Facilier unfolds a piece of paper in his hands revealing a glittering pile of pink dust. He blows sharply sending the particles toward Charlotte's direction. Large swirls of pink clouds envelope the small dwelling and begin transforming everything inside.
Charlotte tries to make her way to the door, but she freezes in terror as the walls around her begin warping and stretching upward. Taller and taller the walls stretch, and as the pink mist passes the wallpaper, towering glass windows take shape. White colonnades grow from the ground matching the borders of the windows. Gold wallpaper with intricate leaf patterns replaces the original purple and gold one. Long red curtains unfurl from all the windows, dropping their weight with a heavy flap against the walls. The pink smoke carries up into the high-reaching ceiling revealing paintings of cherubs in between the buttresses. The mist meets in the middle of the ceiling glowing brighter and brighter, and a large chandelier protrudes itself from the light.
Letting out a small gasp, Charlotte looks at everything transformed before her. She sees the tapestries draped between the arched windows and curtains, the sconces along the walls filled to the brim with pink roses, and the sparkling marble floor. She turns around, and her hand covers her gaping mouth when she views the grand double staircase gleaming before her. A palace. She is standing in an awe-inspiring palace beyond her wildest dreams.
That's when she sees him. Facilier stands smiling at her, eyes lowered. He is dressed like a prince, adorning a black military jacket with gold details from the buttons to the cuffs down to the trimming in his black slacks. A purple military sash crosses his body, and small medals on his chest twinkle in the light. His top hat is gone exposing his tall black hair which has been slicked back with a single curl hanging from the middle of his forehead. The black clothes accentuates his slender frame. Facilier's smile widens revealing his teeth, and she sees the gap between his middle top teeth again; a detail she thinks is charming to his whole image.
Well! He cleans up real nice! Charlotte thinks to herself.
"May I have this dance?" Facilier bows holding his white gloved hand out to her. The tassels hanging from his epaulettes sway with his movements.
How strange it is to Charlotte. She has played the role of pretend princess many times in her life, but there is a realness to this illusion as she stands at a checkmate across from someone she barely knows who wants to play along with her too. It's strange yet familiar, and she thinks about how her play-dates with Tiana seem so far away in comparison.
Charlotte feels a yearning in her chest to carry on with this fantasy, but she hesitates and looks down at her dress. Of all the outfits she picked today, the short sleeve dress in a soft light pink makes her look plain. Her expectation of a short meeting is gone, and now she regrets choosing such a simple ensemble. She looks back up at Facilier meeting his gaze. The knowing look in his purple eyes makes her heart skip a beat.
Facilier's grin never fades as he straightens his body while pulling out a small piece of parchment from his pocket. Another mound of pink dust. He gently blows it in Charlotte's direction.
Pink smoke surrounds Charlotte, slowly engulfing her dress. The hem of her dress stretches down to the floor, suddenly flaring out from the petticoat appearing underneath into a full ballgown. Her sleeves flow down off her shoulders as her bodice tightens around her creating an hourglass shape to her waist. A darker pink sash wraps around and ties into a large bow behind her, the ends flowing to the floor. A delicate layer of tulle covers the entire gown, sparkling in the light. When the pink fog disperses, Charlotte stands in front of a floating mirror Facilier prepares for her.
"Does it strike your fancy, cher?" he asks.
She touches the opera length gloves donned on her hands and arms, the same shade of pink as her dress, then looks at her reflection. Her blonde hair remains in the same short curls she styled that morning. Her hat is nowhere to be seen, but she sees a darling silver crown upon her head. Why does her reflection look so different from all the other times she dressed up as a princess? Charlotte feels different, and she can't seem to figure out why.
She gives a shy nod of approval, and the mirror vanishes.
Slowly, she takes his hand, and he steers her into the center of the ballroom. Facilier wraps his stray hand around Charlotte's waist. She holds her dress with her free hand, guiding her gown through the begin as he leads.
