A night to remember

The amazing cover was done by Pearlywhites. Thank you so much!!!

OVER 300 FRICKIN' READERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!

This is my first (and kind of like my baby - favorite one that I wrote myself) English short story and I would love your thoughts on it! It was actually a dream I had once and I couldn' t get it out of my head so I just had to write it down.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK: I AM BEGGING YOU: REVIEW!!!!

 This story is dedicated to the awesome TheQueenCheese : she has my R.E.S.P.E.C.T.!!! 

(And also to Mister Alex O'Lachlan himself; he's the one who starred in my dream...)

Once again, I looked at the envelope in my hand. It held an invitation to a gathering this evening. The envelope was addressed to Mademoiselle —- and guest. Fortunately, my brother Byron had graciously offered to accompany me as my escort.

Our maid, Helen braided my hair and helped me into the gown I had selected to wear. I couldn't help but steel a glance at myself in the mirror. My reflection did not look well. All color had drained from my cheeks, in spite of my best efforts to put some rouge on them. It was almost as if they repelled the make-up from my face. My usually full lips looked slim and were a faint shade of blue, but at least the lipstick I applied to them proved not to be a complete waste. It provided a soft hint of red that stood in contrast to my pail skin and gown, which was a dark shade of green.

My eyes, grey as a storming sea, looked haunted. When I looked down at my hands, I saw that they were shaking uncontrollably. I had worn this dress before, just once at... It did not matter, that was a lifetime ago. It only seemed fitting I should wear it tonight as a symbol of goodbye. Of finally letting go. Byron had talked me into going tonight. It had been a heated discussion, but he had convinced me in the end that it would be the best thing for me to go. He had said that I had to do this, or I would have to live with the regret for the rest of my life.

Before the memories could creep back into my mind, I shook them off and turned away from my reflection. "Well, how do I look Helen?"

"You look like a queen, miss", Helen answered with a smile.

A queen, no, I would not go that far. "A princess perhaps, but not a queen I'm afraid."

I checked my dress and put on my gloves. One last whiff of the perfume that was in the little pink bottle, the one I had been given as a present. It still had the blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle... No, I would not let myself think it, that was the past, I had dutifully moved on from that.

When I felt as ready as possible I made my way downstairs to where Byron was waiting. He was a handsome man, with a hint of the appropriate arrogance for a man of his position. Dressed in a dashing black suit, with a gentleman's hat, gold cuff links and silk gloves, he looked like a nobleman should. We shared our mother's nose and our father's deep grey eyes. But he was tall and broad where I had a rather unremarkable figure. He looked at my dress with a questioning look, opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, then thought the better of it and shrugged. Finally he nodded as if in agreement and offered me his arm.

The carriage ride would take about as long as an hour, if my memory served me correct. That meant a whole hour with my thoughts to myself. I dreaded this almost as much as what would come after that. But my brother was very kind in trying to keep my attention away from what lay ahead and telling me some stories about the time he had spent away. I was very happy to have him back home at last, as the rightful heir to our families estate and listened to his tales eagerly.