Chapter 7
I opened my eyes to the musky scent of my bedroom. The sounds of movement outside my door awoke me. The voices outside my room were the staff; it is the day of the ball. This happened every year on the day of the Christmas ball and New Year's fete, and considering the amount of rucus happening outside the time is most likely 6am.
I got out of bed; the warm, damp air surrounded me. The steam from the kitchens enters my room daily, but the preparations for parties are always the worst. So much work is put in, some of the workers prepare weeks before, the night before consists of everyone becoming stressed making the last pieces of food. I do not think I would be good under that pressure; it is indescribable on how bad I am at cooking any meal. As I reached my wardrobe I prepared to get my clothes ready for the day of work ahead of me. The day of each event everyone who had been invited to the ball, which is the majority of those in the estate, would be preparing themselves as soon as they awoke. This means that I am able to wear a pair of linen stretch trousers and a plain white t-shirt, with a collar and the Gryffindor emblem displayed on the back.
I left the kitchens in my gown, going to the showers. The worker showers were across the hall from me. It was so unhygienic that the bathrooms were so close to the kitchens, our conditions are appalling. The shower was hot, helping me to get rid of last night's memories. How was I so foolish? To, again, kiss that horrible boy. When I am alone my head is straight, I remember the horrible things he does to people. But when I am around him, my head is a blur.
After washing my hair with the free shampoo given to us, I used a small amount of the conditioner the queen had bought me for Christmas. Today was the first day I used it, I understand that this may seem pathetic however; I would need to ration it for it to last. Today felt like a good day to use it as so much is about to happen. I felt the need to attempt to hide my identity at the party, so I thought the conditioner would help tame my hair and possibly make it straighter.
With my hair feeling softer and less tangled and my body smelling slightly fresher I exited the shower and made my way to my room again after covering myself up. Once at my room I quickly put my clothes on, unable to think about the chances of someone coming into my room. My hair was now beginning to dry, the subtle waves becoming visible. I quickly began to brush my hair; I did not want the other teenagers at the party to see my recognisable hair.
From the more rushed voices and an orange glow reaching under the door my guess was that the time is 7. My breakfast would be done at half past and then my work began at 8. I had 30 minutes to spare, when I am alone I over think, which is the worst thing about being here alone. I have too much time to think about stupid, small things. Things that should not matter.
I lay on my bed, face first, making sure my hair is not being lay on. I shut my eyes and wander about how only a few days can change everything. I think about James, his eyes and smile, but then the kind of happy memory abruptly changes to a dark one. The night of being raped, the feeling comes back to me, the discomforting sharp feeling in between my legs. How he acted like nothing happened afterwards. I squeezed my eyes shut. How did I even consider liking that boy?
I sat up in frustration and made my way to the kitchens. In the mirror I now noticed that my hair was dry, luckily the majority had stayed straight apart from the short baby pieces around my ears. Down the corridor I noticed that breakfast nearly finished, the pile of plates were ready to be washed at the sinks that descended across the wall on the left. The middle worktops were full of cakes, gateau and trifles. My stomach grumbled, I couldn't remember the last time I ate. From all the things that have occurred, food was the last thing on my mind.
I ate my breakfast, uninterrupted by any of the busy workers. Their heads down, looking at the decorations and food. Once I had finished eating the two pieces of toast, I made my way to the large hall that I was last night. The amount of decorations had increased; the curtains now had large, silver ribbons draped on them. The floor had been cleaned and a sparkly surface was now covering half the hall, I presumed for the dance floor. I looked at all the workers setting up the tables, it is hard to understand how the preparing took so many hours but the size of the hall was indescribable. I walked over to Lucy, the event manager of tonight.
"Lily! You don't look like yourself with your hair like that; you haven't had it like that for ages! But oh my, I heard about the fall last night. I am terribly sorry for making you clean the windows; some of the older workers should have done it." She put her hands on my shoulders, dropping her clipboard onto the table. I laughed at how she was such a young girl at heart.
"I am fine; I just want to get work done so I can rest in the estate while people are not here. The corridors are so much nicer to walk through when they are empty." She didn't reply for a while, instead her eyebrows creased. Therefore, I carried on talking to avoid her awkward silence. "So, what do you want me to do? Bring food in? The drinks? Clean the floor? Prepare the covers for the chairs? Help buffer the throne? Help bring in the materials for the stage?"
"No." Lucy said, turning around to pick up her clipboard.
"No? What kind of answer is that?" I laughed and followed her as she walked away from me towards the double doors that opened to the large decking which the guests would arrive at.
