Once upon a time...
I was having trouble recovering from the heartbreak that happened when I ended things with August. The big ball I had wanted him to take me to was in two days and I had no plans to attend. Big dresses, magical moments, and love was definitely not on my agenda. I just wanted to lay in bed with the fireplace going and not be bothered.
The queen had other plans however and came into my chambers the next day, when the sun was at it's peak, and opened the curtains. The light blinded me and I pulled my covers over my head. "Go away mother!" I groaned. "Brailee it's time to get out of bed. Stop being depressed," she lectured. "I'm not depressed," I said unconvincingly. She yanked my covers back and I covered my face with my pillow. "It's time to act like a princess Brailee and get out of bed. Besides, you've got a dress to find for the ball tomorrow." "I'm not going to the ball," I replied. "Oh yes you are! I have a date for you. Time to get up," she said and waltzed out of the room.
I stared at the canopy covering my bed. My mother found me a date to the ball. This can't be good.
My ladies in waiting helped me get somewhat presentable. My hair was barely combable and the bags under my eyes were not coverable, but they did what they could. When my mother saw me she sighed due to my haggard appearance, but was at least pleased that I had gotten out of bed. We climbed into our carriage and headed to another land far far away to find me a ball gown.
When we reached the seamstress' shop, I tried on beautiful dress after dress after dress. I hated them all. The seamstress was very sympathetic about my heartbreak and was very helpful in trying to make me feel better. The whole time I was just wishing my fairy godmother would show up and "bippity boppity boo" me a perfect dress. Much to my dismay, she didn't show.
I finally picked a dress. It was more simple than what I usually wore. It was light blue. At my waist, diamonds began to drip like raindrops unevenly down the dress. The fabric criss crossed across the front and then poofed out at the bottom, however it was not as poofy as my usual dresses were. My mother wanted to put a crinoline under it to make it more elaborate, but I liked it how it was.
The next day, as I was getting my hair and make up done, I finally asked my mother who the mystery man was. "Well, remember my old friend Beatrice?" she asked. I nodded, not really remembering. "Her son, Denton agreed to take you." I looked puzzled. "He agreed to take me? Agreed?" I asked with attitude. "Don't be mad Brailee. It was such short notice. I offered him a sum of money if he would take you," my mother said. I understood. My mother had paid my date to take me to a ball.
She had the best of intentions, however I felt extremely pathetic. I couldn't get a date on my own. I had to have the queen pay one to escort me. "Mother?" I asked. "Yes Brailee?" she responded. "Can we make a contract that we will not tell anyone that he was paid to take me?" I said. She smiled. "Absolutely!"
Denton arrived right on time and we headed out. I had met Denton before, but he had always been extremely shy so we rarely had spoken previously. He had dark brown hair, light skin, and sky blue eyes. He was still shy on our way to the ball, but was so sweet and managed to carry a conversation quite well.
When we arrived, we greeted everyone. I received countless compliments on my hair and dress. The compliments, kindness, decorations, and magic that filled the air were not enough. After about thirty minutes, I was begging Denton to go. Apparently he didn't understand that just because he was paid to take me didn't mean we had to stay the whole time. He told me he wished to dance first. I refused. There was no way I was going to dance with him. Absolutely not.
He strolled out to the dance floor and gestured for me to join him. I shook my head no. He began dancing. His skills were none of a prince charming, and a few times I actually started to laugh. He shimmied his way over to me, grabbed my hands, and forced me to join him in this embarrassing charade of dance moves. I knew people were staring and I wanted to stop. Denton wouldn't let me. After a few minutes, the embarrassment faded away and I had no care in the world. You could almost say I was having the time of my life.
We did end up leaving the ball earlier than most of the people, but it was because of our sore feet, not from me being bored. We drove home laughing and chatting. I was very grateful to my mother for pushing me to go and for paying him to escort me. When we reached my castle, I bid him goodnight and went inside. My mother had stayed up to find out how the ball went. I simply gave her a hug and said, "Thank you."
After that night, I secretly hoped that me and Denton would continue being friends and potentially start to date. Fate had made other plans for me however, and soon I gave up efforts and hope entirely of dating Denton. I was not going to pay him to go out on another date with me, despite how great the first one was.
And so we lived happily never after.
