《Pride and Ashes: A werewolf Story》Chapter 13: In which I See Him
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I clipped the blue tooth onto my ear.
"Lizzy," I said hesitantly at first, "can you hear me?"
"LOUD AND CLEAR!" Lizzy shouted from the other end. I winced at the high volume.
I could hear Jane in the background, "Lizzy, you don't have to shout, she can hear you," she said.
"I can hear you, Lizzy," I said, confirming what Jane said.
"HAS THE DOVE FLOWN THE NEST? I REPEAT HAS THE DOVE FLOWN-"
"LIZZY YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOUT!" I yelled at her. Some people jumped away from me and cast a worried glance at the girl who was talking to the ice sculpture, before walking quickly away.
"SORRY I'M NOT USE TO THIS," Lizzy shouted.
I gave a soft groan. Would I be able to hear by the end of this night?
"BY THE WAY GIRL YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL," Lizzy shouted.
"Thank you, Lizzy," I said in a normal voice, trying to emphasize that it was a good idea to talk in the same tone.
"I LOVE THE DRESS, IT'S BETTER THAN WHAT YOU DESCRIBED," Lizzy shouted back.
I took the earpiece out of my ear and rubbed my forehead. This wasn't going to work.
I heard muffled noises coming from the device and reluctantly put it back on.
"Sorry, Fayette this is Jane," I gave a sigh of relief in my head. "What happened to Lizzy," I asked, deciding to be polite.
"She said you were too loud and it was giving her a headache," Jane replied.
The wing to one of the ice sculptures snapped off. I looked down in surprise to find the melting piece in my hand. Looking around cautiously to make sure no one saw it, I put the broken piece on the back of the swan and walked slowly away.
"I saw that," Jane noted.
"No you didn't," I said.
I walked around the Ballroom.
People were mingling- the clock almost about to hit nine.
The Queens maids who had helped me with my dress, hair, and makeup had gushed over every detail, from my waist to my hair, to my eyes and finally down to my toes.
They were nice ladies, but the endless praise had made me uncomfortable.
The process though had been life-changing.
Never had I had someone brush my hair the way they did, or help me with makeup. Never had I had someone gush over me as those women did.
I never had that someone who hugged me wishing me good luck, as if I was leaving for something as simple as a high school dance.
"Don't cry now Fayette," One of the maids, Maize, had said to me.
I hiccuped with the effort of holding in my sobs.
"You don't want to ruin the makeup now do you love?" Honey said.
"O hush Honey," Trish, another maid spoke up, "It's waterproof so let her cry her eyes out. I would be crying too if I was as pretty as her and got to go."
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I sniffed and smiled at them.
"Want to look in the mirror now?" Honey asked, excitement written on her face.
I nodded. They had shaved me in places that I didn't even understand (It's not like anyone would be seeing my legs?) and had curled my blond hair, leaving it as Maize said, "long, hanging and beautiful," only adding a few pins here and there to keep some parts in place.
The makeup had been minimal. Each maid agreed on that.
"Just enough to bring out those pretty blue eyes," Trish said.
After all that prodding and primping I hoped I would see a change in the mirror.
But I never expected what I saw.
The girl standing in front of me looked like she was gliding. She looked confident. She looked....happy.
I stared at the face that looked back at me.
It was me. I could see it. Just enhanced in a way that I never thought possible.
But the dress.
Oh, the dress.
It was the right choice.
"You're radiating," Honey said softly, as we all took in my figure.
I turned to the maids and kissed and hugged everyone. "Thank you," I whispered.
Walking now in the Ball Room, I felt like I was radiating.
I had never experienced such a feeling before of dressing up. It was like I was a new person - like I had taken a mask and pulled it over my face, hiding the broken parts and replacing it with this beautiful new girl.
Then the clock struck nine.
A cheer went up from the bystanders. They were tired of waiting.
Soon the people began to flood in at an overwhelming rate. I waited and watched. Then it was time.
"Jane?" I asked.
"Right here," she said. I could hear Lizzy yelling in the background that she was there too.
"Cue the lights."
* * *
The effect was immediate.
People gave gasps of amazement as the ceiling became a picture of a moving night sky.
The King, Queen, and Prince who had entered upon a balcony looked up at the work.
"Amazing," The King whispered, looking at the ceiling that had somehow become a duplicate of the sky outside.
The Queen gave a small smile.
The King noticed and turned to her.
"Why are you smiling?" He asked warily.
"This is only the beginning of her work," The Queen said, almost in the tone of a proud mother.
The King picked up on it but decided not to pursue his curiosity. He glanced at his son, who still had his head tipped back gazing at the sky above.
"What do you think?" He asked the Prince.
