I am currently writing while eating ice cream. Yum! Here is the next chapter. As usual, I hope you like it!
A Cinderella Story
Chapter 3
The golden gates opened with a great clang that sounded expensive. Lady Llewyn nodded curtly to the guards. Posy fiddled with the lace of her petticoat that showed through the front slit of her gown as was the fashion. Rea smiled thinly. She was anticipating the ball. In her mind's eye she could picture herself dancing with Prince Fakir. She could picture him proposing to her too, as she pictured every other man would.
"Mother, I heard that the whole kingdom was invited for the ball," Posy said. "My friend Eleanor's maids were all allowed to attend the ball."
"Are you saying you want that duck to come?" Rea asked coldly.
Posy shook her head. "No, of course not. Servants should know their status."
"That's right. The Howe family was always too generous. And look what it has done them," Lady Llewyn opened her fan with a swish, then continued, "Their manor is decades beyond trend."
Rea nodded but Posy stood still. Eleanor's manor was, although declining, very cheerful. All the servants seemed happy to work there. The Howe's were very jovial, welcoming her warmly with smiles and chuckles.
"What are you waiting for, Posy?" her mother asked.
Posy startled out of her reverie to see the footman's outstretched hand. She took it and landed softly on the palace grounds. Then she looked up in awe at the stairs that ascended up to the large royal doors, where Prince Mytho was waiting for her, she hoped.
Inside the main hall an incredibly long queue of nobles and commoners alike waited for a chance to exchange greetings with Her Grace. Lady Llewyn scowled. Queen Ainslie was nothing but an overly generous fool. If she were Queen, well, she'd decide what to do then. But all orders would be to her own benefit and she certainly would not spend massively on a ball for the commoners. Lady Llewyn did not have to wait long for a man far too confident for her taste to ask her hand for a dance.
She smiled endearingly and took his hand lightly. As she spun the room with perfect rhythm to the light-hearted song that played, her cold eyes stole glances this way and that. She did not know exactly who she looked for, but she'd decided that the moment she laid eyes upon the girl she would know.
Standing on the other side of the hall, leaning pathetically on the pillar was a peach-haired girl gowned in a white dress that, though Lady Llewyn had to admit was beautiful, did not suit the girl at all. The lady pictured herself in said gown and smiled wider, perhaps colder if possible. The man she danced with shivered. He was extremely relieved when the dance prompted them to change partners.
Posy was also largely pleased when the time came to change partners. The man she had the most terrible luck to have danced with was a bumbling idiot, stepping on her pink slippers twice and badly bruised her toes. She twirled out of his feet range and fell into the arms of Prince Mytho.
"It-It's you!" she spluttered in surprise. Then she remembered her manners and, "Forgive me, Your Highness. I did not expect to have the honour to dance with you."
Prince Mytho smiled and Posy felt her heart jump. "It is my honour."
Posy put on what she believed was a charming smile, though due to nerve, it did not come out as expected. The thrill of dancing with her beloved Prince Mytho made her loose all sense of rhythm. She was beet red and hugely embarrassed the fourth time she stepped on his foot.
Being the kind person he was, Prince Mytho smiled, "It's alright. You are very light."
When the song cued them to change partners, she felt disappointed and immediately jealous of the next lucky girl in line.
Rea danced like a machine. Perfectly in tune and never a step out of rhythm. When her partner raised her arm over her head for an un-choreographed twirl, she looked up at him blankly. The young man stepped back purely on instinct. The song ended and most stopped dancing.
Ahiru had not moved a muscle, from the beginning of the waltz, until the end. Lilie had encouraged her, again, to confess to Prince Mytho, and Pique had, again, told her it was hopeless. The two had disappeared while Ahiru was dazed in her reverie.
She looked up suddenly, and realised that she was alone by the pillar. Like a black sheep among white, a wallflower. For some reason, she felt a sudden longing to breathe in fresh air, so she headed towards the garden.
A rose bent pathetically out of its shrub. Ahiru waved a hand over it. The bloom sprang up, lush and red. Ahiru smiled. A voice from behind startled the smile off her face.
"It is too crowded inside, isn't it?" the Queen asked lightly.
"Quack!" Ahiru slapped her mouth shut quickly. "I-I mean, Your Majesty," she greeted awkwardly, bowing too low.
The Queen was silent for a while. Ahiru cowered under her gaze. At first, Ahiru thought the Queen was quietly examining her dress. Ahiru had noticed that most of the girls wore gowns with a parted front that exposed lacy petticoats. Hers was simple, with a glittering skirt. But she noticed afterwards that the Queen's attention was on her amulet. The large red gem was impossible to miss.
"I saw it," the Queen said finally.
"S-Saw what?" Ahiru asked warily.
"You have a gift."
Ahiru nodded shyly. Edel had told her when she was very small, that a generous fairy had waved a wand over her and gave Ahiru a precious gift. The gift of magic. She was under very strict orders not to reveal this gift to the Llewyns.
The Queen could tell that magic was a delicate subject, so she quickly changed it.
"Why do you hide your face?"
"I'm sorry, my Queen. It.. Am I being disrespectful?" she asked in a panic. Her hand instinctively moved to her mask. "I shall take it off."
The Queen stopped her. "No, you don't have to. Come, it's time for supper."
She followed the Queen back into the hall. Hundreds of pairs of eyeballs looked her way. Who was that girl beside the Queen? Ahiru touched her mask warily, suddenly becoming aware that the light feathery ornament separated her from everyone else. She sat down at the banquet table in a rigid manner. She was sure everyone noticed her unnatural stiffness.
I'm so embarrassed. I'm not used to these fancy balls. Ahiru sighed.
Her mood immediately lifted at the sight of the food. It was nothing like she had ever seen Edel prepare before. Something wet trickled down onto her chin.
"How disgusting."
Ahiru heard the grumpy voice but she was too hungry to care who it was. "Leave me alone, I haven't eaten since yesterday!" She immediately regretted her remark when she turned.
Fakir stood looking down at her with a cold glint in his eyes. Ahiru shivered.
"Quack!! S-S-Sorry, Your Highness!" she apologised. "I didn't know.."
But Fakir ignored her. Instead, he briskly walked away. Muttering something about 'pathetic'. Ahiru felt herself shake as she watched the back disappear to the far side of the table where the Royals sat.
Prince Mytho is definitely better!
She stuffed the food into her mouth without a care for manners. Somehow, she couldn't taste the herbs or spices. They mixed together into something bland and unsatisfying. But she couldn't stop herself eating. Bite after bite. Until she was the only person left at the table. A sneer from behind shifted her mind from the puzzle of the plain yet addictive food.
"Have you never eaten before? Pathetic."
Ahiru opened her mouth to argue but her hands moved otherwise. A chunk of cheese forced itself down her throat. She was choking but Fakir had moved too far away to notice. As Ahiru struggled to breathe, it was Lady Llewyn who helped her.
A slap on the back was all it took for her pipes to clear up. Ahiru gasped. She looked up at the woman she knew as the personification of evil, confused.
"Thank you very much," she said weakly.
Lady Llewyn smiled. It made Ahiru shiver but she tried desperately not to show fear. Sharp, manicured nails rested on her shoulders.
"Do be more careful next time," the lady said.
Ahiru nodded. The lady hadn't recognised her, right?
After another pat that caused Ahiru's heart to skip a beat in fear, Lady Llewyn glided happily to the dance floor. As usual, it wasn't long until a man came and asked her for a dance, which she accepted. That night, she moved one step closer to completing the mission she had been given fourteen summers ago. It had dragged on for too long. But, finally, it was coming to an end.