Chapter 9
Alice had finished working for the day and was now in her room going through her sketchbook.
Suddenly Rosebud walked into the room.
"There you are Rosebud," said Alice smiling. "Where have you been?"
Rosebud barked and quickly ran to the door, Alice got up and followed her.
Rosebud stopped just outside the door and Alice peered out into the hallway. Dorothy was walking down the hall with another maid talking.
"I wish I could go to the ball," sighed Dorothy. "We don't work at night off you know. But I don't have anything nice to wear."
"Never mind Dorothy," said the other maid. "Servants don't attend balls like that anyway."
Alice felt sorry for Dorothy. Rosebud ran past Alice and jumped on the bed. She flipped through the pages in the book with her muzzle and she stopped at a page and placed her paw on the page.
Alice walked over and looked at the picture and smiled, understanding Rosebud's plan.
…
Later that night, Dorothy went to her room and there she found a surprise.
Hanging on her chair was a strapless pink dress with a sweetheart neck with silver rhinestones around the neck. And there were also a pair of silver strapped heels.
There was also a note on the table.
Dorothy picked the note and read it.
Dear Dorothy, I made you this dress for the ball. I heard how you really wanted to go to the ball so I really hope you like the dress.
Love Alice
Dorothy stared in amazement at the dress. Lady Rose walked up to her and rubbed her head against Dorothy's leg purring.
Dorothy smiled, picked up the dress and went to get changed.
…
Alice walked into the ballroom wearing a red dress with a hot pink tulle rose in her hair. The boys were already there, wearing suits. The musicians were playing music and the guests were gathering into the ballroom.
"Hey Alice," said Billy. "Where have you been? We thought you were gonna be late."
"I was working on a surprise for Dorothy" said Alice smiling.
"Ladies and gentlemen," announced a man. "Their highnesses king Harold IV and queen Kristi Markle."
King Harold and queen Kristi walked down the grand staircase arm in arm. King Harold wore a white military uniform and queen Kristi wore a pink gown with a blue skirt with the same pink overlapping the blue skirt.
Following the king and queen was countess Alyvia and the six other ladies of the court. She wore a silver fishtail dress and her hair was tied up in curls and two white bows in her hair.
"Presenting prince Edward and lady Bethany." Announced the man.
Stepping down the grand staircase was Edward with his arm wrapped around Bethany's. He wore a red tunic and black pants. Bethany wore a strapped forest green dress with a sparkly ruffled collar and a white fascinator.
As soon as Edward and Bethany reached the bottom of the stars, the music started playing again and everybody started to dance.
The children watched excitedly at the couples dancing.
As soon as the music stopped, Bethany and Edward bowed at each other.
"I'll be right back Edward," said Bethany. "I'm going to talk to my mother about the wedding details."
Edward smiled and kissed his fiancée on the cheek and she walked away. Just then he looked up at the staircase in surprise.
A silence fell across the room and everyone turned to see standing on top of the stairs was Dorothy wearing the pink dress. People turned to face each other and whispered.
"What is that servant doing here mom?" whispered Bethany furiously.
Alyvia just frowned at the sight of prince Edward walking towards Dorothy as she walked down the stairs.
"Dorothy looks so beautiful in that dress" whispered Peter.
"I made it for her," explained Alice. "I overheard her saying she wished she could go to the ball, so I made her a dress for a surprise."
The two met at the bottom of the steps.
"Dorothy," said Edward impressively. "You look so beautiful."
"Thanks," said Dorothy. "Alice made it for me."
Edward held out his hand as the music started again. "Would you like to dance?" he asked.
"I don't know," said Dorothy hesitantly. "I've never really danced at these balls before."
"Don't worry," said Edward. "It's very easy, I'll teach you."
Dorothy took the prince's hand and they walked out into the ballroom and started dancing.
Alice and the kids watched in excitement to see Edward and Dorothy dancing. Tilly and Shawn were also impressed.
"Did you make that?" asked Tilly.
Alice nodded.
"It's so magnificent" declared Shawn.
The buddies and the nationals watched Edward and Dorothy dance from the grand staircase.
"Your kid made the dress so beautiful Rosebud," said Nancy. "Just as beautiful as all the dresses I've seen being worn."
"They look so happy," said Nathalie.
"He'll propose to Dorothy and break his engagement to Bethany for sure" added Nora.
The king and queen were also impressed by the beauty of Dorothy's dress.
"Where did she get that dress?" whispered Harold.
"I don't know," replied Kristi. "But she looks so beautiful in it."
Bethany and her mother did not think so. They glared at the prince and the servant dancing.
The song soon finished all the couples dancing stopped and the men bowed at the ladies.
"We will now take a short break," announced the conductor. "But don't go away, we'll be right back."
Edward and Dorothy smiled at each other.
"I used to watch the balls from the staircase when I was a kid," said Dorothy. "I dreamed of being down there dancing all night."
"Well why don't we dance all night?" said Edward playfully.
The two laughed.
They heard a throat clear and they turned to see Bethany standing there with a smug look on her face.
"Not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked humorously.
"Oh uh, no," said Dorothy.
"Well then, you won't mind if I cut in" retorted Bethany grabbing Edward's arm.
As Dorothy watched them walk away, she looked sadly.
Dorothy walked back up the stairs and looked at the nationals and the buddies.
"Look at them," she sighed petting Nora on the head. "He belongs with lady Bethany. Coming to the ball was a mistake." And with that Dorothy walked away.
"She's wrong," said B-dawg. "She belongs with prince Edward."
"Why can't he see that he belongs with her instead of Bethany?" asked Budderball.
"Because he doesn't want to dishonor his family," said Nina. "The marriage vows say love, honor and obey."
"Nina's right," said Buddha. "Royals usually marry their kids to other aristocrats to keep the bloodline pure. He's worried about how his parents would react to him marrying a servant."
Alyvia watched as Bethany and Edward started dancing, but she felt threatened that Edward was starting to love someone else, instead of her daughter.
"It looks like I'll have to take care of things myself" she said to herself in a low voice.
Author's not; Countess Alyvia seems to be taking drastic measures, what do you think they could be?"