Charlotte's heart is pounding so loudly she can barely hear the music. When did the music start playing? Halfway through the song, Charlotte is impressed by Facilier's knowledge of dancing, especially ballroom dancing. Of course, Charlotte's insight of ballroom dancing derives from private lessons she begged her father to pay for. It is a basic princess necessity! She treads carefully keeping up with him to avoid stepping on his toes. She doesn't want to sully this moment with something so unseemly and embarrassing.
"My, you're quite the dancer," she says.
Facilier watches her still smiling. "Of course, it's a hobby."
"Well, had I known that, I would've asked you to be my partner ages ago!" Charlotte lets out a light laugh.
When she looks at him again, her face feels warm. She notices Facilier's unfaltering gaze causing her to feel timid and self-conscious. Before becoming completely entranced in his eyes, Charlotte forces herself to glance away.
That's when she sees the ballroom overflowing with people. There are bodies dancing alongside them in unison; ballgowns of different colors swirling to the same steps of their dance. Women and men gather along the outskirts of the ballroom, some sit at the tables and chairs closer to the walls. Everyone is talking amongst each other, laughter and voices fill the air. And yes! There is music resonating from the small orchestra in the back corner; the waltz they play completes the scene.
However, she doesn't recognize anyone, and all of their faces are masked in shadow.
The music comes to a stop, and Facilier backs a few feet away from Charlotte. The men in the dance pairs mimic his same steps and actions, bowing their heads at their partners as he bows to Charlotte. When Facilier lifts his head, the others clear the dance floor. A soft, slow melody begins from the orchestra, he steps toward Charlotte taking her hand again and just the two of them whirl away.
Despite being illusions, Charlotte still feels the presence of everyone looking at them. Everything seems to happen so fast, and she doesn't want it to end. A childish glee rises from her chest and she smiles and laughs, soaking in as much as she can. This is the best game of play pretend of her life!
Facilier begins to slow his steps.
"Miss Charlotte La Bouff," he starts. "I can no longer hide the throbbing in my heart."
He releases her hand and stops in front of her. Charlotte throws both her hands to her mouth in shock when Facilier kneels with one knee against the ground. He turns the palm of his left hand upward, and a small box appears.
"Even though our time together's been brief, it's been...heavenly," he continues thinking of her rehearsal from earlier.
Facilier opens the box with his right hand, unveiling the ring inside. "Would you do me the honor of becoming...my princess?"
Completely stunned, Charlotte blinks and stares wide eyed at the ring. It's a simple design with a single diamond and a gold band. The diamond itself is a fair size, nothing too showy or gaudy. Charming.
She smiles.
Completely taken away by Facilier's reverie, Charlotte looks everywhere at the dream around her. Her dream come true. She has waited so long for this moment, and everything is as she imagined. She realizes the power of Facilier's magic and feels a gravitating pull toward him.
Her heart begins to sink from the slightest thought of reality, from knowing the behind the scenes and knowing who pulls the strings. Selfishly, she pushes this thought from her mind, refusing to give in like a child fighting against the end of playtime.
There is a thread connecting the two, and Charlotte senses the weight of her decision. Her refusal would be like scissors to this thread, her connection gone forever. However, she feels a desperation to hang on.
Her dream is in the palm of his hand, and it's there for her taking. Just like all the riches her father has given her, this farce dangles before her, and she wants it all for herself, never letting it go.
Her happiness and exhilaration from this rendezvous washes over her again. Charlotte looks back at Facilier, her eyes brimming with tears as she smiles wider.
She holds out her left hand to him and softly says, "Yes."
Facilier slips the ring onto Charlotte's fourth finger.
A perfect fit.
Hello! I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! I appreciate those that have made it this far and the amazing reviews! Thank you, W. Stock!
I wanted to let readers know that I will be shifting gears in the month of June to focus on some events coming up. I'm hoping to keep up with my schedule to be able to continue writing in July to be able to post the rest of the chapters at that time. I'll be in a bit of a hiatus but will be back! Thank you again!