Hello, guys! Thanks so much for all of your reviews! They make me happy! =D There are no anonymous review replies today, as the only thing I can say to the only anonymous reviewer would totally spoil the chapter.
By the way, I started a three-shot called It's Too Late. Go check it out!
Bella
A week and two days had gone by since Duke Edward, or Edward as he told me to call him, had played for me on the piano. Things had gotten a little more relaxed between us. We rarely ever paid attention to the message Tanya had me send or make up. Instead, we would talk about ourselves a little bit, and each time we conversed, I learned more about him. And fell farther in love with him.
Yes, now I knew that I was in love. Of course, it seemed like it was almost the hardest thing in the world not to be. But that was probably because it was me. I was sure that there were many girls who found it easy to frown upon him.
There were so many things that he did that captured my interest. For one, even though he was a duke and therefore wealthy and powerful, he didn't intend to waste the days away. He wanted to be a famous composer, and he had once told me that just accomplishing that would fulfill one of his lifelong dreams. But if he couldn't be a composer, he wanted to be in a medical position. It was hard to save a life or help cure a sickness, for no one had figured out any way to make it all easier, and all anyone could do was create a medicine to give their patient.
Many of the times we came over, we talked about family. I told Edward about my parents, which was a hard subject for me to talk about, even if I had had two years to heal from the emotional pain. I always avoided any question about my siblings, though I had answered his question once if I had any. I told the duke I had one brother, and that was all. No name passed through my lips, and I found it hard to try to speak about him, so I stayed away from that subject altogether.
So many days I had spent listening to his velvety smooth voice. But now I was helping my lady set up for the masquerade ball. I wouldn't be here if it were my choice, but this took up the time of my work hours, so I was required to listen to Tanya tell me all of her feelings about Edward while we set up.
"And did you know he plays piano? I've heard him once, but only for a couple seconds. The music made my heart swell."
"Yes, ma'am," I responded to Tanya, who was now draping tablecloths over the round tables that occupied a small section of the large room. "I've heard him play myself. It is quite wonderful. He also told me that he wants to become a composer."
"He's told you those things?" Tanya looked at me in shock. "Why? He's never talked to me about things such as that."
"I guess he just felt like having a conversation that day," I murmured. Tanya's lips were pulled down into a frown.
"Well, I'm not going to talk about Edward for the moment." Tanya straightened a corner of the tablecloth and then smiled a little, proud of her work. "I wanted to talk about the ball. Of course, I will need a couple servants to be working by serving the drinks, but I think I also want you to be there."
I was frozen for a second. She wanted me to be at the ball to serve drinks and try not to look pathetic in front of the nobles? I might spill a glass of wine on someone, or break a glass, or just make Tanya look bad.
"You want me to be helping with the drinks and helping the nobles?" I asked while tying a ribbon around one of the posts. "I don't think I'd make a good impression on them, and you could be judged by me."
"No, Bella," she sighed, shaking her head. "I want you to be greeting the guests. After that, you might be mingling with the nobles or talking with the servants who are serving the drinks and helping run the ball. You will be dressed in the proper party attire but mind you, the dress is not mine. I borrowed it, so don't mess it up, please. As is the theme, we will be wearing masks, so nobody will know that it's you. And I am doing this because I want to. I want you to be there."
I wasn't sure, but it seemed as if she was glad when she said 'nobody will know that it is you'. As if she didn't want anybody to recognize me. Or maybe she would be embarrassed if people knew that she was inviting a servant to the party. This made a small flame of anger start in the pit of my stomach.
"Sure, Miss." I wobbled a little bit on my toes while trying to reach another ribbon and almost falling down. "It's very kind of you to invite me."
"Of course, dear," Tanya replied from across the room. "I had Mary send the dress up to your room, along with the mask. I expect you down here in your attire when the party starts. You may go now."
I curtsied at my lady before running through the halls, up the stairs, and through more halls to get to my room. On my bed, as promised, were a dress and a mask.
The dress was a strapless gown. The top area was beaded intricately. Two rows of beads were placed right under the breast area and right above my waist. In between them were beads that were just scattered, not really sewn in any pattern. The bottom had a lace web hanging over it, and in some places the thin, light blue fabric creating it was connected with a silver bead.
The mask was beautiful. The base was a metallic gray-black and around the edges was a pattern painted in bluish silver. Around the eyes, the same paint weaved a design of twists and waves, glittering in the light. (Links for the dress and mask are on my profile)
I breathed in awe as I held the dress against my form. It seemed like it would be big enough. But I decided to try it on just in case.
I slipped it on and immediately the dress hung to my curves and fit perfectly. The fabric felt light and soft, and the top gave me no difficulty with breathing. It was wonderful.
