I didn't give you guys much time to read and review, but thanks to UltimateMaxmericaShipper, delovlies, baaacooon, 4Love4Love4, and the5SOS-YAfangirl (x2).
Part Two of last chapter! Outfits are still on Pinterest!
…
"I forgot how much I love parties. They make me feel so alive." Sirena said dramatically, throwing out her hands as she and Nat stopped dancing long enough to get a drink. "Except this one." Sirena added. She peeked over at the queen "This one kind of sucks."
"I think by the time Ethan dances with all of us, it'll be over. Gosh, this is getting boring. I feel like we can barely speak to the guards without getting in trouble!"
"I know!" Sirena tipped back a glass of the pink champagne served. It was the same color as her fitted light pink halter-top gown, with a key-hole bodice. The color probably should have clashed with her red locks, adorned with a large crown of pink flowers, but she could pull of anything. Even in red, Nat felt underwhelming next to her. Her dress was a light reddish damask, with a high neckline, and short sleeves, with tiny red crystal beading. Her hair, unlike Sirena's, was up, adorned with roses at the back of her head.
"You know, champagne is very fattening." Mackenzie commented, coming behind them, and purposely reaching for the pitcher of water. She gave Sirena a raised eyebrow look, before taking her water and moving on. Sirena, instead of looking mad, looked upset. She looked glumly at her drink, and set it back on the table.
"Hey, don't let her get to you. She did that on purpose." Nat said, trying to comfort her friend. She had been unusually touchy about eating and her weight lately. "She's just a jerk. I saw her drink champagne all night, but now she decides to go for water instead."
"Whatever. I just can't wait until she's sent home."
"Maybe you should try to get her to hit you so she has to!" Nat joked. The two girls laughed.
They watched the dancers for a while. As the song ended, Ethan, who had been dancing with Adele, bowed customarily to her. She curtsied back, glowing in the soft light of the tent, and in her gold dress. She said something to him, and they laughed, their faces close, hands grasped. He then kissed her cheek, and let go of her hands, before asking Amber to dance.
"Okay then!" Sirena exclaimed in mock surprise. "He must really like her."
"I bet Gracie won't like that too much."
"Hey, at least he's kissed both of them."
"Jealous?" Nat teased.
"Nah. I just haven't been kissed since I got here. It would kinda nice." Sirena shrugged.
"Yeah, I suppose…" Nat took a sip of champagne, thinking of Ben and wondering where he was. For her, kissing Ethan would not be nice.
"You've never kissed anyone, have you?" Sirena read into her reaction wrong.
"No! I have!" Nat said quickly.
"Really?" Sirena raised her eyebrows and wiggled them at Nat.
"Yes!"
"Then why did you get all bashful?"
"I don't know…just…I don't think Ethan and I would make a very good couple."
"Oh. You don't like him?"
"He's nice. I wouldn't mind him as a friend. Just not…like that." She gestured to Adele, who was speaking excitedly to Felicity.
"Yeah. I don't really know what to feel. Hey, look, he's dancing with Nicole!"
The two girls watched as Ethan led Nicole out to the rest of the partners, and they began their dance. Nicole was giggling nervously, and blushing.
"I haven't seen that much of her lately." Sirena remarked.
"She's been practicing her ballet with Princess Christine every chance she gets. She always gets like that when she doesn't want to face reality."
"What do you mean?"
"I think she's falling in love, but she won't admit it. And she doesn't want to hurt Gracie's feelings either."
They watched the two dance. Nicole was resplendent in her multi-colored dress, her hair long and curled. Nat marveled at how graceful her sister was when she was still getting used to wearing heels.
"You really think she loves him?" Sirena asked.
"She won't admit it, but I think she's falling for him."
The dance ended, and Ethan and Nicole politely parted ways. Ethan headed towards the two of them. Sirena elbowed her, and Nat quickly busied herself with the drinks behind her, hoping he would ask Sirena. He didn't.
"Lady Nat…would you care to dance?"
Nat smiled hesitantly, and glanced at Sirena, before taking his hand, and following him out to the dance floor. The music began, and Nat attempted to dance, though she had never been very good. She was clumsy, and stepped on Ethan's toes more than once.
"Sorry!" She exclaimed as it happened again. "I should leave the dancing to Nicole."
"It's fine. I'm afraid I'm not much of a dancer either. You look lovely, though." The last part came out somewhat forced, it seemed to Nat. She sighed. Maybe he should know the truth.
"Look, you don't have to do that."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know….just try to flirt with me. You have enough girls to worry about."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand."
Nat looked away, trying to find the right words. "I…think you should know something. I don't think I can ever, like, be in love with you." She found herself looking at him, trying to gauge his response.
He looked…relived.
"Am I that repulsive?" She joked.
