Prose and Short Stories

The Ball and The Butterflies

It was only a few minutes away from starting and I still felt like there was much that needed to be done. Walking past the buffet table I start to inspect all the food. At one end, we had all kinds of different roasts, such as pork, turkey, pheasant, and even some exotic meats I have never heard of. At the other end, we had all the different kinds of deserts. Apple, pumpkin, cherry, peach, blueberry, raspberry, chocolate, and vanilla; every flavor had been mixed into pies, cakes, and even something called a pudding. Each pie had been cooked to perfection; you could see the golden-brown color of the crisp crusts, each with little cracks where the sweet scent of fruit seeped into my nose. The pie was my favorite kind of dessert, the smell of a single fruit cooked into something that was so sweet and delicious was astounding to me. The cakes had a beautiful color and a certain bounce, which helped show how moist each one was. The heat from the other freshly baked sweets around them started to affect the frosting, as it began to drizzle down the side of the cakes. We were only fortunate enough to have such an exotic abundance of food and ingredients because my country is the largest trading capital in the world. Every merchant or business had to come through this part of the desert if they wanted to make it to any other country.  I inspected the rest of the tables, golden candlesticks were in the center of the table to give a bit of extra character to everything around. The butlers and maids were already carrying around silver platters with drinks for our guests. Mostly dry champagne, but with the occasional red and white wines that would complement the different types of foods that were prepared.
I walked away from the tables looking over the banquet hall, golden silk tapestries lined the walls, even the slightest movement would cause them to flow with the air currents. The marble floor shimmered so bright it was almost blinding, the workers had done their part in making it shine. Looking up I saw the gigantic diamond chandelier that hung from the center of the ceiling. The workers had also placed candles throughout it to make it sparkle, it almost gave the effect of glitter falling from the sky. Then the sound of musicians playing that of a soft, sweet melody hit my ears and I stood in place listening for a brief moment.
I sighed knowing it was time as one of the palace butlers looked at me. I nodded and that gave them the signal to start letting the nobles in. I started to walk up the staircase leading to the golden throne and took my place on it. My long black skirt took its place at my feet and my hair was styled in a long braid that I pulled forward to rest against my chest. I leaned back into the throne and instantly felt a shiver run through my body as the cold from the elemental material touched my bareback. Nobles started pouring into the room making their way to me and as they reached the end of the staircase they bowed and showed thanks that they got to be here. I would smile at each noble couple or family that came to me and thanked them for coming. People were gathering at the center of the room and slowly they started to dance. Each noble was wearing almost the same thing as any other person in the room. The women would either wear a traditional two-piece black dress or a long silver gown that was form-fitting. The men would wear a black suit and sometimes a hat if they felt like it. I just continued to sit on my throne and observe for most of the evening.

A bit further into the night I had gotten up and decided to take one of the dry champagnes from a palace maid. I took a sip and the clear, bubbly, dry liquid slid smoothly down my throat. I walked through the crowd of people smiling as I made eye contact with some and passed through an arch that led to the balcony overlooking the desert. The sun was close to disappearing and lit the sky with colors of orange and yellow. It looked like wild flames from a fire spreading across the horizon. This was one of my favorite times of the day when the sun was setting like this the yellow desert butterflies would come out and dance. I stood on the balcony waiting for the butterflies to join me and they soon did. One flew past my face and I smiled, knowing they were very close. I decided that it was time for me to start spinning around on the balcony, my dress spun with me spreading apart. It was only when I moved like this that people could tell my dress was made to look like a butterfly. I grabbed the ends, lifting them up to create the wings of a butterfly, and as I did they danced all around me and the sky. Being alone on a balcony surrounded by such stunning creatures filling the emptiness of the night, I finally felt like myself. I stopped spinning and watched as some started to fly into the banquet hall. It was only then that I had actually noticed that the sun completely set, so I made my way back into the palace. People stared in awe, as they too got to witness the sight of hundreds of butterflies dancing around them and the banquet hall. It was not long after, that the butterflies flew back out into the night sky. The most remarkable thing about the butterflies is that their bodies would absorb light from the sun during the day, so when it became night they would lit up the sky, making it look like flying lanterns. Which was exactly what happened when they poured out into the night sky. It was the most beautiful thing a person could see in their lifetime.