Dancing with the Devil (part one)

Chapter 4: You Look Beautiful

At 5 o'clock sharp the next day, two maids dressed in black and white arrived at the door to Astrid's room. One had two large bags in her hand and the other had a make up bag and a curling iron.

"Good morning miss, " the small blonde one said to her, "we are here to help you with your things for the gala."

Astrid let them in and they began by doing her nails, they weren't painted, only glossed and shaped. They then went on to make up; maroon eye shadow and matching lipstick. Her hair was left down in elegant curls and a silver necklace was was placed around her neck, which Astrid thought was some kind of ruby, probably stolen as most jewels and diamonds were in this mansion...

Which was also probably stolen.

After the last curl was put in place they moved onto the dress, and it was beautiful. The bodice was a wonderful soft velvet with a flowing bottom made from organza. As Astrid slipped into the dress it fit perfectly, each layer of the skirt brushed the floor. She slipped her feet into a pair of red slippers with a small heel. She sat down and allowed the two ladies to finish the final touches to the hair and make up. She stood up again and looked at herself in the full lengths mirror and laughed. She was beautiful. She knew it, the maids knew it, everyone would know it. She hoped he would too.

She looked up to the clock on the wall next to the door, it was twenty-five past seven. She took a deep breath and looked at herself again, she leaned forward to examine herself, her eyes were perfectly done, her eyebrows were subtle, yet still noticeably beautiful. She had no blemishes, her hand found its way to her cheek and she was gently brushing her skin. She smiled and one of the maids quietly spoke to her.

"You look beautiful, ma'am." She complimented, proud of her work.

Astrid rolled her eyes and sighed, she knew that the girl was just being nice, but, words could not comprehend what she looked like.

"I know" She rustled, a hint of annoyance lased in her voice. She stood up straight and gracefully sauntered to the table where she placed her phone and some emergency lipstick into a small black purse and headed out the door. She reached the top of the stairs that she and the man that she had grown to like in a way that she couldn't comprehend had spoken about this very moment the day prior. Astrid tilted her head down the spiral of the staircase to see Jim and Sebastian waiting at the bottom of the stairs. She took another breath.

"Shit." she cursed quietly to herself, she didn't know what was going to happen, she had no idea what perverts would be attending the party, and here she was wearing a dress that hardly covered her front. She slowly and carefully made here way down the staircase, the sound of her slippers clicking against the marble floor sounded through the hall and as she approached the section of the staircase where Jim was standing, he turned away from his conversation with Seb and watched her elegantly step down the last step.

"Shit." He said wide eyed, just so that he could hear it.

"I'll take that as a complement Mr. Moriarty." Astrid raised an eyebrow at him and they both walked outside followed by Seb; looking shady as ever.

"You look nice, Alexa." Jim said subtlety, and Astrid smirked.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Moriarty." She looked at him. As usual he wasn't looking at her, "I always find it odd how women spend so much time trying on different ball gowns and spending hours getting their hair and make up perfect, all men have to do is put on a boring suit and bow tie. I don't see you making and effort."

"You should be glad, it's not just me you're trying to impress." he clicked his tongue as they walked out into the drive and Moriarty opened the door and Astrid frowned.

"Implying that I already have?" she stood and bit her lip.

"Don't run before you can walk, Miss Holton." He said darkly causing Astrid to shiver silently, "you look lovely, now get in the car."

She laughed as he helped her in, she could just about make out an annoyed huff from her boss before he walked around to the other side of the car and climbed into the seat next to her. Seb sat in the drivers front of the fancy black car and drove them to god knows where.

"How far away is this place?" Astrid asked incautiously, staring out of the window at the gorgeous sunset over the hills. Normally she would appreciate the delicate mix of pinks and purples in the sky but she didn't seem to. Sure, they were pretty, but, 'It was just a waste of time, and phone storage', she though to herself as she saw several people taking pictures of the stunning view gaping down camera lenses.

"Ten minutes," Seb answered after Jim said nothing. Astrid nodded and removed her head from the window and looked at Jim who was looking down at his phone.

He was wearing a black suit and tux, it would have been a bit too boring if it wasn't for the bow tie and hanker chief that brought his outfit to life. The items were a mixture of different shades of reds mixed in with black and grey, they seemed like they wouldn't match, but they did. And so well. Astrid grinned, unbeknownst to Jim, at him. He looked good, handsome, charming even.

"Not too bad indeed" she said out loud and smiled from ear to ear. Jim looked up from his phone and when he spotted her grinning madly at him, he switched his phone off and smirked back. He was deffinitley a handsome man, Astrid knew it, and after getting to know the Irishman over the past few weeks, she thought that he probably knew it too. Which was fine. In her opinion, your own thoughts of yourself are the most reliable.

After all, no-one knows you better than you, right?