My heart hammered once in my chest. I had not realized how much not knowing had been weighing on me. "What does his tattoo mean?" I asked.
Bert smiled, "That is quite a story itself and not mine to tell. Kol may seem ridiculously naïve sometimes, but he is a lot cleverer than he lets on. He also likes to keep his secrets. I don't think he would like me sharing his history without his permission."
"You don't have to tell me everything," I wheedled. Now that I was so close to finding out, I had to know.
"Kol said you were stubborn. What did he tell you about the mark?"
My eyes narrowed. What else had he been saying about me? "He said that he was some kind of gang leader in the lower town. Not even that, he said it was the largest gang in the city. That can't be true though because the captain of the guard's son can't be a common street thug. Is that what the tattoo means? That he is the captain's son?"
Bert's smile widened as I spoke. "You are a clever one. Kol would spin it like that, saying he was in a gang." She shook her head affectionately. "That ridiculous man wasn't lying completely though. He just made it seem shadier than it really is. No matter how much he denies it, he really is his father's son. His 'gang' is just proof of that."
Bert wasn't cooperating at all. "What does that even mean?" I asked. I wished she would just stop speaking in riddles and leaving me with more questions.
She patted my arm after recognizing my annoyance. "It's his way of coping with what happened two years ago. It nearly killed him. If you want to know you will have to ask him yourself. He is my best friend and I will not betray his trust by speaking about him behind his back."
My confusion was only intensified at her vague answer. So Kol running wild in the streets was some way to cope? It didn't make sense. However, I could not blame her for being a good friend. Kol was lucky to have someone so loyal by his side, which led me to another question I had for her. "So are you the one Kol has told me about? The one he is meant to marry?"
Bert's eyes widened in shock then she doubled over laughing. Between laughs she answered me, "Me? Marry Kol?" She stopped for more laughter. "That's ridiculous. I would never marry that man and he would not even think of marrying me. I already have someone."
"Oh," I said as she continued laughing. I didn't see the joke and was starting to feel awkward standing there while she laughed heartily. "I think the prince is waiting for me. I had better be off. Maybe I will find you later tonight."
Bert apologized for her laughter and nodded that she would see me later on. I left and hurried to where I hoped Christian would still be waiting. I had only spent a few minutes talking to Bert, but that was enough for Giselle to snag Christian. I reached the balcony steps just in time to see her pass by on Christian's arm. She smiled at me and said that she would be borrowing the prince for a dance or two. Christian shrugged apologetically and went with Giselle to the dance floor. I might as well go and get the drink that Christian was going to bring to me since there was nothing I could do. I wasn't going to bodily rip Giselle away from Christian, after all.
The snacks were different than they had been at the first ball. Everything was on ivory trays and it was all brightly colored. Delicate chocolate butterflies decorated a large rainbow cake. Around the cake sat cups shaped like various flowers. I picked up a tulip and sipped the liquid that was inside. The drink was incredibly sweet and thick like honey – an appropriate drink to come from flower cups. I looked at the colorful array of food and my stomach churned. Knowing that Giselle was dancing with Christian at this very moment had put me off my appetite. One or two dances she had said. If she had her way she would latch onto him for the rest of the night.
I sipped the last of the drink and returned the cup to a servant. On my way through the door a man going the opposite way bumped into my shoulder. I wasn't at all surprised when I saw it was Kol hurrying through the room. "Oh, hello again, Ebb. It seems we have both lost our partners. Bert is probably off somewhere with Addison. Well, let's us go somewhere, shall we?" He grabbed my hand and hauled me back into the room only to pull me back out through the other door.
"Are you alright?" I asked as he led me through the crowd to the other sitting room. He was acting strange. He was walking faster than necessary and his eyes were darting around as if he was looking for something.
"Me?" He asked as he scanned the sitting room. "I'm just dandy. That selfish woman Bert has left me to fend for myself at this ball. Oh watch out," He ducked behind a potted plant abruptly and I almost stumbled into him.
"What is going on? Who are you avoiding?" I asked as he peeked through the leaves of the plant. I looked where he was and saw a small blonde girl in a very lacy pink dress with matching bow. "Paislee? That is who you are hiding from?"
Paislee was also scanning the room as if she was looking for someone. She even stopped and asked a man if he had seen Nikolaus Rydell anywhere. I looked at Kol questioningly. He grinned back at me and wrinkled his nose. "I see you have met my future bride already. Isn't she adorable? She looks just like a porcelain doll in that pink dress, don't you think?"
"If she is your future bride, then why are you hiding?" I pulled Kol out from behind the plant when Paislee turned and left the room.
