Jade neck hurt from the whiplash of moving away with haste. Her stepmother was trying to make conversation with a distinguished Lady and hadn't noticed her at all. Behind them stood Lord George of Marckley with a bored expression on his face.
The tall girl tried to divert her attention to her friends' performance but her eyes could not focus on anything. Permelia tinkling laugh was clouding all her senses. The rage she felt was unprecedented.
The secretary's fists clenched until crescents were embedded in her palms and her heart raced so frantically she wondered if it would burst out of her chest. She closed her eyes and tried to breath through the haze of panic and anger.
A hand was lightly placed on her shoulder and Jade started so badly that she nearly tripped in one of the water features. Her brown eyes opened to Prince Luke's troubled face.
"You look distressed?" The Prince queried. His dark eyebrows were scrunched in concern. Jade tried to smile but it came out more a grimace.
"Where's Emma?" She asked instead. Her hand unconsciously landed on her chest as if too calm her racing heart.
"I've handed her to my brother. He had his name written down
on her dancing card for the second dance," Luke replied. He gestured towards the now full dance floor but his eyes remained on his secretary's wane face.
"I'm glad he took the initiative," Jade answered with an evident delay. She took the risk of taking a glance to her left. Her stepmother was now standing next to George the filthy with a pout on her face.
The woman had not lost any of her looks in the recent months. Her new gown was fashioned for a green chit debuting at her first ball and not a widowed woman of undetermined years but it did not look out of place on her. Jade's eyes widened when she noticed her mother's Burmese ruby around her neck along with various other gold chains.
"Excuse me, Sire. Sir Elliot has asked me to perform an errand," Jade murmured before abandoning the man to his fate. Strangely enough this part of the plan worked out perfectly according to her current temperament. Elliot had made it clear she must leave the Prince's side to give their foe an opportunity to make their move.
Jade stumbled away from the inquisitive stare and hurried towards the other end of the hall. At this vantage point she could keep an eye on the Prince while maintaining her distance. There were many other guards chosen to keep the Prince safe tonigt but it gave her a sense of calm to continue her usual role.
Lady Elena and her usual companions stood near the refreshments table. They were whispering among themselves but broke apart as soon as they noticed the secretary. The Lady accosted Jade after another round of hushed conversation.
"Will you not ask us for a dance?" Lady Elena asked in a fetching manner. Jade had not expected
to be asked at all and gave the group a gormless stare. Her old fashioned governess would have slayed her if she had dared to be so bold but it seems times were changing.
"My Lady, I am still on official duty. I am afraid I am not allowed to enjoy the merriments of the ball," Jade lied to the woman. Luke would be delighted to see her pursue the various delights of the evening even if Sir Elliot disapproved.
"Surely, Prince Luke, hasn't chosen a craven companion," The Lady hid her pouting mouth behind her fan.
"Your assertion is correct, my Lady," The taller girl answered with no dent to her ego.
"Then you could at least pour us some refreshments. It is getting so hot from all the people," The girl next to Elena asked.
The speaker received a glare from her friends for trying to usurp the conversation but Jade pretended not to see the clashing looks and obliged the Ladies. The secretary poured them lemonade in tiny decorative glasses to ease the heat.
"Are the rumours true?" Lady Elena's companion spoke again as she took a fervent sip of the juice. She could not keep the look of discomfort off her face as a elbow landed on her side in an attempt to silence her. Lady Elena glowered at her friend.
"Rumours? About whom?" The secretary was truly baffled as she spoke.
"The Crown Prince is dangling after the librarian's daughter for a wife, no?" Lady Elena clarified with a brittle smile.
"I am not privy to the Crown Prince's inner workings, my Lady," Jade bowed her head, hoping to be excused. This was not conversation she wanted to have with anyone especially in public.
"And what if I ask you to be?" Lady Elena entreated so quietly that Jade had to strain her ears to hear her voice.
"I am merely Prince Luke's secretary, my Lady. The Crown Prince wouldn't include me in his inner circle even if I wanted to. I am beneath notice to such esteemed personalities," Jade chose her words with great deliberation.
