Daphodile

Shock and Awe

Three minutes later I find myself talking to a young man that tries to keep my attention by telling stories of his personal feats.

My mother thinks he's a perfect match, not knowing people's true nature and being blindsided by his familial status.

"Princess, what is your take on the matter?" His light and high pitched voice suddenly squeaks at me after a moment of my dozing out of the conversation.

I trace my eyes over his scruffy red hair again and try to remember the last thing he said to no avail: my mind daydreaming of the moment I would be able to finally go eat some food. I hadn't had anything since lunch about five hours ago.

Now though, my manners are beside me and I have to act as though I am engaged in this conversation, or find some way to leave his side.

I straighten my posture, "Excuse me, but I feel suddenly faint. I think I should go get something to drink-"

"Allow me to assist you-" he starts, putting his arm out to touch my elbow. It makes me shiver with disgust.

I quickly interject, my voice becoming slightly louder as if to drown out his plea. I don't think I could take much more of his storytelling or him in general.

"-it's no problem. Go ahead and talk to some of the other ladies of the evening while I go quench my thirst."

With that I give a slight curtsy and quicken my pace as I make my way over to the long dining table full of drinks and small snacks for the guests. My eyes spot the crystal glasses of champagne and I take one, relaxing a bit as I sip the bubbly drink with ease.

Holding my glass still I look out at the people enjoying themselves. The enormous ballroom was filled with moments of drinking, dancing, and laughter, and it made me smile to think that as much as I started to despise some of these people, some still create memories and enjoy themselves worryfree of life's troubles.

"you made that promise to the second you came into this world" my mothers voice rings out in my head causing me to take another sip of my drink in hope of drowning out her expectations.

As I hold the crystal glass up to my lips my eyes catch another shadow in the gardens, hidden well under the darkening skyline. It seems as though this time this black whisp is staying beside the garden walls, and my heart paces faster when suddenly I make the decision to investigate it on my own. Food would have to wait.

Without thinking, I put down my glass and grab the skirt of my dress as I walk to the side entrance that leads out to the garden. Glancing behind me as I push open the large doors, I see no one coming after me, so I continue on my way and feel the cool wind of the night on my face as my heels scuff on the first pavement stone laid on top of the grass.

I'd have to go off of the pavement to see so I remove my red heels, leaving them by the door so they did not get dirtied from the outside.

Shadows danced along the grass as I moved forward in the slight darkness, the wind making wisps of my black hair tickle my lips. I pushed it back with one gloved hand while the other held the skirt of my dress and continue forward. My heart beat as I got closer, my nerves suddenly catching up with me.

"Hello?" I called out into the wild darkness, my voice being carried into the night.

The grass crunched underneath my feet as I stepped once more, giving me a clear view of where the shadow was earlier. My heart leapt into my throat as I leaned forward to inspect closer, expecting to find the shadow that had appeared there earlier somewhere in the greenery- but instead I found nothing- just the towering green hedges as they always had been.