My dress squeezes my upper chest, but I must endure. The pain makes it hard to breath, and I can't tell if it is from my outfit or my fear. A banquet such as this makes it hard to hide from the officials, but I know I don't have much of a choice.
The ballroom is illuminated by candles that are positioned around the ceiling. While it is beautiful, it is not practical, as they could drip wax on top of any unsuspecting persons. Hundreds of tables encircle the dance floor and stage, each one draped with an elegant red table cloth, and once again candles, this time they have a golden sheen to them. The structure of the building is the most spectacular of all. Giant stained glass windows, ten times the size of me surround us. The colors swirls mesmerizingly, I stare at it as though I am in a trance.
Windows such as this are hard to find in our modern day, as they were all destroyed after World War Five when the government rebuilt our cities to create our communities.
People, men, women, boys, and girls, flutter around me like wild animals, all eager to get the festivities started, except for one.
He stands in the back, away from all. He wears a mask and has a slender build, even through his mask I can tell he is handsome. I looked away from the boy to the crowd before approaching. I needed to be sure that nobody was looking in my direction. Once I had deemed it safe I glanced back over to him, and caught his eye. He grinned. Flustered, I turned myself to look at Kato, he was running around with his friends, who were also here for their banquet. But by the time I looked back at the mysterious boy, he had gone.
My heart beats in my chest. Where had he gone? Who was he? Did anyone else see him?
My eyes darted around the room, he was nowhere in sight. I needed to sit down. The pain in my chest from my beating heart and my constricting dress was unbearable. I needed to get away. As I stood up to run, I experienced a wave of nausea. What was happening to me?
My eyes darted to the back exit. I needed to get out. My vision started to blur as I ran.
The candles,
The red, oh so much red.
I pushed through the exit and unzipped my dress, leaving only my form fitting and revealing slip. I dropped the sea foam green horror onto the ground and surveyed my surroundings.
I was in a petite little garden that looked as though it hadn't been tended to in fifty years. An ivy covered fence was leaned against the wall. The closer I looked the more I noticed. One particular patch of ivy caught my attention. I stood up and walked towards it, not understanding my sudden fascination with it. That's when I saw it; a large pair of green eyes staring at me. The boy from the banquet room. My attention immediately floated down to my slip, I was barely clothed! My eyes darted to the dress lying on the ground where I dropped it.
"No," he whispered, "you're fine, I won't look." While I was flattered by his consideration, I still slipped on the dress. It was seemingly less tight than before.
The boy emerged from the shadows, he was beautiful, and somewhat familiar.
"Who are you?" I whispered, wonderstruck.
"You tell me Belle."