He straightened his suit jacket. "Don't you know that all young lovers avoid each other whenever possible? Besides, she is a bit cross with me for not escorting her to the ball and instead coming with Bert. Not to mention her inane chatter about all things sparkly and pink is nauseating." With Paislee gone he offered me his arm gallantly and together we sat on one of the unoccupied couches. "You did not come to the bell tower yesterday."
I turned away. He sounded indifferent, but I was still ashamed of how rudely I had treated him. "The prince invited me to the zoo unexpectedly that morning." I mumbled. The excuse sounded weak even to my ears.
"Ah, yes, I should have known it was his royal highness you stood me up for. I suppose I should not feel too abashed, he is a handsome prince after all. Did you enjoy the zoo?" Kol joked. I turned back to him and did not feel so bad now that I knew he wasn't offended.
"I did. Your bride to be was there as well. Christian saved her from a berserk minotaur."
Kol raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. "My Paislee went near a raging beast? Surely you must have the wrong girl. The Paislee I know likes unicorns and fairies." He looked up and searched the room. "Is there no rest?" He sighed.
Kol stood and I followed his example. If Giselle was spending time with Christian then I would not dejectedly mope about. Maybe if Christian saw me with Kol then he would want to save me from what he considered a dangerous man. It was sort of fun darting about avoiding Paislee with Kol. Paislee's twin Posey had entered the room and was searching just like her sister had. By Kol's reaction, he was the one they were both searching for. Quickly, we both left the room and went up onto the balcony. We walked slowly down one side of the wide balcony. "You do not seem keen on marrying Paislee," I mused. If Kol was avoiding her now, that did not bode well for their future marriage.
He shrugged. "I don't want to tire of her before we are married. It is only a marriage of convenience. It saves me from going out and courting dozens of women, which can be very tedious."
"But don't you want to marry someone you love?" I asked. I had always fancied marrying a man I was madly in love with and start a family with him. I could not imagine how Kol could be so apathetic to spending his life with someone he did not truly care for.
Kol gave a short laugh, "Who marries for love anymore?"
I was constructing my answer when I saw a familiar red dress and blonde-streaked hair approaching quickly from the far side of the balcony. Not wanting to confront Ivy and get shouted at again, I suddenly grabbed the lapels of Kol's jacket and yanked him into an alcove. With him standing in front of me, it would be harder for her to see me. One of the curtains that covered a mirror also blocked part of the alcove. The alcove was small and there was barely enough room for one person, let alone two. I still held onto him as I peeked over his shoulder only to duck back down again as Ivy passed. I sighed as she went by and loosened my hold on Kol. He was looking at me in amusement.
"Really, Ebb, a man will start getting ideas if a woman drags him into dark corners." Kol had put his hands up on either side of the alcove, effectively blocking me in.
I let go of his lapels and rolled my eyes. I was quickly becoming aware of how very small this space was. "Don't be ridiculous. You are not the only one who is avoiding people tonight."
He raised an eyebrow and leaned back to look down the balcony. "Now who could you possibly avoiding, an over eager suitor perhaps? I bet it's that portly gentleman over there. He looks shifty to me. Don't worry we can stay tucked away in here for as long as you want."
"I'm avoiding a woman named Ivy. She has decided to not like me it would be best if I stayed out of her path. She should be gone now," I explained. I hoped he would move out of the way, but he did not. The close proximity and Kol's unwillingness to move was starting to get to me.
When Kol turned back to face me, his nose was only inches from my own, so near that I could feel the shift in the air as he breathed. "You managed to anger Poison Ivy and lived to tell about it? I'm impressed. You know, there are rumors that her grandmother is a witch and she hexes people for her granddaughter. I even think I saw Ivy practicing her own spells once."
"That's what Bert told me. Now will you get out of the way?" I looked for a way around him.
Kol looked out again and shook his head, "No can do, Ebb. I do not want to see you cursed and Ivy isn't far enough away yet to ensure that she wouldn't spot you."
I rolled my eyes again and pushed past him…right into a very angry Ivy.
(The following is just rambles I feel the need to write out. Feel free to skip over it.)
So, I feel that I should tell you all a little something about Roberta. Even though she is, at best, a secondary character, she is the most important character in the entire story. She is the driving force behind it and without her I don't know if the story would have gotten this far. The whole purpose of writing the story is so I can use one line that she will say later on. The line is something that I came up with almost two years ago and I really, really liked it and had to make the perfect story to go with it. It has been saved in a note on my phone since December 1, 2011. Whenever this story becomes difficult to write I just tell myself 'No, you have to at least write the thing!' and I keep going. This story was just going to be another incomplete idea until Bert's character came along and was the perfect person to say the line. And that's my rambling about why I love Bert.