At that moment, Sophia came through the door to our chambers. She gasped when she saw me.
"Oh…my…lord. Bella, is that you?" I grinned to answer her question. "My dear, you look lovely! But, might I ask, why is it that you have this dress and mask on?"
"For the masquerade ball, of course," I answered, stripping out of the gown to put my servant's dress back on. "Tanya invited to me to it. Well, not exactly. I am to be greeting the guests, and then I can mingle a little if I want."
"She invited you?" Her tone was insulting. I just nodded in response. "Well, you do look very beautiful in the gown. Pretend to be of noble status and you might just break some of the nobles' hearts."
I grinned at her, now back in my normal attire with the blue dress now locked in my trunk that was full of all the possessions I could pack after my parents' death. "Of course."
As we stood there grinning at each other like imbeciles, a girl around my age ran into the room. I had seen her a few times around the palace and we had become good friends. Her name was Angela.
"Bella," she addressed me, her tone coming out in a question.
"Yes, that would be me." I cracked a smile and waved a shy wave.
She sighed. "Well, I'm just coming to tell you that I'm going to the ball with you. Tanya invited me, too, so I'm going to be there."
I was ecstatic. At least there would be somebody there that I could talk to if nobody liked me. That, and one of my great friends was accompanying me to this wonderful experience.
"That's wonderful! Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." She smiled and nodded and then ran back to wherever she had come from.
I ran back down to the ballroom as soon as I could, tripping and skinning my palms on the staircase. They were stinging as I walked through the door. Tanya looked up at my approach, and then turned back to whatever she was doing.
"Could you go find the plates and put them at the end of the long table? We're going to be serving food," she instructed as she fixed the last of the chairs.
"Yes, Miss." I curtsied and ran out of the room to the kitchen.
"Oh! And Bella," she called right before I was out of the room. I turned back towards her. "How was the dress?"
"Perfect. Thank you very much." I curtsied again and dashed towards the kitchen.
Once I got into the room, all I saw was the cupboard that held the plates, and I didn't see anything else. As I sprinted to the cupboard, unaware of my surroundings, I almost ran into the cook, who had a tray of steaming hot soup in her hands. She pulled it high above my head so as to not knock it into me, and I ended up ducking below her arm before spinning around to apologize.
"Bella," she scolded, her face scornful. "You know I do not like anyone running in my kitchen."
The cook was a nice woman. When I had first arrived, she had been very kind to me and acted like a second mother. Yet when she was stern, she scared me out of my wits. I knew that she was not a woman to cross. She was a little large, and her height made me look like a dwarf. Her neck was thick, and her arms looked big because of her strong muscle beneath them. She was able to beat almost anyone in a sparring match, if need be.
"Sorry, Cook." I never really knew her first name, so Cook was the only name I called her by.
"That's alright, dear. And don't run while carrying the plates to the ballroom. No need to push your luck." She smiled at me before walking out of the room. She was most likely taking the soup to Billy, the sick gardener. Jacob, his son, was my good friend, and I often had him teach me all about the kinds of flowers in the garden.
"Tell Billy that I say hello and get well soon," I called after her. She yelled back a reply that I didn't hear, for she was already far down the hall.
I pulled the plates out of the cupboard that I finally got to, and stacked them high in a tower, one on top of the other. The stack wobbled a bit as I walked down the hall, but other than that it held steady. I was pretty happy with myself, and decided to test my ability by walking a little faster. My luck held for about ten seconds, and then my usual clumsiness got to me.
I tripped over my feet, sending the plates flying through the hall. I landed on the shards of porcelain littering the ground, scraping my knees, shins, and palms. One of the servants, Samantha I think her name was, was walking down the hall and saw me on the ground with the scattered remains of the fancy plates around me.
"Oh dear," she gasped as she quickened her pace towards me. She immediately helped me to my feet and then proceeded to pick up the broken pieces that lay around me. I began to pick them up as well, and we sat there in silence for a few minutes.
"Thank you," I whispered. She smiled at me.
"Of course. What were you doing with these plates?" I looked into her deep blue eyes, and saw nothing but curiosity. She wasn't just asking to appear polite.
"I was bringing them into the ballroom for the masquerade ball. But then I was walking a little to fast and I tripped…" I trailed off, as she had been here for the rest. "The Lady is going to kill me." She chuckled.
"Well, let me help you with them. That way it can be done faster, too." I smiled appreciatively at her before standing upright again. The scraps of china were now in our hands instead of the floor, so we set off back to the kitchen to throw them away and grab the new plates.
We chose more oval-shaped dishes this time and set off down the hall again.
"Thanks again, Samantha," I murmured again, knowing that she could hear me.
Her smile was still in place, but it fell a little. "My name is Susan."
