Chapter 9: Dancing in the Ballroom
One of the gingerbread soldiers on guard poked his head through the door after opening it. He thought he had heard some kind of mysterious blow and Grace shivering on the other side. He glanced back and forth so far seeing nothing but Grace sleeping well in the warm bed, yet the window was opened far and wide.
"Now how did that happen?" he said quiet enough to prevent himself from waking up the sleeping guest. Tip-toeing, he closed the window and locked it so that she would not wake up in the morning shivering. All guests should deserve to sleep warmly from the bitter cold. He tip-toed back outside and closed the door.
Crystal watched from behind the outside window several minutes before the soldier poked his head in the room. She had barely missed him at that moment and might have caused a widespread panic amongst the civilians.
"Drat!" she hissed in frustration pounding her fist against the window sides. "I have forgotten that I am powerless in a warm atmosphere. Now my ice powers are weakened for now. If I am to follow them, I'll need a disguise to avoid suspicion. In the meantime, I'll see them in Sweet Shop Lane." Crystal used her powers to transform herself into a kind looking blond haired cookie girl in a pink dress. "Care to try my frozen treats?" she disguised her cold voice with a kind tone. With that, she chuckled wickedly without waking up everybody.
That morning
"Did you sleep well Mrs. C?" Maggie asked as politely as possible while she walked alongside Mrs. Calloway.
"Well even though a cow is supposed to sleep in a stable," Mrs. Calloway began moodily; then her tone became lighthearted and a smile crossed her face. "I must admit that I've never slept peacefully in such a fine bed with such a warm fireplace." With that mentioned, she gave herself a tight hug in delight.
"Are you sure you slept well?" Maggie stared at her all confused. She did not remember the last time Mrs. Calloway started to feel cheerful when she had been rather strict with preventing her and Grace from eating sweets all over Candy Land.
"Sure as ever," she answered still smiling. OK maybe she had a right to do so since too much can not only make one sick, but also fat and slow, and they got sick from getting carried away and not listening. "Why, can't I be happy once in a while?"
"It's just that you were not acting like Miss Sunshine throughout this adventure and…"
"SLEEP WELL LADIES?" a gingerbread soldier appeared making them jump once the two reached the end of the hallway to the guest room where Princess Maple sat on her cushioned chair sipping what looked to be tea. And Rudolph had been sitting on a mat besides her awaiting them.
"Yes we did and it would help if you didn't surprise us like that in a high voice," Mrs. Calloway spoke giving him a serious look.
"She's right you know," added Maple adversely. "Please try not to scare the guests like that next time when they enter."
"I understand your highness," the soldier bowed at these words.
"But where is Grace your highness?" asked Maggie.
"She had woken up earlier before you did, feeling better than ever." Maple replied sipping her tea. "And now she's down in the ballroom where everyone is dancing with the music."
"Well that's a relief," said Maggie proudly. "But can you take us to where this ballroom is? We'd be honored to see what its like."
"Just follow me and you'll see what a glorious sight it is," setting the cup down, Maple arose and grabbed her scepter beside the chair.
The cows followed her down a long hallway where the melody of a sweet orchestra played in the distance. Finally, they paused in front of a door decorated the way a gingerbread cookie was normally made. The door revealed a grand ballroom with guests dancing in their finest suits and lavishing gowns shining from the light of the chandelier hanging above the center on the ceiling. And there was Grace in her winter garments, dancing on her hind legs with a charming gentleman in a pretty red jacket covered in gold braids, splendid black boots, and a white cotton wig on his head. The cows couldn't believe their eyes. Somehow or other, Grace filled with spirit and joy was waltzing merrily like a princess spending the night at a ball. Slowly picking up the pace, they continued to sweep joyfully across the dance without Grace setting one eye on her friends as they still gazed at her in bewilderment.
"Care to dance?" Mrs. Calloway turned her head when another charming gentleman in a blue suit held out his arm to for her to take. The proper cow did not know how to react to this. It wasn't that she didn't approve of dancing, but doing it in a room full of people had her worried that she might step on someone's foot by mistake.
"Um…well I…uh…" she stuttered but Maggie urged her to give it a try by pushing her into the man's arms to carry her off. Mrs. Calloway gave her a look meaning "I'm going to get you."
