"This way Miss. Just through the doors and to the left."
"Merci monsieur."
"You're very welcome Madame."
Everyone gasped in awe at the beauty of the young girl walking towards them. She was wearing a beautiful white gown accompanied by shining white gloves that covered half her arms. Her light brown hair was done up in a large pile on top of her head. They'd never seen anyone so beautiful. But what else do you expect from the daughter of a count?
"There you are Katrine. We've been looking all over for you."
"I'm sorry. I was a little late returning from my trip to Greece. Did you know they have the most wonderful parties over there?"
"Well I expect you'd find out first hand," the man laughed.
"Yes, well you'd expect right then. Marc, how is it you know so much about me?"
"I don't know...I guess we just have a lot in common."
"That must be it. Now, where is my mother? Have you seen her?"
"Yes, she's waiting in the ballroom, just like everyone else. And I don't suppose she likes to be kept waiting."
"I suppose you're right."
"Shall we?" he asked, extending his arm to her.
"We shall," she replied, gladly accepting his invitation for an escort. After all, she couldn't just waltz in on one of the biggest social events of the year by herself could she?
Katrine smiled as she glanced at Marc. She wondered if he knew how she felt about him. She wasn't quite sure, but she suspected that he did. 'I just hope he feels the same way about me,' she thought to herself. She smiled politely at the guests she passed on her way over to where her mother was standing.
"Bonjour Mother," she said politely.
"Katrine! Well it's about time my dear! Wherever have you been?"
"I'm sorry. It took longer than expected to return home from Greece."
"I see. Well, not to worry. You haven't missed much. Let's see, what's new.... Ahh! Did you hear? Madame LeBeau got married again."
"Again?!" Katrine gasped," But this would make-"
"Husband number five, yes. The last one fell apart in... when was it exactly? 1912? Well I suppose four years is sufficient enough time to move on, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Uhhh, Katrine?" her mother asked suddenly, a slight grin starting to become evident on her face," Who is this charming young man standing next to you?"
Katrine turned to see who she was talking about, and suddenly remembered that Marc had so graciously offered to be her Prince Charming for the evening.. "Mother! You know who Marc is. Stop acting so foolishly."
"Oh Katrine, I was just playing around. Marc, I've never seen you in such a handsome suit! You look absolutely magnificent."
"Why thank you Countess," he replied," I've never really been to one of these giant parties before, but when the opportunity arose, I thought- Hey, why not? And now that I'm here-"
"You find it boring," cut in Katrine," As do I. Well that settles it, I guess we better be leaving then!"
"Actually, what I was going to say was now that I'm here, I find that I'm really enjoying it."
"Oh. So, you don't want to leave then?"
"Of course not. We just arrived."
The Countess smiled. She knew how much her daughter hated these big social gatherings, but it was absolutely necessary for her to be there. 'Perhaps with Marc around, she will finally recognize that she has duties to full fill,' she thought quietly to herself,' The two would make quite a pair. I like the boy and all, but it's just too bad he's not of the right class for my daughter. They seem so much in love.'
It was obvious to anyone who looked that the two had feelings for each other. Of course they could never be together. She was the daughter of an important Count. He was just a boy she'd met on the streets of Paris one day and had become close to. There could never be anything between them.
"Katrine, who is that girl over there?" asked Marc, pointing in the direction of a large crowd.
"Which one?"
"The one in the blue dress... with blonde hair."
"Oh, her? That's Charmaine. I think she's the daughter of some wealthy nobleman from England. Why do you ask?"
"I was just curious. She keeps looking at me."
The Countess smiled. "Well my boy, she's probably just wondering who that handsome young man is standing on the other side of the room. Now come along you two. There are some people I would love for you to meet."
~
'Look at them,' she thought disgustedly,' What does he see in her anyway? Sure she has a lot of money and a bunch of nice things, but I have those too! Why can't he look at me that way? Why does he think he's better than me? I can tell he does... A street rat from the back ally's of Paris. That's all he is. So why does she like him so much?! I just don't understand it!'
Charmaine sighed and fell back into a chair near one of the many giant windows that graciously allowed light from the moon to spill in and accent all the silver dinnerware on the tables. She wanted so much to be like Katrine. She was like a princess, only without the title. Everyone loved her. She had everything she could of ever dreamed, and she didn't even want it!
"What a brat," she said aloud, drawing the attention of a nearby standing woman.
"Excuse me child," the woman piped up. "I couldn't help but overhear your comment made towards the Count's daughter. Do you dislike her?"
"What?" asked Charmaine, sitting up straight," Of course not! What has she ever done to me to make me dislike her?"
"Well, I don't know exactly... but I presume it has something to do with the boy standing next to her. You want him to love you instead, am I right? You want to have something that she wants for once."
