Prologue:
"Ariana, are you ready yet? We're going to be late." My sister, Elizabeth, said while entering my room.
"I'm almost ready…" I replied tying a golden ribbon in my hair that matched my golden yellow dress. "There all finished…"
"Good, father's waiting downstairs for us." Elizabeth replied and I followed her downstairs.
"You both look wonderful …" Father stated when both Elizabeth and I came down the stairs.
"Thank you father…" We both replied.
Father smiled proudly at us before saying, "The carriage is outside are we ready to leave?"
Elizabeth and I both nodded and followed father out to the carriage. When we arrived at the ball Elizabeth and I noticed that there were many naval officers attending the ball. I secretly wondered if he would be among them. My sister and I stood on one side of the room anxiously waiting to be asked for a dance by one of the men. I began scanning the room to see if I could catch a glimpse of him anywhere.
"Who are you looking for?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"No one, I was just seeing who was here that's all." I replied as I spotted him across the room talking with a group of men. The man that has been on my mind since my arrival at this ball is Captain James Norrington.
As the ball progressed I had been asked to dance by a few men, but Captain Norrington never approached neither my sister nor me. Finally I noticed Captain Norrington make his way to the other side of the room where my sister and I, along with many other women our age, waited to be asked to dance. My heart beat began to increase and I felt butterflies enter my stomach as he came near.
He politely bowed to Elizabeth and me before asking, "Would you care to dance Miss Elizabeth?"
I felt my heart drop into the pit of my stomach as he spoke. I looked at Elizabeth to see her reaction. She seemed flustered and unable to speak for a moment. "Yes…" Elizabeth simply replied and I watched with envy as Captain Norrington led my sister out to the middle of the ballroom.
I stood on the side watching them happily twirl around in a waltz while I watched on with hatred in my eyes for my sister. This must have been the first time I felt pure hatred for Elizabeth. Yes, Elizabeth and I had argued in the past over things like all siblings do but I never hated her as much as I did at that moment. Now that I think about it, it wasn't her fault at all because I never told her about my feelings for the man she was dancing with. I suppose if I did tell Elizabeth it wouldn't have changed anything though. When the song had ended I noticed Captain Norrington and Elizabeth had gone out to the garden. I decided I would ask Elizabeth about it later and tried to enjoy the rest of the night.
When we got home from the ball my sister and I sat in her room discussing what went on at the ball. "So I saw you dancing with Captain Norrington. What happened?" I asked curiously trying to sound happy for her even though I was dying on the inside.
Elizabeth fell silent for a moment. "After we danced he took me outside to the garden. There he told me that he loved me."
I sat on the edge of her bed rendered dumbstruck. He loves my sister, but hardly even notices me. "Do you feel the same?" I questioned while feeling my throat tighten in nervousness.
"No and I feel awful about it. Hopefully he will get over me and find someone else more suitable for him." Elizabeth said quietly