A/N: Heyo, guys out there reading this chapter. I'm so sorry for the delay.
My school days had been totally crappy and you wouldn't want to get me
started. Thanz for all the reviews. It's even more than I've expected! But
keep them coming!!!=) This chapter is kinda cool and nice. Anyway, just
enjoy? Oh yeah, and don't forget the reviews. :p
Chapter 8:
Days soon stretched into weeks and months. Jonathan threw himself into the endless balls and dinner parties. He entertained the ladies wholeheartedly and kissed them when they begged to. All the while, unable to escape from the vision of red curls and green eyes. The king was also starting to worry when Jonathan was still unable to find a wife.
As for Liza, thoughts of Jonathan were never far from her mind. Whenever she was troubled, she always communicated to him in her mind. But she knew that he would never come back to the tavern again. What for? She was just an ordinary commoner. There was a dignified air about him that separates him from the rest of the common folk.
"Liza! You've got to see what Diana has got!" A girl squealed excitedly. Curious, Liza rose from her seat and got out of the tavern, following Mary. They soon arrived at Diana's house where a group of girls were "ohing" and "ahing" over something on the table. Liza squeezed her way into the crowd and gasped when she saw the beautiful satin dress. It was blue and sparkled everywhere. It was adorned with small white pearls with little ruffles here and there. Although simple, it was definitely elegant, the type of dress fit for a noble to wear. The dress was absolutely breathtaking.
"Where did you get this dress?" Liza questioned.
"Well." Diana paused, for a dramatic effect. "I was helping Mum clearing out the house when I found this! Turns out that I had a distant relative who was a noble. Can you believe that? I'm partly noble!" The girls sighed with envy. "Anyway, there's this masquerade ball at the palace and I thought I could dress up in this. With a mask covering my face, no one would know the better!"
The girls squealed, "Oh my goodness, that's ingenious!"
"Diana, you little devil!"
"Oh, you lucky girl. You!"
Liza sighed, "Oh, what I wouldn't give to be in you place, Diana."
Diana paused, waiting for the rest to settle down. "That's not all. I decided to be fair to you all." While the rest were pondering over her words, Diana took out some straws. "We'll draw lots to decide who goes to the ball. That's only fair."
The squealing started all over again and everyone was hugging Diana, declaring her to be the best girl in the whole of Tora. The girls held their breath as they slowly drew their straws. When it came to Liza, she drew the last straw which turned out to be the shortest. Liza gasped in surprise. She couldn't believe her luck. The girls hugged her tightly and congratulated her.
Diana grinned widely, "Okay girls, time for some planning. The ball's tonight so we need ample time to dress Liza up. You all can tell your parents you're coming over for a sleepover since my folks won't be here. Oh yeah, and bring over all the jewellery and stuff you all have. It will be a night to remember." He eyes sparkled brightly. The girls whooped with joy and began chattering about what they would bring over. Liza was still too overwhelmed by the news to take part in the chattering.
For the rest of the day, Liza walked around the tavern in a half daze, not registering what was happening around her. Her mother noticed and contributed that to Liza's excitedness at going over to Diana's for a sleepover. She allowed Liza to go off early. Liza hugged her mother gratefully and packed everything she needed for the ball and the sleepover into a small bag. She walked slowly to Diana's house. When she opened the door, they crowded around her when they saw who it was.
They pushed her to the bathroom and filled the tub with warm water. They scattered rose petals over it and Diana poured in a nice-smelling liquid.
Liza sniffed, "Wow. What's that?"
Diana shrugged, "Something I plucked off my mother's dressing table." Seeing Liza's stricken look, Diana assured her that it ought to be fine. "Life's too short to not take risks."
The girls slowly filled out of the room, leaving behind all the scented soaps they had brought. Liza leaned in the tub languidly and enjoyed her bath. She felt like royalty, being able to bathe like this.
Soon, the girls were hammering on the door again.
"Liza, what are you doing? You bathe as slowly as my grandmother!"
"Liza, you'll be late for the ball."
"Liza, I swear I'll bring down the door if you don't hurry."
