My two best friends are going to be my bridesmaids tomorrow.  I couldn’t choose one over the other to be my maid of honor.  They are both getting married soon as well.  Cinderella will be over here tonight.  Briar Rose is coming tomorrow morning.  They are going to help me get ready.  I haven’t met their Fiancés yet. I wish they could come to the wedding.  But I guess that both of them are busy tomorrow.  I can’t believe it.  I, Snow White, am getting married to the one and only Prince Charming.  He brought me out of my sleep when he gave me a kiss of true love.  I love him so much.  I can’t wait to have his children, and we can be in a castle of our own.  He really is perfect.  What would I do if I ever lost him?  Well, I don’t really want to think about it. 

            So much is going on today.  We are having the rehearsal dinner.  It was supposed to happen yesterday, but my evil stepmother tried to ruin it.  She is extremely jealous that I am the fairest in the land.  I don’t understand why she cares about it so much.  I am shocked she even came to the castle grounds yesterday.  It is forbidden for her to do so.  She is exiled from our land.  Until the wedding is over, my Uncle, who took over the throne, thought it best to have her locked away in the dungeon.  Usually, I feel that the dungeon is too cruel, but my evil stepmother has tried to pull a lot of cruel things with me, but I’m not going to get into them.  I want to stay positive.  My wedding is tomorrow, and I have a rehearsal dinner to go to.

            I can’t wait to meet King and Queen Charming.  For some reason, my Prince has not invited me to his castle.  Maybe he is going to surprise me when I finally get to see the place.  After tomorrow, it will be my new home.  I can’t wait.

            Where is Cinderella?  She was supposed to be here by now.  I know Briar Rose isn’t coming.  The rehearsal dinner is in fifteen minutes.  We need at least five minutes to get to the dinner table.  Its weird, she has been showing up late to everything I have invited her to.  She promised me she wouldn’t be late to this.  Speaking of Cinderella, where is my Prince?  After the dinner, I won’t be able to see him again until the wedding.  I want one last kiss before then.

            I think I hear someone at the door.  I better go see who that is.  Usually it is the servants’ jobs to do this, but tonight, they are all helping with the dinner.

            “Hello there, my perfect Princess.”

            “I’m so happy to see you.  Why are you so late?  Were there any problems getting here?  Are you okay?”

            “I just got here and I’m already getting the third degree.  I feel so loved.”

            “I do love you Prince Charming.  And I can not wait to become Princess Charming.  I just love you so much.  I don’t want there to be anything wrong.”

            “Relax Princess.  I am late because my driver made a wrong turn.  After the night is over, he will be fired.  I am perfectly fine.  I could never be anything but fine knowing that I have you to live for.”

            ”Kiss me, my Prince.”

            “It would be my pleasure, my Princess.”

            “I can never get enough of those, my Prince.”

            “You won’t have to worry about that.  Just wait till I carry you over the threshold.  We should head down to the dining room now.  Shall we?”

            “We shall”

***

            The rehearsal dinner was okay.  Cinderella never showed up.  But King and Queen Charming weren’t so charming.  King charming kept looking at his son with disgust.  He didn’t seem to have any problems with me though.  And Queen Charming kept asking all of these questions like “So, how long have you two known each other?” and “How old are you Snow white?”  These questions would have been fine, but the questions after were like, “Are you sure that is enough time to know if you truly want to get married?” and “Aren’t you both a bit young?”  It’s like she was trying to sabotage our wedding plans for tomorrow.

            “Princess, I have to go now.  I’ll see you tomorrow when you at the altar, my love.”

            “I thought you already left.  One last kiss before you go?

            “Anything for you”

            “Good night, my Prince.”

            “Good night, my Princess.”

            I couldn’t ask for a better man.  I have the best.  He is always kind, sweet, gentle, loving, and sensitive towards me.  I’m one of the few Princesses who don’t have to marry whoever my family chooses.  I am marrying my true love.  I never even believe it existed.  I met him right after I wished on a wishing well. 

            Someone is at the door.  I hope it is Cinderella.  It is.

            “Come in Cinderella.”

            “I am sorry I didn’t make it.  My driver was very late, and he made multiple wrong turns.  I will make sure my Prince fires him.”

