My nerves tie themselves into a tight bundle. Playing princess in my house in a dress that doesn’t belong to me is one thing. But it’s a totally different matter to wear it in a palace full of born-and-bred royals as if I actually own the gown. They’ll out me as the girl from the woods straightaway. I’d better wait for a good moment when everyone is distracted and then quickly sneak downstairs.
My steps falter, and I grip the dark red floor-to-ceiling curtains that are drawn aside at the entrance. Frightfully hanging on to them, I struggle to rein in my erratic breathing. If only Jack was here to give me some courage now. Damn him for running out of town at the last minute. I start to wonder if it was an excuse, after all. Something he told me so he wouldn’t have to show up at the ball tonight.
My heart pounds in my throat. Perhaps he should have taken me with him.
A fold of the thick curtain still clasped tightly in my fist for support, I dare a step forward and sneak a glance into the ballroom. All I can see on this level, however, is a giant chandelier hanging from the high ceiling in the center of the room. The thousand crystal drops beautifully reflect light beams in all shades of the rainbow.
“May I help you, milady?” a raspy voice makes me snap back to the protection of the curtains. My hand flies to my pounding heart.
The young man in front of me is dressed in some sort of white uniform with silver embroidery on the front of his jacket and his light blue banded collar. A rapier attached to his left hip hangs down his leather-clad leg, making him look a lot like the guards outside. But a silver mask covering the top half of his face implies that he’s a guest in the castle, too.
A real prince. Oh, my Goodness! My eyes feel as if they’ve just gone glassy with panic.
It takes a moment for my voice to return. “Um…no, thank you. I was just—”
“Scared of walking down?”
Am I that easy to read? I should watch the feast from up here then.
“Yeah. Maybe a little.” Admitting it out loud actually eases some of my tremors, and I can breathe again. “It’s my first ball of this kind.”
He cocks his head in amusement, clasping his hands behind his back. “The masked kind?”
The kind where I pretend to be a princess and find a lover. But it’s probably better not to say that aloud. I just nod.
“You shouldn’t be scared.” His lips curve into a gentle smile. “You look amazing.”
The unexpected compliment brings a warm blush to my cheeks. I lower my face, squinting up at him through my lashes. “Thank you.”
Behind the mask, he blinks his incredibly blue eyes. They stand out in stark contrast to his white-powdered hair. “Would you like me to escort you down?”
I grimace. The heavy curtains at my back feel far safer than walking off with this royal right now. “That’s very kind of you. But I’m afraid I need another minute.”
He looks at me as if considering whether I want him to wait. In the end, he seems to understand that I’d rather be alone.
“Very well.” The young man nods politely, yet his intense gaze lingers another second. A gossamer tickle runs over the skin of my nape. “I hope I'm fortunate enough to catch a dance with you later.”
I swallow. When words obviously fail me, his lips twitch into a one-sided smile. He heads off into the ballroom, sliding a last glance in my direction before he disappears down the stairs.
My heart pounds like a kettledrum, wanting to follow him. But my feet grow roots into the stone floor. After he’s gone, I bite my lip and turn around to giggle into the curtains. What an enjoyable encounter. If I can go by this start, the night might turn out lovely, after all.
“Oh, there you are!”
With a little jump, I whirl back and find Snow-White and Bellina flitting toward me from the stairs. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Bellina chimes out as they stop in front of me, each clasping one of my hands. The slim mask the Beauty wears over her eyes that matches her dress doesn’t conceal her identity. I just knew she wouldn’t be able to resist wearing purple tonight. “What are you doing up here? The feast is downstairs! You’re going to miss everything.”
Panicking, I back into the curtains again. “I was…getting prepared.”
Fists propped on the waist of her silver gown with lots and lots of black spots, Snow-White casts me a take-no-shit look. The cat ears headband she wears and the small, black kitty nose concealing her own, along with whiskers drawn across her cheeks, dash the grim expression a little. “Well then, I hope you’re ready because you’re coming with us.” She tugs at my hand. Because there are two of them—and Bellina is actually a lot stronger than her fragile stature implies—I don’t stand a chance.
Every step that brings me nearer to the light shining out from the ballroom makes my heart pound faster. I try to concentrate on the rainbow beams from the chandelier to calm myself, but totally lose the battle when we reach the landing, and my friends mercilessly drag me downstairs.
My gaze sweeps across the hall, and my breath hitches.
The room that is usually so cold and bare has been transformed into a real spring fairy tale tonight. Tendrils of pink roses wind up each of the twelve floor-to-ceiling marble columns around the room. Countless tables covered with platters of dreamy tarts, cakes, cupcakes, and bowls of pudding line the walls between them. On the pedestal near where the string quartet belts out a lovely song, a pyramid of champagne glasses, all filled with bubbly golden liquid, sits. Every so often, a passing guest takes one away from the top.
In the center of the room, a two-inch glass platform covers the diamond-shaped pool built into the stone surface that is obviously the dance floor. Even from where I stand, I can make out the countless goldfish weaving gracefully through the crystal-clear water. The space is still empty, the colorful sea of people moving around it as they chatter and laugh.
Pulled into the dreamy ambiance of the place, I stop dead halfway down the stairwell—and cause Bellina to slip and land on her bottom.
“Oh. I’m so sorry!” I rush the two steps down and help her up. “Are you all right?”
She rolls her eyes but laughs. “Fortunately, I already had my grand entrance with Dominic when we got here.” Getting to her feet, she rubs her behind. “Would have been quite the gossip tonight if this was how I arrived.”
Snow-White snickers. “It’ll make for some good gossip anyway.”
I track her gaze back to the feast and find three hundred pairs of eyes fixed on us. My cheeks grow so hot, I'm sure I’m raising the temperature in the room by several degrees—and it wasn’t even me that landed on my butt.
So much for sneaking in.
Head lowered and gaze focused on the stairs—making sure I don’t miss a step—I let the girls pull me all the way down, much slower than before. Relief washes over me when we make it to the bottom without another embarrassing incident, and I finally can hide in the crowd.
I don’t know where my friends are going and blindly follow, totally getting disoriented among so many people. Women have come in gorgeous gowns wearing masks as simple as mine and some without. A few wear masks shaped into animal faces or powdered wigs. Most men are clad in fine linen shirts and uniform jackets, revealing a hint of vest. White-haired wigs seem to be the norm, even among the male visitors. I guess this is the royal manner of dress when going to a ball.
I hurry after Snow-White and Bellina, struggling not to lose them in the chaos of people. Heck, where are they running to so fast? “Stormy!” I call out in panic as her silver and black dress flitters in and out of sight. But I don’t know if she even heard me because a bird suddenly stops my chase. Not a real bird, of course, but a young man in the disguise of a beautiful robin—one I totally knock into.
Where the hell did he flutter in from? He cups my elbows and balances me as I trip in Dorothy’s shoes. As I catch my breath, a hand to my chest, I look up. He wears a mask that is speckled with a myriad of multihued feathers, covering most of his face down to the sensual curve of his lips. From between two slits, dark eyes sparkle in the crystal light of the chandelier above us.