Pearl To Ashes

Pearl To Ashes Part 3

Charlotte sighed, holding up a splendid silver ballgown in front of the mirror.

It was a breathtaking piece of work from Paris, the silk and satin flounces tumbling from the waist down, with dabbles of mint green vines scattered across the landscape of the dress.

Complete with a matching glistening sash, it glowered even in the reflection of the mirror.

All in all, it was a masterpiece.

"Do I really have to wear this?"

Charlotte asked, turning around to face her nanny, who had been her caretaker while in childhood. She was also someone who Charlotte admitted, albeit grudgingly, still exerted a certain amount of power over her.

"Yes you do."

The elderly woman pursued her lips, continuing at the sight of Charlotte opening her lips to protest.

"Your mother hopes for you to wear it, and I will not have you go to the ball in one of those..."

"I will not have you go to the ball in one of those...those THINGS." Charlotte's nanny shuddered turning around pointing at one of Charlotte's ruffled (and some) ink-smudged frocks.

Charlotte's mouthed closed before she could even get the word "but" out.

So she heaved another sigh, and said

"Fine. I'll wear it. Happy?"

*---.--*---.--*---.--*---.--*---.--*

And as for our other young, lovely maiden...

Adelaide casted scornful looks at the numerous dresses scattered over her bedroom, then another frantic glance back at her wardrobe.

What was she going to wear?

Normally, she wouldn't worry so much, but she was determined to be the centre of attention tonight at the ball.

Unknowingly, Charlotte's return had made her uneasy and thought he thought never directly crossed her mind (why should she be worried over her?) she was unnecessarily distressed. Nothing she had was able to satisfy her, nothing stood out from her wardrobe, nothing seemed to be beautiful enough, to make her dimples stand out, or seemed elegant.

But then, she had it.

Adelaide remembered the dress that was tucked away in her mother's room, a favourite gown her mother had worn when she was young.

She had seen the beautiful dress before, and Adelaide knew it was would be perfect.

So when she took it from her mother's wardrobe, sneaked it back into her room, and layed it down on her bed, she knew that this was what she had to wear.

Strings of lace gliding across glistening pearl-coloured silk was set off by bunches of pink rosettes delicately scattered across the purposely underlying folds of the dress. And she sighed in satisfaction, before she realized one problem, the waist was too small for her.

"Louise! Come over here and lace me up tighter!"

The maid quickly obeyed and scampered over to her young mistress, before she saw the dress and muttered a meak protest,

"But isn't that Mistress Eudora's dress?"

Adelaide snapped, "Well, I'm her daughter, so I presume that I, of all people can wear it,"

and she continued even more irritably than before, "Now, lace me up."

So the maid pulled at her corset strings until Adelaide felt like she had just enough room to breathe, not suffocating, but sufficient.

And it was all worth it, she looked magnificient, the curls of her hair were braided and twist into a neat bun, showing her lovely neck, and her waist! It was so tiny and she felt like a lithe fairy as she tiptoed gracefully across the room and out the door.

Giving one last contemptuous glance at her maid,

"Remember to clean this up before I come back."

She was on her way to the ball.

*---.--*---.--*---.--*---.--*---.--*---.--*

Charlotte glanced down the huge, beautifully polished, and slightly imposing mahogny staircase.

And then she looked down to the chattering crowds of people. Then back at the staircase. Charlotte inwardly groaned, she just knew that she was somehow going to trip and fall, she couldn't believe how heavy the dress was, and the shoes!

She was tempted to just abandon the idea altogether and just take the long way from the outside garden...

and just skip the stairs altogether, but that would be just silly, right?

But she had to do it sooner or later.

So ignoring her common sense and better judgement, she put a hand on the slippery and seemingly unreliable side railings for support and took the first courageous step.

And since all her concentration was focused on "not tripping, not falling," she was already halfway down the stairs by the time she realized that the previously bustling dance hall was eerily silent.

For the first time, Charlotte took a good look down below, and although his young lady had never fainted before, she was pretty sure she could do it now. Most of the Everyone was staring at her!!

*---.--*---.--*---.--*

Adelaide gritted her teeth ---- something she hadn't done in a long time.

She felt furious. How could she steal her spotlight?

She had arrived, looking perfectly beautiful, yet somehow that girl, yet somehow Charlotte was beyond that. That's why everyone was staring at her, because she had something beyond the surface, and it showed through almost like an ethereal glow.

Adelaide felt furious because, because even she had to admit.

That Charlotte wasn't just pretty, wasn't just beautiful. She was transcendent.

*---.--*---.--*---.--*

Charlotte was frantic, her eyes could not even focus, and despite possessing a view of the room, she could not find Will.

Forcing herself to be calm, assuring herself that it was not her awkward way of walking, nor was it her weird (in her opinion) dress.

But if it wasn't those things, then what was it?

By the time Charlotte was done with her inner questioning, she had already reached the bottom of the stairs.

And she had to resist the urge to gasp.

Because stepping forward, the person the crowd was parting back for among the crowd, was him.

And Charlotte's heart clenched.