            “That’s interesting.  My Prince had a bad driver tonight as well.  At least you are here.”

            “What are best friends for?”

            “Come on.  Let’s go to my room.  We have so much to talk about, and things we have to get done before the wedding.  I can’t believe I am getting married tomorrow.  You are going to fall in love with my Prince as soon as you meet him.  He is perfect.”

            “I know what you mean.  My Prince is perfect for me as well.  He is always kind, sweet, gentle, loving, and sensitive towards me.”

            “Cindy, I was just thinking the same thing about my Prince right before you came in.  I can’t wait to meet your Prince.”

            “Must you call me that?  You know I have hated being called Cindy for a few years now.”

            “Sorry Cinderella, It slipped”

            “It’s okay.  Wow, you’re room looks so empty.”

            “Well, I am all packed up to move in with my Prince after the wedding.”

            “I can’t wait to get married.  My Prince and I have not set the date yet.”

            “I am so happy for you.  But it’s hard to think about any other wedding other than my own right now.”

            “I know what you mean Snow White.  So what do we have to do before the wedding?  We should discuss it now, and then start in the morning.”

            “Well, we have to make sure my dress is on correctly tomorrow, my makeup needs to be done.  My servant can do the makeup, but I need you and Briar Rose to tell her how to do it.  Both Briar Rose’s dress and your dress need to look perfect on you.  At the moment, I can’t think of anything else.”

            “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

            “Are you tired Cinderella.  I know I am, but I’m too excited to sleep.”

            “Yes, I am very tired.  You should still try to sleep Snow.”

            “I suppose you are right.  Good night Cinderella.”

            “Good night Snow White.”

            “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

            “Snow White, we aren’t little kids.
            “I know, but I feel like one.  Remember how we used to dress up and pretend we are getting married to our fairytale love the next day?  That is how I feel now, only, I’m not pretending, and I’m not a kid.”

            “Yes, I remember.  We had a lot of fun together.  I can’t believe we have known each other for so long.”

            “I know Cinderella.  Time moves so fast.  Sorry to keep you up.  Good night, my friend.”

            “Good night Snow White/

2

            “Snow White, Briar Rose is here.”

            “Thank you Douglass.  Send her in here.”

            “Of course, Princess.”

            “Cinderella, I’m getting married in a few hours.  This is really happening.”

            “Snow White, you’ve said that at least a hundred times now.”

            “I can’t help it.  I’m in love.”

            “Hello Snow White, hello Cinderella.”

            “Briar Rose, I was wondering when you were going to get here.  We only have a few hours until my wedding.  Can you help me with my dress?”

            “Sorry.  You know I’m usually not late, but my driver was not at his best.  What do you need help with Snow White?”

            “I need to have it zipped up.  I can’t get it myself.  It still fits; it is just a little snug.  It was probably because we all ate so much at the rehearsal dinner.”

            “Okay.  That wasn’t too bad.  Turn around.  You look amazing.  I don’t think I have ever seen someone look so beautiful in a dress.”     

            “Thank you Briar Rose.  We need to get you into the bridesmaid dress.  Cinderella, could you please get Briar Rose’s dress.  I put it next to yours in the guest dressing room.”

            “I think I am wearing it.  It is a bit big on me.  Not too much though.  I’ll go switch.  Sorry about this.”

            “It is okay.  I guess I’ll go in with you so we can help each other if either of us needs help.”

            “That sounds like a good idea.”

            I think almost everything is ready.  I checked with Douglas earlier to see how things were going.  He said that everything was the way it was supposed to be.  I’m so happy I have my two best friends with me right now.  I can always trust both of them.  There are only four people in my life that I have ever trusted.  My father, who died when I was young, Cinderella, who was in a similar situation to me, Briar Rose, and Prince Charming are the only people I’ve ever trusted.  I met Briar Rose two years ago.  I knew about her since I was very young.  Nearly everyone did.  Princess Aurora had to go live with Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, who gave her the name Briar Rose, to escape Maleficent’s curse.  It was easy to trust her.  She lived with the three most trusted and honest fairies of the land. 

            I wish Maleficent would have never cursed Briar Rose.  She could have grown up with Cinderella and me.  Then again, she could have turned out to be very different than what she is now. 

