Chapter 1

10 years later

A gown of bronze floated down the staircase of the packed ballroom. The lady's honey blonde hair threatening to spill from its pins as she stepped with a down the landing. The red bodice of her dress was elegant on the slender form it was draped on. With sleeves of white, resembling wings, and red silk adorning the sides of the gown, the young woman looked like a fair angel descending from heaven. Her emerald eyes scanned the crowd in excitement, but stumbled the next moment. She was steadied by her companion.

Tomoyo Daidouji sighed in relief. "You have to be careful, Sakura. I would not like to see you injured before we even reach the ballroom." Sakura Kinomoto, Lady Avalon, was a favorite of the Beau Monde. Her bright personality and youthful beauty admired and adored by many. Her only fault was a high tendency to be graceless.

"Thank you for the help, Tomoyo. I really am so clumsy, but I'm glad I have you by my side!" Sakura eyed her best friend surreptitiously. Tomoyo was dressed in an out of date gray gown that have been worn and trimmed numerous times. It was baggy and did nothing for her figure. Her coiffure was plainly done. The only color on her were the purple ribbons that trimmed her bodice and matched her eyes. "I still don't understand why you dress like this though, Tomoyo. You can at least wear more flattering clothes. You have expert taste in style, and yet you dress so..."

Tomoyo shrugged and whispered, "As I have said before, it fits my image." Image as a plain and dull woman, Tomoyo added to herself. "Besides, you know I can't afford such lavish clothing. I have no need for such silly luxuries anyway." Just as she said it, she caught the guilt that tinged the merry eyes of her friend. She hastily added, "Your beauty must be shown through though! I'm honored to see wear that gown tonight."

"It's your best one yet, Tomoyo. But don't you want to attract-", Sakura was interrupted by a discreet cough made behind her.

"Pardon, Lady Avalon, but may I have this dance," an attractive man with blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes said. He glanced at Tomoyo briefly before she was dismissed as he returned his attention to Sakura.

Sakura saw the look and hesitated a moment before Tomoyo gave her an encouraging nod. "I'd be glad to dance with you Lord Wyvern."

As Sakura was led to the dance floor for the quadrille, Tomoyo was lost in her thoughts. She wondered if the man heard Sakura's words. She had to warn Sakura to be more careful. Her friend meant well, but she could be so innocent and gullible, who knows when she'd slip and blurt out Tomoyo's secret. As if the scandal sheets needed more ammunition to fire against herself, Tomoyo thought in disgust.

Tomoyo was raised alone by her mother who hovered on the edges of poverty. Lady Daidouji, the daughter of a lowly nobleman, left her husband to spare Tomoyo from the cruelty and coldness of the man. Ever since the scandal, they had skirted around the edges of polite society. They were only tolerated as they were close family friends of the well-respected Earl of Avalon, Sakura's brother, and his family. Two years ago, Tomoyo found a way to help her mother make ends meet by being a seamstress of the elite ladies of the fashionable Ton, but secretly. If Society discovered her occupation, she and her mother would be turned out. Tomoyo couldn't risk it for her mother. Despite the haughty Ton's opinion of the drab Miss Daidouji, her gowns and designs were popular and deemed the height of fashion. She had Sakura to thank for her clients. Sakura was known in society as the only person to know how to contact the elusive seamstress, and acted as the said seamstress' model.

Tomoyo adored dressing Sakura up. Sakura was slender and tall, and she possessed a charm that transferred to anything she wore. Although Sakura was part of the high society, she was humble, sensitive, and kind. Perhaps, a little too kind. Wallpaper Tomoyo often acted as a companion and chaperone for the motherless and vivacious Sakura. Never considered as a beauty herself, Tomoyo further paled in comparison when beside the social butterfly. A confirmed spinster at the age of three and twenty, she often steered her naïve friend away from the dark intents of wicked men. She muttered "heartless beasts," as she turned away from the dance and came nose to button with a solid wall. She started to look up with an apology on her lips, but was left speechless as she started at the eyes of a predator.

The man recovered faster and immediately stepped back with a slight bow. "Pardon me, miss. I did not mean to sneak up on you."

Sapphire, his eyes were sapphire. She was still trapped in his gaze as she carelessly said "Prowling is not uncommon for the likes of you."

His midnight blue eyes briefly lit with a mischievous light as he said, "Beasts hunt to satiate their needs."

His hair was black with tints of blue. It looked so thick. The lock on his forehead made her long to scrape it back and test its softness. She blinked and immediately dropped into a curtsy averting her gaze. "I apologize, Your Grace. Please excuse me." What was wrong with her? She was immune to reprobates, she told herself. She had to be to protect Sakura, and this man was definitely dangerous. She was about to make a hasty retreat when his next words stopped her.

"Please stay, miss. I'll have to hunt you down again when Lady Avalon rejoins you."