A/N: Thank you for all of your patience!! Sorry it's been a long time. I'm still alive! Anyway, the good news is that this is the scene you've all been waiting for: the ball! The bad news? Well...you might not be happy considering my stopping point. That, and the fact that I have SAT's this weekend, APUSH test the next weekend, and a huge Bio 2 report to fill out, not to mention a movie to make for that class. In short, I won't be updating anytime soon. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, though...but anyway, I'll stop typing so you can just read the ballroom scene!
I gazed out the window at the castle. I was so nervous! Could I really face Leo again after all these years? The castle seemed to glow in the brilliance of the celebration lights and decorations. The Prince was eighteen, now, so they had pulled out all of the stops for him. I sighed, feeling slightly sorry for him. I could only imagine the sort of pressure he had tonight, such pressure to find a wife.
Silverspark stopped the carriage and helped me out. It was so weird seeing him as a human.
"You look lovely. I'll be out here, just call my name if you need me," he said. I gave him a hug.
"Wish me luck. Who knows what the night may bring," I replied, smiling. Silverspark wished me luck and shooed me off into the castle. I rushed up the steps, excited and scared. What if Leo didn't recognize me? What if he really didn't love me anymore?
I stepped through the ornate doorway and into the ballroom. It felt like everyone was staring at me! I supposed I had made a rather large and sudden entrance. I tried to slip into the crowd and disappear, but my presence just brought about whispers and stares. Was my hair messed up? Had I torn my dress? No, those were all ridiculous thoughts. I saw myself in the mirror. The stares were still so very uncomfortable.
The dancing resumed, and I hid near a wall, trying to find the Leo. He was dancing with Evangeline. He seemed entranced by her presence. I couldn't help but watch him. Leo. My Leo, dancing with that witch! I sighed, my enthusiasm quickly diminishing. The dance finished, and it appeared that Leo wanted to dance with Evangeline again. He turned around to search for her after she disappeared, but saw me sneaking out to the gardens, the same gardens I used to go to; they were connected to the castle.
It was useless. Leo was all grown up now; he didn't care about me anymore.
"Excuse me, miss, I don't believe I've met you yet. Shall we dance?" he asked. I nodded. He didn't recognize me…
"Yes, that would be lovely." Leo smiled. He looked as handsome as ever, and I realized that I was more in love with him than I had ever been! His green eyes were bright; his curly mop of hair was tamer than usual, but still a bit of a mess. He was tall and muscular, no doubt from all of his training in weaponry. Yes, it was clear from the tournament that he was very skilled.
"Well then. Let us dance! We can even dance out here if you like; you can still hear the music," he offered. I smiled daintily. If he didn't remember me, then pretending to be someone else might be helpful.
"That would be splendid, Your Highness." Leo took my hand in his, and we began to dance. I lost myself in the moment. It was so good to be back in Leo's arms, even if he didn't seem to recognize me.
"I hope you are enjoying yourself," started Leo, clearly feeling very awkward. I nodded.
"Oh yes, I'm having a wonderful time. Dancing with the prince out in the garden is lovely. The stars are exceptionally bright tonight, too," I commented, thinking of the night we once had under the stars. The night I first realized I was in love with him. A look of sadness came across Leo's eyes.
"Indeed, they are," he said quietly. I stopped dancing.
"Are you alright?" I asked. Did he remember? Leo shrugged.
"I suppose. It's just that…have you ever fallen in love before?" he asked. What? Why was he asking me this question?! I wasn't even sure he knew me! Did her remember me? It didn't appear so. But I had to play along for the moment.
"Once," I answered. The Prince nodded and smiled.
"Then you know how it is when you're separated from the one you love. You actually remind me quite a bit of her," he explained. I could have told him then, but I held my tongue.
"Tell me about her. It's okay, I won't let anyone know that a handsome prince like you was once in love," I said. Leo shrugged.
