Chapter sixteen: Moriah Wellington

Eleanor disappeared out the door for a few minutes. When she returned she had pitchers of hot water. "You take a bath while I go get your dress." Claira wasn't in the state to argue so she disrobed and cleaned herself. She wrapped herself in a towel while she waited for Eleanor's return.

"Here you are." Eleanor placed a rather elaborate gown in front of her. Claira ran her fingers over the light cream colored silk, a sheer snowy fabric that covered the skirt. But the main attraction was the diamonds that covered the bodice and were places sparingly on the long sleeves.

"My goodness." Claira whispered. Her eyes were growing larger with each second passed. "Where did you get this?" "That does not matter missus. Now get dressed." "Oh no, I couldn't wear this." "You can and you shall." Claira was shocked by Eleanor's forcefulness. Was this the timid maid she had known before? Eleanor left the room while Claira carefully pulled the dress up around her. It felt as if she were wearing cloud. The sleeves reached down her arm, coming to an end in a sharp V. The dress fit like a glove, grabbing every womanly curve that Claira happened to have.

Just as she was admiring herself in the mirror Eleanor came bursting in. "Here is your shoes and we have to do your hair." Eleanor busied herself with curling Claira's hair. The last step was her mask. It was small and delicate, like a flower petal. That's what it reminded Claira of, a freshly picked rose.

"You look beautiful." Eleanor gushed. "Just perfect." Claira had to admit to herself that this was one of her better looks. She came off as a woman, not a child. She tilted her chin to the side to take in her profile.

"I can't believe I'm going. What if Rebecca see's me?" "Don't bother yourself with that. Think of this as a way to keep an eye on William. We all know he won't take his eyes off you."

Claira's cheek's turned a bright crimson. She was flattered that someone else had noticed his obvious affection towards her. She pulled up her skirt to admire the actual emeralds that had been sewn into the toe of her slippers.

"Well I'm off." She said. There was nervousness etched into her words. "Yes."

Claira turned to leave but swiftly refaced Eleanor and wrapped her in a sisterly hug. "Thankyou so much." she whispered, tears threatening to run. "Your welcome." Eleanor smiled and sent her on her way. Claira snuck out the servants entrance and reentered the large double doors, being introduced as. "Moriah Wellington."

Most of the young men watched as Claira entered. The mysterious fairy like creature who everyone referred to as Moriah seemed to float across the room. William nearly ran over towards her.

"Hello, I'm William Hastings." William gave a small wink. "Hello Sire, my name is Moriah." "I once knew a girl named Moriah. Of course that was only her chosen name." "Yes, this is my given name."

They exchanged small smiles before William felt his arm in a tight hold. He turned to see Rebecca had found their little gathering and decided to intrude.

"Rebecca Burlington." She spat holding her hand out to Claira. Claira smiled kindly and nodded her head. "Moriah Wellington." Rebecca gave her a once over before giving a smile.

"What part of the country are you from Moriah?" "It's very far north, not many people have heard of it."

Rebecca tightened her grip around William's arm. "I see you've met my fiancé. I do hope he's behaved." "Yes, he's a perfect gentleman." "Yes, well that's nice." Rebecca seemed to be more uncomfortable than normal. She twisted her fingers over William's arm. They turned a pale from the lack of circulation. William shrugged her off.

"It looks as if my grandfather has decided to make an appearance." William commented, eyeing the old man.

"Yes well I better go speak with him. He hasn't been looking very good lately." Rebecca turned to leave but quickly returned her glare at Claira. "It was nice meeting you Mary." "Moriah." William corrected almost too quickly. "What can I say, I'm terrible with names." Rebecca gave a cocky smile before leaving the pleasant couple to themselves.

"That was very scary." Claira mumbled. "You look beautiful." "What?" "Did you really not hear me or am I just repeating myself for your pleasure." William grinned. "The latter."

They smiled at each other, each getting lost for a minute.

"Well in either case, you look beautiful."

William pulled his watch from his pocket and glanced at the time.

"It's only just beginning." "I'll be in the corner if you need me." "If I need you? Is that why you're here Moriah, to protect me?" He grinned. "Yes, and don't laugh. I'm tougher than I look."

William looked around before quickly taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. "I'll be expecting you to keep an eye on me the whole time." "And you better keep your eyes off of me. Rebecca is going to be suspicious." "That will be terribly hard." "One compliment after another." Claira grinned. "Yes well I've missed you."

