Chosen- A Selection Fanfiction

Chapter 15

"Excuse me, miss, but you seem a bit stressed," a masculine voice said with an accent. I turned my head, my feathers swishing with my body. The man was tall and young with a white suit most likely tailored to size. He had unusual shoes and a white mask with gold trims. His shorter brown hair was styled neatly.

"A tad," I smiled politely. "May I help you sir?"

"That's what I was coming to ask you, actually," he said with a slight accent I couldn't place. "What is your name?"

"Not anything you need to know," I retorted.

"Lovely," he grinned. "You have quite a marvelous costume."

"Thank you," I beamed. "I wish I could return the compliment genuinely, but I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

"Not many do read books that old. I'm a character from a book a few decades before the Second World War, Jay Gatsby," he introduced.

"I believe I've read that one," I smiled. "The love story?" I questioned unsurely. "You don't seem like a romantic."

"Well, I'm full of surprises," he smirked.

"What's your name?" I asked before taking a small sip of my drink.

"That's another surprise, but we'll go by Gatsby for now."

"Alright then, Gatsby. Tell me, where's Daisy? Surely you didn't come to this ball by yourself."

"Gatsby never got Daisy," he contradicted. "I'm here alone."

"You always were one for parties, weren't you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"And dancing, even if this wasn't quite my style," he smirked. He held a hand out to me. "Care for a spin, old sport?"

I laughed at his dedication to character. "Why not?"

He led me out to the dance floor and slipped my hand in his. "My name is Brad, by the way," he mentioned on the floor.

"Do you have a last name, Brad?"

"Bradford Smith is my full name," he said with further depth.

"I think I'll call you Gatsby," I said with a sly smile.

"What will I call you, then?"

"Call me Lia," I said, cocking my head at him. His playful eyes gleamed through his mask. "Lia Kane."

We danced for what seemed like ages, talking about common interests in books and films. We shared a love for learning, and Brad actually knew French as well as Italian. I'd never had such a grand time.

"If everyone would clear the dance floor so that the Royal family, Elite and their partners may engage in the Illèan Waltz please," Maxon boomed out across the floor, his golden crown catching the light.

"Well, it's been fun, Brad, but we'd better get out of the way," I suggested as I started to pull away.

He grabbed my wrist and turned me back in while the music began. "On the contrary, Lia, it's just begun."

I noticed Aaron's absence, and that's when everything clicked. "You're the Prince!" I exclaimed mid-pirouette.

He clicked his tongue. "Not right now. I'm Gatsby, Brad- anything but Aaron for tonight."

"Your highness, I don't think such is the time for private conversations as these-surrounded by people. I'm not the best candidate for this dance."

"On the contrary, almost nobody dances this as well as you do. Now is the perfect time for these conversations- in the wise words of Fitzgerald, large parties are intimate. At small parties, there's no privacy," he said mischievously.

"Well, the stares burning holes into the back of my head beg to differ," I snapped back.

"Such a temper for a maid," he commented. I shut my mouth bitterly. We ended the Illèan Waltz with a deep dip, his face close to mine. "You dance beautifully, Lia."

"Or should I say Elisa?"

I froze as everything around me slowed down. The crowds cheered around me, but I couldn't hear them. I pushed Aaron off of me and scrambled away, gathering my dress by the fistfuls. I started to panic. What was going to happen now?

I ran through the crowd, pushing them out of my way as I bee lined for the door. I could see through my backwards glancing that Aaron was trying to follow me, but people who wanted to speak to him held him back, allowing me to escape.

"Stop her!" He yelled loudly as I slammed the doors behind me.

My heartbeat raced as I ran frantically around the castle, hysteria kicking in. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I heard footsteps follow me.

I jumped over a staircase railing, rolling over the structure on my back. I landed with my feet on the steps as I began racing up them.

I ran down hallways to create a diversion. I eventually found myself in the music room, and I locked the door and barricaded it with the piano before putting on the brakes, so it wouldn't move.

I was trapped with no way out. I could hide in the closet, but they would find me. I looked out the windows in stress. When I looked to the nearby rose vining, I knew my escape, although it was risky.

"What's going on?" I heard a voice demand. Shit, it was Aaron.

"She's locked herself in. We're waiting for her to come out," A guard responded.

"Kick the damn door in!" He shouted.

I took off my shoes and strapped the ribbons onto my waist. I opened the window as much as I could before slipping out. I gripped the vining until my knuckles were white, and I was breathing heavily. I was only on the third floor, but God bless.

I crawled all the way down, my breathing rugged and shallow. People gave me weird looks, but they were irrelevant. I didn't waste time to put my shoes on; I just ran. I was back on the first floor, and I could hear everyone move around. They must have known I escaped from the music room.

I ran to the kitchen as hard as I could, and my feet aches from hitting the marble so hard. I pushed open the swinging doors to see Landon in there cleaning up by himself. "Landon! Help me, please," I begged while tears streamed down my face.

"Lia? What are you wearing? Why do you need to hide?" He questioned as he tried to take everything in. I could hear footsteps getting closer as my time ran out.

"I'll explain later! Hide me!" I pleaded.

"In the pantry!" He directed. I ran inside the dark closet while he bolted me in.

I heard the door to the kitchen open as pots and pans clattered around. I couldn't make out too much conversation, but I could tell Landon and Aaron were arguing.

"Where is she?" Aaron demanded.

"Who?" Landon asked.

"Lia Kane, Elisa Carams, the peacock girl! I saw her run in here; you can't miss her!" He yelled.

"I'm sorry your highness. I don't know anything," Landon lied perfectly.

"Look, I know you work hard. I don't have anything against you, but this is a matter of life and death to me. If your lying to me, I will see to it personally that you're fired," Aaron threatened.

"I'm not," Landon lied.

"You better hope so," he said before storming out of the kitchen, the creak of the swinging door signaling safety.

"Lia, you can come out now," Landon said unbolting the door. I fell out of the pantry in a pile of crumpled skirts before accepting Landon's outstretched hand. "Care to explain?"

"Maybe somewhere else?"