"Sorry," I quickly apologized, fear now evident on my face. She laughed, the sound coming out hearty, as if my facial expression was the funniest thing in the world.
"It's perfectly alright."
We continued to talk as we walked into the ballroom, set the plates on the table, and started the cycle again. There were a lot of guests coming, so we would need many dishes.
As we set the last round of plates on the long table, Susan and I said our good-byes and she walked back to her chambers while I walked across the room to talk to Tanya.
"Is everything ready, Miss?" I asked, watching as she stepped down from the stool and turned around to talk to me.
"As of right now it is." She peered around me to glance at all of the plates that were piled in tall stacks at the end of the long table. "Why are the second-best dishes over there? We have to look our best tomorrow evening."
I blushed. "You see, when I was walking with one of the stacks of our best china, I accidentally tripped and they fell to the floor and broke." I pulled up my dress a little bit to show my scrapes on my knees and shins. After she saw them, I held out my palms so that she could see the scratches there, too.
"We're going to have to give you gloves to go with your dress," she muttered mostly to herself before speaking to me again. Her eyes were narrowed. "Very well then. I guess that will have to do. You have the rest of the day off. You need to be up by the regular time tomorrow or maybe a little bit later. It takes a little bit of preparation to look just right for these things, and you need to look your best, too. Go along, then. I'll see you tomorrow."
I curtsied deeply once again, my knees shaking, before running off again. I sprinted outside, towards the garden, calling Jacob's name over and over again. He popped his head over a tall bush, and upon seeing me, his face split into a large grin.
"Nice to see you today, Bells," he addressed me, bowing deeply. I giggled.
"Hello to you, too."
"What would you like to see today? Would you like a tour of our newest flowers? Or would you perhaps like to see all of the jasmines? Where might I take you?" He kept his face serious and questioning, mimicking the butler that Tanya used to have. He would always show a guest that had never been to the palace before to their rooms, and the next day, he would show them around. But he was usually very into his job, which made him look quite silly.
"I would like to see the Rosebush Circle, please." The Rosebush Circle was a small section of the garden that was enclosed by a circular wall. Rosebushes grew over the walls, covering every part of the gray bricks. Red roses, pink roses, and yellow roses bloomed from the branches all around, and if you stood in the middle of the circular clearing, you could turn all the way around and every section of the wall that you saw was covered with roses.
The only way you could get in was by a door that was normally locked. As Jacob always had a key, I was allowed in there whenever I wanted. It was off-limits to everyone else but Jacob, Billy, and I because, even though Tanya kept it locked up, she still wanted it to be kept in good condition, so Jacob and Billy had keys to get in to trim the bushes and water the roses.
Tanya just didn't know that I went in there often as well.
"As you wish, my lady." Jacob bowed deeply again, and a few giggles escaped my mouth. We linked arms as we walked towards the Rosebush Circle and I found myself comforted in this position.
Once we got to the door, Jacob slid his arm away from mine to fetch the key from his pocket so that he could unlock the door. He opened the door and I gasped.
It was mid-spring, so all of the roses were blooming. Some were fully opened, while others were just small buds. The whole circular enclosing was covered with the roses, and I could only see a few leaves here and there.
"Jake, it's beautiful," I breathed in awe, turning back to him.
"Isn't it? I love this part of the garden, especially the fact that no one could come in here to disturb it." He smiled at me. I grinned back.
"Let's spend most of our time tonight in here. I have to wake up extra early to be tortured with beauty items." I made a face, and Jacob laughed. "I have to greet guests at the Lady's masquerade ball, so she says I have to look proper and lovely. I don't want to be put through all of those hours with beauticians. And then, after I greet all the guests, I might have to dance."
I made another face, and Jacob burst out laughing again. Through his hysterics, he managed to choke out, "B-but…you can't…d-dance!"
"I know that. That's half of what I'm afraid of."
Jacob was still laughing after two minutes had gone by, but then he started to control it and his breathing returned to normal.
"Would you like to practice then, Miss?" He asked, offering his hand.
I took it and shot a smile at him. "I would be honored."
And then Jacob brought me to him as we started dancing and twirling through the Rosebush Circle.
In my mind, this Rosebush Circle is very beautiful. Hopefully the description was enough to make you see a clear and lovely picture, too. And apparently, there is such a place called the Rosebush Circle, but I didn't know that until some weird little icon came up on Word, so if any of you have been there, this Rosebush Circle isn't based off of it, even if it accidentally sounds a little bit like it. I've never been there in my life.
So, hopefully you liked the chapter. The next chapter will be – of course – the masquerade ball. If you liked it, loved it, hated it, please drop a review! It only takes up about thirty seconds of your time!