I bowed down as low as I could, the way I have seen other girls do.
"Your highness," I addressed The Prince.
He bowed back, but not as over exaggerated as I had been. He lifted his hand and offered it to me.
"May I have this dance?"
I started at his hand, debating whether I should or not accept. He looked at me with such intensity, it made me recoil. I quickly grabbed his hand. I guess that wasn't a question.
The Prince guided me to the dance floor and put my arms around his neck. He then, placed his hands on my waist. I adjusted my hands and gripped his shoulders. Around us, girls stared at us. They looked at us in disbelief. Zoey was also wide eyed.
I tried to show no emotion as I danced with the prince.
"I thought I told you not to come," he hissed.
"I was never good at listening," I replied, straight faced.
He scoffed, "Yeah obviously."
I narrowed my eyes, "I apologize, Prince."
He glared at me, "Quit the act, Diane."
I didn't reply. I averted my eyes away from his glaze and created more space between our bodies. He didn't seem to agree with the idea. He tightened his grip around my waist and pulled me even closer. I buried my face into his chest. He was taller than me so I didn't need to look at me.
"Dylan."
Even if I couldn't see his face I knew that he was smirking.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I wondered.
"Tell you what?"
"Hmmm, maybe the fact that you are the Prince!?"
"Oh. I just didn't think that was important enough." He stated simply.
I obnoxiously rolled my eyes and gave him an are-you-serious look. He just strugged.
For a moment we didn't say anything, only enjoyed the presence of each other. Then Dylan broke the silence:
"You look very beautiful."
I was shocked at these words. I looked at him in disbelief.
"Really?"
There was a tight feeling in my chest. I felt so excited. Dylan looked away.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
I unconsciously touched my face, to find it burning. When Dylan looked back at me, he looked surprised. He kept staring at my face with a sorry look on his face. Just like Lisa...
His face changed once again. Now Dylan's eyes were filled with amusement. I stepped away from me. This is getting weird... Around me, I could hear snickers. What the?
Dylan took my face with his hand and faced it towards me. I looked at him confused.
"You can't be serious? He asked. I took his hand and pushed it away.
"What do you mean?" I looked at him cautiously. He didn't say anything. He cheeks turned a rosy color. I looked around. Girls covered their mouths with their hand or a modern fan they were carrying around. The guys covered their mouths as if they were coughing. Some had their backs hunched and were shivering.
Laughing, I realized. They were laughing at me.
"What's going on?" I asked Dylan.
He burst into laughter. Then the crowd that gathered around us, erupted into laughter, along with Dylan.
"Ugly wretch!" They called, "What is a wannabe servant doing here? Especially dressed like that?"
Then, I heard Zoey's voice. I could single her out from the crowd, "Hideous Pig!"
I turned to Dylan. "You said I was beautiful," my voice was quivering.
"I wasn't serious," he barely got the words out because he was laughing.
Wrapping my arms around my waist, I squeezed as hard as I could, trying to get rid of the terrible, hollow feeling that was now forming in my stomach. I felt sick, like I needed to throw up. My breath quickened. My eyes were wide and I could only look at my now hideous shoes that I was wearing. My hair exploded from the stress and covered my face. The crowd roared in laughter, once again.
I couldn't think. Everything was blurry. I couldn't tell one person apart from another. My hands curled into fists. I straightened up. The room started to quiet down.
I couldn't see much so I faced toward where I last heard Dylan laugh. He avoided my glare.
Hell yeah, I'm glaring at you. Don't act so surprised. Don't think cause you have some dumb high position, I'd treat you like a king and let you get away. If you were anyone else, I'd hit you so hard that you would need servants to help you walk to the bathroom.
When I glare, I glare. It's some scary shit. I can make little kids cry just by looking at them, imagine me glaring at someone.
I thought just crossed my mind. They knew. The dress I was wearing, the horrible, ugly, awful, beastly dress that looked like someone made it blindfolded, was picked out by Zoey and Lisa. This all makes sense now. That's why Lisa looked at me sadly. She knew I would get humiliated. That's why Rachel wanted me to go. So that Zoey and Lisa would look better.
I couldn't stay here anymore. I grabbed the hem of my dress and ran out. It all happened so quickly. I found myself outside, on the roads, when I realized what happened. I had pushed through everyone and flew through the door.
I walked around a bit. I was lost. I left my slippers behind because they were killing my feet. It was getting late and the sky was getting darker. There was no one out. A black cat passed by.
I stopped in front of a pond. I looked absolutely loathsome. I covered my face and sat down, underneath a tree. My hair was sticking up in all directions. The dark makeup is used, smeared and turned into green. My dress somehow got torn. I was barefoot and looked disfigured.
I clawed at my eyes. I will not cry. Fuck those rich, idiotic people. They would never understand. Not a single tear would be wasted on animals on them. I scoffed, chuckling at the thought of how they used the same word to describe me. If I'm an animal, what the hell are you? I'll tell you one thing you aren't, civilized.
Far away, I could hear the faint sound of footsteps. They got nearer.
Just pass by, I prayed. But they didn't. They stopped right in front of me. I lifted my face, hoping to scare the newcomer. It was Dylan. He stepped back, when he saw my face. He seemed concerned. I snarled at him. He lifted his hands, as if to protect himself. Great, now he's treating me like an animal.
I slowly got up and walked down the road. He reached out to grab my shoulder. I stopped his hand from touching me. I turned my head, glared at him and walked home. He stood there, speechless.
At home, I slammed the door closed and went upstairs, slowly.
When I got into my room, I ran to the bird and knelt down. The room was cold and silent. My head was bowed down for a while. I looked up, puzzled why the sparrow hadn't made a sound. It was still lying in bed. I took two fingers and started to pet its feathers softly. I stopped halfway. Its body was so cold.
I took the bird in my hands. It wouldn't wake up. She was dead. I placed it back on it's bed and stared at it's lifeless body. Why? Why now? When I need you most? Why didn't you take me instead? I couldn't move. I didn't want to believe it. I resented the idea that she died. Regret came over me. Why didn't I name it?
I closed the window slowly. I resented that window. It was the cause of death for the baby sparrow and now that I didn't close it the last sparrow froze to death.
I sat near the window, staring out the window. I couldn't see anything though. The sky was there, but I wasn't looking at it. I was slipping away. I didn't feel sad. I felt numb, without emotions. My dress was still on me, but parts of it lay on the floor. Chunks of it were still in my hands. I was calm. Not happy but not sad or angry. The fact that there were so many unfair things in this world, angered me, but there was nothing I could do. So I sat. I sat there and waited, waited until there is change. I was tired of trying to fit in. Tired that I was the only one trying, yet I didn't get anything. Now, they had to get to me. It's over. I will enjoy every second of your misery. Just try to ask for mercy. I will laugh and ignore you. Have fun without me.