Claira felt her chest ache, as she stared into William's deep blue eyes. They seemed to look right through her, so much she found herself looking away. She blinked back tears before nodding her head and returning her gaze to his.

"I've missed you too."

William let her hand go as she disappeared into the crowd of elegantly dressed people. She by far was the most beautiful, at least to him. He watched as she grew farther away until finally she was completely out of sight. It was then he felt Rebecca's evil eyes drilling into the back of his head.

"She was rather brassy. Who wears that much diamonds?"

William turned to face the creature he called his fiancé. That deep sick feeling quickly took over his sweet light feeling that Claira left him with. He crossed his arms and took in the dark villain before him.

"I thought she was quite lovely." "You would, looks like your long lost love Claira." Rebecca trailed off as she looked around suspiciously.

"Don't bring Claira into this. I wish to hear nothing about her." William commented after a prolonged amount of silence. He racked his mind for something evil to say about Claira, but found his brain just didn't work that way about her.

"Of poor dear William, forever a broken heart." Rebecca mocked. "She left, leave her out of this. I wish to forget her." "Yes well that can be arranged."

Rebecca purred. The thought alone of forgetting Claira made his stomach ache. He pulled arms apart and looked around the room.

"I suppose we should greet the guests." "Yes, I suppose we should."

Rebecca took one last look around the room before joining William in mingling. A spark of recognition crossed in her eyes like a bolt of lightening striking through her thoughts.

Three hours later Claira still sat in a darkened corner. Countless amounts of men had asked her to dance but she declined them all with the dignity and respect of a princess. Most of the conversations consisted of the mysterious girl in the white dress. She had over half the aristocrats wondering what kingdom she ruled over. As soon as William had a free minute he made his way over and quietly took the seat next to her, being careful not to stare.

"How are you liking the party?" He asked. "It's rather boring for me. I'm not allowed to dance." "Even with the prince?" He made eye contact and Claira found herself standing up and following him onto the dance floor. They danced around as graceful as fairies, slowly turning as if they were weightless. Claira couldn't take her eyes from William's as they twirled around in endless circles. Most of the crowd cleared the floor as the couple hypnotized each other with hidden smiles. Rebecca stared at Claira with an evil grin on her lips.

"Foolish wench." She mumbled to herself as she took her skirts and moved them away so she could move freely. She exited the room quite easily as most of the guests were memorized by the flawless dancers.

She ran down the many halls that were decorated by banners, the family crest in different colors. The next hall had the long line of ancestors portraits but soon she was making her way toward the tower, to pay a short visit to William's father.

She stomped in to find him asleep. His tired head rest on his arms which were still strung up my handcuffs. She kicked him hard in the side, taking pleasure in the gasp for air he gave. She laughed and paced back and forth in front of the old man, waiting for some sort of words to come to her.

"You lied to me."

He stayed quiet. He knew better than to talk back to Rebecca.

"You lied to me you old fool. She was here." "Who?" "Don't give me that! Claira Abbingdale was here. I knew someone had discovered you when I found that pitcher. I was just hoping that maybe I wouldn't have to deal with her."

Rebecca leaned against the wall. Her arms were crossed, the bright red ruby she had taken as her engagement ring glistened in the moon light that streamed through the barred window.

"I don't know what your talking about." He stuttered. "Shut your mouth. I didn't ask you if you knew what I was talking about. I told you what I knew. I've seen Claira. She's down at the party going by the name Moriah. Stupid girl, thinks she can fool me. Not that it matters. I was planning on taking care of her either way. That foolish Henry Wellington fell right into her pathetic little tears. It took me years to find him and as soon as she showed a little emotion he gave in."

"Henry Wellington?" "Yes, I hired him to marry Claira. The day dearest William came home speaking of the angel I had Rose find a man to take her interest from him. Can you believe it took me over four years just to find him and only recently has he made progress. Looks as if this will be more work than I hoped. That idiot was supposed to make it easier for me."

Rebecca glanced out the window before turning her focus back at the old man.

"I'll let her stick around for a few days. As soon as the rain comes I'm making sure she's out in it." "Why are you doing this Rebecca?" "Don't act like you have the right to ask me that question. You're the reason everyone's in pain." "No." His eyes began to tear up. "Yes, everything is your fault. Claira's soon to be death, your wife's fading away, and soon William's scattered life. Not to mention the countless other's I've had to deal with. It all leads back to you."

