A.N: Apologies for the delay but it's not as long as between the prologue and chapter one. I will try and get the next chapter written and typed so that it can be posted on saturday. I am hoping to post a chapter a week from now on.
Chapter Five
The ball had started at eight pm. Ladies wearing fancy ball gowns and finely dressed gentlemen were entering the palace and walking to the huge ballroom. Everyone there was wearing a mask but some were wearing crowns indicating that they were royalty. Prince Richard had refused to wear one; he didn't want to be recognised by large groups women that were trying to find him. After dodging another group of women he decided it was time for a breath of fresh air so he dashed out of his hiding spot, up the stairs and out of the ballroom. He dashed past John and ran to the entrance steps where he sat down. He sat there for a couple of minutes breathing in the fresh air. Then John came and sat down next to him.
"What was that about?" John asked.
"I just needed some fresh air" Richard replied.
"Yeah, whatever. You're scared" John said.
"I am not" Richard denied.
"You are, come on, admit" John said, trying to coax him. Richard sighed.
"Alright yes I am" Richard admitted.
"Richard, they're just girls" John said.
"I know that but they're all hoping for the same thing. To fall in love with a prince and be a princess" Richard explained.
"Not all of them do, some of them are already princesses" John said. John looked at Richard.
"Come on Richard, you must know the royal traditions of reaching eighteen. All princes and princesses must start looking for a partner at their celebration ball" John said.
"I know that and so do the ladies in the ballroom or their parents know and told them" Richard said. There were a few moments of silence.
"I don't know what to do" Richard said exasperated.
"Relax man, if you're that worried about them trying, just ask someone to dance" John suggested. Richard nodded to his friend in agreement.
John stood up and turned to walk in but Richard remained seated.
"Are you coming?" he asked. No reply. John walked up to Richard and waved his hand in front of Richard's face. He then looked in the same direction as his friends and realised that he was staring at the palace entrance.
"Richard, are you waiting for someone?" John asked.
"Sort of" Richard replied.
"What do you mean by 'sort of'?" John asked.
"Well, she said she'd try and get here" Richard explained. John thought for a minute and then realised what Richard had done.
"Richard, tell me you didn't. You did, didn't you, you went into town again. Let me guess, you bumped into that girl again and invited her to the celebration. You know your mother's going to be really annoyed with you if she finds out" John said. Richard folded his arms in his knees.
"I know, but she'll understand" he said.
"Come on, let's go before they think something's wrong and your mother sends out a search party for you" John said. Richard nodded and stood up. He took one last look at the palace entrance.
"Richard if she was going to get here she would be here by now" John said. Richard sighed and walked inside with his friend.
What Richard didn't realise was that Grace was only a few minutes away from the palace. She was sat in the carriage, feeling very nervous. She didn't know if she would be able to find Richard because everyone would be wearing masks. She was also excited at the prospect of dancing at the palace. Eventually the carriage arrived at the palace. The carriage had stopped outside the main entrance to the palace. The footmen jumped from the back of the carriage, opened the door and helped Grace out. She stepped down from the carriage from the carriage and looked at the stairs for a moment. They are wider at the bottom than at the top. There was a red carpet going all the way down. The carriage left and Grace decided to go in. She picked up her dress and, walked up the stairs and through the large open doors at the top. When through the doors she found herself in a long corridor. The red carpet continued into the corridor and there were red walls and purple curtains. She walked down the corridor to where there was an open set of double doors.
She stood behind the door on her right and peaked inside. She saw the people dancing around in the centre of the room. The King and Queen were sat on the left side watching the dancing. She could see Geraldeen talking to a finely dressed young man and she was quite giggly. She could also see Esmerelda twirling around in the arms of a young man but she did not look happy. Grace had no doubt that the Baroness pushed her into it. The man she was dancing with said something to her, which made her smile.
"They look so pretty" she thought. She stood there for a few minutes, looking.
"I wonder if it would be possible for me to walk in and not make a scene" she said to herself.
"Definitely not" a voice said behind her. She jumped and turned around to see who had spoken. Stood behind her was a man with blonde hair and sea blue eyes.
"Why do you say that?" she asked.
"Because of what you're wearing. Most of the other ladies are wearing light colours like blue, pink and purple. You're the only one wearing red, dark red for that matter" he explained. "But" he said, continuing, "the colour of your dress matches the colour of your hair and complements your eye colour". Grace looked at him for a minute.
"On another note, are you going in or are you just going to watch the ball from out here?" he asked her.
"I'm not sure" Grace replied.
"Well you wouldn't have dressed up like that if you were going to just stand here and watch" he said. Grace thought for a moment. Meanwhile the dance had just finished, Esmerelda curtsied to Richard and then left the dance floor. Back in the corridor Grace was still thinking. She decided that she was going in because if she didn't go in now she never would. She stood up straight and took a deep breath.
"Alright, I'm going in" she said. She walked out from behind the door and into the ballroom.
A.N: Cliff hanger, what's going to happen when she walks into the ballroom. You won't have to wait long.
