Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time - Chp 1

Note: This story has been self published on Amazon. It has been edited and modified with name changes, the return of the complete love scenes, and new additional scenes. I hope you'll take a look at the revised version.

More Than Words: Once Upon a Time – Kindle Version -  see Amazon link on my profile
More Than Words: Once Upon a Time – Printed Version - see Amazon link on my profile

 

 

And now the story...

Harley Street, London. Home of Joanna Shaw.

Present Day.

Exactly twelve couples were dancing; a myriad of colors swirling around, just beyond the peripheral vision that those barely watching only saw hints and dashes of blue, red, gold, and black pass by. While the majority enjoyed their drinks or struck up new conversations with people moving in and out of social circles, the one focal point in the room was still easily found. Most eyes followed the flowing streams of white, continually matched up against its darker, leaner partner in a combination of white, silver and charcoal gray. The new bride and her groom only had eyes for each other, though all others looked to them when interest waned on trivial matters.

 The young woman who stood, solitary at present near an ornate, decorative pillar, smiled each time the bride danced closer to the edge of the floor and made the single second eye contact. Margaret Hale would lean slightly forward and cock her head to once side as her cousin Edith and her new husband Maxwell would just venture near enough towards her before disappearing again behind the other dancers.

Margaret sighed, and then rotated her neck a little, trying to ease out the soreness from her neck muscles. It had been a long week, filled with last minute details that were imposed on her to complete. As the bride's only cousin and a bridesmaid, she felt the weight of duty to help in anyway keenly fall on her shoulders. Saying no to any request would have been considered traitorous so she kept any complaints she may have had beneath a tired smile and just nodded when prodded.

 "She's happy, that's what counts," she whispered to herself.

The words sounded sincere, though some would have founded them questionable, especially when Margaret seemed to look upon the happy couple with envious eyes.

But it was not her eyes or her manner that brought about the noticeable change felt in the air by all there. Feeling the weight of it directed primarily at her, Margaret shifted in her stance and looked casually around. There was nothing amiss in the scene before her. Sitting at the main bridal table, her parents remained seated and conversed easily with her Aunt Joanna, her mother's sister.

Seeing the three talking, or more precisely, watching her aunt dominate the conversation while her parents listened on was an old, familiar sight. Many still marveled at the difference between the two sisters, as one looked too delicate and fragile to withstand a strong breeze, while the younger, more robust sister could tackle life's hard knocks with a single fist. Like night and day they were, echoing their differences in the children.

Physically Margaret looked like her mother with her darker hair, a mixture of browns and reds infused with strands of gold and her luminous blue eyes, sparkling clear and wide in an honest and straightforward face. Edith took on her mother's fair coloring, the blonde hair appearing nearly white as a child had now darkening to a lovely shade of pale gold. Her light blue eyes inherited from her father seemed timid, but kind.