Ariadne's POV
It took all my willpower not to cry out as I crawled over to Iris as fast as I could and grabbed her little ankle.
She turned to me with a wicked grin as if to say, I'm hungry, and you're not going to stop me. I gave her a warning look but her five-year-old brain didn't seem to care and she quickly pulled her foot out of my grasp and scurried away.
"Fiddlesticks," I whispered and hurried after her.
I was too late, by the time I reached her again she was reaching for a small powdered pastry at the same time as one of the boys; but she couldn't see him from her angle. I watched the scene play out in slow motion: Iris reached the pastry first and the boy cried out to see a hand on his food. Then all his brothers laughed until they also saw the hand, and it was too small to be any of theirs. Then they ran over and peered over the railing to see Iris shoving the thing into her mouth before anyone could take it from her.
"You feared a little girl?" One of the boys teased.
"Where did she come from?" Another asked. "I don't recognize her."
"Me neither."
"Well don't just stare at her, bring her up here," Estevan said.
One of the other boys went down the stairs and I knew I would be seen as well, and there were no bushes on this side.
"Well lookey here," he said and grabbed my arm roughly. "I found another one," he called out to the others who turned to look at me.
"Let her go!" I heard Bell call out and I groaned. Way to be quiet. It would be much harder to sneak everyone out if they knew they were all here.
The boys turned to look at eleven girls in dirt-covered nightgowns coming towards me and the boy grabbing my arm. I smiled, we were a sight to be seen.
"Where did they all come from?" Someone asked.
"We're lost," El told him.
The boy who spoke strode up to her. "And where are you from?"
El pursed her lips. "Far away, you probably wouldn't know it."
"I know every single tree in this land; try me."
"Well, we're not from this land."
The boys gasped and started muttering amongst themselves, probably trying to figure out if they should believe us.
"If you're not from here, then how'd you get here?"
"The staircase," El said as if it was the most common way to travel.
"The glass staircase?" He asked. "Why that doesn't lead anywhere."
"If you don't believe me then-"
"We believe you, my dear," Estevan said and approached El. "Don't we, brothers?" He asked and got several "Yes's" in reply.
"It's nice to see you have kept your promise, your highness." He said, kissing my hand.
"You know him?" Bell asked.
"In a way," I said glaring at him as he smiled politely at me.
"My name is Estevan," he said bowing to the rest of my sisters. "And who might you be?"
"I'm Iris!" A voice squeaked and then she began pointing at each sister, "That's Ariadne, Bell, Charities, Diana, El, Fortuna, Galene, Harmonia, Juno, Khione, and Leto."
"Forgive me if I don't remember all of your names, though they are all beautiful," Estevan said. "This is Myron," he said, pointing at the boy who had grabbed my arm. "This is Titus, and that's Donavon," he pointed at the boy who talked to El. "That's Aldis, Anatello, Darren, Harwell, Byran, and Rafe."
"And forgive us, if we don't immediately remember all your names," I said looking at each of the boys. There was no way I would be able to keep their names straight.
Estevan laughed, "Of course, my dear," he said then held his hand out to me. "Now would you lovely ladies care to dance?"
I glared at him again. But Charities answered before I could. "We would love to."
Estevan led me onto the pavilion as the music started and the other boys asked my other sisters, all except Bell accepted the invitation; she decided to watch the two twins in order to make sure they didn't get into any trouble, and Myron volunteered to help her.
We started dancing but I was stiff, afraid of what trick Estevan would try and pull next. I wish I could feel more like a butterfly, like the one that flew past me, light and free, as I was led across the pavilion by Estevan, who was an excellent dancer, I admitted.
I was even more confused than ever.
"What is this place?" I finally got up the nerve to ask.
"It's a long story," he said and shrugged.
"This is a long dance," I retorted - he couldn't throw me off a boat this time.
He laughed. "So it is," he led me passed the others to the far side of the pavilion. "Well, we have been here ever since I can remember. My ancestors were loyal followers of King Rowland, but when they failed to rescue him, he trapped them down here and cursed our family never to see the light of day again," he shuttered. "My brothers don't know that last part, they just think this is all there is in the world, but I know better. I am even allowed to visit and see your land on occasion." He winked.
"My ancestors stole a little of the King's magic and were able to build this place so they could survive, and we have. In fact, you haven't seen much of our land. Our ancestors expanded it magically and we have quite a bit of family living around here; though most of them are crazy. And we are the only ones who like to dance, so no one else comes near here."