            What is taking them so long to get ready?  It has been an hour now.  That means my wedding is in two hours.  I still need to have my makeup put on me.  I am not going to put my shoes on until 30 minutes before the wedding.  I can not wait until tonight, when I am alone with my Prince.  I wonder how long it will be before we have children.  I’d be a perfect mother.  When I was living in the forest, I cooked and cleaned for the seven dwarves.  I miss them.  I hope they make it to my wedding.  I feel like I am their mother.  I love them like they are my children, even though some are much older than me.

            “Snow White, we need to talk to you.”

            “Cinderella, why aren’t you both in your dresses?

            “Briar Rose was zipping me up, and I lost my balance. When I fell down, I took her down with me, and the dressers shook.  Then before we knew it, all of the vases fell down, and water got all over our dresses.  The glass broke as well, making cuts into the bottom of our dresses.  But neither one of us were hurt.”

            “I don’t have matching dresses in your sizes.  What are we going to do?  My wedding is in an hour.”

            “Are you mad at us Snow White?”

            “Briar Rose, of course I’m not mad at you.  I just don’t know what we are going to do.  We can’t possible have two matching dresses made in so little time.”

            *poof*

            “Perhaps I can help.”

            “Fairy Godmother, it’s so good to see you again.”

            “It is good to see you too Cinderella.  Do you need help with a dress?”

            “Yes I do.  Briar Rose and I need matching ones.”

            “I’m afraid I can only make you one Cinderella.  I am not Princess Aurora’s fairy godmother.”

            “Please, call me Briar Rose.”

            “Okay Briar Rose.  Cinderella, what color dress do you want?”

“Briar Rose, are you okay with me having a dress made?”                                       

 “Yes, we don’t have to match.  We should, but we only have forty-five minutes.”

“In that care Fairy Godmother, I want a blue dress, similar to the one at the ball.

“Bippity Boppity Boo.”

“It looks wonderful Cinderella.”

“Thank you Snow White.”

“Now I need one.”

*Poof*

“We can help you Briar Rose.”

“Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, I haven’t seen you in so long.”

“We can talk after the wedding dear.  Right now, we have to make you a dress.”

“Okay Flora.”

“Let me just wave my wand here.  There, now you have a wonderful pink dress.”

“It needs to be blue.  Let me wave my wand.  There, it looks much better now.”

“Merryweather, it looks much better in pink.”

“I don’t like to get into arguments, but look at Cinderella’s dress.  It is blue. They need to have matching dresses.  Cinderella looks perfect in blue.

“Fauna, you are right.  I agree with you.  Briar Rose’s dress needs to be blue.”

“I suppose you are right Fauna.  I will give in.”

“Okay.  It is time everyone.  The wedding is in fifteen minutes.  I have my shoes on.  I’m really getting married.  Fairy Godmother, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, you are all invited to stay for my wedding, but you have to go be seated now.  Cinderella, Briar Rose, and I have to get ready to walk down the isle.”

“Okay.  Let’s get ready.  Come on you three.  You heard the Princess.”

3

I’m walking down the isle right now.  I see my Prince waiting for me, standing tall.  I wonder why he has a mask on.  I can tell it is him by the unique wave of his hair, and his perfect posture.  I’m sure he has his reasons.  I love him so much.  I feel so nervous.  I am getting closer and closer to my Prince.  I hope I am walking correctly.  My friends are right behind me.  I wish my father were walking beside me.  I decided not to have anyone else give me away.  I feel improper walking by myself.  I am almost there.  Just a few more steps.  It is time to walk up these three steps.  One.  Two.  Three.  And now I turn and face my Prince.  I hear my friends walking up the stairs.   I would look, but I can’t take my eyes away from my Prince’s eyes.  I can see into his beautiful soul, and he can see into mine.  I want to melt into his arms, but I have to wait.  I want the priest to hurry up and start so I can finally be married to my soul mate.  He is smiling.  I can’t see his smile, but I can see it in his eyes.  He looks nervous.  But not the same way I am nervous.  He is looking at me, but he is not seeing me.  I wonder if there is something wrong with him. 

“We are gathered here today to witness the coming together of two people, Prince Charming and Snow White.”

“Prince Charming!?  Snow White, you can’t be marrying Prince Charming.”

“Cinderella, what are you talking about?  You are embarrassing me.”

