Rowan: The EcoPan

The End Of Eden

This Is The Last Chapter

2 days later

"Why should I care what foreign ambassadors think of me?" I ask as my mother laces the back of my black ballgown dress. Turns out, I have to dress up when there are guests too, which luckily isn't often.

"Because it sets an impression," my mother insists, smoothing my hair that's pinned into a complicated bun on the back of my head. "Besides, you don't have to go to the meeting, just the party, that's the fun part. All you have to do is drink wine and have fun."

"How about I just don't go at all," I suggest. "I can't set a bad impression if I'm not there."

"Rowan, you are going! Lachlan specifically sent you an invitation. If he wants you to be there, you're going to be there," she says, her hands on her hips.

"Yes mother," I mumble, rising from the chair I'm in. "I'll head straight there."

"One last thing," she says. She places a dainty silver diadem in my hair.

"Thank you," I say, giving her a kiss on the cheek. When we reach the doorway we go separate ways and I head to the party. When I get there the ballroom is already a booming social hotspot. As I look around I see no familiar faces...but I do see one familiar thing. Food. Along the walls are bottles of wine and small pastries and treats on platers. I start sipping on wine, scoping out what to eat first.

"Straight for the food, I see." I hear a voice say from behind me. It's Carnelian. I jump in his arms, unable to believe he's here. I saw him briefly at the dinner my first night back but we hardly talked.

"How are you? Tell me everything!" I plead, looking at his familiar face and faded red hair.

"I know you want to know everything so I'll just get straight to the point, I promise. I have two sons. One is eight, the other five. I divorced last year and don't say you're sorry cause it was for the best," he says, lacing his hands behind his back.

"Oh, I'm glad! How are your boys?" I ask, just staring at his familiar face.

"They're good. My oldest is-" His words are cut off by music and it's a sort of music I've never heard before. It sounds like a sort of classical song but there's a beat. Carnelian holds out his hands and mouthes, dance with me. For a moment, I just stare at him blankly but slowly a smile makes its way onto my face. I take Carnelians hands and he swings me around the floor as the other pairs join. Before I even know it, I'm laughing as he twirls me around, him laughing too. Oh, how I've missed that smile. I look at the band and I see what's bringing the classical aspect. There's this strange instrument that looks like a wooden tea tray with the middle hollowed out. There are small stands on the corners to hold it about an inch off of the floor. The man who plays it is sitting on the floor, hunched over, playing the strings that run across the hollow middle, creating a violin sound.

I look to my right and see Lachlan drinking wine in the corner, looking right at me with a smirk on his face. I gasp, snapping my head to look at anything else but him. The song ends and Carnelian bows, kissing my hand. I see the other ladies curtsey and I'm not quite sure how to do that so I pick my skirt an inch off the floor, bowing my head and bend my knees only slightly. Nobody makes a face so I assume it didn't look terribly awkward. The pairs start to leave the floor but something catches my arm. I look up and see Lachlan.

"Care for a dance?" He asks, taking my hand. He leads me back to the dance floor and I don't protest. When the other couples see that Lachlan is coming they subtly slide off the dance floor, leaving it bare. Lachlan hardly seems to notice this. Bik! The band starts to play something slower and Lachlan kisses my hand, his eyes staring into mine. I awkwardly look around at the crowd watching us and out of all the faces I see, Lily's grin is the most prominent.