I awoke feeling light and happy. I was in a strange bed but I did not care. The last thing I remembered was looking into my love's face. I stretched and remembered the face I loved so much. I loved the beautiful wavy brown hair that hung around his handsome shoulders and those deep brown eyes and those wonderfully thin lips that smiled at me. I looked around the empty room and wondered where my love could be. I stood up and realized I was not wearing sleeping clothes, but rather what I had been wearing yesterday. I smiled at how silly I was sleeping in regular clothes. Where was my love? I couldn't seem to remember his name. I didn't remember ever seeing him before yesterday, but I knew I loved him. Maybe he was nearby and I could ask him for his name. I would go search for him.

I left the strange bedroom and quickly walked down the hallway calling for my love. An old servant in the hall looked at me strangely as I passed. I asked her if she knew where my love was. The woman looked startled when I talked to her, but she answered just the same. She said someone called the master was in the dining room having lunch. I thanked her and hurried off to find this master. I was getting anxious by not being near my love. I needed to see him again and be near him.

I found the dining room and flung open the door. There sitting at the table was my love. He was even more handsome than I remembered. He was wearing a perfect orange shirt with his fitting pants and neat buckle shoes. He was eating eggs and he held the fork so delicately in his hand. "My love," I cried as I ran to wrap my arms around him. "I have been looking for you."

He looked surprised by my embrace and he put down his fork. He unwrapped my arms from his person, "Good morning to you too, Ebony. How did you sleep?"

I sat down in a chair and pulled it closer to his. "Oh, I slept wonderfully. It is very kind of you to ask. I did wake up in a strange place though and I'm afraid I don't know where I am. I don't mind so much because now you are with me. Do you know where we are?"

My love laughed and I loved the sound of it. "We are in my house. This is where I live. Do you like it?"

"Oh, yes, very much," I gushed. "Those drapes go splendidly with the carpet and these chairs are crafted well and match with the table. Nothing in the room compares to you though, you are so handsome."

He ran a hand through my hair and I reveled in his touch. He then wrapped a strand around his finger as he spoke. "You are not so terrible to look at yourself. If it wasn't for the blasted rules I could have had you already, but money lasts longer. Did you know that we are going to be attending the ball tonight?"

I bounced excitedly in my seat as I leaned towards my love. "I love parties. I can't wait for people to see us together. I'm sure it will be a magical night, my love." I then shyly looked down at my lap while he continued to play with my hair. "But I must confess that I do not even know your name."

His hand dropped the hair he was playing with and moved to trace his fingers over my throat. He traced the line of my collarbone gently. "You can call me Count Garen." He removed his hand from my skin and sat back in his chair with a sigh. I already missed his touch. "You must go get ready for the ball now. Go upstairs and to the third door on the left. A maid will be waiting for you there. When you are ready, return downstairs and wait for me."

"Yes, Count Garen my love," I said before hurrying off to do his bidding.

Just as he said, someone was waiting for me in the upstairs room. I didn't think my Count Garen could ever tell a lie. The woman pulled out the beautiful dress that was picked out by my love. It even came with its own corset and crinoline. The fabric was a bright red with gold lines running through it. The puffed sleeves ended at the elbows with thick lace cuffs. I was sure to be the envy of the ball in such a dress on the arm of the most handsome man. The woman yanked the corset strings into place while I braced myself against the wall. Soon I would be ready for the ball. I sat quietly while the woman tugged and pulled on my hair. My thoughts were filled with thoughts of Garen. Once I was declared completely ready for the ball, I went to wait where I was told. I stood in front of the clock and counted the seconds until my love came to get me.

I was just about to reach the nine thousands when I heard Garen coming down the stairs. He was wearing a suit that matched my dress so no one would mistake that we were together. I smiled and curtsied. The count did not slow and passed me to get to the door. I followed close behind. He was right we must hurry to get to the palace on time. I watched him the entire time we were in the carriage together. I admired even the smallest movement from him and dreamily looked at him when he shifted slightly in his seat.

We arrived at the palace and were met by the large array of carriages that were already present. Compared to some of the others, my Garen's looked small and homely, but I knew it was just because he wanted to stay humble that he did not invest in a grand carriage. Little did everyone know this small carriage held the most wonderful man in all the kingdoms. I followed him out of the carriage and into the palace. It was even better than I remembered it because I was with the man I loved. I grabbed his arm and let my head rest on his shoulder. At first he looked surprised to see me so near, but I was not going to let go. We walked past crowds of people. Some of them gave me strange looks as I passed. I did not know why they were all looking at me so oddly, but I didn't care because I could feel my love beside me.

