262. Back in the Ballroom
Amy decides to check the ballroom again. Maybe she left some important clue behind earlier in her rush to get out.
The room seems to be as it was when she left it, but for one important difference: standing in the middle of the dance floor is an incredibly handsome man. He has perfectly coiffed jet black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a rugged, chiseled face. Atop his head sits a golden crown. He wears royal regalia, complete with a white muslin shirt, red vest with ornate gold embroidery (that are both tight enough to show off the perfectly sculpted figure beneath), a long fur-lined blue cape, and slate gray riding pants with black leather boots. Amy is embarrassed to find her eyes drawn to the prominent bulge in the crotch of the man's pants. Just as she finds herself mentally lingering on the intriguing mystery inside the stranger's shorts, the man notices her.
“Pardon me, my fair lady...” Caught in the act of ogling him, Amy instinctively respond by looking away and pretending not to have been staring.
“Oh, um, yes?”
The man flashes Amy a winning smile and her heart melts. He walks over to her.
“It's just... I danced with the most beautiful woman at the ball earlier. I, of course, was in a magical disguise so that I could know that she truly loved me for myself, and not for my status and, let's be honest, ravishing good looks.”
Amy gulps. Was this the mysterious dancer who was her partner earlier?
“And it's just, well, your beauty is so captivating, I simply had to ask: Were you here earlier?”
Amy blushes at the compliment and giggles nervously.”Oh! Um... Yes I was...”
The prince takes a step forward, his voice growing more excited, “And did you dance with a mysterious stranger?”
Amy feels herself caught up in the excitement, “Yes I did!” Could this be leading somewhere amazing?
The prince practically shouts in his barely suppressed joy, “And when you left, did you leave behind,” he pulls a sparkling transparent high-heeled shoe from behind his back, “this shoe?”
Amy is crestfallen. Of course she didn't. But then again... maybe, on the off chance that shoe fits, she could cut right to the happily ever after ending she knows she deserves after all this horribleness. She tries to cover up her break in composure. “Oh, well, um, I guess it's possible...”
“Here!” the prince rushes forward and offers her the shoe, “Try it on! Prove that it fits and I shall make you my queen!”
Amy isn't sure what to do. If it fits, her life will be a fairy tale. If not, it'll be the bad kind of fairy tale where she get turned into a frog or has her eyes pecked out by blackbirds or something.
What should Amy do?