Once upon a time, there was a teenage girl named Elle. She was a fair young lady with light brown hair and green-blue eyes. One of her favourite pastimes was to eavesdrop on the highest of nobles, and she had just recently heard the most exciting news from her friends: the eldest prince of Eaudavia was looking for a bride. 

The royal family of Eaudavia lived on the edge of their kingdom and were rarely seen by their subjects, though Prince Alastair, the eldest, enjoyed making appearances on occasion. Elle had never met any of the royal family, but everyone knew the King and Queen had two sons, Prince Alastair and Prince Cardan, as well as a young daughter, Princess Becca. It almost appeared as though the royal family tried to hide from their subjects, for you could only see their castle by traveling along the very outskirts of Eaudavia. For this reason, the whole kingdom was buzzing with the news of Prince Alastair's appearance.

From the gossip regarding Prince Alastair, she heard he was a quite popular and handsome character. Although these are important qualities, Elle longed to know the personality of the charming prince. That, however, she had not a clue of, for other girls didn’t seem to care as she did. 

Ever since Elle was a young girl, she had always seemed a little bit different than other girls. She hated gossiping about superficial topics, for she didn’t care how handsome a man was, but rather what he was like on the inside. Nobody ever knew why Elle found this important, but she had her own theories. 

When Elle was about the age of six, she was abandoned by her parents after experiencing  severe head trauma, and even through her teenage years she still had no clue as to how this injury was acquired. She had been taken in by Mary and John Ceprise, a very old and loving couple. She had resented her birth parents everyday since Mary and John had told her this story as a child, and this could very well be the reason for her needing to know someone before trusting them. 

 Thus, she decided she would have to find out Prince Alastair’s personality for herself. She would go to the ball that was being hosted in his honour, and she would cunningly figure him out; solve the riddle that was he. 

Although Elle’s “friends” had asked if she would prefer shopping with them, Elle decided it was best that she shopped by herself. She had a unique taste in clothes compared to the other girls. While they dressed up in grand ball gowns, Elle liked simple dresses. She knew if she went with her friends, they would force her into a dress she did not like. 

Elle picked out a simplistic blue dress that did not have puffed sleeves and came down to just above her ankles. Her dress was not big and grand like everyone else’s, for it was not a ballroom gown. It was a dress you could see someone wear everyday- perhaps walking on the way to the bakery, or visiting some nearby friends.

~

On the night of the ball, she set out in search of the prince. She passed tables of refreshments and servants carrying trays, and when she saw the hoards of girls painted and dressed up like Victorian dolls, she immediately questioned her choice of clothing and her limited makeup. She began to worry about her appearance, even though her simplistic look was what she had initially wanted. She was afraid the prince wouldn't notice her, let alone want to converse with her. How else would she figure out what he was like? 

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And there he was. Looking absolutely radiant despite the dim lighting of the ballroom, she was able to clearly make out the face of the eldest prince. His brow furrowed slightly in concentration on the conversation surrounding him, and he was looking intently at the girl to whom he was speaking. Whoever she was had said something to amuse him, apparently, as his amber eyes glimmered with a knowing look to them, and his head tipped back in laughter. Uneasy, she nearly lost her nerve to meet him then and there.

Swallowing hard, she walked up to him. He had been speaking with a group of blushing girls at the refreshments table. Immediately she recognized Felicia, one of her old school friends. She and Felicia had been best friends once, but as they grew older, Felicia had started to make fun of Elle. Felicia called her many mean things, (including but not limited to: boring, plain, and an overall waste of time), but Elle knew for a fact that Felicia had always been obsessed with the prince and would not be satisfied until he asked her to dance. Her chances at attaining this appeared very good as well, for she was dressed in a beautiful emerald gown with golden embroidery running from her waist to her ankles. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled back with a gold clasp, and her big blue eyes seemed to sparkle with the makeup she was wearing. She was beautiful, which in turn only made Elle feel even more inadequate. 

Elle was ready to turn around and leave the group when Prince Alastair turned and looked at her. Her heart began to beat faster as she stared into his piercing eyes for the first time. He turned from the girls with whom he had been previously conversing and took a few steps closer to Elle. By the time he had reached her, her heart was galloping in her chest. Why had she thought this was a good idea? But then he smiled at her, and she could think of nothing more than him, and everything else in the room faded away. His blond hair and amber eyes made him seem impossible to look away from.

 He took her hand and wordlessly led her toward the centre of the ballroom. As they began to waltz across the floor, everyone turned and looked in their direction, and all the women grew quite visibly jealous- clearly upset he hadn't chosen them over her. The silence grew to be uncomfortable, however, so she tried to think of something witty and clever to say, but her mouth appeared to open before she could form a coherent thought.

“You’re quite forward, Your Highness,” she said, her voice wavering slightly.

He chuckled, shaking his head softly and leaning in with a whisper.

"Only when I wish to be, dear."

 As Elle and the prince danced, jealousy struck the heart of Felicia. She loved the prince much more than she assumed Elle did, and would do anything to win his love in return. Felicia whispered to her friend Karen, and they nodded to each other in agreement. 

Karen began to memorise the dance pattern of Prince Alastair and Elle; when are they in sync? When does he usually spin her? Once she had this figured out, she cleverly positioned herself to be in their line of dance. Then, at just the right moment, Karen stuck her foot out, and Elle fell right into her trap.

Elle crashed to the ground with a thump, her cry of pain echoing in the ballroom as she immediately grabbed her ankle, which had already begun to swell. 

“She needs help!” Alastair cried, picking Elle up before rushing her out of the ballroom. 

Elle could see doors passing and faces blurring. She felt a pillow under her head, but only for a moment. Prince Alastair handed her a glass of pinkish looking water.

“Drink it,” he told her, so she did. Then, her dreams pulled her under.