His blood on my hands

Jamia ten

The jet lands in a huge field and we take a limousine to the palace. It's so beautiful; puddles I can see my reflection in, a slow drizzle, and the smell of wet pine. I feel so safe. We get out of the limo and my aunt and uncle grumble about the rain, our butler holding an umbrella up for them. There isn't enough room under the umbrella and I don't want to grab another one so I walk in the rain. It's barely rain, just a few droplets of water from the sky. As Belle would say, the sky is crying. Maybe it's only a little sad today.

The palace is huge, I thought we were rich, but this house itself could pay for thousands of children to go to college. I feel so forced and out of place as I walk through the huge doors. I step inside and the lights are bright, a bit too bright. The house itself is gorgeous, there's a lot of dirty white, black, and a bit of dark green. I love dark green. The dance floor is huge with intricate designs on the floor and there's a slight smell of caramel in the air. There are multiple candles around the house, in holders on walls, or sitting on desks and I love to watch the flame flicker. My aunt and uncle start talking to an old couple so I walk around, not quite sure what to do. I go to get a drink and sit in the bar area. I see Kendra walking down the stairs in a giant dress. It doesn't suit her, but it looks nice. Everyone watches her, it looks straight out of a movie. She stands in the corner after she comes down, shaking peoples hands and giving them weak smiles. I can tell this is hell for her. Our eyes meet and she gives me a quick nod and a slight smile. I'm not sure whether to be mad at her or not but I can't think of a very good reason to be angry at her about a feud between our kingdoms so I smile back. After a couple minutes she walks over to the bar.

"Hi." She sounds emotionless, as always.

"Hey, I heard that you fell or something back at the academy."

"Yep."

We sit awkwardly.

"Do you know everyone who's coming?" I ask.

"Kind of, are you waiting for someone?"

"No, not really."

A pause.

"Belle's coming, by the way." She gives me a sly smile that looks as though she knows too much then she walks away.

I try not to smile as I twirl the toothpick in my drink.

I finish my drink, and after half an hour she hasn't arrived so I wander around again. I find a long hallway lit by a few candles so I walk down it. There are a couple doors on the sides but I keep walking until I reach the door at the end. I walk inside and find a huge library. The ceiling is so tall, I can barely see it and the room is so wide I can't understand how it would fit in this hallway. Maybe it projects out of the house a bit. I sit in a corner on a beanbag, staring up at the dark brown bookshelves. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be here but I get up and find a book, "Little woman" and start to read. I've read this book before a few years ago. I continue, rain pattering outside, it's getting harder, and the smell of wet evergreen so strong I can smell it from inside. I can still hear the music from the ballroom.