Jade was dismissed with a ill-natured wave of the hand and she hurried away towards the gaming chairs in case the women changed their minds.
She froze as her feet led her to George the Filthy who was getting beaten in a game of cards as was his norm. His opium addled eyes were only half open as money was snatched from his hands by a disgruntled opponent. Jade's shoulders straightened as a daring thought invaded her mind.
"How much are you willing to bet?" Jane said trying to contain the acidic tone of her voice. She sat down on the newly vacated chair and waited for the reply.
Lord George was a man of few pleasant words. He pressed his pile of gold forward and placed it right utop the stack of betting sheets provided by Ball organisers. The parchment was meant to act as a contract between the two players ensuring no one was cheated out of their debts. The girl released one sheet from under the weight and wrote down her offered amount.
"Not enough," Jade drawled. She placed her own bag of gold coins with a firm thud.
"Win this pile, little boy, before asking for more," Lord George bared his teeth menacingly.
Jade had spent many a night playing cards with her father and while she could safely say she was not the best she was not the worst either. From behind curtains she had spied on the infamous card parties her stepmother had brought to the house after Jade's father had passed away. George was an adequate player but there was a reason he had no coin left to his name. He was cocky and perpetually inebriated.
They played the first round and Jade let the stocky man win. She let him also be victorious in the second but managed to gain everything in his pocket in the third. George glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
"Let's keep playing. I want my gold back," The middle aged man demanded.
"And I want that ruby on your mistress' neck," Jade's lip curled with contempt.
"You won't get it," George insisted, rudely.
"Why not? Afraid you'll lose?" The tall girl jeered at her opponent.
"Never!" The man growled and signed his name on the new gambling sheet. The ink splattered all over the desk with the force of his actions.
They played a long round with the middle aged man putting in all his effort to win but sadly he was too sloshed to notice Jade systematically taking away the top tier cards. She placed the Ace atop the pile of cards and grinned at her opponent.
"That's impossible," The Lord hollered so loud people around them turned to look.
"I want that ruby in my hands by the end of this evening. I have your signature on this parchment. You won't like it when the Royal guards apprehend you," Jade threatened. She picked up the signed parchment and placed it carefully in her breastpocket.
"It's not even mine," George groused. He looked sullen and miserable.
"I don't care. You have an hour before midnight. Good luck, Georgie," The girl taunted. She pocketed the gold and sauntered away feeling victorious.
From behind her, on the dance floor, there was a disturbance. The twirling couples were forced to halt as someone from within the crush of people decided to exit the floor. Jade waited in anticipation as the crowd parted one by one but instead of the dreaded witch it was Emma. Eyes downcast and face splotchy the green clad girl marched out of the ball via the public entrance with a stony look on her face.
Jade wanted to run out after her friend but her limbs went numb. On the staircase stood the most ethereal being. A young woman with wide, doe eyes carefully descended the stairs minding the slight trail on her whispy dress. The girl had blinding white hair which ran down the sides of her delicate frame in a fashionable knot. Her gown was simple, modest but there was a sheen to it that glittered far more grandly than all the stone encrusted bodices and embroidered hems in the hall. Jade tried to get a better look but everyone else in the room had risen to their feet. She had to stand on her toes to look over taller heads.
Luke stood affixed on his spot as if struck by a spell that turned him into marble. His sharp, grey eyes were glued on the new arrival but Jade could not discern whether he was enchanted by magic or by the girl's alluring countenance.
Luke offered the beauty his gloved hand and she bowed gracefully before letting the man take her in his arms. The music began with an undefined squawk as the musicians broke out of the stupor a second too late but the pair cared not and glided over the emptying dance floor.
Jade felt a painful pang in her heart realising that no one would ever look at her the way the Prince looked at the mysterious girl. Even if she was lucky to find an escape from her masculine form there would be no one for her.
"Is it true? Is it true that he owes you my precious jewels?" Permelia thundered, suddenly accosting Jade. The girl kept her eyes at the floor, and shook her head. Her entire body stiffened although she was mindful enough to position her front away from the pair behind her.
