South of SomeWhere (-Editing-)

Prologue (Part 2)

The day of my ball started like any other except everything was sped up like a movie on fast forward. Breakfast was served in the usual manner except this day we dined together in the common room. I could barely contain my excitement as I bounced on my chair. Nanny hushed me every two seconds, but I was bursting with energy. After stuffing myself with crepes, we trundled off to the garden, trying to avoid bustling servants who seemed to be turning each and every corner of the palace with arms laden with bundles and such for the ball. We passed the ballroom, and I peeked inside. Everything was shining. The white marble floors winked and the globular lights beckoned one in with a soft, attractive glow. I made a move to go inside, but Nanny grabbed my hand and led me outside to the garden.

I spent the afternoon running from flower garden to flower garden gathering bouquets. Then, I amused myself for a several hours with my books and dolls. I dressed them up and sent them to a party. I built a house out of my blanket and two garden chairs. Eventually, the sky darkened and the clouds tinged with pink. I sprinted to the courtyard overlook and watched the lords and ladies arrive. The horses held themselves high with pride, great plumes of vibrant color waving from atop their heads as the pranced piazza. The glow from watchmen's laterns reflected off the shiny buttons of the footman's livery creating tiny specks of light that bounced around the enclosed walls like fairies. However, no matter how much light flashed amid the sparkling fineries, darkness skulked just behind it in the shadows. My untrained eyes missed the flash of red eyes peering from beneath a nearby stone arch way or the flash of canine teeth.

My nanny came to fetch me, and after a long hour of scrubbing, scalding, and primping, I was ready to be presented. Too caught up in the rush of pre-event excitement, I didn't question when my Mother came to visit me before I was to perform. Not that she was a bad mother. She read me stories and brushed my hair each night before bed, but she never visited me during the day of her own voliton. 

As I twirled in my party dress, my mother murmured to Nanny.

"It's lovely isn't it. Ironic that our last show of state is for her child." She appeared to want to say something else, but cut herself off before the words could tumble out. 

"She's lovely," Nanny said pointedly, her attention directed towards me.

"How I wish she'd been ugly and foul-tempered. Then, I couldn't have loved her as much as I did." My Mother sighed as though in a daze and walked over to where I stood, admiring the stiching on my bodice. I acted as though I hadn't heard a word. Kneeling down, she took my shoulders and placed her face next to mine.

"Such hair," she whispered gently as we both stared in the mirror illuminated in a halo of firelight. My rose gold hair reflect back a soft sheen of yellow and her black hair melted into the shadows. "What a pretty child she made."

I turned.

"Mother, what's the matter?" I asked and was answered with weary eyes.

In a split second, she lurched upwards and pushed me away. "Take her...Elizabeth," she commanded and fled the room.

I was whisked backstage, confusion radiating through my body, my ears absorbing the gentle assault of the orchestra playing a waltz. My hands shook in nervousness, my earlier uncertainty forgotten. My palms were sweaty, and I bit my lip in anxiety.

"Are you alright?" Nanny asked and I looked up into her young, pretty face. Her hair was a gentle rose gold, her eyes clear blue. Like mine. I nodded. The crowd clapped, and I walked on stage.

The bright spotlights shone on me and my hands shook. 'Maybe I shouldn't have signed up for this,' I thought, but I calmed as the orchestra started playing. 'Deep breaths,' I reminded myself. I heard the orchestra finish the introduction, the small hairs-breadth of a pause followed, and then, I played. I ignored the eyes winking out of the darkened shadows. I saw my mother's smile and my father grin in happiness. Everything was perfect. As I played my finger missed a note, but I wasn't fazed. Instead, I smiled. My eyes flickered over the crowd. Indeed, everything was perfect.