As the last notes of a waltz died, he watched his father stand and welcome those in the room. The speech was short and dignified. Edmond had always been impressed with the way his father could say so much in so few words. He hoped he would be able to handle the pressures of the kingdom when it was his turn to rule as well as his father had. He made a mental note to ask his father for advice on speech-making the next day and then turned to the woman standing next to him as the orchestra began the introduction to the next piece.
"May I have this dance, my lady?" He asked with a bow. The slender woman looked him up and down and turned her back on him without even a word.
He laughed quietly to himself at her arrogance, muttered "I guess not" under his breath and walked away to find another partner to dance with.
He was rejected three more times before he spotted Alfred's lion-headed mask bobbing above the crowd. He edged his way around groups of nobles until he reached his friend. "Surely you are having better luck than I am," he jested as Alfred removed his mask.
"I doubt it," Alfred replied. "It would seem I'm 'much too enormous' to be the prince. Do you know they are all waiting for you to show up?"
Edmond laughed. "I do. See that girl in the flashy purple dress and the giant gold feather coming out of her head? She told me she couldn't dance with me because she was going to marry me. Apparently we're the best of friends and I would be devastated if she wasn't available for my first dance."
"Who is she?"
"I haven't got a clue."
They laughed together before moving on to find more willing partners. Together they coaxed a pair of sisters onto the floor and joined the throng of couples.
As the night wore on many unmasked and more and more people crowded the dance floor. Edmond found himself dancing more often than not as the women gave up the idea of danxing with the mysteriously absent prince.
But Edmond was disappointed time after time with the character of his dance partners. None could keep his attention long. He was in the arms of a particularly large young woman who smelled like a mix fish and rose petals and who has been droning on and on about how her older sister always got the best jewels when Alfred approached.
"I think I've found her," he whispered into Edmond's ear.
Edmond nodded and returned his attention to his partner. He let her finish her sentence about the her sister's five-gemmed necklace before he cut in. "If you'll excuse me, ma'am, this gentleman here has some rather urgent business he needs to discuss with me. Please allow me to beg your pardon, but I must leave. I do wish you the best of luck tonight." She shrugged her shoulders and turned away. Before Edmond had rached the watching throng she had found herself a new partner and was chatting away.
Edmond followed Alfred through one of the smaller, adjoining ballrooms and onto an outer balcony.
Alfred spoke as they walked. "I overheard her discussing the looming war with General Whitney, first. Not many of these ladies even know war is coming, let alone who is threatening us and why. Then she asked him if he thought the war would hurt the harvest or not. The next time I saw her she had Lord Buxley laughing, which I've never seen anyone do before. But the thing that made me know I needed to drag you away from your lovely lady back there was hearing her speak with Linos. Apparently she knows a physician who thinks he's found a way to help with this plague we're dealing with."
"She seems too good to be true," Edmond thumped him on the back and laughed "If you tell me she's got a beautiful nose, I'll tell my father to pack Gianette's bags right now."
"Well, that I don't know. She hasn't removed her mask yet," Alred rubbed his own nose as he considered his friend. "But she does have nice shoes."
He stopped and pointed to a girl a few feet away from them, chatting with the court physician.
The girl was delicately built. Her gown was elegant, but stood out in its simplicity. Where most of the dresses at the ball had layers and layers of frills and folds, this one fell gracefully to the floor, barely revealing a glass slipper underneath. She seemed to Edmond to shimmer in the light pouring out from the noisy hall.
"Thank you, Alfred. I hope that you are right." Alfred nodded and moved forward to engage the physician in conversation , dragging him away from the girl.
Edmond watched as she leaned against the balcony and looked over the lake below. He approached her side and and followed her gaze with his.
"Hello," he said.
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