FSE

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Okay. As promised, I am keeping up with my "I will post a chapter a day" thing. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

People were everywhere. A myriad of dancing. Under the light of several brilliant torches, and a thousand twinkling stars surrounding a bright, full moon, hundreds of men and women danced, sang, and played music. Prince Elias, a blonde-haired teenager with green eyes, sat alone, looking over a stone bridge. Why did his father have to try and find him a bride? All it did was draw a bunch of girls ready to throw themselves at him for royalty. "Are you alright?" A girl asked, walking up to him. She had long, red hair, and golden eyes. Unusual, but yet, they seemed to fit her perfectly.

"Can I help you?" Elias asked, looking at the girl, who wore a ruby-studded gown, and a crescent-moon pendant. He figured she was looking for him to try and win his heart.

"Why are you sitting over here by yourself?" the girl asked, walking over to him, and standing next to him. "You look sort of depressed."

"How would you like to have a thousand men trying to marry you at once?" he said, sighing.

"I don't know. I've only been around a few people." She said, looking over the bridge at the moat below.

"So is this your way of impressing me? By trying to give me sympathy?" he asked, looking at her angrily.

"What are you talking about?" the girl asked, getting slightly offended. "I was just trying to be nice. I don't know what you're problem is, but I'm going to go find the prince." She said, turning away.

"Did you just say you were looking for Prince Elias?" he asked, looking at her.

"Yeah. I checked in the crowd. I figured he'd be the center of attention, but nobody there knew where he was." She said, sighing. "Then I walk over to some stranger, only to get yelled at!" she said, glaring at him. "Have you no manners at all?"

"You're the first person other than my father to ever scold me." He said, smiling. "I think I can help you find your prince if you just do one favor." He said, looking at her. He actually liked the way she treated him. He always had everyone letting him get away with anything. Meanwhile, this girl didn't even realize he was the prince, and just scolded him.

"So now you're being nice to me?" she asked, confused. "Okay, what do you want?"

"Just one dance." He said, taking her hand. "A dance and a little talk." He reached out his hand. As she took his hand, it almost seemed like the orchestra seemed to grow louder. The two slowly began dancing. She went along with it, mainly because she wanted to find the prince.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" She asked, slowly dancing with him. She was a little confused. Now that she saw his eyes, she knew he wasn't really a mean person. He had dark circles under his eyes, though, as if he had been suffering insomnia.

"Listen, I have been having issues lately. I apologize for my rude greeting. It's just that my father has been throwing women at me left and right, and, honestly, I am sick of all of the girls hanging on me." He said, looking at her. She was beautiful, and, strangely to him, looked almost too perfect. Like a sculpture or something.

"So, do you want me to leave?" she asked, looking at him.

"No. Please. I actually enjoy your company. You're the first girl I've talked to tonight that hasn't tried to put the moves on me!" He said, laughing.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but could you at least tell me your name. I'm Cind...er... Ella?" She said, stuttering.

"Cinderella?" He asked, looking at her.

"No! Just Ella! Forget that first part!" She laughed nervously.

"You are a strange girl." Elias said, chuckling. "Anyways, my name is Elias."

"You're the prince?!?" Ella cried, breaking away from him, and dropping to one knee. "Your Grace, I apologize for how I acted earlier!"

"Ella, please don't do this!" He cried, grabbing her hand, and pulling her back up. "I actually liked the way you scolded me. It made me feel... equal." He said, smiling at her.

"Equal?"

"Yeah. I've always had people let me do what I want, when I want. Nobody ever has told me I couldn't do something, and everyone has always followed my every whim. I always feel as if though everyone sees me as a prince first, and a person second."

"I know what you mean. My family keeps me in a basement, and feeds me raw meat." Ella said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What? That's illegal! No human should suffer like that!" Elias cried, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Tell me who did this, and I will punish them!" Ella suddenly realized she might blow her cover if she talks about her life as "Cinder." She was supposed to be a human tonight.

"Um... never mind that. Um..." Ella stuttered, stepping away from him.

