Walking to the Palladian window, the young man watched. He watched the people outside, still as they were, and noticed many of them. He noticed that they all seemed to be in a hurry. The gas lamps lit the cobblestone street as it was dark, early in the evening though, for the clock tower across town read 'VII' on the small hand and 'VI' on the long. He also noticed that on one end of the street was a horse drawn carriage, and on the other side was one of those new horseless ones, the kind with a mechanical motor inside. The sound of the room behind him regained his attention.
He turned, straightened his high button frock coat and rounded collar, then faced the grand ballroom. The room reflected warmth and the music was seasonal. A fire roared with life in the center of the adjacent wall, and a piano was playing across the room from it. With the piano were several other players using various string instruments. Filling the room were the elite. The young man noticed that everyone here were either rich, or married to someone who was. He wondered for a second how it must feel to be the person serving the drinks than it is to be the person receiving them. Then something else caught his attention.
He looked at the grand entry way. Entering the room with her father and mother, was the most beautiful lady he ever laid eyes on. Her evening gown was luxurious and boasted pink and red roses. He watched as the lady's father and mother introduced her to the host and the host's wife, his mother and father. She went to shake his mothers hand when her eye caught his. Her blush was all he needed to blush and smile himself. He wondered if she would make her way across the sea of people and come talk to him on the other side of the room.
Silent Night began to play, and people danced slowly. He went for her, crossing the room, ignoring his friends and the young lady's in the room wanting his attention. All along the way, she kept an eye on him but pretended not to notice, even though she made sure to look like she wasn't noticing him. He knew what she was doing. This courtship ritual was a time honored one and they were about to engage in it. He walked up beside his mother and father who were still talking to her parents, all the while keeping his eyes transfixed on her.
His parents introduced him to her parents, then finally to her. Her name was extravagant. Ignoring his parents, and without a word to hers, he extended a hand to her in request to join him to dance. She smiled and looked down bashfully. Then she looked up to her parents. Her mother smiled lightly and her father nodded in acceptance. This young man was more that qualified in money and reputation to dance with his only daughter. She let him take her hand and they walked to the dance floor.
She felt privileged that he would ask her to dance. He had his choice of any young lady in here, yet he asks her. It was almost magical. It became even more magical when all the participants dancing in the middle of the ballroom, moved along the sides and cleared enough space for just the two to dance. He stopped in the center of the room, then placed one hand on her hip, then held her hand in the other. The music began again, Silent Night.
They began slowly. She noticed the room, men and women, rich and important. They smiled and nodded in acceptance for the two of them were the perfect arrangement. They turned in dance, and she saw her father talking to his father, they both smiled. Everyone approved and wanted them to court each other. She was not opposed to the idea, yet his reputation as an immature brat kept her on her toes. They danced till the end of the song when everyone applauded.
He bowed, as did she, and they kissed lightly. He led her by the hand to the side of the room, once again by the Palladian window. The music started again, Silent Night. 'Why this song?' she wondered. He looked out the window and noticed everyone still in the same place they were earlier. The clock tower still read 'VII' on the short hand and 'VI' on long. Something was wrong. They both saw it in each others eyes. They looked around the room, and noticed that the light coming from the ceiling went out. They looked up at the ceiling. There was no chandelier, just a round window in the roof. This made no sense to her nor him, for they were in a three story house.
Looking up at the window they saw a black disk, with a blue outer disk surrounding it, with a white outer disk surrounding that.
-
The little girl looked into the music box. She loved the song it played, Silent Night. She just kept winding it over and over and watched the little figures dance in the ballroom. She wished they were real. Her imagination created a scenario for the scene. The one dancing in the middle would be the son of a Duke. This would be their party. The woman he was dancing with would be the daughter of a Knight. They were the perfect couple so everyone stood around the room and watched them. She wound the music box again, when her mother called her. The owner of the store walked over and put the music box back in the cabinet. The little girl and her mother left the small shop, and all the while, Silent Night played in the cabinet.