Charmaine glanced at the old batty woman and her tiny companion standing next to her. "Who are you? How do you know all this?"
"Let's just say... I have my own ways of dealing with situations like this. I can help you if you wish."
"You can? Yes, please.... help me get Marc to fall in love with me."
"Of course. All you have to do is take this small vile of dust and sprinkle it on him. Then he'll be yours for all eternity."
"Eternity?"
"Why of course my dear! If you're going to do a love spell, it might as well be of good quality, don't you agree? No matter what happens in this life, Marc will always be there to fall in love with you... and Katrine will always be there to watch."
"This tiny vile... can do all that?"
"Yes, it surely can."
"Thank you Madame. I won't forget this."
~
"Why did Timmy's princess help Charmaine?"
"Because Timmy, Katrine and Marc are soul mates. If they get married and make love, all is lost for the dark side!"
"Is Timmy's princess sure about this? She's sure that Katrine's soul will not step in to reclaim the man she loves?"
"Trust me Timmy... When am I ever wrong?"
~
"Bonjour Countess," Charmaine said politely as she walked up to the Countess and her daughter. "How are you two ladies doing this evening?"
"We're fine, thanks you for asking Charmaine," replied the Countess.
"I couldn't help but notice the young man who was standing with you before. Where did he go?"
"Why I'm right here Madame," a voice exclaimed from behind. Charmaine turned around to see Marc's handsome face staring back at her.
"Oh, I didn't see you there."
"Because I wasn't. I just came back to ask Katrine if she'd like to dance."
"I'd love to," Katrine smiled. She took Marc's hand and he led her onto the dance floor full of happy couples.
'Dammit! I have to get this vile of dust on Marc before he and Katrine get too close for comfort.'
~
"Well this is unexpected," Katrine giggled, as Marc placed one of his hands on her hip, the other in her hand," I didn't think you were brave enough to ask me to dance. I mean, this is your first formal gathering."
"Yeah, well, I can't deny that I'm a little nervous."
"A little?" she asked, noticing the sweat on his forehead beginning to shine.
"Okay," he laughed," A lot."
"Don't worry. You're doing magnificent."
"Why merci Madame. You're not too bad yourself."
Katrine giggled as she and Marc waltzed across the dance floor. They were a perfect pair. Him in his perfectly fitting black tuxedo, her in her flowing white gown. At first glance one might think that they were looking at a couple of dancing angels.
~
Across the room Charmaine sighed in frustration. 'Why does she always have to win?!'
"My darling, if you're going to try to hide your anger, you might want to try and do it successfully for once," the Countess commented," I see the look on your face when you watch Marc with Katrine. Do you love him?"
"Love Marc? Why I hardly know him! And I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me young lady. If you really want him that much, fight for him."
"But... your daughter-"
"I love her and I wish her only the best. But my daughter belongs with someone better than that street rat. I'll do anything to keep her away from him. I want you to win his heart away from Katrine at all costs. No member of my family will be married to someone of... that class."
"Well I can tell you this Countess- I'll try my best."
~
"Marc," Katrine sighed as she lifted her head off of his shoulders to look him in the eyes," I'm so happy. This is the single best moment in my life."
"Mine as well Katrine. And... I hope that there will be many more moments like this in our future."
"I do too. With all of my heart."
She rested her head back onto his shoulder until the song was finished. Marc insisted on going back to the table to sit with the Countess, but Katrine begged him for one last dance. After all, when was the last time she had ever felt this way? She never wanted this moment to end. It was pure heaven. He finally gave up and they danced the last dance of the evening happily in each others embrace. She would never let him go... never.
"Katrine!" her mother shouted when the song was over," Katrine darling! Would you please come over here?"
"Uhhh," she grumbled," We'll be over in a moment mother! I'm so sorry Marc. I wish our evening could have lasted longer."
"So do I. But we'll always have the memory right?"
"Always," she whispered. She eyed his lips, searching his face for any mutual sign of the desire she'd felt for so long.
"Katrine-"
"Be quiet," she said gently as she placed her two fingers smoothly on his mouth. She slowly moved in to achieve what she'd wanted for so long. He could tell that this was it. This was his moment! He cupped her cheeks in his giant hands and the two shared the most blissful moment in their entire young lives. Katrine's stomach did flip flops. She had never been so happy.
When the two finally parted, all they could see was each other. The room was fuzzy; the people blurred. The looks on their faces would be forever burned into their memories.
"Katrine!" her mother yelled over the crowd.
"I guess we'd better go see what she wants..."
"I guess we'd better," he smiled.
~
"Well what took you so long?" the Countess huffed," Charmaine and I have been waiting for what seems like an eternity."