"Let's take the conversation outdoors, my dear," George cooed and Jade followed his lead to the exit of ballroom. Permelia was on the warpath and seemed to not care whether she was making a scene.
"How could you? It is a disgrace," The older woman shrieked at her companion.
"Give the necklace to me. You're already covered in gold and silver. No one will notice one ruby missing," George pleaded with his companion.
"It's outrageous. I will not, you broke, insignificant fool," Permelia's lip quivered with emotion and Jade hid a satisfied smirk behind her hand.
"Oh, you will. If I'm arrested I will make sure you are never allowed in another noble household again. The only reason you've even laid eyes on these walls is because of my title. Nothing else matters. Not even your money," The Lord's petition turned threatening.
The woman unlaced the necklace and threw it on the floor in a fit of rage. She turned around and marched off muttering ugly things about her paramour. Jade leapt forward and snatched it up. George gave her a rude two finger gesture and raced after Permelia.
"Thanks," Jade muttered to the empty entrance hall. She grinned down at the necklace but had no time to admire it for Luke suddenly ran past her. She stuffed the ruby down her shirt and raced after the man. She huffed and puffed as she rounded into another stair hall but to her dismay it was completely empty.
There were only two exits from the room and none could hide the disappearing figure. Jade swiftly recalled where she was and what lay underneath the marble staircase.
The secretary pushed the wall underneath the stairs and was rewarded with her efforts with a doorway. Once inside the bricked tunnel she could see Luke racing ahead of her. Without pause she
began to follow him.
"Wait! Stop!" The secretary bellowed but her cries for the Prince to pause his frantic movements were not answered.
The long haired man exited the bricked tunnel and disappeared into the darkness while his secretary continued to chase him. Jade heaved open the exit door and stumbled out into one of the palace gardens. She identified the bench where she and the Prince had sat during the book reading on the fateful day of Emma's accident.
Luke entered the green hedge maze located in the middle of the garden and Jade cursed her luck. She had never been good at puzzles and it was ridiculous she had to solve a man sized maze so late in the night. Her feet crunched over the gravel as she came to a halt.
She glared at her options and with a loud, vicious curse sprinted to her right. Using her right hand to lead her through, a popular trick the Prince himself had offhandedly mentioned to her, she followed the stone path. The branches of the hedges started to become suffocatingly close and Jade wondered whether it was magic or just a gardener adding interest to the maze.
After many long minutes Jade lurched into center of the maze, slipping on more loose gravel. The circular open space contained a carved fountain surrounded by benches. The secretary's feet skidded to a halt at the scene before her. The beautiful girl floated midair while the Prince stood on the fountain edge in an attempt to reach her outstretched fingers.
The air crackled with metallic energy as if a lightening bolt would strike them from the heavens above any second. The glowing pair's long hair floated along with them concealing their beautiful faces.
Jade sprinted forward and slammed Luke into the fountain before he could grab the girl's hand. The secretary hoped her hypothesis about water being the death knell to the magical spell held out to be true.
"No!" The beauty cried beeseschingly. She turned towards Jade and her shiny aura glimmered with so much intensity the secretary's eyes nearly closed from the force of it. She couldn't understood what was happening until an idea germinated in her mind.
"You're beautiful, love, but you're not my type. Find someone else to enchant," Jade enunciated with a shaky grin.
"Thank goodness! Please listen to me. You have to save me!" The mysterious girl expressed with clear urgency.
"What?" Luke said from his position in the fountain. His voice seemed normal if not a bit rough. His attention was still fixed on mysterious girl. Clearly the attraction went beyond magic.
"You have to save me-" The girl's words were cut short as a foul hand gripped her neck and pulled her into a vortex. The light shining around her disappeared into nothingess. If Jade had been holding her pocket watch she would have known the clock had struck midnight.
Jade sat on the fountain side with a thump, still stunned by what she had witnessed. She peered at her companion in the negligible moon light and could barely see a dim silhouette even though he was only a feet away.
The drenched man took a shuddering breath and whispered, "I have to save her."