Voiceless Bird

Chapter 13

|| Day 1.5 Aureas Ball ||

Jumping to Conclusions

"Oh, aren't you such an adorable boy." A middle-aged Royal woman giggled and squeezed Robin's cheeks, "Your parents must be so proud, I definitely would be if you were my son."

I watched with slight disgust as Robin took her hand and kissed it lightly, "If you were my mother, I would count myself as the luckiest man alive."

Oh. My. Goodness. He did not just flirt with some old woman. I tried to keep a straight face, but luck was not on my side as I felt my lip twitch ever so slightly. I was standing slightly behind Robin, letting him do the talking at the Aureas Ball.

The ball was set in an elaborate, very large and very gold ballroom. The floor was of a light gold stone and the walls were decorated by mainly gold decor. There were tables laden with plates of food that magically refilled lining the side of the ballroom. At the front, a large orchestra played music for the couples dancing in the middle. Big crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling and there was a large balcony that looked over a small lake at the back of the ballroom.

When I had turned my attention back to the conversation, the woman had whispered something to Robin—out of my earshot. He chuckled and glanced sideways at me, confirming that what she had said was about me. I kept a straight face, trying not to giggle at the absurdity of the situation. What was Robin trying to gain with that old woman? She joined him with a tinkly laugh, her hand on his shoulder.

I needed to find somewhere to puke.

Turning, I bumped straight into a wall. A very hard wall.

Hand nursing my now sore nose, I looked up as a gentle laugh sounded. Turns out it had been a chest, not a wall.

"Are you alright?" A soft and kind voice asked me. My eyes took in the sight before me—light copper hair brushing the top of blue-green eyes. I opened my mouth to speak; but my mind did not cooperate as I stared into his deep irises. My throat felt dry as I tried to get words out.

"Alistair! There you are!" The same woman came up and I sidestepped before she could push me away as she squeezed Alistair's cheek.

"Mother, you shouldn't make mean comments about beautiful Royal girls." Alistair winked at me and took his mother's hand.

Alistair's mother pouted and gave me a displeased look, as though it was my fault her son had just chided her.

"I'd say 'beautiful' is a bit of a stretch." Robin commented snidely, a mean smirk on his face. I bit my lip, slightly stung. Just when I thought Robin had changed, it seemed that he had gone back to his usual contemptuous ways.

I saw Alistair's sideways glance at me, then to Robin. Letting go of his mother, he walked to me. He ducked his head and lifted my hand, pressing it to his lips; lingering longer than etiquette required.

"I didn't quite catch your name, beautiful bird." Alistair, still holding my hand, glanced down at the gold birds decorating my dress. His eyes, that had turned darker—almost like a stormy sea— gazed at me. The sensation of his warm hand covering mine made my mind blank out and I couldn't seem to recall my name...

"Uhm, N-nightingale..." I stuttered under my breath.

At Alistair's questioning look I realised that I had not been loud enough. Leaning in closer, he mummered into my ear, "Sorry, I must be a bit deaf- could you say that again for me?"

I could feel my cheeks heating up and with his close proximity, I detected the light scent of the sea wafting out from him.

"She said her name was Nightingale." Robin's louder than necessary voice broke me out of my daze and I jerked away from Alistair, my hand slipping out of his grasp. He had been too close— way too close.