"No, sorry. I was just kind of thinking the same thing. I mean, you're a great girl, but-"
"It's okay. I totally get it."
They tried to dance for a few awkward moments, before Ethan spoke again. "So, do you want me to send you home then? Because I was thinking…maybe you could, I don't know, help me out?"
"Like, an inside job? Help you figure out which one of these girls is potential wife material?"
"Yeah. I mean, no one knows them better than you do."
"Except maybe Sophia." Nat reminded him, glad the etiquette mistress was still overseeing reconstruction in the palace. Ethan shuddered.
"No. Not her." He smiled.
"Well, then I guess I'm your girl. And I can tell you one thing right away. Cordelia's only here for the food." She nodded to where the plump brunette was getting yet another helping of dessert at the chocolate fountain. "She doesn't even want to be queen." They laughed.
"Except she's a Two, so I can't send her home right away. Not without my dad loosing it."
"It's not his wife." Nat reminded him. "So, friend, what do you think of my sister? Could you love her?"
"I think I could learn too." He said, his ears turning red. Nat giggled.
"I think you could to. Another reason I'd like to stay is for her. She needs me. I think she's falling in love with you, and you're in love with Gracie and Adele and-"
"I'm not in love with…anyone. Not yet. And Gracie's just a friend."
"Like me? Only you kissed her?"
"No…I don't know…." He stumbled over a response.
Nat decided to change the subject. "Well, as first order of buddy-advisor-inside-spy, Katherine is all by herself over there." She pointed outside the tent, to where the brunette was sitting on the stone bench on the path to the beach, by herself. The music ended, and Nat curtsied, before giving him a little shove. "Go on! You gave me authority to do this!" She walked back over to Sirena.
"What was that all about?"
"Let's just say I gave him a pep talk. And told him I was madly in love with him just for kicks."
"You did not!" Sirena gasped.
"You're right, I didn't."
Sirena swatted her on the arm. "Oh, you!"
"Well, this is boring." Nat leaned against the table.
"We could spruce it up a little." Sirena sat down her glass. "Show these folks waltzing isn't the only form on dance?"
"You're on!"
…
Katherine watched the sun sink low in the sky, picturesque over the ocean. Annaliese would have loved it here. The ocean, the party, the people…but she was gone. Sometimes, Katherine would turn, thinking her sister would be right there, and then she remembered she had died in a plane crash. She blinked back tears, wishing she could just be okay. Annaliese would have been having the time of her life right now. But Katherine just wanted to be alone. She tried to stop crying, but once she had gotten started, it was hard.
She had loved the dress she had designed for tonight. Blush pink chiffon, short sleeves, long, flowing skirt, with lace running all over it. Her hair was swept up, adorned with pale pink roses. But she had caught a glimpse of herself in the tray of champagne glasses a servant had been carrying around.
She looked like her sister.
Sometimes, it seemed that they had heard the news years ago. Sometimes it seemed like only yesterday. But it still hurt. She sniffed, and patted her hair. She needed to go back before someone noticed.
Soft footsteps on the grass made her realize it was too late. It was Ethan.
"Thought you could use some company out here all by yourself." He said. Katherine wiped at her eyes quickly.
"Sorry, I just wanted to be alone for a moment." Katherine smiled, and quickly turned away. "Being around people just wears me out!" She tried to laugh, but crossed her arms tightly over her chest to lock in her emotions. She felt Ethan's hand brush over her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly.
"Yeah, there's just something in my eye." Katherine tried to make an excuse, but her voice started wavering.
"Let me see."
"No, it's okay." Katherine tried to turn again, brushing the tears away.
"You're crying." He pointed out, his hand finding hers.
"I noticed." She said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "It's nothing really."
"Kate…" He murmured. At the use of her nickname, even though he'd been using it for a week now, pushed her over the edge. She buried her face in her hands, unable to keep the sobs in.
"Sorry." She squeaked out, as he wrapped his arms around her, and drew her close. After a minute, her shoulders stopped shaking. She sniffed, and wiped her nose. "We seem to do that a lot." She pulled away, and gave him an embarrassed, watery smile.
"I don't mind."
"My sister used to tell me 'One day, someone is going to hold you so tight that all your broken pieces are going to fit back together'. And whenever she hugged me, I felt that way."
"Guess I must make a pretty poor substitute." Ethan smirked.
"No, actually you were pretty good. I just saw myself in a reflection…and I looked like her. It just hurt."
Ethan slipped his arm over her shoulders, and she leaned her head on chest impulsively.
"We used to be like that." She gestured to where Nat and Nicole were swinging around in a circle, laughing hysterically, the stately waltzing commandeered, one of the fiddlers playing wildly. "I feel like I should have gotten over it, and put it behind me, and then I remember." She sighed heavily, and Ethan kissed the top of her hair gently.