"To tell you the truth, I think I'm still in love with her. I met her several years ago trying to avoid my mother and her ridiculous ideas of marriage and diplomacy. But the girl was beautiful, with golden hair and bright blue eyes, adventurous and kind. She could match wits with me, and had a snappy sense of sarcasm and humor. Even though it almost got annoying at times, it was matched by an equal sense of kindness and justice. We were the best of friends. She was a commoner, but I never thought of her as such. She was the most unique and least common girl I knew. And I know a lot of girls! We went on adventures together and explored. We had so many good times. She trusted me. She told me about her fears of her father getting remarried. But as we got older, a small rift developed. I kept complaining about my royal duties; she wouldn't take it. She complained about her family, and I wouldn't take it. She was rash, getting herself into all sorts of trouble. I tried to protect her, but there were many times when she wouldn't let me. The fights got nasty. But we did make up. We solved our problems, but she was still unhappy with the realization that I didn't know who I wanted to be. I was young and stupid then, and I regret being so hotheaded. It was almost too late by the time I realized that I was in love with her. But I finally got to tell her. She was the reason for everything I did, the only person that kept me going in the hardest times. I told her I wanted to marry her if I could, and that I would figure out a way. But she ran away that day, and I never saw her again. Well, I don't think I did. I was so hurt and confused that I saw her everywhere. I tried to find her, but it was almost as if she disappeared. I kept seeing her face in my dreams. I wanted to see her at least once, talk to her and know that she was okay, let her know that I still loved her. She has haunted me every moment for the past four years," he explained. Oh Leo! He did love me! He loved me after all! But what about his flirting?
"But you kept flirting with other women! I saw you with all of those women at the tournament! You couldn't have loved while flirting so much!" I exclaimed. Leo suddenly got defensive and angry.
"You don't know the situation! I had to! It pleased my mother, and there were times when I did that simply to survive. There were times when it was like I was under a spell. After realizing that she wouldn't return, I tried to fall in love with other girls. But I couldn't!" he answered loudly. He…he really did love me! It was…it was…an unfortunate miscommunication. Oh how I had missed him!
"But what about that one girl inside, the one with all of the bows? Evangeline?" I asked. Leo shook his head.
"She seems to have captured me in some sort of spell, but I feel nothing nearly as strong as I did for Mari," he explained. I suddenly embraced him. He never forgot about me! It was such a relief.
"Oh Leo, I never meant to leave, for you to be so heartbroken! They held me back!" I exclaimed. Realization struck Leo. He pushed me back a little to get a better look.
"Mari? Oh! You…you…I didn't recognize you! You should have told me it was you! You let me say all that! What…how are you? Where did you go?" he demanded, holding my hands, his eyes open wide in shock and a slight bit of anger. In that moment of realization, his gaze turned from shock to love and delight in seeing me again.
"It was my stepfamily. After my father died, they took control of my life, making me a servant, forcing me to work for them. After I got your letter telling me to meet you in the gardens, they forced me to tell you goodbye. But I couldn't. I loved you too much. It was the hardest thing I had to do, and I failed. I'm so sorry, Leo. I don't know why they didn't want me with you. But they're witches! At least, Evangeline and Lady Millicent are. Evangeline probably has you under a spell. They've got some sort of plan for tonight! Please be careful, Leo!" I exclaimed. Leo smiled and embraced me, and I felt happy again. I had missed him so much! My heart ached for him, and now I was back in his arms, safe once again!
"Never leave me again!" he exclaimed, embracing me. I held on tightly to him, as if I would never see him again. "It's so good to know that you never forgot me. I thought you didn't love me. I'll be careful, though. I promise," he said, squeezing my hand.
"I've always loved you, Leo," I replied. He smiled.
"Shall we take a walk in the garden?" he asked. I nodded exuberantly. We strolled along, holding hands and gazing at the flowers. I grinned as we reached our old spot by the roses. We stopped, and Leo bent down on one knee.
"I'm going to try and do it right, this time. I'm supposed to give this to the girl I want to marry tonight. Mariella Lynette Astor, you are the only girl I've ever loved and will ever love. Would you do me the honor of being my bride?" he asked, pulling out a beautiful diamond ring. I nearly squealed in excitement. Tears of joy welled up in my eyes.
"Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes!" I answered, giggling. Leo stood up. My head spun and my heart soared.
"We've got to go tell my parents," he whispered. I sighed. I would have rather stayed out in the gardens with him, but it was necessary to let the King and Queen know. No doubt the Queen would be overjoyed. Hand in hand, we walked into the castle, stepping up to the thrones of the King and Queen.
"Mother, Father, I want you to meet Mariella. She has agreed to be my bride," he stated, gazing into my eyes. The King and Queen smiled. Evangeline and Lady Millicent approached us.
"Not so fast!" declared Evangeline. "See Mother, I told you she would mess everything up!" she exclaimed venomously. Lady Millicent took a hold of Leo, trying to take him away. I held onto his hand tighter, refusing to let him go.
"The Prince is to marry my daughter Evangeline," she ordered, clenching her teeth. The Queen stood up.
"Not if he wants to marry this lovely girl!" she exclaimed. "I've been waiting for my son to find a proper girl all these years, and if he's found one that both of us can agree on, then he is marrying this one!" Lady Millicent frowned, and a small cloud of silver magic surrounded her, nearly invisible to the naked eye.
"Very well, since you won't cooperate, we shall have to do this the hard way. Evangeline, take him away! Plan B!" she screeched. Evangeline nodded, yanking Leo out of my hands and, in a cloud of black smoke, disappeared with Leo.
"Leo!" I shouted, running to the cloud of smoke. Lady Millicent chuckled.
"You can try and find him. But you won't, Mari. He is safe and secure until the King gives me what I want!" she exclaimed.
"Who are you? What do you want?" demanded the King.
"You may not think you know me, but you did. Once upon a time, you ruined my life, made me flee for my sake and the sake of my daughters. And now it is your turn. Were it not for that girl breaking Evangeline's spell on the Prince, you would be off your throne, my daughter in power and my husband avenged. But now I delight in the prospect of bringing you to your knees as painfully as you brought me to mine! You will suffer, King Victor!" she exclaimed. The King shook his head, clearly distraught at the kidnapping of his only son.
"Return my son to me, and I'll give you anything you want!" he exclaimed urgently. Lady Millicent smiled wickedly.
"I want you to suffer the same agony and fear I did! The same pain and loss I felt! I want you to die," she growled. The clock struck midnight, and I knew what I had to do.
Quiet Mindreader: He's supposed to stay outside because, as you said, he's only a driver, but I'd someday love to do a little oneshot about what would happen if he did go inside. Oh, the plot I could come up with! I really love Silverspark. He deserves so much more. Silverspark likes being a human, but I think I'll save that plot for another time. :)
Ashabagawa: Oh good! I do try my hardest to make this the best that I possibly can. I mean, I know it's not perfect in the least, but I'm glad people enjoy it. So, are we still in favor of slowly destroying Evangeline and Lady M?
Arista Everett June: I hope you loved this chapter as much as I loved writing it! I love blue dresses. I bought a dress for prom this year and it looks like a beautiful Cinderella dress. I'm absolutely in love with it, but long story short, I'm saving it for next year's prom. (Don't ask!) Glad my writings bring joy! And giddiness. :) Unfortunately, I can't reveal anything about her fate. My lips are sealed! God bless!
jyushi girl: Well, it started out as a Cinderella story, but it's morphing into something far more exciting! Thanks! I'll need all the luck I can get! I think chapter 35 or 36 have some details about the fairy situation if you're a little confused. More will be explained later, I can assure you.
Mockingbyrd's Tune: Hooray! Another member of Team Silverspark! Part of me wants to make him human for longer...he makes a great human! I'm not going to lie, I think of my own prom dress when I write about Mari's dress. You'll see more of the fairy glass slippers, don't worry! I was excited when I made those up. It really seems quite logical. I mean, who would want shoes made of real glass? Why not make up your own materials for your own world? :)