“Father, I asked you to not say our names.”

“I am sorry Prince Charming.”

“Why did you ask not to have our names read, my Prince?”

“He is supposed to marry me in two weeks.”

“Briar Rose, what are you talking about?  He is obviously marrying me right now.”

“No, He is supposed to marry me in a month.  We set the date a week after the ball.  It was my shoe that was left.”

“Honey, what is going on here?  We are in the process of getting married.  Why are Cinderella and Briar Rose claiming that they are both going to marry you?”

“Yes, please explain.   I love you.  I’ve always known you, for we met with you once upon a dream.”

“I want an explanation too.  Of the hundreds of girls at the ball, you chose me.  I thought you loved me.”

“I do love you Cinderella.”

“I thought you loved me.”

“I love you too Briar Rose.”

“Hello, I am the bride here.”

“Snow White, I love you with everything I have.  We are still at the altar.  I still want to marry you.  Father, please continue with the wedding.”

“I refuse to watch this.  I’m leaving.”

“I am too.  Cinderella, wait up for me, you forgot your shoe.”

“Briar Rose, I don’t particularly want to talk to you right now either.”

The priest is going on with the wedding.  My two best friends just walked out.  I’m not sure what to do.  Why am I still standing here?  I am furious with this man I am facing.  I still love him though.  I don’t know if I can marry him.

            “Snow White.”

            I want to cry.  How could he stand here and tell my two best friends he loved them both, and then tell the priest to continue on with the wedding.  How can he expect me to be okay with this?  I want to walk away, but I am frozen in place.  My feet won’t move.  I feel my heart breaking.  I can’t marry this man.  I won’t.

            “Snow White.”

            “Huh.  What?”

            “Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish,  in sickness and in health, for better or worse, for richer or poorer so long as you both shall live?"

            “I, I, I can’t.  Excuse me”

            I have to find Briar Rose and Cinderella.  I can’t be mad at them for the wrongdoings of Prince Charming.  I hope they are not mad at me.  I know Cinderella is upset with Briar Rose.  How were we supposed to know we were all in love with the same prince?  I’m not mad at them.  Not at all.  I think I see Cinderella.  She isn’t running very fast.  I guess she didn’t take her shoe from Briar Rose.

            “Cinderella, wait.  I want to talk to you.”

            “Leave me alone Snow White.”

            “Why are you mad at me?  It’s Prince Charming you should be mad at.”

            “How could you do this to me Snow White?”

            “Cinderella, I never met, or at least I thought I never met your fiancé.  How do you expect me to know that it was Prince Charming?  I’m not mad at you or at Briar Rose.  You both love the same man I love.”

            “You still love him after what he pulled?”

            “I know it was wrong of him, but yes, I do love him, and I probably always will.  But I am not gong to marry him.  I don’t want any man to become between us and Briar Rose.  And I will never get over the fact that he loved two other people when while we were at the altar.  Please help me find Briar Rose, so we can go back to the castle and talk about this.”

            “You are right.  I shouldn’t be mad at you.  It isn’t your fault, or Briar Rose’s.  I’ll help you find her.”

            “Thank you. I am glad you are no longer mad at me.”

            “We have been best friends for years Snow White.  I am sorry for ever being mad at you.  I was just so heart broken.  I really loved Prince Charming.  I wanted to marry him, and I wanted to have children by him.  I can’t believe I haven’t broken down and cried yet.”

            “I know how you feel Cinderella.  I wanted to break down and cry after you and Briar Rose ran off.  I felt my heart breaking as I remained at the altar.  I wanted to walk off right away, but I was frozen in time for a few minutes as the priest continued on with the wedding.  You have nothing to be sorry for, for I would have done the same thing had it have been your wedding and not mine.”

            “Let’s go search for Briar Rose.  She never had to grow up in a normal society, so this feeling of heart break is new to her.  She is probably lying on the ground and sobbing somewhere.  It shouldn’t be very heard to find her.”

            “You are probably right.”

            Okay.  At least Cinderella is not mad at me any more.  Briar Rose didn’t seem to be upset with Cinderella when she left.  She tried to give Cinderella the shoe that came off as she stormed out of the wedding.  My feet are getting sore.  I’m running out of breath. 