But Maggie only smiled and waved, and then her stomach began to growl. Her eyes caught a table of trays with donuts, cupcakes, and muffins beside the entrance door. Seeing as she might not be able to eat for the rest of the journey, she walked over and helped herself to some pink frosted donuts without getting carried away, knowing that it would not be polite to leave very little for other guests who might want some as well. She didn't care if whether or not someone would come up to her and ask for a dance since standing only on two legs was certainly not her idea of dancing; plus she thought that she might accidentally crush someone's toe or bump into someone causing them to fall down on one another. Heaving a sigh, she went back to eating.
Mrs. Calloway looked around nervously as she was still waltzing with the gentleman that came by earlier. The other dancers kept on waltzing in different directions eyeing each other, but she could not see where Grace had gone. It had almost seemed like hours since she last saw her waltzing, although she still knew that it had only been a couple minutes since they entered this ballroom to find her here. Suddenly, there she was being guided through the crowd, until they were out of sight once more. She seemed to be having a wonderful time waltzing, even though it might be true that they should be back on the road by now. The kind gentleman guided Mrs. Calloway through the other dancers holding her correctly without letting his hands slip off, a proper distance between their bodies. If she had fingers, she might have tightened her grip on his shoulder, but still he hung on to her without slipping. The candle lights sitting on the chandelier shone on the jewels hanging on his blue coat. With the music growing louder around them, he continued to guide her through the crowd swiftly. Then Mrs. Calloway began to feel a desire in her heart to keep on going without ever stopping. She thought dreamily as she smelled a clean, fresh scent coming from the nice gentleman. Maybe waltzing in a ballroom full of dancers wasn't such a strange thing after all.
Grace could barely stop dreaming when the fine man still held on to her as if she were in some sort of trance. Her heart fluttered and her eyes lightened up as she focused on keeping her steps in place. Once the music grew softer with the sound of flutes and harps playing around, her heart began to thump softly like a child's toy drum. The more she had waltzed, the more she felt entranced, mystified, and curious about the beauty of this grand ballroom. Back in the other realm, only the wealthiest citizens could ever live in a glorious mansion with a dancing floor like this. Should she even try to ask Santa Clause for something like this? No, that's impossible; and besides, she still appreciated living on a normal farm like Patch of Heaven. And who would ever hear of a waltzing cow in a ballroom? Pushing all those thoughts aside, she continued to concentrate on waltzing past the crowd of dancers swirling about. It was at this moment that Princess Maple joined for a dance through everyone she passed. Nothing else could please her more than the smiles on everyone's faces. But if there were ever a sign of sadness, it would surely break her kind heart in two.
Then Rudolph appeared between the doors to the ballroom searching for the girls. He had hated to ruin their moment of fun, but he knew that the hour was drawing near for them to see Santa in taking them home. He did however see Maggie still at the buffet table munching on a chocolate, covered, sprinkled donut. She was so busy eating that she didn't notice him walk behind to tap her on the shoulder.
"Huh, I didn't do it!" she gasped almost dropping the donut on the ground. "It was…oh it's only you Rudolph, thank goodness."
"Maybe you should save the rest for the other guests," he replied with a light chuckle. "Where are the other two?"
"Still dancing of course," Maggie answered while finishing her last bite.
Rudolph turned his attention to the dancers on the dance floor. There were the girls waltzing about here and there. And how they danced in wonder; by now the music was growing softer and softer as the dancers seemed to be slowing to almost a stop. That was when the enchanting music had ended and Grace and Mrs. Calloway looked like they were no longer lost in a dancing fantasy world. But now they were looking around in confusion and recognition. Why did it all stop?
By now everyone was watching the two cows waving, clapping and cheering for their most spectacular waltz in the ballroom.
"I think they like us Mrs. C," said Grace happily.
"Yes, but now it seems we should be going," said Mrs. Calloway just remembering what it is they were supposed to do.
"But I want to dance some more," Grace said hesitantly already growing fond of what happened recently.
"There is no more time to waste," Mrs. Calloway said sharply grabbing onto Grace's pink scarf with her tail to pull her out. "We still have to get home."
Grace turned around sadly and saw the ballroom growing smaller as she was being pulled further and further away. The guests waved goodbye as did Princess Maple with proud smiles. Even she knew that they could not stay here forever, but it was still fun to see them dance.