From Coal to Diamond

Chapter Five

Rising before the sun, Elizabeth woke up with a start. Someone was knocking on her door. Rubbing her eyes, she pulled her blanket closer to her chest. "Yes? Who is it?"

"It's Jacob. Everyone is getting ready for the party and they all want to help you pick out your dress. I figured I'd at least give you a head start to either get dressed or at least wake up." His voice was slightly muffled through the door.

"Thank you Jacob. How long do you think I have?" Standing up, she moved to her walk in closet to try and find something to wear.

There was a pause before he responded. "Probably about ten minutes."

"What? That's hardly enough time to get dressed or wake up." With that in mind, she grabbed one of her robes to cover herself. "You didn't think to come any earlier?"

"I didn't know any earlier. It's not as if they all come and confide in me their plans for the day." He chuckled and gave a small knock on the door again. "Did you want anything for breakfast? I can bring something up for you and the girls."

Her stomach growled loudly, just before she could say she was fine. "I suppose some biscuits would be nice. But don't bring too much." She heard a quiet grunt in response and then silence.

Wrapping herself up in the fine linen robe, she walked back to her bed and sat down on the edge. Her eyes were instantly attracted to the ring she still wore. The small bursts of light calming her, and yet she knew it was worth more than her life. She watched as the purple swirls mixed with the cracks of silent lightning.

Without knowing how much time passed, Elizabeth was startled by what could only be described as an excited succession of knocks on the door. "Lizzie! We want to help you pick out a dress! Ready or not, here we come!"

Before she could stand up, the door was already opening. In filed five of the girls, all giddily jumping and running towards her bed. They were all giggling and talking about how the first dance out in society was by far the best. Everyone had their eyes on you.

"It's perfect. You feel more important than any Queen. It's just ...amazing." Alice put her hands to her chest, sighing heavily as she leaned back against the headboard of the bed.

"But you do have every man's attention. Some of them are more..." Lillian trailed off before leaning in towards Elizabeth. "They're more drunks and braggards than anything else."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Madam wouldn't let in terrible people though. Sometimes the party spirit just gets the best of them."

The girls continued to chatter about just how wonderful the night would be for Elizabeth. They were all certain that she would have the most attention.

"It's not like I haven't been to these parties before." Elizabeth watched them search through her wardrobe. "The only difference now is I have my ring. It can't really be that different, can it?"

"Of course it can!" Lillian went and sat on the bed next to Elizabeth. "It's almost like there's electricity in the air. You can feel this sort of static, all the eyes on you, everyone envious of your schooling. I felt like I was floating on clouds the whole night."

Chuckling, Elizabeth shook her head lightly. She couldn't imagine that a party could be so different, simply because she had received a ring from Madam. Everything else was still the same. And her ring wasn't large, there would be no real way for anyone to see it unless they were talking to her.

"Trust us. It changes everything."

"What about this one?" Ruth pulled out a long ruby dress. The shot silk fabric changed between the ruby red and nearly black as the light bounced off it. There was lace as trim around the neckline and coming off the hems of the sleeves which ended at the elbows. It was one of Elizabeth's favorites.