Behind These Wings

Ghost Voices

Do not fall.

Do not fall.

Do. Not. Fall.

Izzy was trying to become accustomed to the dizziness that constantly clouded her vision recently but it was a hard task to achieve, made worse by standing at the top of a grand staircase tasked with the mission of getting to the ballroom floor without tripping. Add in heels and you have a recipe for public humiliation.

The staircase was elegant decorated with iron figurines coated in gold plating that glistened in the light of the crystal chandeliers. The cream walls created a warm atmosphere that provided a luxurious edge when combined with the gold chiffon and silks that were draped around the room below. The ballroom was beautiful, Izzy couldn't deny that, and the music drifting up towards her should have been soothing as the string quartet meandered their way through some of her favourites but Izzy couldn't focus on the details that she had so meticulously perfected. Her mind was instead painfully conscious that this was the moment when she should be floating gracefully down the stairs to her husband.

She had missed her cue and she could see the announcer out of the corner of her eye, standing in full view of the crowd at the top of the stairs, getting quite flustered but she ignored his many hand gestures. None of them would persuade the dizziness to leave her.

Looking down the stairs, but being careful to stay hidden from the public's view by a piece of well-placed material, she spotted her husband with quite a crowd forming around him. Ian and many other bodyguards hung back in a loose circle whilst many of the Lords announced their attendance to Drew personally. A large number of women had also begun to sweep in, guessing from Izzy's late entry that she was not coming and that they could have the Archangel to themselves this afternoon.

Izzy felt the familiar burn of jealousy in her heart but she inwardly scolded herself for such thoughts.

Who was she to be jealous? Drew deserved so much better than all that she could offer and he obviously had his pick.

She should be happy that someone else, someone better, was willing to take on her role.If she continued along this path then they would more than likely be needed to do so in the not too distant future.

Studying her husband carefully, feeling a glimmer of pride as she noticed that he was wearing the suit that she had picked out for him earlier, Izzy did not miss the dainty hand of Lady Katherine resting on his arm. Despite being well known in court for her promiscuous activities it had been there for a considerable amount of time and Drew had not removed it yet.

She knew that such an action should not affect her. Drew was her husband and she could not bring herself to doubt his loyalty to her but she was certain that Lady Katherine would be able to please Drew much more than she ever could.

The rumours had been there during her disappearance and, despite her return, she could feel the room throbbing with gossip about the pair. She could almost hear them; Lady Katherine wasn't too young, Lady Katherine came from a good family, she even looked the part. There wasn't even a competition; Izzy knew that she had already lost.

Suddenly feeling much less confident she ran a shaky hand down her dress to smooth out non-existent creases, regretting the choice of gown that extenuated her flawed body; the hips, the thighs, the stomach.

It hid nothing.

She hated it.

In comparison Katherine's silk red dress, the colour of the devil himself, perfectly hugged her incredible body and Izzy could hardly blame her husband for placing his hand over hers. After all, as the only person in the room wearing anything other than various variations of white she certainly stood out.