"Wait! Ella! Please!" Elias cried, grabbing her hand. "Please don't leave!" Her mind raced as Elias tightly clutched her hand. She had never been flirted with, nor had anyone express attraction to her before. She didn't know what to do. He wasn't even her species!

"Um... do you like me?" Ella stuttered hastily, looking at him.

"Well..." Elias sighed, his face bright red, "I prefer you to every other girl here." He, for reasons he couldn't understand, was falling in love with her, yet he knew nothing about her.

"Listen, I have to go. I just needed to find you. I'll be here tomorrow, though." She said, smiling. She felt a connection with him. He, like her, just wanted to be treated equal. What would he say, though, if he learned she was really a dragon?

"Okay!" He said, looking into her eyes. "You should meet me tomorrow, somewhere. I'll look for you." He said, waving as she walked away.

As she rounded a corner, she was greeted by Celina, who magical appeared in a puff of smoke, and said, "So, how is it going, Cinder?"

"I like the crowd of people, though a lot of them seem a bit uptight." Cinder said, walking. "Anyways, I think the prince is falling in love with me, so I figured I better get out of here."

"Aww, Cinder, you little red-scaled heart-breaker!" Celina laughed, patting her on the back.

"Celina! I'm a dragon! A drag- gon! D R A G O N! I can't let the prince fall in love with me! If anyone finds out I'm a dragon, I'll be dead before I can flap a wing!" Cinder cried. "Why does he have to like me? This is so hard!"

"Calm down. It's not like you're in love with him... are you?' Celina asked, looking at Cinder.

"Um..." Cinder stuttered, turning bright-red. "Of course not! I mean, he is a nice guy, and stuff, but I'm not in love with him!

"Calm down. I'm kidding." Celina said, laughing. "Anyways, you should get flying home. I'll meet you here Thursday." Celina said, smiling.

"But the festival is tomorrow, too." She said, looking at the sorceress.

"Well, you know which one is the prince. You don't really have to come here tomorrow, but you can if you want. I'll go ahead and stay home tomorrow, but I'll definitely be here Thursday." She said, patting Cinder.

"So I can use this stuff all three days?" She asked, looking down at the amulet on her chest.

"You can keep it forever, as long as you stop Vallgonis." Celina said, smiling. "Besides, I'm sure the prince will enjoy your company!" She laughed, vanishing in a burst of white smoke.

"Well... I should probably get some rest. After all, I doubt being around the prince will be a good idea. If I'm half asleep, I might just slip up." She said, looking around for people. Nobody was around, so she quickly removed the pendant. As she pulled it off her head, her body flashed with an intense light. Her red dress and soft, white skin became red scales again. She sat on four feet, trying to regain her bearings. Going from a two-legged human to a four-legged dragon was quite a difference. She did enjoy having her tail back, though. Walking without having a tail for balance was hard, especially in high heels, on two legs.

"Wait! Ella!" Prince Elias yelled, rounding the corner. Instead of seeing his Ella, he saw a red dragon flying off, unaware that he had seen her. "A dragon?" He stuttered in disbelief. "I didn't think they were real!"

"Are you alright, son?" an elderly man in fancy red robes asked, walking around the corner. His father.

"Um... Yeah, I'm fine!" Elias exclaimed, grabbing his father's wrist, and leading him back to the dance. "I just needed to get a breath of fresh air!" He couldn't let his father see the dragon, or else there would probably be a reward put out for somebody to kill it.

"Alright. Anyways, I got to go lay down. I'll see you later." The king said, walking away.

"Why do I want to protect that dragon?" Elias said to himself, looking back where the dragon had been. It was already out of site. "Then again, it didn't actually do anything to anyone. Maybe it is a nice dragon." He muttered, thinking. "That's it. I'll only tell somebody about it if I find proof it hurt somebody." He said, smiling to himself. He had never seen a dragon, and, at first, thought they would be scary. Seeing that red dragon, though, seemed to calm him. It was majestic and graceful as it flew off. A symbol of the beauty of nature.