At the ball, the entire court is entranced by Ella, especially Kit, who had been hoping she would arrive. She wins the coveted first dance with him, whose true identity she is pleasantly surprised to learn. This irritates the Grand Duke, who secretly promised Kit to a specific princess—a fact that Lady Tremaine overhears. After dancing, Ella and Kit tour the palace and grounds together. But before he can learn her name, the clock begins to strike twelve, forcing her to flee and accidentally drop one of her glass shoes on the palace stairs in the process. She manages to get away before the stroke of midnight, and hides the other shoe in her room as a memento, reasonably content that her one night will become a beautiful memory.