Princess And The Thief

Arabella and the Ball

The moment I stepped into the ballroom, deafening noise came to my ears. A groan almost escaped me, but I held it down. I heard my parents walking towards me."Oh, bumble bee! How we missed you!" Mom said using my childhood nickname.

"I missed you too." I replied. They both hugged me and then led me to some people they wanted me to meet. As we made small talk with a duchess of something. My thoughts wandered to Jack once more. I really needed to forget about him. It's not like I was ever going to see him again.

"Arabelle, the Duchess asked you a question." My mom whispered in my ear.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I'm afraid that my thoughts are somewhere else tonight." I said to the duchess.

"Quite alright your Highness, I was only asking what you think of the ball tonight."

"It's beautiful and very refined. I'm quite enjoying myself, thank you."

Now, I may not have mentioned this earlier, but nobody, asides my parents and the castle workers, know I'm blind. I don't know why we keep it a secret, you would have to ask my parents. I think It's because my parents had bragged while my mom was pregnant, that I was going to be the perfect princess. With no faults in any way. Their hope of that coming true, dispelled the day I was born. I just think they're too nice to say that I am, to say the least, not the perfect princess in any way.

In fact, nobody met me outside of the castle until I had come to the age of 12. Before then, I had learned to act like a perfectly normal person, training my senses to perfection. Just because I wasn't the perfect princess doesn't mean that my senses couldn't be perfect.

Someone walked up to me,"Oh yes!" Said the duchess,"your majesties, I would like to introduce Lord Peyton, my nephew." Her voice was full of honey, I would have thought she would like to marry him if he was not her nephew.

"Nice to meet you, your majesties," Lord Peyton said.

"Our pleasure," we said simultaneously. My parents started asking him questions about where he lived how he was doing and so forth. I didn't really care about the conversation and let my mind wander until Lord Peyton asked me to dance with him.

He led me out onto the dance floor and I followed. I hate dancing. Most of my school lessons, I had had to memorize every single dance and the music that went along with it. I didn't see the point in it, but my parents insisted.

Lord Peyton danced well and kept up his side of the conversation. He was very funny and made me laugh. After the song ended, he asked me for the next dance and I accepted. As we talked more I had figured out that he was very good at archery and liked fighting with swords. I tried to keep the conversation towards him, but he was a gentleman and made the conversation turn towards me. "So, I don't mean to pry, but there have been rumors that you ran away just the other day. I don't like rumors very much, but I am still very curious."

Ugh. He wants the answer to a very complicated question. "Well, no, technically I didn't run away. I had just taken a stroll through the woods without guards when I got lost. It took me over night to find my way here."

"Wow, you were all alone in the woods at night? You have got some guts for a young woman like yourself." I didn't know whether to take this offensive and slap him, or take it as a compliment and say, 'thank you.' I decided to take it as a compliment seeing as my parents would likely disapprove of me slapping a guest.

"Thank you, it was scary, but i'm just happy that I made my way back."

Lord Peyton bowed down and lightly brushed his lips across my hand as he whispered,"as am I." I smiled and held down my blush.

I curtsied,"thank you for the dances Lord Peyton."

"And thank you Princess Annabelle for accepting my invitation of the dances." He bowed once more and walked away. I sighed, I guess that now that I am sixteen I will get possible suitors. I walked towards my parents voices when something stopped me. I cold shiver traveled down my back bone making me shiver. I remembered my mom distinctly say that no windows were to be open. All of the sudden someone screamed and the ballroom was thrown into chaos.