I was given this as a prompt by one of my readers on Google+, DJ “The Trainman” Walker I hope you enjoy it! It is every girls dream to be invited to the grand ball. Of course, this ball it isn’t what it seems. There is no modern day prince to be found at this ball. She stands in the middle of the main hall underneath a glorious chandelier. The light sparkles off her magnificent dress cascading rainbows on the floor. She holds the wand of her feathered mask over her eyes and looks at the crowd with curiosity. She is surrounded by beautiful men and women, some couples and some singles.
She feels privileged to be here. An invitation slipped under her door two nights ago. She is surprised she was able to find a dress on such short notice. This was an exclusive ball and she had no idea who she even knew in these circles, let alone someone who would invite her. A lady swept past her with a swish of her gown. She wore a lace mask on her face that appeared to be painted on. A man in a tuxedo handed her a tall glass of champagne. She took it and was about to say thank you when he quickly shook his head with a finger pressed to her lips to shush her. She quietly nodded her understanding and sipped her champagne. She was really at a loss of what to do. As she examined the room it was clear that although the others were mingling, there was no talking. At least, she didn’t see their lips moving and the big band music was playing too loudly to hear anything at all. She decided to simply stand there and sip her champagne. She would patiently wait for the one who invited her to approach. After two glass of champagne, she was feeling a little warm and her vision was a little fuzzy. The smiles surrounding her felt suspicious. Half way through her third glass and he approached, grabbing her by the elbow and leading her to the dance floor. He took her champagne from her and put it on the platter of a butler passing by. He moved her so quickly that she didn’t have a chance to look at him. That was until she found herself face to face with him, her nose mere inches away from his. After spinning her around for what seemed like hours, she felt desperate to get outside for some air. She moved her hand off his shoulder and put it on his chest in an attempt to gently nudge some distance between them. He would have none of it. Now that he had her in his home and the champagne was doing its job, he was not letting her go. He knew if he had she would surely fall prey to all of the other eyes that were on her. But she was relentless and she tried harder to pull away. He was prepared for this, and he was very strong. The grip on her elbow frightened her and she tried harder to work her way out of his grasp. “Please,” she whispered, “I need air.” All eyes turned on her at the sound of her voice. There was to be no speaking here. She looked from her dance partner to those around her as panic started to bubble through her veins. Her instincts told her to break away and run. But she simply could not. She was too weak and no match for this man. The air was harder to breathe as she sensed the others moving in closer. He growled then and dragged her by the arm out onto the balcony. It was on the balcony that he kissed her. It was a quick and forceful kiss. One that she had not been expecting. And, it hurt. She put her fingers to her lips. They were bleeding. She was about to say something when he began to lean in to her, more slowly this time. His lips brushed past hers as he moved closer to her cheek. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of something flash brightly. She turned her head just slightly and saw fangs. ‘Fangs?!’ she thought to herself. Her heart beating so fast now that she was afraid it would come right out of her chest. He smiled. He could feel her blood coursing through her veins. Hear her heart thumping madly like an animal in danger. And that she was. But he vowed to himself he would keep her safe. Just as his teeth touched her skin, the balcony door flew open. He spun around in anger. He knew that her wildly beating heart must have attracted the others. She felt his grip loosen just a little bit. She took her opportunity and jumped off the balcony onto the lush green grass below. She could hear the fight from the balcony above. There was no time to waste. Although she was in pain, she kicked off her beautiful, and now ruined, shoes and ran. --------------- “Time to wake up Aaron,” her dad called from the doorway of her room, “I can’t be late for work today.” She stretched, wishing for just five minutes more. “That’s ok dad,” she said through a yawn, “I think I’ll walk today.” “Are you sure?” “Ya, thanks.” “Ok,” he came to her bedside and kissed her on the forehead, “don’t be late though.” “I won’t dad.” She smiled up at him. ----------------- As she walked to school that morning, she passed by the big mysterious house on the corner. There were rumors of a new family moving in there soon. It had been vacant for most of the year already. Something in the grass sparkled and she walked towards it. On the grass was a shoe. An awfully familiar shoe. She picked it up to look at it closer and then looked up to the balcony doors where a curtain fell quickly shut. © Rachel Rennie 2015
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