Playlist: Animals – Maroon 5

CHAPTER 3

"Oooh, you look just like me during my cotillion." Gloria Mott gushed at her daughter as the seamstresses fixed the details of the skirt behind Daniella. "But of course, a Halloween debut is a bit unordinary."

"I didn't ask for this debut mother," Daniella said stubbornly, looking at her mother, dressed as an overly-conservative Cleopatra, at the mirror. "Does this dress have to be so frilly?"

Gloria sighed, still confused about her daughter. Gloria was never this frumpy as a young woman—the daughter of generations upon generations of aristocratic blood, she had no room to be a drab. She married by the age of twenty to Daniel Mott, whose ancestor was cousin to Queen Jane Seymour ages ago—surely Daniella can do better than a life of spinsterhood?

The dress was beautiful, even if Daniella didn't think so. It was a frilly, light blue dress a Victorian princess would wear, with layers upon layers giving it a regal elegance. Dora fixed Daniella's wavy brown hair, pinning it beautifully below the tiara. "Every girl has a time to stand out—it's your turn, dear." Gloria smiled warmly. She stood next to her on the podium, staring at their reflections. "You are going to have a wonderful time, Daniella. Who knows, you may find a young man who catches your fancy."

How subtle. Daniella thought. She couldn't wait for this night to get over. "Right, mother. But remember what we talked about…"

"I'm not forcing you anything, deary." Gloria said defensively. "It's merely to debut your return to Jupiter. I'm not going to force you anywhere—you just enjoy your night and make friends."

"Okay, mother." Daniella smiled at her mother through the mirror, and she beamed back. "See dear, you look so beautiful when you smile. Party starts in a while, so you better be downstairs in fifteen minutes."

The ladies and her mother left her room, leaving her alone in silence. Outside her window, Daniella could see the cars lining up to the Mott Mansion. Dandy went out who-knows-where an hour ago, and she was left to battle her mother's unwanted attention alone.

She opened her box of jewelries—if she was going to dress up, she wanted something about it to be herself and not just her mother's choice. She picked up the necklace from her British grandmother, its blue contrasting quite well with the blue of her dress, and wore it, keeping it under her dress in case her mother was against this little change—the feeling of rebellion was enough for her.

Daniella heard the tap on the door, and knew it was time to go downstairs. Sighing, she prayed for the night to go by quickly before.

The first thing Daniella thought as every person watched her descend the stairs was: Why are none of them wearing costumes? But as she got closer, she realized that they were, but they were really boring costumes. Most of them were princes, dressed in suits—most of them black—and their accessories varying. A lot of them dressed like TV and movie characters, and took a while to understand who they were. The older ladies of upper Jupiter society dressed in their favorite celebrities or TV characters. As Dandy predicted, every girl her age was a princess, but none of them going the extravagance her mother did that they merely looked like girls in pretty dresses.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am so glad to introduce to you my daughter, Daniella, who has returned home from her four-year adventure in London." Gloria announced from the last stair of their mansion's grand staircase. "I hope you'll all re-introduce yourselves and make her feel very much at home."

Gloria glanced to the side where most of the young bachelors were staring at Daniella, smiling broadly at her. Daniella smiled politely, turning around the room, hoping to remember any face there—obviously her mother didn't bother inviting her own friends who didn't have older brothers. None of them were there.

This is going to be a long night, Daniella thought through her smile.

"Now, if we could adjourn to the ballroom, the party can begin!" Gloria announced grandly. The guests clapped before making their way to the open doors of the ballroom. Gloria turned to her daughter. "You can handle being on your own, can you Daniella?" She pulled a stray hair on Daniella's face, causing her to whimper. "Enjoy the party dear, do try to make friends, alright?" Daniella smiled in reply, and Gloria turned to lead her guests to the party.

That was when, all alone, Daniella saw him. While all the others turned to the room on their right, he still stood there, facing ahead, as if he were staring at, well, her. Daniella turned and met his blue eyes. He was not that much older, and dressed like an old Englishman, in a suit much older than the ones the other men were wearing, a large black and red coat, and had a black walking cane. His hair was long and black, the top hat pulled a bit back more than the usual way men wore it in old photographs. But it was his eyes. Daniella could not stop looking at him, who looked like he was in so much pain and was confused as to why he was here.

It's probably part of the costume, Daniella thought. Some old English character from a drama nobody watches anymore. But deep inside, she knew he looked so pained for it to be method acting with his costume. She didn't recognize him, and tried recalling whether or not he lived in Jupiter before she left.

Daniella bit her lip, oblivious to the fact that nearly half the guests were already starting to party inside the ballroom. She carefully walked down the staircase, careful not to trip in her heels, and saw closer that he really was staring intently at her, a mixture of pain, anguish, and something else she couldn't pinpoint.

The young man put a foot forward, and Daniella involuntarily gasped.

"Daniellla?" Her mother's voice rang from the ballroom. "Daniella, are you here?"

Both of them froze. She turned to the guy, who looked back at her, his eyes looking even sadder. Nodding curtly, Daniella turned and walked to the ballroom. She glanced back at the door to see him still standing there, looking at her. Who is he? Daniella thought. She inhaled deeply before stepping in the lion's den that was the Halloween Ball, willing herself not to think about the strange attraction she and that young man had.

~0~0~0~

Edward watched the girl enter the party, her dress trailing behind her, along with the face that flooded a lifetime of memories Edward fought hard to keep. The brown hair, the blue-green eyes, the porcelain skin, and that face—it was his past replaying in the present.

"Beatrice." He gasped as she disappeared into the crowd.