Angel

2- Longing

"Get in here now!" the step-mother howled like a banshee. She grabbed Kylo by the back of his collar, physically dragging him into Drusilla's bedroom. "I told you to hang these dresses up, not leave them on the bed. Look," she yelled and let go of him only to slap him across the head, "there is a wrinkle on the skirt."

An elaborate pistachio green ball gown made up of too much tulle was dotted with glittering gems over the bodice. The gown had a puffy skirt with a dramatic V neckline that would make a sailor blush. Kylo knew that in Elmira's room there was a matching gown in a bright, garish pink.

"My...my lady," Kylo stammered looking at his feet. "I did hang the gowns up as you had asked."

"Liar," as the mother yelled near Kylo's ear, he cringed and tried not to move.

"Moooother," called a nasally Elmira as she entered her sister's room and pushed past Kylo to get to the dress. "The cinder-boy did hang it up, I set it on the bed." Elmira smiled at her sister's gown, clasped her hands then turned to Kylo and her mother.

"Why?" asked the mother. "The ball is a few hours away."

"I know, I wanted to wrinkle it so that Dru would be laughed at."

The step-mother pushed Kylo out of the room and began to scold her daughter. "Don't be horrible. How would you like it if your sister did that to you?"

"Mooother," Elmira cried, "I did it because she broke the stitch out of some of the gems so they would fall off when I entered the lord's manor."

With no apology for hitting Kylo or accusing him of disobedience, the mother gave him a stern look and pointed to the kitchen. "Do you not have any cleaning to do, boy?"

Before Kylo could reply, the door was slammed in his face.

The scent of French perfume and face powder penetrated the house. As the three women helped each other dress and do their makeup and hair, Kylo was in the kitchen finishing up the rest of his chores. He knew they would be leaving soon. The muffled giggles had turned into false admiration as the women stepped out of their rooms and clamored in the parlor. They touched each other's gowns carefully as if the incidents before had not happened. When Elmira twirled around for her mother, Kylo thought she looked like an over-grown strawberry.

"Come, my beautiful daughters," said the mother. Grand Venetian masks were placed over the young women's faces, hiding the upper-half from the bridge of their nose to their crown. While Dru's mask was bronze, Elmira's was silver. Both masks were decorated with green and pink feathers making them look childish. When the masks had been secured with their satin ribbons, the step-mother put on hers. A black and gold cat-shaped mask matched the puffy black and gold gown she wore.

Peeking up through his long dark hair, Kylo wondered just how they would all fit in the same carriage with dresses so big.

"Oh, poor, poor Kylo," sing-songed Drusilla as she sauntered to the threshold of the kitchen. "Everyone who is anyone will be at the Masquerade Ball tonight and you are stuck here with dirty dishes for company."

Tiptoeing to her sister, Elmira giggled and coiled a lock of her sister's hair around her finger playfully. "We are going to dance, drink fine wine and eat glorious food, and you'll be here alone, waiting for us to come home sometime after midnight. Poooor, poor Kylo," she teased.

When the mother clapped her hands and told them to leave the cinder-boy to his chores, the two girls turned and followed their mother to the grand carriage that awaited them.

Watching them leave, Kylo felt a knot in his stomach. He wanted to go to the ball, too. More than anything he wanted an escape from his hell, if only for an hour. "They won't be back until late," he said to himself. "Perhaps I can go...I will only watch the ball from the garden and will be back swiftly. No one will know."

Feeling a sliver of bravery inside him, Kylo headed to his cellar room to look for something to wear.

In the eternal dampness of the cellar, Kylo knelt by a small trunk. Everything he owned lay within. Opening the lid, he fumbled through the items within and dug to the bottom. He pulled out a pair of clean, yet well-worn tan trousers and a crisp white shirt. There were ruffles along the front and the sleeves. Kylo recalled wearing the shirt only a handful of times, solely for the times he was allowed to join the three women for a church service. The mother always reminded him that God was good for his soul since he was a dirty sinner. But Kylo doubted he was a sinner for he had never tried to harm anyone in any way nor did he have a wicked tongue. Perhaps, he thought sadly, weeping was a sin. If so, then she is right. I am a sinner. Pushing his thoughts aside before they stung his heart even more, he dug deeper in to the trunk and found a lovely pair of black leather gloves that used to belong to his father. The gloves looked new. The leather was smooth and there was elaborate stitching along the side resembling roses. They were the most beautiful things Kylo owned.

Setting his clothing carefully on the now-closed lid of the trunk, Kylo hurried to fetch some water to wash up.

word count: 939
total words: 2286