Not My Fairytale

Chapter 16

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A Peace Offering

The twenty-third of December arrived quickly, and with it came the annual Midwinter Ball.

    I had vowed not to return to the willow again, at least not for a while. With nobles and socialites flocking to the castle in droves over the past two days, it was not hard to do. And, with an increase in teas and social gatherings I rarely had any free time to even consider a hike to the lake to begin with, though with each passing day I felt the pull to escape the confines of the castle walls growing. But, I had always prided myself on my self control. And if there had ever been a time to practice it, now was that time.

    Besides, I only needed to make it a few more days until the castle would empty of all guests once more, and life would be back to normal. Or whatever I should call my life now, because 'normal' no longer seemed to quite fit.

    Then, with luck, the foul mood I couldn't seem to pull myself from would fade. Somewhere deep down, I knew that my mood had little to do with our numerous guests. But, a girl can dream.

    My hair had been tugged on and set in so many different styles over the past couple of days that it would no longer lay flat without aid, but that fact did nothing to dissuade Ava from descending upon me again when the time came to prepare for the Midwinter Feast. I sat patiently on my stool while she braided and pulled on my hair, then went to work on my face.

    Almost exactly an hour and a half after she had arrived, Ava was disappearing back through the servants corridor, leaving me standing before the mirror. I was wearing an elegant lilac gown, that clung tightly to my waist, before flowing softly to my heel-clad feet. There were little silver flowers embroidered along the seams with tiny pearl centers that seemed to follow the halter neckline as it rose up my chest and wrapped delicately around my throat. My hair was pulled into a tight bun atop my head, with a chunk in the front braided back and wrapped around the base of the bun. My makeup was done in neutral shades with glossy pink lips, and a simple silver and pearl tiara sat atop my head.

    For no clear reason that I could ever discern, other than simply for the dramatics of it all, the alpha and beta families never entered the ball nor the preceding feast without being properly announced and adequately gawked at. This year was no different.

    The massive dining hall was filled to the brim with tables and people, but I ignored them all as I made my way to my assigned seat. The king and queen would be entertaining dukes at a table of their own with Franco's parents, raised up on a dais. Franco and I were banished, as we always were, to the table closest to the dais, where we would be doomed to spend the entire meal maneuvering polite small talk with whatever upstarts had managed to score such seats of honor this year.

To say I was keen for this portion of the night to be over, would be an understatement.

I slid wordlessly into my spot at the head of the table, with Franco already positioned to my left. I glanced briefly around at my dining companions, but chose not to be the first to engage anyone in conversation. I only recognized three of the seven faces staring back at me. To my right, in a position of honor, sat Prince Michael of the sovereign human kingdom within our borders, though he was the first to turn his attention from me. For once, I was grateful for the animosity between my mother and his father, simply because it meant he was unlikely to look at me again, much less start a boring conversation. On Franco's other side sat Carmine Asaro, who sat wedged between the soon-to-be beta and his sister, Carina. Their family resemblance was nearly uncanny, and I found myself quickly looking away before his blond curls and bright blue eyes could remind me of someone else.