Sanity

7. A Ball Fit For A Princess

Jaelyn and Maeve made it back to Jaelyn's room in the palace without anyone missing their presence. Maeve got back to finishing Jaelyn's dress, in silence this time, as Jaelyn stared out the window with a fixed look. She stood rigid, gritting her teeth together in frustration as Maeve kept pulling the strings of her corset tighter and tighter.

The dress itself was gorgeous; not to puffy, which suited Jaelyn's preferences nicely. It was a deep, beautiful navy colour that almost held the night sky in its fabric, and hung neatly off her body with a bit off volume around her hips to give it the effect of a ball gown. It spread out and down to the floor in a sea of cascading waves that almost toppled over one another each time she moved. Its dark straps hung off her shoulders and wrapped around the top of her arms, leaving the effect of a strapless dress as her shoulders and collarbones were exposed. Small details of gold flickered down the back of her dress and wrapped around to the front of the material, barely noticeable unless they caught the light of the chandeliers that hung above them. It was truly a beautiful dress. It made Jaelyn almost excited to see what her wedding dress would look like, until she cursed herself for bringing the thought to her head. She could not get her hopes up; she didn't even know the man she was marrying; he had already tried to kill her, albeit unintentionally. Still, it wasn't Noah that she wanted to marry.

"There," Maeve announced finally, taking a step back and making a show of dusting her hands off as if touching the material made her cringe. "Done. You look... like a princess. A stupid one," she added under her breath, so much so that Jaelyn almost didn't hear her, "but a princess nonetheless."

"Thank you," Jaelyn replied, her expression stony and with no emotion. "How long until the ball starts?"

"Soon," another voice echoed through the room, and both girls turned, almost too quickly for their reactions to be considered natural. William stood in the doorway, and his appearance almost took Jaelyn's breath away. He was handsome; extremely so, with his dark hair brushed back loosely and his hands held stiffly behind his back. His eyes, dark and wide, seemed to be soaking in her appearance as she tried to apprehend his. The black tailcoat suited him extremely well; it looked like he could've been born in it, it came to him so naturally. He stood tall, and proper, and almost nervous, too. Like his mind was racing with a million thoughts at once. Kind of how Jaelyn felt now. She had almost forgotten Maeve was in the room entirely until she spoke.

"Forgive me, your Highness," she said loudly, moving to courtesy in front of him. "My lady is ready for the ball."

"Leave us," William murmured, his eyes still wide. They didn't leave Jaelyn's, not once, not even as Maeve moved in front of them to leave the two alone. Silence ensued, for a few moments, as they took each other in.

"Wow," Jaelyn breathed finally, feeling her cheeks flush slightly. "You look... different."

"So do you," Will replied, clearing his throat. "Um, a good different. You are just... you look... beautiful..." he finished, and Jaelyn couldn't help but giggle slightly at the trouble he was going through trying to speak to her. She had to laugh; she felt the exact same way, and she couldn't let him know it either.

"Thank you," she replied smoothly, straightening her spine and clearing her throat delicately. "Shall we go?"

"Indeed," he said quickly, and moved to hold his arm up to hers. She stifled another smile as she twined their arms together and placed her hand above his, showing that she was ready to go. So they left her room together, walking slowly side by side as if neither of them wanted this moment to pass. She suspected this was true on both halves; she felt this unspoken thing between the two of them strongly, and knew he felt it too. But, of course, they could do nothing about it. She was supposed to be his assassin, and he was supposed to be the brother of her betrothed; it was doomed from the beginning.