Rebecca gave a curt smile before heading back toward the party. All she had to do was keep her patience for a few short days before everything would fall into place. When she arrived back in the room all the guests had joined Claira and William on the dance floor. Claira noticed Rebecca's eyes on her so she quickly excused herself from the crowd and slipped through the open door.

Claira paused for a moment to listen to the soft notes drifting through the cracks. Along with those musical pieces of candy came the sound of giggling and the hardy laughter of the men. Claira slipped the mask from her face and let the cool night air brush over her cheeks. The ground was still moist with dew and the occasional fire fly lit up in the distance. She pushed herself to walk back to the kitchen, where Eleanor was waiting.

"And how was the party?" she asked after they were both locked safely in William's room. Claira let herself drop in a nearby chair. She couldn't keep the goofy grin from coming on her lips.

"It was wonderful." She closed her eyes, remembering the way William swept her across the dance floor. There was a split second she could of sworn they were both flying.

"Let me have the dress back missus. I need to return it from where I borrowed it." "Do you mind if I ask where you got it Eleanor?" "Oh it doesn't matter. As long as it fit the purpose of you having a good time it's all fine." "I had a wonderful time." Claira gushed. She stood up and started unhooking the dress. She was sad to let such a beautiful thing go. She quickly slipped on her old dress and gave a relinquished sigh. "I think I love William." Claira mumbled. She could see her reflection in the mirror. Her long hair was still perfect, despite the dancing and laughter it had gone through.

"I would think that was quite obvious missus." Eleanor laughed. "Have you ever been in love?" "Oh yes, I still am. My husband's name is Duke." "Your married?" "Yes, our first anniversary is two weeks from today."

Eleanor paused to take a look over the lovely gown. It was draped over her arm. She ran her fingers over the diamonds. "Beautiful dress... and I." She stopped before finishing and returned to picking up around the room.

"I'll be back in the morning missus." "But where will I sleep?" "There is an extra room." Eleanor gave one last smile before exiting the room.

Claira strolled leisurely around William's room. She looked over his crown, wondering why he never chose to wear it. It was quite beautiful. She finally sat down on a chair and picked up a book. Soon the words danced in front of her eyes, lulling her into a quick approaching slumber.

She woke to a rather light sensation, as if she were floating in mid air. She soon felt two strong arms under her and looked to see William's smiling face. "Where are you taking me?" She grinned, letting her head rest on his shoulder. If she had been more awake this would of been awkward but in her drowsy state it was all good fun.

"I'm letting you have the bed. I'll sleep on the lounge." "No, no, it's your room." "And I'm taking the lounge."

Claira gave a small grin before letting her eyes return to their closed position. She felt so warm next to William she wasn't sure she wanted to let him go. He gently placed her beneath the sheets, covering her to her shoulders with the thick comforter. The bed was like a cloud and best of all it smelled like William. She was nearly asleep when she noticed the warm presence next to her. She opened her eyes and William sat with his back toward her.

"What's the matter?" "Oh nothing, I was just thinking of something that's all."

Claira let her hand rest on his back, chasing gentle circular patterns. William looked back and smiled at her obvious exhausted state. She didn't look as if she had a clue where they were.

"Goodnight sweet Claira." He whispered kissing her softly on the forehead. "Goodnight." She replied letting her hand fall on top of the covers.

William sat across the room in his chair, making sure nothing came to harm her. He soon found himself growing drowsy and allowed sleep to take over.
A/N: Okay so here's another chapter. It took a while but I just got home today. I kind of like this chapter. The wording isn't as good as I would like it to be but whatever.

Has anyone figured out who Eleanor is? And I bet you didn't see that Henry Wellington thing coming. If you did your psychic because it just popped into my head two seconds before I posted this.

That whole chosen name/given name thing is from the beginning of the story when William and Claira just met. Claira's mother's name was MORIAH and she took HENRY WELLINGTON'S last name just because it's easiest. That explains the whole conversation. I didn't know if anyone would remember all that.

I had a great time at Disney World. The castle was closed so I didn't get to see it but I went on Tower of Terror twice and nearly peed my pants both times. I couldn't stop shaking lol. But Here's the chapter that I promised you.. Thanks for reviewing. Your all really great.

And when I get six more reviews I'll post. That should give me time to write a good chapter. =pinksneakers85