The dazzling marble palace loomed over Lindsay as she entered in her simple black and white work clothes. She fumbled with the loose ends of hair that escaped being braided. Tiptoeing up the stairs so she wouldn’t disturb Mr. Montgomery, her employer, she made her way to Ms. Lilly’s room, who happened to be the daughter of Mr. Montgomery. Unlike her own door, this one silently opened to reveal an unmade bed, and silk gowns spilled on the Persian rug.

“Ms. Montgomery, are you here?” There was no answer. A note was taped on the mirror. Apparently Lilly had gone on a stroll in the park with her fiancé. Pulling the note off the mirror, Lindsay crumpled it up and threw it in the small trash bin. Sunlight spilled into the large room as Lindsay pulled the blinds back.

“Time for work.” After two hours of cleaning, Lindsay put the dresses back into the walk in closet. A collection of dresses lined the walls and their matching shoes rested underneath them. Lilly wasn’t supposed to be back for a few more hours. Lindsay still had to embellish Lilly’s dress with the gold thread she so desired. Sitting quite comfortably on the pale pink couch, Lindsay began to stitch and intricate pattern at the bottom of the dress. Soon, the alterations were complete and Lilly’s dress for her engagement party was done. Her fingers smoothed the wrinkles and she hung it back up. Lilly still hadn’t returned so Lindsay decided to make sure the dress still fit. She had tried on Lilly’s dresses before and they all fit, so Lindsay didn’t think anything would go wrong. She slipped out of her cheap outfit and into the luxurious gown. She removed her broken flats and traded them for a pair of gold heels. After stumbling out of the closet to the mirror, she gazed at her unrecognizable reflection in the mirror. She removed her braid and little ringlets tumbled down her back. She grabbed the ivory mask hanging on the mirror and tied it at the back of her head.

“Lilly, have you seen-“She froze as James Montgomery, Lilly’s brother, strolled into the room.

“Who are you?” No answer. She didn’t know what to say.

“Are you Lilly’s friend?” No answer.

“Well either way, you must come to the party tomorrow night. You can be my date. Here is an invitation.” He left the card on the bed and walked out. A sigh of relief escaped her shaking body. She rushed back into the closet and tugged the dress off. She threw the shoes back into their spot and put back the mask after she had dressed. She shoved her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head and rushed out of the room with the card under her shirt. She would just tell Lilly that she left early since she felt sick. Luckily, James was nowhere to be seen and she escaped back home. Pressed up against the door to her room, she opened the card. Inside were gold letters seducing her to go to Lilly’s engagement ball, the same one she had been helping plan for the past three months. At the bottom were smaller gold letters that spelled out Masquerade. This was Lindsay’s ticket in and she wasn’t going to let it go. She remembered her friend Mandy tell her about a tailor at the end of Rum Street who would make bargains with customers. She sprinted to his store and flung the door open. A small man sat hunched over a book behind the counter.

“Hello, sir, I- I need a dress for Mr. Montgomery’s ball tomorrow. Is there any way you could make me one?”

“Why of course, but how will you pay me for my hard work?

“I – I do have this pearl necklace.” She pulled out the necklace that she had slipped into her bag from Lilly’s room.

“Will it be enough?”

“For now, yes. Come back tomorrow at seven and your dress will be ready.”
She ran home and fell on to her bed. She tossed and turned the entire night. The thought of going to ball and pretending not to be Lilly’s servant haunted her dreams. At the end of each one she never ended up with James. After a night of restless sleep, and unending thoughts of her dress, Lindsay survived another day at the Montgomery’s without meeting James. She scurried to the tailor’s and found that he had kept his promise, and he had also supplied her with silver shoes, a diamond necklace, and a silver mask to match the thread in the sapphire dress.

That entire night she found herself in the arms of James. She said not a word and he was still taken by her. He was so captivated that he invited her to another ball. The only thing Lindsay could do was accept. She once again went to the tailor and this time gave him a diamond broach and got a red dress for the next ball. Once again, James asked her to another ball. However, while she was cleaning Lilly’s room, she heard James tell Lilly that he was going to propose to the mystery girl. While Lilly squealed in excitement, Lindsay panicked since she had no dress. Using the excuse that she had gotten sick, Lindsay left early and hurried to the tailor’s.

“Back so soon?”

“He is going to propose, I need another dress.”

“Of course you do, what do I get in return.”

“I have a sapphire ring.”

“That will do.”
Just like he promised, a dress was produced for the soon to be Lindsay Montgomery. Her gold dress swirled around her feet when she entered the ball room. James took her hand and led her to the center of the ballroom. He got down on one and knee and proposed, just as she had heard.

“There is nothing in there.”

“That’s impossible. I had a sapphire ring in there.” He grabbed Lindsay’s waist and pulled her off the dance floor and into the garden. A gust of wind sent Goosebumps crawling up her arms. He explained that the ring was his grandmothers and that he was trying to propose to her. She burned bright pink under the mask when she heard how she had stolen her own ring. She spun around and rushed out of the building, and in the distance she could hear James calling out to her. Heading straight for the tailor, she ran right into his small shop.

“Give me back the ring. It wasn’t mine.”

“None of this stuff was yours in the first place.”

“This is a different situation. This is supposed to be mine.”

“What do you want me to do it now?” She broke down in to tears and felt her make up run down her face onto her golden dress. Her tears softened the old man and he gave in.

“Fine. Guess my name and then you will get your ring back.” The tears stopped flowing immediately.

“Your name is Taylor?”

“No.” After hours of guessing she sat down on the rotting floor, exhausted.

“You may guess three more names. I will give you a hint though: It is related to the street name.”

“Rumstreet? Rumplestreet? Oh, I know what it is!You are Rumplestiltskin!”

“No, No, and N- Wait. How did you know that? No one knows that. You witch. You don’t deserve that ring back!”

“Well a deal is a deal isn’t that right?”

“Yes but how did you know?”

“Haven’t you ever read the fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin?”