Sorry I couldn't post yesterday, my internet was terrible, I was really close to murdering my computer.
Chapter 29
The queen was true in her promise, and a ball was held a week afterwards. All the girls were excitedly getting ready, wearing the same clothes as last time. They quickly scrambled as fast as they could to the ball room. Once they appeared within three feet of the staircase, they slowed to a respectable walk. They slowly walked down the staircase, making their presence known. Amu quickly scanned the crowd for Claw, she was worried that he wouldn't come. She finally found him, but he was within a huge crowd of girls. She smiled at this, but decided to not come close. The other girls were already with the boys from last time.
That's when Amu saw Claw extracting himself from the crowd. Amu looked away, thinking that he wouldn't come near her. That's when she felt a tap at her shoulder, Amu turned to see Claw. She gasped:
"Claw!" The man smiled. "I'm so glad that you came!"
"I'm glad you think that way, will you honor me with this next dance?"
"Of course Claw, I always love an excuse to dance." Claw laughed.
"Well Lady Strawberry, now that I know that, I'll take you up with it more often." Amu smiled, but inside, her heart was in a turmoil. 'He makes my heart flutter just as much as Prince Ikuto, what do I do?' Amu couldn't help but gladly take Claw's arm. The other girl's looked at the two for some reason, as if they knew a happy secret. Amu didn't understand it at all. She shrugged it off, 'I knew it. My friends are lunatics.'
Claw led her to the dancefloor, then placed her hands on his waist. Amu felt completely relaxed as the sweet melody started up. Claw smiled down at the girl in his arms, she truly was special. No other girl could make him feel this way, and girls have tried. They all wished to impress him with their splendor and shine, but somehow, just by being her, she won his heart. And he knew it. Claw loved Lady Strawberry.
"Claw?" It was small, barely anything more than a whisper.
"Yes my lady?"
"This might be the last day that I see you, so I was wondering if we could reveal who we truly are at the end of this night." Claw smiled.
"Ummm, never mind, sorry." Amu looked away, 'I want to know who you are, but… what if knowing who you are only puts my heart into an even greater turmoil than it already is?' The song ended and Claw was once again, surrounded by a bunch of girls and Amu was elbowed out of the way. Amu walked over to her friends who were sitting alone now.
"Hey girls, where are the men you were with?" All the girls pointed to the gaggle of girls. The poor men were trying to help out poor Claw. Amu couldn't help but giggle, she was also thankful she wasn't stuck in there. That's when Amu saw it, a flicker of light from outside. She pulled the other girls to it.
"Look! Isn't it beautiful!" The other girls looked at her.
"It's the same fountain we see every day," Utau deadpanned. Amu shook her head:
"But look, it's lit up differently, and look at all these flowers hung around the rim!"
"Yaya sees it and Yaya thinks Amu is right! It's beautiful!" The other girls smiled at the two ogling girls. Soon, they were pulled into admiring it too, they couldn't help it. Soon they were all stunned how the garden looked. They started to twirl and spin and dance around the garden fountain to the music. They didn't realize that some men had joined up with them, until they were lifted up and spun around. They each looked down into the eyes of their partners from before.
It was a beautiful night, but unfortunately, like all fairytales, the magic has to end. And at midnight, the spell was broken and all were sent home. The girls walked into the bedroom and flopped onto their beds, smiling. For it was, 'a lovely night.'