"I mean, you are 17 soon, I do not like that you do not get to have so much fun. It is horrible to hear you offer to do all of these jobs. I want you to have a nice time at the ball tonight, you can be a guest." I stopped and began to protest. "No, Lily. It is a masquerade ball, nobody shall recognise you. I want you to go find Maude and tell her I sent you. She offered to have you as a guest a few months ago."
To this I left for the Queen's room. I did not know what to expect. She owned the most elegant of gowns and she had a pair of stylists that were impeccable. I made my way down to the silent corridors, it was nice like this. I could walk freely without feeling miniscule by those that lived at the estate.
As I reached her door, I knocked ever so slightly. Even though it must be 9 o'clock now, she may be asleep. However, I did not expect to see that the queen was dressed in a silk robe with her hair up out of her face. She smiled once she saw me.
"Ah, I was expecting to see you. I knew Lucy would come around. Come in Lily."
I entered, unsure of what to do, so I stood in the middle of her large room. Around there were 5 women, 3 sat around the two 'chaise longues'. It was wary of how it seemed she knew that I was going to turn up. I guessed that the other women were her stylists. "What shall I do? I do not want you to waste your time. This is too much to ask."
"Do not be silly Lily. You have worked in the kitchens for a long time now; you deserve to have a little bit of fun. So, before you begin to protest, this is what is going to happen. You will lie down, we will have our skin pampered and softened, then we shall get our teeth and nails cleaned, we will then fit your dress and shoes, and then finally do hair. So sit down and have a nice few hours rest. I presume this will take the 12 hours before I have to make an appearance." I simply nodded, unable to speak at how grateful I was. I then sat, closing my eyes.
As the day progressed, the woman made me take my uniform off and put on a small silk robe. After many hours of skin pampering, teeth and nails being cleaned, I felt fresh. My skin looked poreless, my nails shone naturally. My teeth looked white. My whole body glistened. It was then time to get my clothes fitted. The gown that had been chosen for me was a dark, sparkly blue. The front went to the top of my neck while there was no back, a long 'U' shape down my back to the top of my bum. The arms were long and the bottom of the dress reached the floor. It had to be altered around my waist as it was too large. The shoes that were chosen were silver heels.
After I put on my robes again it was now 2 hours until the queen would make an appearance. My makeup and hair was worked on for over an hour, my eyelids a dark colour and my hair dead straight and had a shine to it. The mask that I was to wear was a small one that stuck to my face. It was blue with a silver detail around the eyes.
As the time got to 9, I got behind the screen and put on my whole outfit with the help of the stylists. I had not seen how I looked complete yet, the queen wanted to see me first. As I walked from behind the screen, the queen did also. She looked beautiful. She wore a bright green dress with a diamond detail around the neck. Her hair was twisted up with a few loose strands. Her mask was green, bringing out her hazel eyes.
"Wow, miss you look stunning." She smiled at this; I believed that she always knew this.
"Lily, you look incredible yourself. I wish I could see you out of your uniform more. But before you see yourself, let me give you one thing." She walked over to a large vanity table, and picked up a silver necklace. It must have been encrusted with thousands of diamonds.
"Ma'am I cannot take that, I am simply a young worker. I do not understand why you put so much effort in for me, I am grateful, but please do not trust me with such a priceless thing." She did not stop; she carried on walking towards me. As she placed the necklace around my neck she spoke.
"Lily, I feel like a mother to you. I would have taken you in to be the daughter I never had if Lucy had not taken such a shining to you. It was both me and Lucy who found you. I feel that I should at least make you feel like a princess some days." I never knew that she also found me. Once she clipped the back of my necklace I turned and hugged her careful not to affect our dresses and makeup.
"Thank you."
"Well, we must get going. We both have a special appearance to make."
As we made our way to the hall, I could hear the music. I began to feel nervous. My heart was beating rapidly. With the queen linked to my arm, she looked down at me.
"Do not be nervous. I will enter first; I want you to be our grand entrance tonight." I nodded, this made me more nervous. I do not think that I would be able to walk down the stairs into the hall. We got to the doors; I heard the queen being introduced. After a second I took a deep breath.
"Okay Lily, you can do this." With the self assurance, I opened the doors. The music had stopped and every head turned up to the doors. Hurried whispers wrapped around the hall. I looked down at the queen who smiled so brightly. I smiled at all the people, and delicately wrapped my hand around the railing. I reached the bottom and saw the people's faces around me. From young to old they all looked at me like a princess, I liked this feeling. I bowed once I reached the queen.
The music began again when I felt a hand wrap around my back. I turned to see a boy.
"May I have this dance?" he asked.