"But dancing... Dancing is amazing," I said. "How could someone not enjoy it?"
"I did not say I understood them, just because I am related to them does not mean we are similar," he said and laughed, which threw me off. Why was he being so nice?
"And how did you manage to find my kingdom? I don't believe you told me the last time we met."
Maybe because you threw me off your boat. "I just stumbled upon the entrance that first night," I replied. He spun me and I saw all my sisters enjoying themselves, and it made me uneasy. "I also want you to know that the only reason my sisters are here with me tonight is that our housekeeper banned dancing until my father returns. They will not be joining me every night."
"I am glad they could come," He said and I wondered if he had understood what I said.
"How do you expect me to break a 200-year-old curse?" I asked.
He smiled and looked off in the distance. "You will find a way. I am sure of it."
The music ended and we walked back to our siblings, who seemed to be getting along based on all the chatter.
"Ardeen!" Galene called and ran over to me. "I was able to do the dance you taught me!"
I knelt next to her. "Really? How was it?"
"It was fun," she said then looked up at Estevan and blushed. "I danced with Anatello," she whispered to me. "He is nice. I've never danced with a gentleman before."
I smiled and whispered back to her. "Okay, we can talk more about it later, now why don't you go play."
She nodded and excitedly ran over to a boy a little older than her with dark hair and the same dark eyes as Estevan, with an almost mischievous hint to them.
"You have beautiful sisters," Estevan said when I stood up.
I smiled, looking over them: they were all so different; but he was right, they were all beautiful.
"I am just glad I had the chance to dance with the most beautiful of them all."
I looked at him in surprise. He couldn't possibly think flattery would make up for everything else he has done to me.
He didn't seem to notice my reaction and offered me his arm.
I took it, afraid of what he would do to me or my sisters if I didn't, and he led me to the center of the dance floor as another song started. I didn't recognize it right off, but with a little help from Estevan, I was able to recognize the pattern and quickly caught on after stumbling through the first half of the dance. We wordlessly swept across the pavilion as I followed his every move. Estevan was an amazing dancer, and I was surprised he had that much skill for not being able to dance at a real ball.
He bowed. "Thank you for granting me the pleasure of that dance, my dear."
I curtsied. "You're welcome."
"You were truly astonishing." He said bending down and kissing the back of my hand, not taking his eyes off me.
"That was good," Juno exclaimed.
"When can I dance like that?" Galene asked.
I smiled at my sisters. "If you get enough practice then you will dance even better than that."
My sisters squealed in delight.
"Can we come here every day?" Harmonia asked Estevan.
"I don't know-" I started.
Estevan knelt down in front of Harmonia. "You can only come here on one condition," He looked up at me and winked.
"What?" she asked.
"You have to dance and have fun," he said, smiling.
"That is two conditions!"
He looked up at me with a grin then back at little Harmonia. "You are a smart one."
"What time is it?" I asked suddenly realizing we needed to get back if we wanted any sleep before the next day.
Estevan shrugged his shoulders. "We only know what time it is when the clock chimes."
"I haven't heard a clock," I said. "And I know we've been here longer than an hour."
"You can't always hear them from the pavilion-"
He was interrupted by a distant gong I recognized well. I waited, it rang twice.
"Two in the morning," Fortuna exclaimed. "That's not possible."
"Maybe time goes faster here?" Diana whispered.
"That's reasonable," El said with the face she gets whenever she's thinking about a book.
"It doesn't matter how it happened," I said. "What matters is that we get back home before Harriet realizes we left."
My sisters reluctantly agreed and we started down the pavilion.
"Until tomorrow, my dear?" Estevan called.
I didn't have much of a choice. "Until tomorrow."
We hurried across the bridge, through the forest, and up the stairs. I hoped with all my heart that the passage would still be open, and it was. We hurried through it and I helped all the girls into a clean nightgown and sent them to bed. Then I hid the dirty garments in the chest next to my bed and put my own on top of it. After I had taken care of my sisters, I hurried into my own clean nightgown and got into bed. I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep with the new thoughts that would be running through my head. But the dancing proved to have worn me out enough to help me get more sleep than I had had in a while.
How do you like this chapter? Would you continue to dance here every night with these mysterious men and boys?
Which sister is most like you??
Be certain to comment and vote whenever you like! (As I always say, more is better than less ;) )