The Butterfly Bracelet [Yandere Prince x Female Reader]

38. Truth Revealed.

It was as though time had stopped. All Y/N could do was stare, open-mouthed at the man before her. He was definitely the valet that she had come to know so well in her time at the castle but dressed in clothing just as lavish as what he had been wearing the night of the party.

She was so confused. With the crown and the fine garments, Dandini looked exactly how she would imagine a prince to look, her father had even addressed him as 'Your Highness', but it had been Dandini who had told her that the prince's name was Ramiro. Dandini can't be the prince, can he? Y/N thought, her mind racing.

Dandini's eyes had gone just as wide when he saw the face of the servant girl he helped to her feet, the tea tray on the floor lay forgotten. "Y-Y/N, what are you doing here? I thought you worked as a maid in the castle. Just what is going on here?!"

Y/N wanted to ask Dandini the same thing, why he was visiting her father's home dressed like royalty, but before she could form words from her scrambled mind Dandini looked down and something caught his eye that caused his whole face to turn deathly pale.

Y/N followed his gaze and saw that he was staring intensity at her hand that was still resting in his from when he helped her up. More specifically though, he was looking at her grandmother's butterfly bracelet that had been exposed when the sleeve of her work dress had ridden up.

"I-It's you," Dandini said in a shaky voice, moving his gaze from the gold jewelry to Y/N's face. "I found you." He lunged forward and took Y/N by surprise when he pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm so glad!"

After a moment of surprise, Y/N hugged Dandini back. She was still very confused by what was going on, but for the moment she was just grateful to be on good terms with her friend again.

"You knew it was me the night of the ball, didn't you?" Dandini asked, pulling away enough that he could see her face. Y/N nodded her head slowly. "Then why didn't you tell me?" He asked a touch of hurt and irritation in his voice.

Y/N looked away, unable to say the truth while looking at the face of her friend, "I-I didn't because the last time we spoke before that we got into that big fight, and I-I wasn't sure what you'd say. I was going to tell you who I was that night and apologize, b-but when you didn't recognize me I-I couldn't bear it. I just wanted to be able to enjoy one last night with you, and I was scared you w-wouldn't want anything to do with me. I-I'm sorry," Y/N said, starting to cry.

"Don't apologize, I should be the one apologizing to you," Dandini replied, emotion choking his voice as he pulled Y/N into another hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "Not a day has gone by that I haven't regretted how I reacted when you told me that you were meant to be the bride of the prince. I was your friend, I should have been there for you. I am such a hypocrite. I got angry at you for something that I was just as guilty of, you see, I haven't been entirely honest about who I am either."

He pulled away to look at Y/N again, this time with tears shining in his eyes. "I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me," He looked away from Y/N, embarrassed by his wet eyes. "but I understand if you can't."

Before Y/N could answer, another, more timid voice spoke. "Prince Dandini, is this the woman that you have been looking for?"

Amidst all the joy and confusion of seeing each other again, the pair had completely forgotten that there were other people in the room. Y/N looked over to see that her father and stepsisters were in shock, their mouths hanging open at the scene playing out before them. The man who had spoken was wearing the same castle uniform that she had seen Dandini in before, and even though he looked just as surprised as the rest of the people in the room, he had recovered the ability to speak first. With his dark hair, Y/N recognized him as the handsome prince Romiro she had seen the night of the ball.

"I thought that much was obvious, Romiro," Dandini replied to the question with a touch of scorn in his voice.

"W-Wait, prince?" Y/N stammered, pulling away to get a better look at the man before her. "What's going on, Dandini?"

Dandini immediately returned his attention to Y/N and gave her a sad smile. He cupped her hands in his gently. "What Romiro says is true. In truth, I am Crown Prince Dandini, sole heir to the throne of Vascini. I am so sorry for lying to you about who I was, but I had my reasons just like you undoubtedly had yours. My whole life my father has wanted what's best for me, but he has never been the most perspective when it came to relationships. I have spent my whole life never knowing if people liked me because of who I was, or my status alone. That's why I pretended to be a servant, so I could have a connection with someone that I knew was real. I'm sorry that I wasn't honest with you from the beginning, can you forgive me?"

Y/N thought about the question for a minute, but she already knew her answer. It was true that there had been hurt feelings between them in the past, but that was in the past. They had both lied about who they were and suffered the consequences. And if Dandini could forgive her then it was the least she could do for him. "Of course I forgive you Dandini, we're friends after all."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Dandini cried, pulling Y/N into a third bone-breaking hug. He rocked her back and forth in his joy and started laughing. Y/N hugged him back, happy to have resolved their previous dispute. Prince or not, Dandini would always be her friend first, and that would never change.

"S-Sire," the dark-haired valet, Romiro said timidly to get the prince's attention. Once he had it he said in a small voice, "now that we've found har are y-you going to ask her the question you were planning on?"

"Yes, of c-course," Dandini replied, jumping slightly. Still holding Y/N's hands he got down on one knee, the small box containing the dainty ring of silver digging into his leg uncomfortably. It had been his plan since he lost track of the mysterious woman at the ball to ask her to be his bride, but now that he knew who she was he felt conflicted.

Dandini's confidence wavered as he gazed up at the bemused look on Y/N's beautiful face. He suddenly remembered that he had been planning to ask Y/N to marry him the same day she told him that she was being groomed to marry the prince. Even though it was irrational, she had no idea who he really was, it still had broken his heart to think that she never really cared about him.

His mouth had gone dry and he was having trouble breathing. His heart was pounding in his ears and even though he knew he was taking to long he couldn't get his lips to speak. Opening his mouth, ignoring the burning in his cheeks, he finally managed to say something, "would you come back to live at the castle. N-Not as a servant b-but as a Noble Lady. I'll see that you are well taken care of, and I'm sure that you will love life at the Royal Court."

Romiro arched one of his dark eyebrows so high at this that it nearly disappeared into his hairline. He knew about the ring in the prince's pocket and what question Dandini had been planning on asking but before he could say anything about it the blonde shot him a warning glare.

Dandini was internally kicking himself for not having the nerve to tell Y/N how he felt, but his mood improved greatly when she agreed to return to the castle with him, laughing gently. Dandini sprung to his feet, his failure no longer feeling like such a failure. She was coming back to the castle with him, and that was all that mattered to him. He would be able to see her every day, even if it would be as friends and not as lovers he was happy.

"Come along then," he said, offering her his arm before practically dragging her out of the parlor, leaving Ramiro to hurry after them and Y/N's father and stepsisters completely dumbfounded by what they had just witnessed. "We have so much catching up to do!"

A/N

Looks like one of the biggest plot twists is out in the open at last. Dandini has been the prince all along.

It was always my hope when writing my version of the 'Cinderella Story' to accentuate the most classic parts of the story that often get overlooked because of their infamy.

Because everyone knows Cinderella is a common girl pretending to be a noble, that plot point lost a lot of its charm, that's why I decided to have the prince do the same kind of masquerading. So that you could experience the core feelings of this kind of story in a new way.

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~