Shift

Bellerose

One of the drivers stands beside the carriage. He helps me out, my delicate fingers looking even smaller in his large palm. I'm glad to have my feet back on the ground.

Alcander steps out behind me, but my eyes are locked on the mansion in front of me. In my tears, I've failed to notice that we've moved into the richer end of town, somewhere I've never had the luxury of visiting before.

It's clear to tell the differences between here and where I grew up. It's three stories tall, with emense windows and stone walls. Red banners, delicate against the stone, hang in several rows all across the house. Electricity powers the entire house, faint yellow light emerging from each opening. There are several carriages around us, each letting out women in elegant dresses and men in suits. Excitement fills the air.

A party. Of course. It's the first night of the Bellatrix Festival, when the rich gather to glorify the crown prince's death. The ladies pick new dresses for the occasion, never to wear them again, and food is wasted and thrown to the side.

Angelica loved Bellatrix, because then she could see all of the pretty ladies. I hated it, before she died. Then, it was just the wealthy strutting what they have in the face of everything we lacked.

And here I am, standing in front of the of the mansions I've hated for so long.

"Keep walking," Alcander whispers in my ear as he bends his elbow. I carefully take it, putting my arm in his. He gives me a small nod. "There's a dress inside for you to change into. A group of handmaids should meet us at the door. Go with them."

I look up at him. Alcander gives me a little smile, then escorts me to the door. We let the other couples enter the open door in front of us. The closer we get to the door, the more I can feel the buzz of excitement touch me.

Then Alcander and I enter. Shamefully, I lose my breath at the sight of the beauty inside. The entry is huge, with a staircase in either side leading up to the balcony above. The space between them results in another staircase, this time leading down, where laughter and music drift from. Red roses and poinsettias line the walls, wrapped in with brilliant ivy. Bits of glass hang from the ceiling, catching the light and refracting it within the room. Everything twinkles. Everything glows.

Alcander releases my arm, pulling me away from the stunning sight. Three women surround him, dressed in servant clothes. They quickly lead him away, guiding him through a small side hallway directly to my left.

I look over to my shoulder to see three times that many surrounding me. Each of them is carefully examining me. One bows deeply and approaches me.

"Lady Blackwood," she says, voice mild but firm. "I am Zana. Please follow me."

She starts to walk down a hall to my left. I follow her, the other girls forming a circle around me. It's awkward. I don't know how to address them. I'm no higher ranked in society than them. My Mark is blatantly visible to them, but they haven't even batted an eye. I just don't understand. I should be dead already.

We continue down the hall, acending up a flight of stairs. Zana leads me to a room at the end of the hall. She bows and opens the door, revealing a bathing room. I stop dead in my tracks. I've never bathed in anything larger than a clothes tub. The clawed bathtub in front of me is bigger than I am, filled with steaming water. The room sparkles with white, red, and gold, and the faint aroma of roses drifts in the air.

A few of the girls try and help me take off my clothes, but I wrap my arms around myself, preventing their advances. Zana smiles a little and waves her hand. Most of the girls scurry out of the room, leaving only Zana and two other girls. They sit by the tub, long blood red dresses pooling around them.