The shadows merged and separated again, huge against the walls of the ballroom. If she didn't leave soon, the magic would fade. She sighed with pleasure as he held her close to his cheek and they danced like one creature amid so many.

Then the clock struck, twelve deliberate chimes, and she stood in rags, surrounded by idiots who pointed, gibbered and sneered.

But he stood square, and, with a nod to the orchestra to snatch up the refrain they'd left to unravel, he danced her into the middle of the floor. Her feet created friction as they waltzed and the threads that hung from her skirt twitched against her bare legs.

'I think I'd like to go home now,' she whispered, as he twirled her past her gawping stepsisters and she, snaking her fingers out of his grip, slipped into the night and ran home, leaving nothing but her pride behind.

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