"Well we're here now Mother. What is it?"
"I wanted to ask Marc if he'd do me a favour and take Charmaine to find her father. I believe he's somewhere in the lounge with the rest of the businessmen."
"I wouldn't mind at all," Marc answered.
"Wonderful!" squealed Charmaine," Father will be so pleased to know that I was safely brought back to him after the ball."
Katrine eyed the blonde girl standing next to her. Why did she need an escort just to go upstairs? What was she up to?
"But Marc, I thought we were going to go for a walk in the-"
"Don't worry. We will. I'll be back down in a few minutes."
"All right."
Charmaine smiled. "All right then, shall we leave?"
"Yes. The sooner I get back, the sooner I an be with Katrine again."
'That's what you think Marc. Soon you won't even remember who Katrine is.'
The Countess smiled as she watched Charmaine and Marc climb the giant staircase covered with red velvet carpet. 'How does this girl intend to win Marc's heart without even putting up a fight? He seems completely devoted to Katrine!'
~
"Oops!" exclaimed Charmaine once they'd reached the top of the staircase," I think I dropped one of my hair pins!"
"Oh... well don't worry. I'll find it," Marc replied as he bent down to search for the missing item," What does it look like?"
"Oh," she started," Well, it's very long and it has a blue butterfly on the end. Please find it, it's very dear to me."
Charmaine smiled as she watched Marc search for something that wasn't even lost. She glanced over at Katrine who was enveloped in a conversation with her mother. She silently pulled out the vile the old woman gave her and sprinkled it on her soon to be love. There was no way he could resist her now!
~
"Mother, why does Charmaine need an escort to go to the lounge? It's 1916 for goodness sakes, woman should be independent!"
"Yes dear, I quite agree with you..." she trailed off. Her eyes were glued to the happenings on the top of the staircase.
"What?" questioned Katrine," What is it? What are you looking at?"
"It's nothing dear. Don't look," she replied nervously.
"Well it can't be nothing Mother. Who are you spying on now?"
"It's no one darling, now come. I want you to meet someone."
Katrine gasped as she spun around to see what her mother was trying to hide from her. "It can't be," she breathed, "Why is he kissing her like that?!"
"I told you not to look dear. It's too painful for you to see. Katrine... Katrine come back!"
Tears began to slide down the side of her cheeks as she pushed past people to get to the staircase. "Excuse me," she said hastily," Let me through!!"
When she arrived at the foot of the first stair, she looked up to confirm her fears. Marc was kissing Charmaine. How could he do this?! Right after they'd just declared their love for one another?!
"What are you doing?" she screamed," Get away from him! Leave him alone you witch!"
Charmaine smiled. "Why hello Katrine, what can we do for you?"
"Marc," Katrine pleaded," How could you do this to me? I loved you! You told me you loved me too... Why would you do this?!"
"He loves me now. Go back to your fancy house and your piles of money and leave us be. Marc wants nothing to do with you."
"I'm going to kill you Charmaine!" she shouted through her tears.
Without hesitation Katrine began running up the stairs. Her giant white dress dangerously swayed from side to side. She had just neared the top when her shoe slipped and she tripped on her dress. She fell backwards down the stairs. The crack was deafening.
Charmaine glared at the body staring lifelessly up at her. She heard the Countess scream and people gasp. She watched as men rushed to the side of the girl she'd been so jealous of her whole life. She watched as her enemy's life ended... and hers began.
~
People from all over different countries came to mourn her. The Count and Countess were devastated. No one was ever quite the same after her tragic death. Charmaine and Marc lived out the rest of their short lives at her Father's ranch in England. Marc was under Charmaine's spell until the day he died on a dreary fall morning. Charmaine didn't really care. Once Katrine had died all the lust she had felt for Marc seemed to vanish.
He never really felt he belonged with her, but he couldn't bring himself to break free. Everyday Charmaine would tell him how she wished it was he who died that faithful day instead of Katrine. She would tell him how horrible it was that a poor innocent girl had to die so young. She blamed it on him, and he believed her. Yet even through his entire lifetime with Charmaine, there was always one memory from that faithful night he'd never forget. It was of a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman giving into temptation and finally expressing their love for one another after years of friendship. He didn't know why that memory haunted him. All he knew is that it was happy. It was the happiest feeling he'd ever felt.
~
Kay Bennett sat upright in her bed. 'That's how it is every time,' she thought,' Every time I close my eyes and drift off into unconsciousness I see them dancing. I feel her pain. I hear the awful crack and watch as everything unfolds. I don't know why this appears only to me. All I know is that it couldn't be true. This couldn't have happened... could it?
I hope you guys liked it! I definitely plan to continue working on this story if I get enough positive feedback. Please review and tell me what you thought. :)