Free The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Faerie Tale Collection) by Jenni James Page B

beneath his feet glittered with glorious copper flakes. This was a marvelous place, an enchanted fairyland where every little princess must dream of coming one day to meet her handsome prince.
    He gasped and spun around toward the ballroom. That was it!
    Quickly, he made his way back to the dance floor. There in the center, couples had already begun to line up. He noticed his king across the room, standing next to a woman and another man, and he wondered if they were Lady Daphne and her husband.
    This would explain why they were never able to solve the riddle themselves; they were all part of it. All of the royalty around him were.
    He glanced back at the dancers. Casey danced with a tall lad who looked to be a couple of years older than Aleck. He was blond and handsome and making her smile this very moment. Aleck groaned when the sudden urge to strike the man began to build within him.
    Casey danced with the man most of the night, her eyes rarely leaving his. It was as if they were in love already. Aleck noticed that many of the young couples stayed together as dancing partners throughout the night. There were just a few who would exchange and dance with others.
    Whoever was behind this bizarre, dream-like reality, he was certain they were doing it to subconsciously unite chosen kingdoms together, to make it seem as though the princes and princesses were the ones who would wish to form an alliance, when they were just pawns in a political scheme.
    Now if he could only identify who was behind it all.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
    HE SEARCHED UNTIL THE wee hours in the morning to find those responsible for the magical dream, but could never pinpoint who was behind the charade. Everyone was dressed so fine and seemed to know each person. How he wished he understood the rules of royalty a bit better. He might have found the culprits immediately, for he was certain they were in the room to spy on their handiwork. As it was, he kept the cloak tightly around himself and avoided running into them all.
    Once the dancers began to separate and twirl and then disappear before his eyes, he hurriedly rushed forward and clutched one of the younger princess’s dresses and poofed into their large bedroom again. Aleck quickly tucked himself against a wardrobe to stay out of their way. Dressed in nightclothes once more, the girls slowly climbed into their beds. They groaned and wiggled their toes under the covers. At the foot of their beds sat tattered slippers. The chandeliers above him began to go out one by one, and the faint sound of harp music trailed away into the distance.
    Aleck waited a few more minutes before silently slipping out of the large room and making his way to his much anticipated bed.
    He removed the cloak, placed it in a drawer, and pulled out his nightclothes.
    Just before he climbed into his bed, he remembered the silver cluster of leaves. He picked up his shirt and reached into his pocket. It was still there. Reverently he brought it out and examined it in the light of the small oil lamp near his bed. So beautiful.
    He placed the exquisite leaf cluster upon the dresser and slipped under the soft covers. Lying on his back, he placed his hands behind his head and marveled at all that he had witnessed. The number of people involved in the enchantment was astonishing. There must have been at least a couple hundred there. And the atmosphere was indeed charming and magical.
    A charming place where anyone could fall in love.
    Aleck winced and groaned. Why did she have to look so beautiful in all that finery? And why, oh why, did she have to smile at the other man like that? Truly, it would seem she was already deeply in love. With that man. A prince.
    He grunted and turned on his side, punching the pillow a bit as he did so. Never before had he felt so out of place, so beyond his element. Why would she want a simple gardener for a husband? What princess would ever consider such a thing?
    A flash of their earlier kiss skiddled through