Chapter Ten
Well I'd say that I'm on a roll this week! This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one, but you can all just have a cookie and forgive me.
To all my reviewers:
Lillian Marie Evans Potter: Haha! Yes.
tfobmv18: Maybe she doesn't want to realize what it means. I mean it's not a nice thought that somebody whom you love was going to be murdered.
Someone aka Me: See above response.
Queen of the Fairytales: Anna noticed that about Darrow. I suppose that was a bit vague.
JainaZekk621: Thank you very much.
Princess-Amity: I hope this helps you figure out how Darrow feels at this point!
Pinery: Mysterious isn't it? You'll see more of the dream lady later on –wink wink- but I'm not giving anything away.
random2one: I hope you like what happens at the ball!
Chapter Ten
Dance with me
Serafina admired her dress in the mirror, twirling, "Do you think Finn will ask me to dance?"
"Of course he will! He's bound to be in love with you," Anna smiled at her then turned back to pin another strand of white blond hair back.
"I'm sure Darrow will ask you to dance Anna," Serafina said sitting down beside Anna and watching her warily.
"I doubt it," Anna shrugged, "Either way, I can dance with Royce."
"Good, I mean, it's not a bad alternative," Serafina smiled again.
"All right, help me tie on the bloody mask," Anna groaned causing her friend to laugh as she tied the ribbons firmly.
"Darrow's going to eat his heart out, Royce too," Serafina smiled, "Now help me with mine."
Darrow stood with his parents, welcoming the guests as they filed into the ballroom, all of them looking excited and were decked out in their best and gaudiest ensembles. Already tired from tediousness of all this show.
"Come and dance with me," Marie-Claire said mercifully after a while and he nodded in grateful consent. Happy to get away from all the tittering and blushing girls who tended to linger by him.
They joined the first dance promptly, Marie-Claire was a vision in red and she started immediately amusing him with conversation, "My mother looks positively giddy tonight does she not, I've never seen her so playful!"
Darrow laughed and was soon convinced that nothing else would be able to steal his attention… until he caught sight of white blonde hair out of the corner of his eye.
He focused on Anna as she entered the room with Serafina, and forgot completely about Marie-Claire. Well it didn't take long for Royce to sweep her up, he thought bitterly watching Royce lead her onto the dance floor. Darrow felt… jealous; he forced himself to stop watching them and turned back to Marie-Claire.
Yet it wasn't long until he stole a glance in their direction, Anna was laughing at something Royce said and Darrow's eyes tightened beneath the mask and he tried to focus on his partner once more. It was harder than he thought, he smiled and nodded at Marie-Claire's comments, but he didn't hear one of them.
The night went on in this fashion until, around midnight, Darrow escaped the dance floor and ended up on the balcony overlooking the garden, his mask sitting, forgotten, by his elbow as he leaned forward on the stone rail. He was soon lost in thought, confused and furious and jealous, he wasn't aware of the approaching footsteps and actually started when she spoke.
"I hope you didn't make Marie-Claire too jealous tonight Dare," Anna laughed untying her mask and sitting it beside his, "You've danced so much!"
He grinned sideways at her, "Your one to talk, imagine all the broken hearts in there after you refused to dance with them and have spent the whole night with Lord Royce."
Anna picked up on the hard edge in his words, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," He muttered, "My feet ache."
"I'm sure, but that's not it," Anna pressed, "Hmm?" She leaned on the rail beside him grinning expectantly.
"Let's dance!" Darrow said, desperate to change the subject off of something that he didn't understand, he took her and spun her away from the rail.
Laughing she consented letting him twirl her around the balcony, "I'm not going to give up so easily!" She laughed.
"Of course not," he muttered rolling his eyes and pulling her to him, "Now, I am the frame and you are the pretty picture."
This made her laugh again, "Why must the lady always be the picture? Perhaps I want to be the frame!"
"You aren't big enough to be the frame," Darrow chuckled.
"Keep in mind that I still knocked you over, as small as I am," Anna glared playfully, enjoying their familiar banter.
"That wasn't fair," he argued, "I caught you."
"True," Anna agreed, "and then I knocked you down."
"Touche."
For several long moments they danced in silence, the only noise was the faint laughter and gentle notes of music wafting out to where they danced. The song drew to a close and they stopped, dropping their hands, but he didn't move away, he brushed away the hair she had covering the fading bruises from the attack.
"You have no idea…" He started but broke off painfully, "I wish that hadn't happened to you."
"Naturally," Anna rolled her eyes but she couldn't sound as sarcastic as she'd liked to have, for his fingers were touching her neck again, fire trailed over the bruises from his fingertips.
Darrow grinned his hand caressing the back of her neck he pulled her forward and pressed his lips to hers. She knew it was wrong, he was engaged! But his lips were as soft as she remembered and his hand was warm on the back of her neck, his arm strong around her waist. For a moment nothing else mattered but his lips moving against hers and the fire numbing them.
Of course it had to come to a horrible, heartbreaking end.
"Darrow!"
Darrow's head jerked up and he saw Marie-Claire her face frozen in horror and betrayal, before she turned and lifted her skirt racing down the corridor.
"Marie!" Darrow called and took a step as if to pursue her, but then thought better of it.
Anna, lips still burning from the kiss turned to seize her mask off the rail, "I'm so sorry Dare, I shouldn't have… I mean… I really like her, she's very nice and…" She stammered over the words trying to find the right thing to say, "I would never want to…"
"It's not your fault," Darrow leaned his forehead against the doorframe, "This is my fault Anna. I shouldn't have kissed you. I don't know what I was thinking. It was a mistake, a horrible, terrible mistake."
Anna flinched from the horrible stabbing pain in her chest when he said that, "You're very fond of her."
"I am," Darrow agreed.
"I didn't come here to ruin your life you know," Anna struggled to keep her voice even, "I'm sorry." Her voice broke somewhere in middle, and he didn't reply. He stood there, leaning against the doorframe with his back to her; she knew that he wanted her to leave so she hurried from the balcony.
Vision blurred she gathered up the skirt of her dress and left the palace through a side door, this led off into the garden. Racing down the path she tripped and fell into the dirt, reciting oaths she'd learned from Darrow and Finn so many years ago she turned and pulled off the opposing shoe. Katherine had picked out the horrible shoes, they were heels, which Anna despised and had glittering beads sewn into the fabric.
Anna stared at them through the stinging tears; they glittered like glass slippers in the moonlight. Hearing somebody open the door she scrambled to seize the shoes and started running again, in her haste she dropped one into the gravel.
Darrow entered the garden, "Marie?" he called glancing around, his toe nudged something and he knelt and picked up a glittering shoe. Frowning, he looked around for whoever had dropped it, sighing he turned back to the palace shoe in hand as the clock tolled midnight.
Well I hoped you liked it, a lot happened, even though it's really short. I really liked the idea of this chapter, you know, Cinderella and the
Ali,