Sebastian

Chapter Three

This chapter has 941 words. Kinda long, but I need to get things going. I'm planning for them to arrive at the estate in the next chapter, and for Sebastian to make his first appearance in chapter five. I'm sorry for any errors in spelling, I wrote this on an old computer with a jacked up keyboard. Thanks for reading!

********

I woke up to purring in my ear and knocking on my door. My eyes snapped open and I grabbed Elmer. I jumped out of bed and bolted to my closet, placing a still-sleepy kitten into his small kitty bed. I closed the closet and cracked my door open. I was met with a pair of unfamiliar brown eyes, and my heart jumped, scared that they heard all the commotion. I saw their eyes wrinkle a little as they smiled, and I relaxed.

"I'll be a minute, I just woke up," I said, giving a breathy laugh. They blinked, and gave a girly giggle.

"Sorry I woke you up," she said. "I'll let you get dressed." She closed the door, and I peeked in the closet at Elmer. He was curled up and asleep, and I smiled before I shut the closet again.

After I was changed and my hair was somewhat tamed in a ponytail, I walked into our tiny kitchen and was met with my mother and the stranger with the brown eyes. She was beautiful, with big brown eyes and glossy blonde hair that was pulled up into an elegant bun. She was petite and perky, and she bounced up to greet me.

"Hi! I'm here on behalf of king Sebastian, how are you doing?" She asked brightly. My heart dropped. I walked slowly towards the the empty chair by my mother, who was staring at me, silently urging me to be polite. I plunked down in the chair.

"I'm fine," I muttered, crossing my arms and trying to hide my disgust. She smiled at me.

"That's great! I'm Heidi, and I'm just going to drop off your other items to wear. Your shoes, jewelry.." she trailed off, looking absolutely pleased with herself. She sighed happily. "The king is really looking this year, honey. He's out on a mission to find a wife," she added with a wink. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She giggled and turned to grab a box, and set it on the table in front of me with an excited squeal.

"Open it!" She urged, clapping her hands. I glared at the box for a moment before I took the masking tape off and lifted the cardboard flaps.

Inside the box were a pair of glittering white heels, a pair of diamond earrings, and a dainty necklace with icy blue jewels on it. Heidi hopped up and down, excited.

"They're just darling! And the king lets you keep the shoes and jewelry, so they're yours!" She squealed. I huffed. At least I'd get a good chunk of money for them. Heidi grinned and turned to my mother. "I must be going, I have quite the number of attendees this year! Be sure to tell Mr. Kaden exactly what I asked, okay?" She asked. My mother nodded, and Heidi clapped her hands, told us both goodbye, and left. I turned to mom, and she sighed.

"The dance is in four days, Elizabeth. This is serious, and you're acting as if it's just some party from a girl you don't like at school. But it's not. It's serious. And you need to get a grip, or I'll find a way to make you do so." She threatened, standing up and placing the box on top of its larger counterpart. I was shocked.

"Mom, you can't force me to do something I don't want to do," I stammered. Mom turned and glared at me, something scary in her eyes.

"So help me God, Elizabeth." was all she said as she stormed out of the house. I watched after her, angry and, honestly, a little scared. 

As the day progressed, Mom acted as if nothing happened. She served lunch and dinner, checked on dad, cleaned the house, and sat down for knitting, all as if she didn't threaten her daughter. After she went to bed, I sat with Elmer outside and watched him catch various insects. 

I didn't want to go to the ball. I wanted to stay home and work. I wanted to come home and read with my kitten on my lap, and stay up and watch him play outside. I had a feeling that, after the ball, my life wouldn't be what I wanted it to be anymore: the same.

~~~~

"Kaden, I don't want to do this anymore," I said as we were sitting at the table eating lunch. He looked at me sympathetically.

"Liz, it's only two days away now. I get it, I'm nervous too. But you've already gotten everything, you can't bow out now," He argued. I shook my head.

"Stay with me on this. What if I'm too sick to go? It worked last year," I pleaded. He laughed at me.

"You know good and well that won't work," he chuckled. I grunted.

"What about if I broke my arm or my leg?" I suggested. He laughed harder.

"Oh please, you're going to this thing," he said. I sighed loudly, throwing my hands in the air.

"Kaden, you're a monster," I groaned, and he chortled, grabbing both of our plates and dumping them in the sink. He ruffled my hair on his way outside, and I swatted his hand away.

Later that night, after dinner, I laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling. The ball was only two nights away, one really, because it was bedtime. I came up with different plans to not attend, but all of them would never work. I tossed and turned, and a frustrated kitten stalked up to sit on my pillow instead. 

I didn't know what was going to come out of going to the king's ball. And I wasn't even a little prepared to find out.