Battle For the Crown

seventeen

Will had scrapped his Mary Poppins costume, switching it for a pale yellow ball gown,"since that stupid prince has decided to match with the blonde one, you're going to be Belle." He fumed, doing the back of the dress up with so much force I thought he had broken my ribs,"and either Collin or Jaque are being The Beast, let's see how princey likes his girl matching with his brother, or his guard." He snarled, instructing for me to step into a pair of matching yellow heels,"see you there." Will grumbled, pushing me through the door before I even knew what had happened.

The dress Will made fit like a glove, the bodice tight around my waist and pushing what little cleavage I had higher. The skirt was full and hung around my legs loosely, but I could still move easily in it, thankfully.
"That stupid prince." Crimson and Desiree kept repeating, almost as angry as Will,"guys, it's just a ball." I assured them, not letting this get to me,"a future leader needs to keep his promises." Desiree fumed as she painted my lips blood red,"Collin would be a much better leader." Crimson announced as she curled my hair into bouncy spirals,"let's not be hasty guys, Elliott's first in line." I reminded them, my fingers running across the smooth fabric of my skirt,"whatever." Desiree sighed, finishing my makeup as Crimson put the final touches on my hair,"we'll see you there." They groaned in unison, beginning to get themselves ready as I walked out the door, waving to Sophia on my way out.
The trip to the ballroom was a blur, but as soon as I walked through the marble doors everything seemed to be in hyper focus,"lady Allyson." The same man from the first ball announced, I smiled curtly as I walked down the stairs which were draped in black velvet. A man in a top hat approached me, swinging a silver tray full of a green drinks towards me, I thanked him as I grabbed one, downing it quickly and hoping that there was an alcoholic component in it if I wanted to get through this night.
Chantel caught my eye from across the room, her body draped in a too tight Mary Poppins dress, of course. My fists clenched at my sides as I saw Elliott approach her, handing her a glass of orange liquid and smiling,"hey." A warm voice soothed as a cold hand slipped itself around my shoulder,"he still talks about you." Collin assured, a blue suit dripping off of his shoulder, making me smile,"doesn't even matter." I lied, swallowing the lump in my throat as I turned to him.
The music in the room shifted and I noted Jaque ducking away from the lead singer who was slipping a bill into his breast pocket,"care to dance?" Collin asked, leading me to the floor as the first notes of tale as old as time began to fill the ballroom. He wrapped his hand around my waist as the floor began to clear until it was just the two of us, wrapped in each other's arms,"thank you." I blushed, glancing towards my feet before his finger tilted my chin upwards to meet his eyes,"you're more than welcome."
About halfway through the song, other couples began to fill the floor, making me less worried about my dancing than I was when it was only the two of us,"mind if I cut in?" Jaque asked, slipping himself into the place that Collin had occupied previously, giving him a soft nod before he retreated to where his mom sat watching the dancers,"where's your costume, loser?" I asked him as he and I began to fall into the crowd,"Collin and I are switching halfway." He smiled at me before continuing,"we wanted you to remember that there's more than one Prince Charming that could be your your happy ending." I sighed and glanced down at my feet,"this entire time everyone has told me that I'm only here for the prince." Jaque dipped me back lowly, a smile tugging on his lips,"and now, the one thing that I thought I had wrapped around my finger has unravelled." I sighed, laughing to try to lighten the mood,"it's only October petal, head up." He reminded me, hand on the back of my waist tightly as Elliott approached the two of us, Chantel nowhere in sight,"mind if I-?" He asked but Jaque grabbed my waist more forcefully,"actually we do." Jaque snarled, twirling me away from the prince as Collin looked like he was about to leave his chair,"hey, it's fine." I assured him, detangling myself from Jaque and grimacing as Elliott took my waist,"you look ravishing darling." He smiled, I clenched my teeth gently and tried to smile,"glad Chantel took it upon herself to be Mary." I half joked, a tear in my heart forming,"it doesn't fit her right, it was made for you." He tried to assure me, his flat brimmed hat blocking the lights from my field of vision,"that's not the point." I muttered before breaking myself out of his arms as the last note of the song played,"Allyson!" He shouted trying to push through the tight crowd,"here." Jaque chuckled, shoving a flute of champagne into my hand,"what did you say to him?" Collin asked, walking up to me before gesturing to where he sat at the table, his eyes staring longingly in my direction,"exactly what he needed to hear apparently." Jaque piped up as his eyes followed a tear soaked Chantel out of the ballroom,"I should go talk to her." I announced turning on my heel before Jaque caught my arm,"leave her be for a little while, she'll need some time to cool down."
After about half an hour of sitting with Jaque and I, Collin pushed his chair from his table,"I've got to stop drinking for a bit." He laughed, his eyes flitting to his pile of empty glasses before he puffed out his chest and walked towards his family's table. Elliott was still sitting slumped in his chair, his sad eyes following me as I sipped at the liquor on the table,"another dance?" Jaque asked me, throwing his chocolate wrapper onto the table before he stood up,"why not?" I laughed, taking his hand as a slow song floated onto the dance floor, the costume had obviously been fitted for Jaque because he was broader, the beast suit fit his frame snug in all the right places whereas it had dropped off of Collin where it shouldn't have,"you have a funny way of making people fall in love with you, you know that?" Jaque chuckled as we danced slowly, our liquor making the two of us a little wobbly,"always have." I shrugged, a laugh slipped through his lips,"have you ever been in love Allyson?" He asked me, sending me head spiralling in every different direction,"well, uh-" I muttered to fill the space as my head raced to ever boy I had ever known,"not the red hot passionate kind." I finally laughed, a smile growing on his face,"have you?" I asked Jaque as his own head thought through his life,"many times. I fall in love much too easily, peony." He chuckled, not a hint of a lie on his words,"do you- do you, love me?" I asked, stuttering slightly as a blush swept my cheeks,"I think I have since the day I drove you to the airport." He admitted, a smile on his lips as the song died down and something more upbeat came on,"this is where I must go." Jaque apologized, slipping off of the dance floor to go join a line of guards all dressed in costume,"Allyson?" A gentle voice called behind me, sending me spinning in its direction, earning a few angry gazes from the people my skirt grazed,"there's someone who want to talk to you." Collin smiled sheepishly, walking towards the royal table.
I painted a smile across my face as I walked as gracefully as I could towards the table which was draped in purple, suddenly I was stone cold sober and still felt like throwing up,"my dear, please have a seat."Collin senior smiled, gesturing towards the chair Collin junior had pulled out for me silently, I nodded a thanks to him as he pushed my chair in, not a sound leaving his lips,"this evening has been lovely." I managed to squeak out before my vocal chords closed completely and all the blood in my body evaporated.
What was this about?