            ‘I found her Snow White.”

            Good, I can slow down now.  I’m walking closer to them.  I hear loud, uncontrollable sobbing.  I don’t think I have ever heard anyone cry so loud.  This shouldn’t have happened to her.  It shouldn’t have happened to any of us.  But it did.

            “Briar Rose, are you alright?”

            “What do you think Snow White?  The love of my life married you.”

            “No, we did not marry.  I couldn’t.  I am furious with Prince Charming.  But I don’t have the least bit of bitterness towards you or Cinderella.  I know you both loved him.”

            “But Snow White, he is the only man in the world for me.  Or at least I thought he was.  He was the first male I met.  We instantly loved each other.”

            “Exactly.  He was the first man you met.  For all you knew, he could have been the only man in the world.  Of course you fell in love with him.”

            “Snow White, are you trying to tell me that I would have fallen in love with the first man I met, no matter who it was?”

            “That isn’t exactly what I meant.  Look, so your first love didn’t work out.  You will get over it eventually.”

            “He was your first love to.”

            “Yes Briar Rose, he was my first love.  He was Cinderella’s first love too.”

            “You are right, he was my first love.  I fell in love with him right when I met him at the ball.”

            “I fell in love as soon as I wished for him upon a wishing well.

            “We already discussed when I fell in love with him.  But I was promised to him at birth.  If our families still want us to marry, I have no choice.”

            “Do you want to marry him Briar Rose?”

            “No.  I don’t even want to think about him right now.  I’m hungry.”

            “We have to learn not to fall in love with a man the second we see him.  None of us had any time to really get to know him.  This couldn’t have been true love.  Anyway, let’s go back to the castle and eat.  I haven’t had any food since the rehearsal dinner last night.”

            I am glad Briar Rose stopped crying.  I am also glad that the three of us are still friends.  It would have been stupid if we would have let a man come between us.  Our friendship is stronger than that.  We are almost at the castle.  It looks like everyone left the wedding.  Oh no, the prince is still there.  What could he possibly want?  I guess we are going to find out.

            “Snow White, Cinderella, Briar Rose, could I please talk to you all?”

            “What in the world could you possible have to say to us?  You try to marry me with my two best friends at the wedding, who you happened to love.  Cinderella, Briar Rose, I don’t know about you two, but I want to hear this.”

            “We do too Snow White.”

            “Okay then, my not so charming Prince, What do you have to say?”

            “I want to apologize to all three of you.  I know that what I did was wrong.  I still love you all, and I understand if none of you ever want to talk to me again.  But I am taking a risk and asking for forgiveness from all of you.  I don’t want to push any one of you into forgiving me.  I can’t forgive myself.”

            “I am glad our wedding did not go through today.  I was furious with you.  But I realized that I couldn’t possibly have loved you.  We met once before we fell in love with each other.  And we believed it was true love, especially after your kiss awoke me from my sleep.  But you don’t really know me, and I don’t really know you.  So I do forgive you, but I will never marry you.  If Cinderella or Briar Rose wants to marry you, then they have my blessing.”

            “Prince Charming, that goes for me as well.  I danced with you once at a ball, and it wasn’t even for very long.  I also for give you, and like Snow white, I will never marry you.  If Snow White changes her mind, or Briar Rose wants to marry you, they have my blessing as well.”

            “Prince Charming, I was promised to you at birth.  When I first met you, like Snow White and Cinderella, I fell in love with you.  But it was not true love.  There was not enough time for that to happen.  However, when we thought we loved each other, you saved me from Maleficent’s curse, so I do forgive you.  I do not love you, but if our family still wants us to marry, and I sincerely hope that they don’t, then I will comply.  However, if Snow White or Cinderella ever change their minds, then they have my blessing.

            “I thank you all for your forgiveness.  Briar Rose, I will talk to your family, and apologize to them as well.  I am sure they will not force you to marry me.  Good-bye, I will stay out of your lives, unless any of you wish to remain friends.  So long.”

            Everything worked out.  After we realized that none of us were ever in love with the prince, only in lust, we no longer had broken hearts.  Next time I meet a man I am attracted to, I will take the time to get to know him.  I think all three of us will.  And I think Prince Charming has learned not to be seriously involved with more than one girl.  That food smells so good.