Lady March - (L.L.)

Chapter 14

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The Color of Envy

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The day of the dinner gathering came quicker than anticipated, and sooner than later, all of the girls at the March household found themselves struggling to beat the clock. The few guests who were invited had eventually turned into double the amount, much to the displeasure of Marmee. When Jo went around telling her neighbors and the local townspeople, the house soon filled with many more people than originally intended.

Of course, only some of the close friends had come by so far, but the crowd that had yet to knock on the door put an odd feeling in Annie's heart. In the few months that she had been staying, there weren't many people who came by the house - if at all. A lot of them, she'd be meeting for the first time, and she just worried that she would come across as being too proper; if that was an insult was beyond her. Considering the fact that the rest of the sisters, mostly Josephine, were very different than their temporary guests, Annie just wondered if the guests would feel like she was extremely different than them.

As evening time approached, so did the excitement that latched itself onto each of the girls, mainly Amy. As one of the youngest, she was also the most eccentric at times. It would seem that her childhood was still thriving, and it wouldn't reach a peak until at least a few years' time. Not that anyone minded, of course; it was a kind of environment that allowed each of Amy's sisters to keep their own childhoods alive as well.

So, there they were, scrambled into Annie's bedroom with an attempt to dress up in time for the rest of the guests to arrive. There wasn't too much of a crowd although some of the people had already come, but their intention was to be completely ready by the next.

"This looks so beautiful," Jo cooed, staring at herself in awe at the mirror. When she asked if Annie could handle a brush and do her hair, she was expecting to see something unpleasant, but when she saw the exact opposite - it really made her heart swoon. "Thank you so much!"

"It's nothing," Annie shrugged off, pulling a loose piece of her own hair behind her ear. "I'm kind of surprised too, you know. Before today, I've always been horrible at hairdos."

The small moment was interrupted when Amy came rushing in the door, her face pale with what looked like excitement - but considering the fact that she was still in her untied corset - justified that she was instead frightened.

"Where's Meg? I can't find her," she said, closing the door behind her.

"Why?" Jo questioned back and stood up from her seat on the bed.

"It's my corset, she's supposed to tie it!"

Jo narrowed her eyes, before dismissing herself from Annie's bedroom, heading down to the hall where she hoped to find some friendly faces. She didn't really want to get herself in-between tending for Amy's needs again - not on the day of the party, at least.

"Meg went to help Marmee with the dinner preparations in the kitchen," Annie answered as soon as Jo fled the room. She too stood up from her seat on the bed and motioned for Amy to come to her. "I'll help you if you'd like?"

"I could probably do it myself," Amy suggested, but turned her back so Annie could tie the corset. "But I don't like to meddle with something so painful as a corset."

"Vous devez souffrir pour être belle."

Amy furrowed her brows in confusion. "What?"

"You must suffer to be beautiful," Annie added, "So say the French."

"The French are crazy," she said, but cringed when she felt the tightness on her waist from the corset. "I absolutely hate wearing that thing."

"Sorry, I'll try to be gentle," Annie said and took hold of the strings again. She didn't continue to tie it right away, however, instead she wore a wondering expression on her face. "When I was younger, my mother used to tell me that whenever I find myself in a painful situation, I should just pretend I'm somewhere I wish to be. Maybe that'll help?"

"I doubt it," Amy retorted immediately. She sighed and then said, "But I'll give it a go."

A few brief seconds passed and Amy had found herself with her eyes closed in a world like no other. In this one, she had all of her sisters by her side, but they weren't teasing her like they usually would. Instead, they are treating her fairly, like they probably would if she was the same age as them. Beside her, she found Marmee, who's smiling at her daughter with such ease. As if there wasn't a worry in the world. What caught her eye next is when she placed her hand in another person's - the man of her dreams.

"If you don't mind me asking, but what are you imagining of?" Annie asked curiously, surprised that she was able to keep Amy calm even after the usually painful experience of tieing a corset. Still, though, she gave props to her mother for the helpful tip.

"―Laurie..."

Though Amy's words were just above a whisper, Annie had heard her - and in more surprise than anything, she had accidentally tied the corset too much, earning a yelp in response.

***

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the ever-amusing Annie McLaren."

Laurie stood beside Annie, leaning against the wall. With the gathering in full swing, he didn't have the chance to talk to her until just now. There were people all over the house, in every single room, talking amongst each other as if it wasn't a dinner that was being held, but rather a famous wedding.

"And to what do I owe this visit?" Annie asked. Her voice was uninterested and her gaze was set on someone else a few feet away from where the two were standing.

Laurie followed her gaze and frowned when it landed on another boy who was talking with someone else. The unknown boy had dark and straight hair, contrary to Laurie's wavy locks. With what looked like blue eyes - though he couldn't be sure because of the distance surrounding them - nothing like his own hazel ones. The teenage boy screamed aristocrat, it was easy to tell because of how he stood with such grace amongst the crowd.

Laurie then glanced in Annie's direction to see that she was still staring at the unknown boy with what he hoped wasn't interest. Instinctively rolling his eyes, he said, "maybe you should just go and talk to him..."

Annie's eyes immediately drifted to his. Her cheeks were painted pink from the fluster of being caught. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Theo."

There was that nickname again, the one that always caught him off guard. God, he didn't think he would ever get used to hearing that. Still, he wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily, especially since he saw her staring at someone other than-

"Anne, dear!" Aunt March called out from the other side of the room. She stood right beside the unknown boy from earlier, a though that Laurie wasn't fond of. "Come here for a moment, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

Without a second glance in Laurie's direction, Annie scurried off to her aunt.

Laurie just scoffed in annoyance and crossed his arms, trying to not pay much attention to the scene in front of him. He had a bad feeling about this unknown man, and Laurie was going to stop at nothing to put him in his rightful place. On the ground.

The very thing that he despised the most was when he saw the foolish brute kiss the top of Annie's hand - and what was worse was that she looked like she actually enjoyed it. That was it, he had just enough of the scene and went away to look for Jo.