Title: Music of the Night
Author: zephiey
Rating: K
Warning: none
Pairings: Joseph/ Clarisse…sort of
Reason for Writing: Part of arla's five word challenge and I wanted to write something for Halloween and this is the result
Disclaimer: Princess Diaries and its characters are the property of Disney, Buena Vista, and Meg Cabot. I make no money from this work of fiction.
Summary: The music of the night is often heard in the Palace ballroom.
Word: irresistible
Music of the Night
The music drew her.
It was irresistible.
Its soft melody was haunting yet beautiful.
She normally would have been frightened at being in this part of the Palace alone, late at night.
Her brothers would scare her with tales of ghosts walking these halls. They would talk about how you could hear the harsh clap of booted feet on the marble floors or the soft clicking sound of a woman's heels as they walked down the corridor. She was always so frightened when she was in this part of the Palace.
Her mother and grandmother would tell her there was nothing to fear. That her brothers were just teasing her.
But there were times that she would catch a glimpse of something dark out of the corner of her eye, and it would take everything in her not to run as fast as she could back to her bedroom.
She really didn't like this part of the Palace but the music, it was too irresistible. She couldn't ignore it.
She finally reached the door of what was once the main ballroom of the Palace. Until fifty years ago, this was where all the balls were held but Grandmother had changed that, along with a great many things in the Palace.
Now this ballroom was only used twice a year. Once on Independence Day and once on Christmas.
Every other ball was held in what used to be the Music Room but now was called the Gold Ballroom. She once asked Grandmother why they only held balls in this room twice a year. Grandmother had answered that the ballroom was for them, not us. Grandmother never explained who they were.
The music had changed.
It was no longer a haunting melody.
Now it was soft and sensual.
It gave her goosebumps, the way Grandmother's scarves did when they trailed over her arms.
She moved closer to the door.
The music became louder.
She opened the door.
The music became louder still.
She looked in.
A couple was dancing.
A man and woman.
The woman's hair shone in the soft light, and the gown she wore shimmered. She was all light and glitter.
She was breathtaking!
She was beautiful.
The man was a complete contrast to the woman.
Where she was light, he was dark.
Where she glimmered, he was shadowed.
But he was as handsome as she was beautiful.
She didn't know how long she watched as they danced. The music, and their dancing changed and flowed. They never missed a beat, and the way they looked at each other made her stomach flutter.
That was how she wanted a boy to look at her! As if she were the most important girl in the universe.
Her mind locked away that look for a time in the future when she herself looked for love. It was that look she would use to judge her future husband.
The music finally ended. The couple kissed, then as the balcony doors opened they walked through them, and slowly disappeared.
Anna stared then smiled. She closed the ballroom door softly.
She leant against it reliving what she had just witnessed.
She now knew what her Grandmother meant about the ballroom. It was for them.
No longer afraid of being alone in this part of the Palace she pushed off the door, and walked down the hall humming the music softly.
She wondered if there would be more music tomorrow night.
The End