Tale as Old as Time

XVII

Red. I don't think I've ever worn red before.

That's all I can think as Raven and I enter the palace.

Raven was released from the hospital this morning and had my gown delivered to her apartment so I had no choice but to get ready for the ball with her. Not that I mind.

She's still weak from her accident and has to sit in a chair with wheels. Like everything surround Raven, the chair is sleek and silver with a cushion of scarlet velvet. Nothing like the dull ones stocked at the hospital. The plum skirts of her gown spill over the sides of the chair. Even with her ashen skin, low on blood, she looks beautiful. Her black hair is piled up on her head in a halo of curls and threaded with a slim, golden crown. The candlelight that fills the foyer of the palace glints off the mauve gemstones sewn onto the bodice of her dress as a man pushes the chair. His somber face is quite attractive and something tells me that's the only reason Raven picked him.

The colorful men and women of Kiana give polite bows and head nods and smiles as enter. Most of them move out of the way for us, watching us go by. I feel incredibly exposed in this scarlet gown. It would covers all of my skin; the collar winding around my neck and my wrists but the material is the exact same color as my skin and exceedingly thin. Spiraling over the flesh colored material is a web of scarlet lace, blooming flowed and leaves across my torso and arms and chest like the ink Thomas has stained into his skin. A thick band cinches my waist and a waterfall of skirt billows around me. I fight the urge to wrap my arms around my shoulders and hide myself from the eager eyes of the guests.

The multitude of candles chance away most of the dark but their flickering flames miss some of the corners, giving the ballroom a dimer glow than the usual golden brilliance that fills the immense room. The whole scene feels a by like I've been here before and the panicky feelings had the first time I entered the ballroom fills my stomach.

"Stop worrying Elise," Raven says to me without looking up.

"I'm not worrying," I lie.

"Yes you are. You think the world is ending and you think that Thomas will spend the whole night with Aurelia and forget all about you," Raven explains. I wince but say nothing. "You're paranoid. Just talk to him."

Just talk to him. Like that would work.

Across the room, where a cluster of people has already gathered, I spot a face that makes me uneasy every time I see it. Beckham. He sees me watching him and grins. Even at this distance I can see a purple bruise blooming beneath his left eye and I can't help but remember the night at the gala when Thomas disappeared.

"Come," Raven says, taking my mind away from Beckham. "I'm going to introduce you to someone. He's an old friend of mine. I think you'll like him."

Raven whispers something the the man and he helps her out of the chair. On wobbly legs, she reaches out to me, looping her arm with mine. I grip her elbow to keep a better hold on her. The man takes the chair to an empty corner of the room and waits as Raven guides my steps to another cluster of people in the center. A boy on the outside of the group, listening to the others cackling with mild interest, turns when he sees Raven and I. His freckled cheeks turn up in a smile and he comes to my aid with Raven, taking her other arm.

"I didn't think you would be here," the boy says to her. His eyes, one pale blue like the Bears and one deep brown like Raven's and mine, sparkle in the radiance of Raven. He glance over at me every so often, no doubt curious.

"I wouldn't miss it in the world," Raven scoffs. "I just actually have to attend the ball, not be sneaking around hidden corridors."

The boy laughs at this and I assume that my first meeting was something she did often.