Liza gulped and hurriedly dried herself. She slipped on her shift and timidly got out. "About high time you got out. We've got tons to do," Diana grumbled. Liza reddened but the rest didn't give her time to apologize. They helped her put on the dress and made necessary alterations. They others pulled and twisted her hair till she winced. They chose a matching pair of earrings and necklace for her, made her put on white gloves, searched for the perfect pair of shoes to go with the dress and finally, they were done.
Liza's inside trembled with nervousness as she walked over to the mirror. She gasped when she saw the person staring back at her. It wasn't the Liza she knew but a complete stranger. Her hair was piled up elegantly with a shock of hair curling down the back. Two small tear-shaped diamond earrings hung from her ears with a matching necklace adorning on her skin. The glass slippers on her feet seemed fit for a queen.
"Liza, you look like a true blue princess," Diana breathed with awe.
"Men will be falling over their feet to talk to you!" Mary grinned.
A lone tear slipped from Liza's eyes as she hugged all her friends. "Tank you so much for everything. I promised to tell you all I've seen at the palace. If it hadn't been for you guys, I wouldn't be able to look like this."
"Liza Wellson, I won't have you crying on us and wrinkling my dress. You do us proud girl and show those stuck-up nobles what we commoner girls are made off," Diana said. A cheer went round the room and Liza felt like crying with joy again.
"Come on, there's no time to lose. I've a coach hired out there waiting for you," Diana hurried her. She passed Liza her shawl, slipped the eye mask onto her face and hugged her tightly. "Do us proud, Liza," she reminded. "And have a blast of a time."
Liza nodded. She waved goodbye to her friends and clambered up the coach. Before she knew it, the coach had drawn into the palace. "We've reached, miss," the driver said unnecessarily. Liza thanked him and got out of the coach. Liza stared openly at the palace. It was so big that she couldn't even imagine living in it. Elegantly-dressed nobles were walking into it, not even taking note of the size of the palace. It was as if huge palaces were nothing to them. Well of course they're nothing to them, she thought, blaming herself for her ignorance. They are nobles and you're just a commoner, don't you forget that.
Liza hesitating took a step towards the huge glass doors. "Good evening, miss," the butler greeted her. She returned the greeting. Taking a deep breath, she commanded her legs to walk through the doors into the palace. Into the world of nobles.
Chapter 8:
Days soon stretched into weeks and months. Jonathan threw himself into the endless balls and dinner parties. He entertained the ladies wholeheartedly and kissed them when they begged to. All the while, unable to escape from the vision of red curls and green eyes. The king was also starting to worry when Jonathan was still unable to find a wife.
As for Liza, thoughts of Jonathan were never far from her mind. Whenever she was troubled, she always communicated to him in her mind. But she knew that he would never come back to the tavern again. What for? She was just an ordinary commoner. There was a dignified air about him that separates him from the rest of the common folk.
"Liza! You've got to see what Diana has got!" A girl squealed excitedly. Curious, Liza rose from her seat and got out of the tavern, following Mary. They soon arrived at Diana's house where a group of girls were "ohing" and "ahing" over something on the table. Liza squeezed her way into the crowd and gasped when she saw the beautiful satin dress. It was blue and sparkled everywhere. It was adorned with small white pearls with little ruffles here and there. Although simple, it was definitely elegant, the type of dress fit for a noble to wear. The dress was absolutely breathtaking.
"Where did you get this dress?" Liza questioned.
"Well." Diana paused, for a dramatic effect. "I was helping Mum clearing out the house when I found this! Turns out that I had a distant relative who was a noble. Can you believe that? I'm partly noble!" The girls sighed with envy. "Anyway, there's this masquerade ball at the palace and I thought I could dress up in this. With a mask covering my face, no one would know the better!"
The girls squealed, "Oh my goodness, that's ingenious!"
"Diana, you little devil!"
"Oh, you lucky girl. You!"
Liza sighed, "Oh, what I wouldn't give to be in you place, Diana."
Diana paused, waiting for the rest to settle down. "That's not all. I decided to be fair to you all." While the rest were pondering over her words, Diana took out some straws. "We'll draw lots to decide who goes to the ball. That's only fair."
