Dancing on Glass

Queen of The Waves

"Could he find a way to make me anymore conspicuous?" Cinderella muttered, stood at the front of the small ship as it glided down the river towards the palace.

"We could set off the fireworks?" the captain suggested with a smile and Cinderella groaned. The captain laughed. "Don't worry, Miss, the ship is drawing enough attention as it is."

He pointed and Cinderella squinted towards the approaching castle. She could see the balconies she and Jazz had stood at and where they had overhead her stepmother. People were gathering on the balconies, looking out, pointing towards the ship.

Cinderella grimaced in discomfort at the unavoidable attention. Even from the distance they were at, she could hear the rumble of people talking excitedly about the approaching vessel.

Men appeared at the dock below to help secure the ship as it sailed into place and they steadied the gangplank in place, looking up to see who would appear.

"Miss," the captain said, offering her his hand.

"I'm scared again," Cinderella whispered, stood stock still, looking down at the servants below.

The captain smiled slightly. "Will that fear stop you?" he asked.

Cinderella glanced at him then gripped his hand tightly and they made their way down, glancing up towards the balconies above where people were looking down. Ahead, door opened to reveal a large, brightly lit hall that would lead into the palace, servants staring at her as she walked forwards, the captain releasing her hand to let her walk alone.

"Um..." one of the servants said, taking in her blue hair and the ship in the moonlight.

Cinderella looked at the young man for a moment, then withheld a sigh. She had made a big enough impression already as it was, she could hardly walk away now.

"The Duchess," she said simply and the servants hurried ahead, leading the way through the corridors. They came out within the castle and made their way through halls until they reached the stairs that led straight down into the courtyard, Cinderella realising she had arrived through the entrance that would only be used by the royals and those staying within the palace itself.

"The Duchess!" The Master of Ceremonies announced as people congregated at the bottom of the steps, staring.

Cinderella looked around the courtyard.

The sea.

The courtyard had changed. The last time it had been conventional but she had matched the theme of the ballet dancers.

This time the theme was the sea, with flowing blue fabrics and ice sculptures everywhere, seats crafted to look like giant clams and servants sweeping about in dark blue suits.

And she was the sea. It was as if the royal family had planned for her to match them for she spied the king and queen dressed in similar, grand, costumes that mimicked rulers of the oceans. Like she was one of them.

Others did not miss the similarities as masked faces looked between her and their monarchs. Her breath hitched in her throat, nerves catching her off guard again.

It would all be well. She was the mystery guest, the whole game being that people didn't know who she was or where she came from. She could easily be acquainted to the royal family and they pretended to not know her.

Her eyes swept the courtyard as she started down the stairs, music striking up again, dancers making their way onto the dance floor and into a waltz.

She spied Jazz.

She had wanted to speak to her godfather but couldn't see him.

But Jazz. She wanted to speak to Jazz as well. He hadn't shown at the lake, no matter how long she had waited between the sunset and the night. Perhaps The Crown Prince had not made good of his promise. Perhaps Jazz was furious at her.