We went to the far back corner of the ballroom under the balcony where the orchestra played. There were already a few other men standing there, some of them with women hanging on their arms. I wondered if those women loved their men as much as I loved Garen.

"Would you like to dance, my love?" I asked. I hoped that he would want to dance.

"No," He didn't look at me when he talked. Instead he was facing one of his friends. "I do not like dancing. You can go get me a drink though."

I stepped away from him. "Oh, yes, I do not like dancing either. I will be right back with a drink for you."

I hurried of to get my Garen a drink from the one side room. I looked out at the dance floor where the prince was dancing with some blonde woman. Her outfit matched hers which meant they must have come together. After a turn of the dance, I saw that the woman was Giselle. I smiled to myself at their dancing. It was such a silly thing to do. Garen was right in not liking it. I stood and watched the dancers for a moment before I remembered my mission. I continued on along the ballroom to get the drink. About halfway across the ballroom I ran into Kol.

"Hello, Ebb," He greeted brightly. I stopped to answer briefly, but I really had to get the drink for Garen. "I noticed your stepsister is with the prince tonight. I was surprised you are not on his arm tonight, who is your match?"

Something in his voice sounded off, like he was too curious about Garen. I answered quickly. I did not want to talk to Kol; I wanted to get back to the count as soon as possible. "I am here with my love and was just going to get him a drink because he in thirsty so please excuse me."

Kol did not feel the same because he caught my arm and pulled me back to face him. His odd black eyes stared intently at my face. They were nothing to Garen's brown eyes. "Your what?" Kol nearly demanded.

"My love," I repeated slowly, "The honorable Count Garen."

Kol looked shocked. I did not know why because Garen was the most wonderful man in the world. Kol should be happy for me. "Ebony," he said slowly. "You cannot be in love with Garen."

"Yes, I can," I argued. "He is perfect in every way and I cannot bear to be parted from him so if you will release me I can return to him."

Kol did to opposite of what I asked and his formerly loose grip on me tightened. "Where did you meet him?"

"I met him this afternoon when I woke up in his house. I hardly see why any of this matters."

Now Kol's face turned pale. "You woke up in his house?" I nodded. "Oh, Ebb, what did he do to you?"

"Garen didn't do anything to me. I woke up in a bed alone. I knew I had to find my love right then because I love him so. A servant said that he was downstairs in the dining room. That is where I found him. I think I saw him the night before though in a carriage or an alley somewhere. I don't really remember it is all a bit fuzzy. I really need to get him his drink now."

Kol let go of me at last and I continued on my way while he followed. I sighed in annoyance, but at least he wasn't holding me still anymore. "Ebb, please try to think. You can't love a man after only a few hours. He must have done something to you. Did you eat or drink anything last night?"

I shook my head. Now that I thought about it, I had not eaten a bite since yesterday. The thought made my stomach rumble. Kol continued to ask silly questions as we walked. I was starting to get angry with him. Why couldn't he just accept that I was in love with Garen?

As soon as we passed through the ballroom door I became lightheaded. I became aware of how tight the blasted corset was around my waist and how hot I had become. I put a hand to my side and the other on the wall. The room was spinning now. I couldn't remember how I had gotten there. I remembered a house and a man I had never seen before – it had been his house. Oh, my head was pounding.

"Ebb, are you alright?" A voice said from beside me. Someone's hand went to my arm and I leaned on him.

"Kol, is that you? What is happening?" I asked woozily.

I felt his arm go around my waist to support me. I removed my hand from the wall and was leaning completely on him now. I could barely breathe. I hated corsets.

"I think you have been drugged or poisoned." Kol explained. "I don't know what it was. Some things will kill you if you get too far away from the object of your obsession. You need to get away from him, but I don't want to take the risk in hopes whatever it is isn't deadly. You seem to be weakened by the distance already. If only I knew what he had given you."

I nodded weakly. If I had been poisoned, I was glad Kol had found me. I didn't want Christian seeing me like this. I tried to remember what had happened since yesterday. I remembered I needed to get a new dress for the ball so I went the Lilac Avenue. Someone grabbed me and pulled me into an alley. It must have been Garen who had abducted me and poisoned me. I stumbled and fell against Kol. I was so hungry and the corset was so tight. I knew that I had to go back to Garen eventually in case it was one of the killing poisons, but I wanted to be away from him for as long as I could first.

"Hello, I see you have found my Ebony. Thank you for bringing her to me, but I can take it from here." I looked up and straight into the face of my lovely count. Despite the pounding in my head, I let go of Kol and fell into my love's arms. I loved it when he called me his own.

Did you all cringe while reading this? I know I did when I was proof reading.