Chapter 7
A week later, Sara received an interesting proposition from William. It was one that left her very unsure of what to do, and made the whole complicated situation a lot more complicated.
"A dance?" Sara asked, staring at William.
He nodded, "It's a formal occasion. I didn't particularly want to attend, but I have to. The evening would be an awful lot better if you were there, and I thought you might like it, too."
Sara nodded, "I'm sure I would."
"It's settled then." He announced.
"Wait." Sara said, "I haven't made my mind up yet. It would be tricky to get out of the school for such a long time."
"We needn't get to the dance until after ten, it would be dark before you would need to leave the school." William pointed out, "And we'd return before morning. I am sure your friend Becky would happily cover for you, as she always does."
"Perhaps, but I shall have to ask her." Sara said. She knew it would be a huge risk to herself and to Becky.
"I am sure she will say yes." William said, "Do agree to come, Sara, it would be a magical night if you did."
"I wouldn't have anything to wear." Sara thought out loud. She looked up at William, "I didn't bring any clothes to school suited for such a formal dance."
It was true, really, that didn't have any suitable clothes at school. Not mentioning that she didn't own such clothes at all wasn't really a lie, was it?
"Then I shall buy you a dress." William told her.
"I could not let you do that." Sara protested, "I wouldn't be able to pay you back."
"You needn't." William said, "My grandfather has more money than he could possibly spend, and I would like to buy it for you."
Sara was unsure, but William kept insisting until she relented and agreed to let him buy her a dress. She did, however, refuse to go out in the daytime and choose one with him, and so he agreed to buy it himself and deliver it to the kitchen door the next night.
Sara waited in anticipation all of the next day, distracted from her household chores. She was so excited that she could not sleep, even though she didn't need to be awake until three in the morning. When the time came, she had to stop herself from running down the stairs, which would have made enough noise to wake up the whole school. She was in her tatty nightgown, but she'd borrowed a luxurious dressing gown from one of the girls' laundry piles and so wore that when she went to the door.
William was holding a large white box and smiling when Sara opened the door, "Delivery, ma'am."
"Thank you, sir." Sara replied in a whisper, hiding her giggle. She took the box from him, "You'll pick me up tomorrow at ten?"
William nodded, "I can't stop thinking about it."
Sara smiled, "Me neither."
They said their goodbyes and Sara crept back upstairs with the box, making it to the attic unnoticed. She opened the box and fingered the tissue paper stuffed inside. It had been a long time since she'd had clothes brought to her in tissue paper. It had been a long time since she'd had new clothes at all.
Becky had slept through Sara's trip downstairs, and so Sara changed into the dress by herself. She looked at herself in the cracked mirror and couldn't control the smile which covered her face. It was the most beautiful dress she'd ever worn.
The gown was a pale creamy yellow, with a tight bodice and a full ballgown skirt. Sara twirled and grinned as the skirt flew out around her. She was so in love with the dress that she didn't want to take it off. She couldn't resist waking Becky up to show her the beautiful dress. Becky loved it almost as much as Sara did, saying she'd never seen a piece of clothing so pretty and fine.
Sara grabbed her and they began to dance around the attic, Sara in her ballgown and Becky in her night dress. "It's going to be so perfect, Becky!"
"You must tell me every detail when you come back." She said.
"Of course, Becky!" Sara said, "I'll be happy to recount every little detail!"
"What do you think it will be like?" Becky asked.
"There will be lots of pretty ladies wearing dresses as fine as this one." Sara said, "And gentleman in their finest suits. Music that sounds as if it were played by angels. Everyone will dance until the ladies' feet grow sore in their heels. Can you imagine it, Becky?"
"I can." Becky said, giggling as Sara spun her around.
"Tomorrow, Becky." She said, stopping the spinning and looking herself in the mirror once again, "Tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life."
-o.O.o-
Sara was nervous the next night as she crept downstairs to the kitchen for two reasons.
The first; the gown was impossible to conceal and should Miss Minchin wake up, there would be no way to lie her way out of the situation. She could hardly claim she was fetching a drink of water in an expensive ball gown.
The second; she wasn't sure what to expect from the night, which excited her of course, but scared her too.
She opened the back door and then turned back, facing her best friend, "Wish me luck, Becky."
"Good luck, Sara." She said, hugging her.
Sara walked into the alley and then out into the street. William was waiting for her, standing next to a coach. Sara smiled at the grand carriage, pulled by two horses.
William stared at Sara, "You look beautiful."
Sara blushed, something she did not do too often, "Thank you. The dress is perfect."
"As is the person wearing it." William complimented.
"Is it far?" Sara asked, nodding towards the carriage.
"Not too far." He said. The driver opened the carriage door and William helped Sara in before following her. They sat side by side and their hands found each others' in the dim light, "Are you looking forward to the dance?"
"Very much so." Sara told him truthfully.
The horses began to move, pulling the coach alone the bumpy street. Warm memories flooded Sara of times in the past when she'd been able to afford to ride in carriages like this, when it was her father, not William, who sat by her side. It seemed like all too soon when the coach pulled to a stop and William let go of her hand.
He opened the door and climbed out, then offered Sara his hand once again, "Are you ready, Sara?"
A/N: Hiya :) The next chapter will be of the dance...I'm not sure when I will get time to write it as I'm very busy at the moment but I will try my hardest. I hope you liked this chapter, even though it was quite short, and if you did, please leave a review! :)
I've had an idea rolling around in my head for a few months now for another A Little Princess fan fiction story. I'm not exactly sure of all the details yet, but it would basically be a retelling of the story set in modern times. Let me know if you think this is a good idea/ you would be interested in reading it!
