After waiting until the clock struck 12:00, she began to tiptoe into the castle. The bottom of her shoes brushed against the cobblestones until she reached the golden, spiraling handle of the castle doors. She knew that if she didn’t knock, she would have simply sprinted across the bridge and back into her carriage. Before the girl let her mind pull away from her heart, she opened the door.
The girl stepped into a grand entrance of marble floors and porcelain statues. After looking around for the prince, she decided to wait. Perhaps he was just off on a horse ride and would be back any minute. Her eyes landed upon a staircase, where she decided to wait. After plopping down next to a vase, she began to fiddle with the roses draping down. Her head snapped up as the prince appeared behind her on the staircase, hearing her name.
The prince led the girl to the palace gardens, where they strolled and listened to the birds sing as they shared their stories. The girl lost track of time and soon began to wonder how to escape the maze of hedges they had become lost in. She felt her lips become dry, and could only think of water and a way out. She stood on her tiptoes and glanced over the tops of the hedges, but could only see more green, more topiaries, and no way out. The girl then decided to simply wander away, but assured the prince she would see him again soon. He nodded in agreement, which made her whip her toes around and prance into the opposite direction. Her honey-golden curls bounced and her sweet pink satin dress swayed as she hurried out of the maze.