The squealing started all over again and everyone was hugging Diana, declaring her to be the best girl in the whole of Tora. The girls held their breath as they slowly drew their straws. When it came to Liza, she drew the last straw which turned out to be the shortest. Liza gasped in surprise. She couldn't believe her luck. The girls hugged her tightly and congratulated her.
Diana grinned widely, "Okay girls, time for some planning. The ball's tonight so we need ample time to dress Liza up. You all can tell your parents you're coming over for a sleepover since my folks won't be here. Oh yeah, and bring over all the jewellery and stuff you all have. It will be a night to remember." He eyes sparkled brightly. The girls whooped with joy and began chattering about what they would bring over. Liza was still too overwhelmed by the news to take part in the chattering.
For the rest of the day, Liza walked around the tavern in a half daze, not registering what was happening around her. Her mother noticed and contributed that to Liza's excitedness at going over to Diana's for a sleepover. She allowed Liza to go off early. Liza hugged her mother gratefully and packed everything she needed for the ball and the sleepover into a small bag. She walked slowly to Diana's house. When she opened the door, they crowded around her when they saw who it was.
They pushed her to the bathroom and filled the tub with warm water. They scattered rose petals over it and Diana poured in a nice-smelling liquid.
Liza sniffed, "Wow. What's that?"
Diana shrugged, "Something I plucked off my mother's dressing table." Seeing Liza's stricken look, Diana assured her that it ought to be fine. "Life's too short to not take risks."
The girls slowly filled out of the room, leaving behind all the scented soaps they had brought. Liza leaned in the tub languidly and enjoyed her bath. She felt like royalty, being able to bathe like this.
Soon, the girls were hammering on the door again.
"Liza, what are you doing? You bathe as slowly as my grandmother!"
"Liza, you'll be late for the ball."
"Liza, I swear I'll bring down the door if you don't hurry."
Liza gulped and hurriedly dried herself. She slipped on her shift and timidly got out. "About high time you got out. We've got tons to do," Diana grumbled. Liza reddened but the rest didn't give her time to apologize. They helped her put on the dress and made necessary alterations. They others pulled and twisted her hair till she winced. They chose a matching pair of earrings and necklace for her, made her put on white gloves, searched for the perfect pair of shoes to go with the dress and finally, they were done.
Liza's inside trembled with nervousness as she walked over to the mirror. She gasped when she saw the person staring back at her. It wasn't the Liza she knew but a complete stranger. Her hair was piled up elegantly with a shock of hair curling down the back. Two small tear-shaped diamond earrings hung from her ears with a matching necklace adorning on her skin. The glass slippers on her feet seemed fit for a queen.
"Liza, you look like a true blue princess," Diana breathed with awe.
"Men will be falling over their feet to talk to you!" Mary grinned.
A lone tear slipped from Liza's eyes as she hugged all her friends. "Tank you so much for everything. I promised to tell you all I've seen at the palace. If it hadn't been for you guys, I wouldn't be able to look like this."
"Liza Wellson, I won't have you crying on us and wrinkling my dress. You do us proud girl and show those stuck-up nobles what we commoner girls are made off," Diana said. A cheer went round the room and Liza felt like crying with joy again.
"Come on, there's no time to lose. I've a coach hired out there waiting for you," Diana hurried her. She passed Liza her shawl, slipped the eye mask onto her face and hugged her tightly. "Do us proud, Liza," she reminded. "And have a blast of a time."
Liza nodded. She waved goodbye to her friends and clambered up the coach. Before she knew it, the coach had drawn into the palace. "We've reached, miss," the driver said unnecessarily. Liza thanked him and got out of the coach. Liza stared openly at the palace. It was so big that she couldn't even imagine living in it. Elegantly-dressed nobles were walking into it, not even taking note of the size of the palace. It was as if huge palaces were nothing to them. Well of course they're nothing to them, she thought, blaming herself for her ignorance. They are nobles and you're just a commoner, don't you forget that.
Liza hesitating took a step towards the huge glass doors. "Good evening, miss," the butler greeted her. She returned the greeting. Taking a deep breath, she commanded her legs to walk through the doors into the palace. Into the world of nobles.