The Key ♕

17

Sophie's Point of View

Alice, Lucas, Nathaniel, and I are invited to Lord Bradley's manor for a dinner party this evening. He is the older cousin of Lucas and Alice, or the son of the king's younger brother. Alice wraps me in a fluttery beige dress and dusts my face lightly with makeup. When the clock hits six, we hop inside the carriage and set off.

"You're going to love Bradley's place," Alice says. "It's really pretty."

I smile back, "I'm sure it is."

"I have to tell you something," Alice says, her face suddenly becomes clouded with worry.

"Yes?" I frown.

"Be careful of Bradley. He's... a very passionate person, let's just put it at that," she chews on her lip.

I frown, unsure of what she means. "I... will?"

Lucas turns his head towards me and I notice him open his mouth like he was about to say something. As I get my hopes up, anticipating him to finally speak to me, he closes his mouth, leaving me as dejected and lost as ever.

The carriage halts to a stop, and we all step off the carriage. I gasp as I take in the beautiful sight of the garden. Although not as highly maintained and luscious as the garden back in the palace, it still is truly breathtaking. We walk down the perfectly paved brick path to the entrance of the manor.

"Welcome, cousins, Nathaniel," a man not so much older than us walks out and opens his arms wide, motioning us to come inside. His manor is beautiful. It's the most extravagant and biggest place that I've ever seen apart from the royal palace. Numerous columns nearly two stories high support the building, fresh hydrangeas hang from the hard stone walls, and massive statues carved out of pure marble line up against the hallway.

"Hey, Bradley, how are you?" Alice greets him. Lucas and Nathaniel all follow with their own greetings.

"I'm great, thanks," he replies enthusiastically. He looks over to me and we make eye contact. For some reason, his beady eyes make me tense up. I move a little closer to Nathaniel and subconsciously hide behind his back. Bradley faintly reminds me of a slightly bigger, more rugged version of Lucas. He has the same blonde hair, same blue eyes, and the smug look. "Who is this?"

"This is Sophie, Alice's new lady in waiting," Nathaniel tells him, placing an arm around my shoulder and moving me closer to Bradley.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Bradley," I curtsy.

"Nice to meet you, too, Sophie," he grins. Somehow, beneath his good looks and proud poise, something about his smile sends a trail of goosebumps down my spine.

When we are in the party hall, he sits us down at the main table and orders his servants to pour each of us a glass of wine. "We're all really excited for you to come to the ball next week," Alice speaks up, taking the wine glass between her fingers and swirling the dark liquid around.

"I'm looking forward to it, too," he glances at me, making me tense up. "It's been a while since I visited the palace."

"It's going to be the best ball you've ever been to. Luke and I worked so hard on it. Didn't we, Luke?" Alice turns to her older brother.

"We did," he replies blankly. Lucas seems a bit... rigid and worried.

"Of course, Nathaniel and Sophie helped tremendously," Alice smiles at us, taking a sip of her wine.