Chapter Twenty Five

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"Any minute now and they will arrive!" Nerissa hissed as she kept poking her head round the door every few seconds, making me dizzy just watching her. She was going to break her neck if she kept this up for much longer, whether it be from her own jerking or through me trying to restrain her.

The preparation had already began for the ball this morning, with professionals orchestrating frenzies of people carrying chairs, decorations, food and everything under the sun, with Zachery's guards standing at the front door, making note of each and every entrance into the hotel, with a woman dressed in all black standing beside them with a check list of what I can only presume is the itinerary of everything grand ball related.

Each time somebody walked between the direct view between Nerissa and the front door, she let out a big huff and threw her arms in the air dramatically, shouting "Imbeciles! All of them! Can they not see I am waiting for something? Eagerly?!" It was amusing to watch her get like this, as Nerissa rarely uttered a bad word about anybody, so seeing her publicly scorn anyone in her way, it was like watching a puppy try to look fierce in the face of a bigger dog. I knew she would be extremely apologetic later towards everyone, and everyone who knew Nerissa was enjoying watching her as much as I was, even Pierre. I saw that every time she swung her head round to me, placing her hands on her hips as if they were the key to all her problems, Pierre would glance round from reception to watch the charade, unfortunately for him, without the sound effects.

Amongst the heard of young men carrying in items of furniture which were extravagantly decorated with cloths made from extraordinary material which shone in the dull light of day, there was a group of five men who all were working together to carry an oversized champagne fountain which was laced with golden hues within the crystal body. It was so large it barely fit through the hotel's double doors, so lord knows how heavy it is. It was clear to see that the men were struggling to carry the fountain, as their faces were growing redder and wetter with every other step they cautiously took. Their cheeks were all puffed out and brows furrowed, probably torn between the pain of lifting such an object and the pain of thinking what would happen if they dropped it.

Nerissa and I had done all our work earlier than usual so that she could await the delivery of our ball gowns without having to go back to work afterwards. So it was a ridiculously early morning for us, but it was nice to be finished by 9am and to sit watching everyone run around fussing. It was crazy how quickly they could turn a hotel into a circus, for the sake of one evening. But by the looks of the decorations they were bringing in, it would be a spectacular evening.

The colour scheme of the hotel was dark brown, deep burgundy and gold, so they were going to have to pull off a miracle to make the place dazzle like the photographs shown in the newspaper in previous years. There were uncountable candles of every shade imaginable being brought in, with diamanté holders for them all in the shape of lavish roses. The majority of the decoration was being transported to the ball room where the main event would be held, but there were a few things which were being left in the main lobby, which was beginning to become cluttered. Nerissa noticed this instantly and decided to go sit in the lobby where she could set her hawk eyes on the main door and usher away anyone who wanted to rest another box of decorations or piece of furniture in front of her. The wrath of Nerissa was not one you wanted to encounter. One time, when we had a guest who continuously spilt tea and coffee on their bed sheets each day for the duration of their stay, Nerissa got so irritated with the behaviour and the lack of empathy from the guest, that she washed the fresh bed sheets in drain water before hanging them out to dry outside of the window to the main kitchen where a lot of smoke went out of. The result was unthinkable, she had to ask for my help to put the sheets on so it could get done quicker, as we had to hold our breath at intervals to avoid gagging at the smell. Nerissa never caused anyone harm, but she knew how to get her own back in the best of ways.

Nerissa was sat up bolt right with eyes wide, happily talking about trying on our dresses together, whilst I was slumped in the chair next to her tapping my fingers along the arm rest. I was getting impatient, and was unable to carry on Nerissa's level of eagerness.

After an hour of waiting and watching people scurrying around, there was a gentleman who turned up at the door with two large boxes with 'Le Vetement' written in calligraphy across the sides. I lifted my eyes to see the man speaking to Giles, with Giles pointing in our direction once he had finished speaking. Nerissa batted me on the arm and jumped up, holding her hands over her mouth to conceal her scream of excitement. She ran up to the man so fiercely that his expression turned to one of concern for his safety, which I couldn't help but laugh at. Nerissa grabbed the boxes from his arms before saying 'thank you' hurriedly and nodding her head. I intervened to thank the gentleman properly before rushing after Nerissa, who had already got half way across the lobby towards the stairs.

"Hurry up, Audrey Rose! We need to put our dresses on to make sure they're still perfect!" Nerissa shouted to me as I struggled to keep up with her.

"They will still be as perfect as when we bought them, but not if I break my leg trying to chase you!" I shot back to her, which made her slow down her pace, ever so minutely.

We reached my room in record time, where we began to prepare ourselves for tomorrow's ball.

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