Chapter 2 The Royal Party

Lisa's POV

As soon as I arrived at the party, all eyes were on me. Thank goodness I was able to get a mask, it would have been terrible. I heard people talking about how gorgeous and amazing my Cinderella gown was and it made my self-confidence increase a little bit.

I looked around and quickly noticed Megan in her beautiful outfit. One would think she had a beautiful attitude too, they wouldn't know that she was ugly inside. I was hardly recognizable due to my mask and it made me move comfortably in the hall.

Cheers erupted from the people as the King's family came out from the Golden door. I saw the Prince, he was the only one not wearing a mask and he looked so handsome.

I felt my heartbeat increase as soon as he looked in my direction. His gaze was fixed on me and I became scared and uncomfortable. What was going on with me?

I looked in another direction and tried to behave like I knew people from the royal family, I didn't want to behave like a wretched person.

"Hey gorgeous," I suddenly heard his voice and found him staring at me. I didn't even know when he walked towards me.

Oh God, what was I supposed to say or do? I was so confused.

I bowed down my head with a smile on my prince. "I'm pleased to meet you, my prince."

He winked at me, giving me a flirtatious smile. "Even though your face is almost completely covered with a mask, I can still see how beautiful you are."

A huge smile plastered on my face. "Thank you for your compliment, my prince."

He stretched out his hands. "Care to dance?" He inquired.

I couldn't even dance, I definitely wasn't expecting him to ask me to dance with him. This was surprising.

"I can't dance." I murmured, loud enough for him to hear me.

"You should try, my family is expecting me to pick someone to dance with." He explained.

I didn't want to lie to him, I still couldn't dance and I would only embarrass myself if I tried dancing. I complained. "But I can't dance."

He seemed to sense my uneasiness and guided me to the dance floor where everyone stopped dancing and looked at us. Some girls looked at me with jealousy and I almost lost my self-esteem.

My knees buckled and for a moment I thought I would faint. I was in front of everyone with him but it just felt like we were the only two people in the world.

I whispered. "Everyone's looking at us."

He chuckled softly, squeezed my hands slightly and smiled. "They're admiring your beautiful Cinderella dress,"

The music began suddenly, he grabbed my hand firmly as we began to dance. He slightly narrowed his eyes and let out a small chuckle. "You're a bad dancer."

I laughed. "At least I didn't deceive you, I couldn't pretend to be a professional." My voice sounded thin with stress. I didn't even know if my face also seemed pale. I was stressed up, I shouldn't have come..

"Are you okay?" He asked. He seemed to notice the discomfort on my face.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just feel a little bit tired."

"I should kiss you."

I frowned and raised an eyebrow. "You shouldn't kiss ...."

He leaned down to kiss me, just a peck and I heard gasps from the guests.

I ignored them as the music suddenly changed, our pace quickened and I was trying to meet up with his dance steps but it was impossible. My dress was getting in the way and my heels made my steps clumsy.

Noticing that, he pulled my body closer to his and my eyes widened. I stared into his eyes and temporarily forgot everything, I missed a step and fell on the floor.

Laughter erupted from the corners of the hall and I felt embarrassed. This was what I was trying to avoid, I knew I should have refused to dance with him. I would only get myself in trouble. I probably disgraced him too.

He helped me up and I looked into his eyes, I could see sparks in his eyes and at that moment, I felt a huge connection I never thought I'd feel for anyone.

"My name is Prince Richard and you are,"

I didn't know if it was a great idea to tell him my name but I just had to do it, "My name is Li...."

The bell rang and I looked at the clock. Oh no, it was time. Megan's parents would be back home any minute from now and I had to go back home, change into another dress and get rid of anything that would make them suspect that I came for the masquerade ball party.

"I have to go, I hope we'll meet again." I quickly told him and ran out without letting him say a word. He was shocked that I just left but what could I do? I didn't want to get into any form of trouble with my adopted parents.

I ran all the way back home and sneaked into the compound. My adopted parents were just arriving and taking the main door, I took the back door and ran straight up to my bedroom.

Zoe was in my bedroom when I got there. She helped me undress while I wore my simple blue gown. "We have to hurry." I told her as she packed everything in her bag.

"They're done cleaning the whole house and it looks clean now. How was the party?"

I frowned at her. How could she even ask about the party when she knew that these people were already in the compound?

We heard a noise at the door and Zoe quickly ran out of my room and went out through the back door. I sighed in relief and sat down on the bed.

Thanks to Zoe, I was going to be free from their problems tonight, I didn't know what I was going to do without her.

"You little piece of shit!" Aunt Linda suddenly screamed from downstairs and it meant that I was in deep trouble. What happened?