A Princess of Wales

Chapter Four: The Ghillies Ball

27th of August 1991 - Balmoral Castle

"You look so pretty mama," Adeline gushed staring at her mother in the white dress that she was wearing, tonight was the annual the Ghillies Ball that had been held every year since 1852 when it was started by Queen Victoria. 

They threw a dance in September to thank their staff and servants. 

The dance would soon become known as the Ghillies Ball. 

The term "ghillie" is Gaelic for gamekeeper, and Ghillies are also specifically designed shoes, commonly worn in Scottish country dance. 

Diana smiled as she put in her earrings, peeking into the mirror to look at Adeline who was also dressed up for the occasion; she had insisted that the three children should be allowed to attend the festivities that took place this year. 

"Thank you dearest," Diana said checking herself in the mirror and fixing the tartan that was attached to her dress, she wished to be anywhere else but here. 

The tensions of her marriage were stifling and Diana was still upset that their family holiday had been brought to an end rather quickly because Charles had a clash of engagements although she suspected that he couldn't be away from his dear Camilla. 

Rolling her shoulders as she looked at herself in the mirror, Diana had no doubts that she had no competition from the woman that claimed her husband's heart in any other department. 

Standing from her seat, Diana turned to look at Adeline with a smile on her face; she ducked down uncaring of how the move would affect the dress that she was wearing. 

Looking at her daughter, Diana tried to find any sign of herself in the girls features that might have appeared since she last looked; it was the Windsor gene that shone through more than anything. 

Diana refused to think of her daughter turning out like her frumpy paternal side of the family, she had hoped that Adeline would start to look more like her as she grew older. 

At four years old, it was still hard to believe how much Adeline favoured her Windsor side compared to her brothers who had strong Spencer genes. 

Fixing Adeline's hair, Diana paused for a moment before a smile formed on her face; she stood for a second and approached her jewellery box before she acted. 

It didn't take long before she found the piece that she was looking for, a gift that she'd never really liked on herself but her smile grew as she thought how the silver would look against Adeline's dark hair. 

Moving back to Adeline, Diana crouched down before moving to put the crystal-embellished headband on Adeline; she made sure that it looked perfect on her daughter, fixing her hair so that it sat just right on her head. 

Adeline stood perfectly still while her mother placed the headband on, her eyes glancing up at the look of concentration on her mother's face as she set about making sure that everything was perfect. 

"Now you look just like a princess," Diana stated with a grin, she looked down at Adeline knowing that she would never get used to the feeling that her daughter was always meant for something more. 

A part of her wondered if her daughter would be a Queen one day, she had a calming influence that Diana was sure that she got from the Queen; she had a feeling that her daughter was meant for something great. 

Adeline beamed at her mother's words, revealing the gap in her teeth from when her tooth had fallen out last month. 

Diana couldn't stop herself from reaching out to use her fingers to smooth out Adeline's smile so that her teeth weren't showing anymore.