Authors Note: This is a long one folks. =) And its gonna have to last you a couple days 'cause mid-terms are coming up and I have to get all A's. ;)
Anyway, thanks for all your opinions, I appreciate them. But honestly... you people aren't much help. ;) I've got two realistic votes, two supernatural, two can't decide, and one person --E1stwin-- who thinks I should do both.
I will if you want me too, but its gonna take longer.
-Spirita
I was thinking of supernatural along the lines of portals and time traveling and stuff like that, you know regular TLW stuff. :)
-TheChosenOne3
You'll get the story of Marguerite's parents alright. I have a friend who says the fic is almost all about them but don't worry it isn't. I just like to give background. =)
Anyway, keep reviews and votes coming...
thanks.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"It was at a ball, one that Belle wasn't suppose to be at but she'd talked her father into allowing it, who consequentially was friends with my father. Richard told my dad that Belle was going so I was allowed to go too. I remember we were having a great time, watching all the dancing and movement. We were too young to be taken out on the floor, but at the time watching was good enough for us. I was never an overly pretty girl. But Belle, well lets just say her nickname didn't come because her name is Isabelle. At 14 she had a mass of raven curls that hung to her waist, a very slim waist, by the way and the largest, bluest eyes you've ever seen. They sparkled all the time and she was always laughing... she had no reason not to be."
Karla's smile was distant as if she was actually seeing it all again, "I'm sure that night she caught the eye of many men. But the only one who dared to approach the Darling Mendoza Maiden without first consulting with her father was the dashing Christopher Messina." She paused here a moment and shook her head softly, still smiling.
"I don't think he knew how young she was. I think he only knew that she was gorgeous. He asked her to dance and she didn't even hesitate. They made the handsomest couple out there."
"I thought you said you couldn't dance." Veronica questioned softly.
Karla smiled, "We weren't suppose to, but... well... I don't think she remembered that detail at that point. She danced four dances with him before her father noticed. Immediately, he went out onto the floor and grasped her arm, pulling her away. He told Christopher, that his daughter was but a child and that he was not to go near her ever again. It was talked about for weeks the way he pulled her out of there. He just grabbed her and headed for the door, they didn't even say good-bye to anyone, they just rushed out. And the whole time her father was yelling, the whole time it took to cross the floor and head towards the door her eyes were fixed on him. For three weeks after that she wasn't allowed out of the estate. It was the first time I can remember he punished her." Karla paused her expression thoughtful.
"I think back on it now and I can see what he saw. I can see the danger he saw. He knew what could happen. What he didn't know was that by the time he snatched her from Christopher's grasp on that dance floor it was already too late. The damage had already been done. Belle had fallen in love at first sight."
"So what happened?" Finn asked expectantly when Karla paused
"For the first time in her life Belle was angry at her father. He'd humiliated her at that ball and that was something not to be taken lightly. It was the first step in the deterioration of their relationship. He should have known that her wounded pride would drive a wedge between them, he'd instilled that pride in her. He should have known that she would never apologize, would never admit to being wrong. He demanded that admittance from her and she refused, for the first time in her life she defied him and as the days wore on it became a habit for her."
"Somehow Richard knew, he felt that he was losing his little princess. He began to focus his attentions on Rosa. In turn she never lost a chance to rub it in Belle's face that she was now fathers favorite. At first it would burn Belle up, but as the days turned to weeks she became more acceptant of it, something that drove Rosa mad." Karla smiled " Of course she became more acceptant because a certain somebody was leaving roses on her window sill and meeting her in gardens."
The explorers smiled a long with Karla, "awwwww....sounds romantic." Finn said her eyes shining.
"I suppose it was. Like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, we used to say. Unfortunately, at the time Belle and I forgot one crucial detail - the name of the play is The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet." she smiled sadly here. As though the realization of this years ago would have stopped the happenings that occurred.
"I used to help them out." she began again. Making an obvious effort to drag her mind away from the tragic ending and focus on the delightful beginning.
"I'd go the house and ask if Belle could come visit me and of course they'd let her. To say no would be an insult to my House. Then we'd walk to the park and he'd be waiting. They'd thank me and I'd leave them there for about an hour or so. One day she came out of that garden and said to me he wants me to marry him, he asked me to be his wife."
Karla sighed, "It was the beginning of the end for them. As long as they had a harmless little romance everything was fine but when talk of marriage began things got more complicated. The House of Mendoza had publicly insulted the House of Messina after that ball. It was big thing when a 14 year old maiden was taken on the dance floor by 20 year old man who had already traveled the world twice. It was talked about in social circles for months. Richard had been fuming. He'd gone to Christopher's family home immediately and pronounced him a variety of colorful names. The Messina's knowing that he was right, that Christopher had had no right to take her onto the floor, were very apologetic and were placing a lot of pressure on Chris to make amends. So in Chris' mind what better way to make amends then to marry the girl, the fact that he loved her was just an added bonus, right?"
She sighed once more as she continued, "He had a plan, she told me. He'd have his family throw a big party and invite the Mendoza's supposedly so that he could apologize. All the most prominent family's in Spain would attend. Right before dinner he would rise and proclaim that he needed to apologize to the Mendoza's for a wrong he had committed against their youngest. But instead of apologizing for taking her out onto the dance floor months earlier, he would apologize for meeting her in secret for the past three months. He would then offer to marry her, in order to repair any wrongs. Of course her father would have to accept, he couldn't disgrace his name by denying the hand of a girl who had already spent an exuberant amount of time alone with this young man. It was brilliant right? not a fault in the plan. It should have worked out marvelously, right?"
The explorers just stared at her. Each thinking the same thing, obviously it didn't work out marvelously. It was Roxton who spoke, "But it didn't work did it?"
She shook her head, "No..." she said softly "It didn't.... it might have. In fact it probably would have but it never got a chance to."
"About two weeks before the party, Christopher did something he'd never done before, something, that was....plainly.... really stupid. He snuck into the Mendoza Estate and threw pebbles at Belle's window. She saw him and sneaked out. I wasn't there, so I don't know what they said or did but I can imagine. They figured in a couple of weeks they'd be engaged and soon after that married so....... Anyway, later on Belle told me that Rosa had seen found them in the garden kissing. I was aghast, she told me to calm down that Rosa had promised not to tell. I was wary, she assured me that when a Mendoza gave their word they kept it and Rosa had given her word. So I accepted and we moved on. As the day of the party drew nearer we completely forgot about it."
She had stopped completely now. Wasn't looking at them or smiling. She just sat.
"What happened?" Marguerite asked in a tremulous voice. Knowing that whatever it was wasn't good.
"That night.... mere moments before Christopher was to stand. Richard stood.
