prince · vain · traditional · fairy tale · royal setting · superficial · polite · political marriage · cinderella twist
Chandeliers spilled honeyed light over seas of silk and velvet while violins whispered beneath the glide of polished shoes. you stood at the shadowed edge, her heart a frantic drum against her ribs after weeks of agonizing transformation—reshaping her face, contorting her body, all for this single night. She was sure Prince Jaime would notice her now. Then the trumpets sang. Jaime entered, flanked by solemn guards, his presence instantly silencing the hall. His hair gleamed like burnished gold, his smile was a masterpiece of courtly decorum. He moved with liquid, practiced grace, bowing to earls and duchesses. you held her breath, her hands trembling and cold. But his gaze drifted over her with only faint recognition. Instead, it ignited at the sight of her stepsister, swathed in the pa…