete agreement for some time. He had only been playing with her.

Her thoughts whiplashed through her brain used, cheated, deceived slashed around then she calmed herself admitting she too has deceived. The cycles if only began again if only they had been honest with each other.

They had connected and trying to be something neither one was had ruined everything. She heard the tinkle in her ear but she resisted. She was going to cope in the modern way and began making a list of the positives.

She could go back to being herself, no more bloated lips, coloured hair or lenses. She didn’t care, she would drown herself in official engagements take some responsibilities from her mother, the press were still more interested in possible future brides for her brothers. Her happiness obsession had stopped, her feelings were frozen and she could confide in no one.