The Prince didn't move and for a second the King worried that he had not been heard, but slowly the Prince's head lowered down until he was looking into his father's eyes. The King repressed a shudder that threatened to sneak down his spine. He refused to break eye contact, but the process was very painful. The Prince raised his head slowly back to the created sky and said, "Glorious."
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As the Prince looked up at the sky, the Queen stepped forward. A soft light was turned onto the balcony. The Queen smiled and said, "This is the time to get rid of the old and celebrate the new!" There was a rounding cheer from the crowd below. "Welcome to the Blue Moon Ceremony. Music please!" The Queen shouted.
Music started, softly at first, and soon couples were forming around the room. Others were choosing to forgo the traditional two and instead take a group into the crowd, dancing away together.
The Queen turned to the Prince and took his arm.
"You promised me a dance," she said to him.
The Prince nodded. At the moment he didn't feel like dancing. Anyone looking at him could tell. As the Queen dragged the Prince away, the King watched with pitying eyes for whatever girl had to dance with his son.
The moment the Queen and Prince stepped foot on equal ground with the crowd, however, people began to swarm. Some had consumed drinks well before the hour of nine, and in their haze, became more bold with the Prince's dark aura.
"Ah, yes thank you for coming," The Queen said, smiling at the people. "Please go and enjoy yourselves, we were just about to dance also!" The crowd began to thin out, but the Queen and Prince still had to politely shove their way through.
"I think you'll like this girl August," The Queen said.
The Prince replied only by radiating more power off of his frame. He was not happy.
"Well you can at least be friends with her," the Queen sighed.
Still, no response was made.
"If she faints, please have the decency to carry her to the side," the Queen mumbled.
At that, the Prince broke character and gave one laugh.
The Queen smiled and laughed.
They surfed through the crowd. Many had changed from their white attires into something with more color. Though no female had dared to wear green.
The Queen swirled her head this way and that, looking for the pretty girl in yellow.
Suddenly the lights dimmed even more and the ceiling exploded with color. The music and explosions of different nova's and stars in the sky collided together at the same time, creating a music show for the onlookers. Keeping in time with the music, the beautiful display of colors left everyone breathless, looking up in awe and wonder.
The Queen and Prince stopped to stare, too enraptured with the display to do anything else.
"She is amazing," the Queen gasped.
The Prince stared wordlessly up.
Suddenly the Queen felt a small poke on her shoulder.
She turned around to see the girl whom she had been so desperately looking for.
"Fayette dear," she breathed, surprising Fayette by giving her a hug.
Fayette shyly returned the hug.
"Do you like it?" Fayette asked the Queen.
"Fayette dear it's beautiful, I can't believe you did this!" Suddenly remembering the reason as to why she was looking for the girl in the first place the Queen smiled and took her arm.
"Fayette, this is Prince Alto August."
Fayette stared at the tall dark back that was facing her. Black hair that was swept in a style was leaned back, as the person the Queen indicated as the Prince had his face raised to the light show above.
The Queen took the Prince's shoulder in her hand and squeezed it.
A sigh could be seen given from the back of the tall dark person. Slowly the figure turned around, reluctant as if he did not want to let his eyes leave the show that was above him.
Facing the Queen and Fayette, he looked down and froze.
The Queen stared with wide eyes as she witnessed a sight she had never seen before.
Tears were streaming down the Prince's face.
The Queen turned to say something to Fayette when she jolted away and let go of the girl.
Tears were streaming down Fayette's face.
Fayette looked in confusion and wiped her hands on her cheek, looking in disbelief at the liquid that was pouring down.
Gasping the Queen turned and walked swiftly away. She needed to find Gavin.
She left Fayette and the Prince alone to stare at each other. Neither one noticed her departure.
When looking back, Fayette could never tell exactly what had happened in that moment. Her heart did not pound, nor did her hand's shake or knees go weak as Lizzy always described it. Instead, she felt calm. No anxiety. No agitation.
The Prince took a step closer to Fayette. As the party whirled on, no one noticed the change in history that was being made in that moment.
Slowly, he took Fayette's hand in his. The Prince raised it to his lips and softly kissed it, closing his eyes. When he opened them, it was as if something clicked inside. Still holding her hand, he took another step closer and whispered softly to her,
"There you are. I've been looking for you."
OMG EVEN I'M SQUEALING.
You have no idea how hard it was to write this scene. I hope all those chapters building up to this beautiful moment was worth it!
Thank you for reading this so far! <3 (you have no idea how much I procrastinated and added chapters so I wouldn't have to write this scene- I was dreading it, but I'm satisfied)
Thanks guys! Love ya! *squeal*
(BTW The quote you see at the top is pretty much the inspiration for this entire story so you can thank Pride and Ashes being a story because of it!)
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