"I don't think you have to put it behind you." He told her. "Don't try to forget her, or what happened."
"I never thought about it that way." Katherine admitted. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments.
"We should probably get back to the party before the other girls get jealous." Katherine lifted her head up, and looked up at him, surprised to see just how close they were.
"Yeah…" He murmured, one side of his mouth twitching into a smile. "Just not yet, Kate." His fingers traced over her cheek as if she were made of porcelain. Katherine's heart skipped a beat, and she sucked in a sharp intake of breath before he kissed her. Their lips met, and for the first time in her life, Katherine felt beautiful. She had never considered herself to be any more than plain before, but in that moment, she felt like a goddess.
Ethan pulled back ever so slightly. "Sorry." He murmured.
"Don't be." This time, Katherine kissed him, and it was longer than the first one. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands ended up on her waist. Katherine forgot her sadness, she forget the stress of this whole ordeal, and she forgot her confused feelings. She'd always thought her first kiss would be the most complicated moment of her life. Annaliese always told her "when you're kissing the right person, you'll know." And this felt so right. She pulled away, only when she realized all of the other girls could probably see them. She cast a nervous glance over her shoulder, but they were absorbed with their own fun.
"I just kissed you." She blurted out.
"So I noticed." Ethan grinned at her. They stood up from the bench. Katherine smoothed her hair, and Ethan grabbed her hand. "Ready to rejoin the party?"
Katherine sighed dramatically. "If we must." She giggled, and they walked back.
"Care to dance?"
…
Gracie sighed, smoothing out her dress. She watched as Ethan and Katherine rejoined the party, hand in hand, smiling and laughing.
He had kissed her.
She hadn't thought it polite to watch, but had seen what had transpired. And it had been a whole lot longer than the mere peck he had given her. She swirled the contents of her glass around, watching them dance together.
"I would give anything to know what they were saying." She heard Cordelia say behind her. "He and Nat looked so cozy."
"I heard every word." Mackenzie's voice.
"Tell me!"
"Well, Nat accused him of being in love with Gracie, and he said 'Why would I ever be in love with her? She's an annoying ditz who is way too young for me. I was going to send her home after she wore that dress, but I felt bad her.'"
Gracie didn't wait to hear the rest of the story or Cordelia's response. She set down her glass, and retreated from the party before anyone saw her cry. She lifted up the heavy layers of tulle making up her white to pink ombre skirt, and tried to walk at a dignified pace. She doubted half of what Mackenzie had said was true, since she was standing so close to them, the cruel girl had probably twisted his words around somehow. Still, the words had stabbed her, and realization had come through. She opened one of the side doors, leading off the garden, and opened the closest door, to a small parlor.
There, she found Lissa, curled up on the couch in the room, her eyes red and tear-stained.
"Oh. Gracie. I didn't know anyone else would be here."
"Sorry." Gracie blubbered, "I just needed to be myself."
"You and me both. What's wrong?" Lissa sat up, her voice strained from an earlier cry, and patted the seat next to her.
"It's just…I realized that…I'm not the only girl here that has a chance. I might not even have a chance at all. I know he kissed Adele, but that was a while ago. And he just kissed Katherine. And she would make such a great princess. She's sweet and perfect, but she's mature, and they are both so suited to each other…" Gracie burst into tears again. "I hate being so jealous of everyone all the time!"
Lissa said nothing, just patted Gracie's back while she cried.
"Boys are so hard to understand." Gracie tried to joke after a while. She looked at Lissa, as if realizing she was just now here. "Why are you here?"
"A misunderstanding."
"With Ethan?"
"No…."
"Oh…then, Wesley?"
Lissa looked uncomfortable. "How'd you figure that one out?"
"Just the way you two looked at each other on your birthday at the masquerade. What happened?"
"I don't really want to go into the details. Let's just say, I'm probably headed home soon." Lissa wiped her nose, and Gracie swung her arm over Lissa's shoulders, and the girls hugged.
"This is a lot more complicated than I thought. I thought it would just be like a fairytale." Gracie admitted.
"I think, in a lot of ways, it's bigger than a fairytale." Lissa suggested. "A lot harder too. No prince to do all the work."
"It's a minefield." Gracie agreed. "I think, this whole time, I've set myself up to win. Without a doubt, it was going to be me. I just realized that there are 15 other girls here competing."
"Not me."
"Okay, 14." Gracie smiled. "And whatever happened between you and Wesley, I hope it works out."
"Yeah. Me too." Lissa fidgeted with the pink necklace she always wore. "Want to go back?"
"I guess we should." Gracie checked her makeup in the mirror on the wall.
At least she had one friend she didn't have to fight with.
…
Not much to say, just review please!
-Shades