AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I finally stop admiring him enough to pay attention to what he's looking at, I blush. He has a stunned look on his face as if he can't believe what he's seeing. His eyes dart all over me, stroking my face before bouncing to my breasts and hips, before going back to my hair. He clears his throat.
"You are the most breathtaking creature that I've ever seen," he breathes out and although I have had a lot of men lie to me in my life, somehow, I completely trust Aiden that he means that compliment. I blush an even darker red if that's even possible.
"Shall we go introduce you?" he asks, holding out his arm for me to take. I nod and take a deep breath before grasping onto his arm. I'm sure I grip it a little bit too tight as we approach the entrance to the landing that sits above the ballroom. There's an elegant balustrade that leads from the balcony we will walk out onto, down to the ballroom floor. It's designed to provide quite the entrance and I had envisioned such an entrance when Aiden had shown me around the castle that first day. Envisioning it and actually doing it are two different things and I find that I'm shaking as Aiden motions to the guards to open the door.
"Remember, you are the Queen," he whispers to me, softly stroking the hand that sits atop his in a reassuring manner. "They have been waiting for you to return for a thousand lifetimes. We all have."
At his words of encouragement, I take a deep breath and still myself as the looming doors are opened by two servants dressed right out of a scene from the ball in Cinderella. It takes a few steps before the murmuring crowd below can see us. Aiden pauses at the top of the stairs, the revelers below stopping their dancing to stare up at us. A hush descends on the crowd.
"King Aiden and Her Majesty, Queen Eva," calls out a smartly dressed servant clad in black silk, who stands at the entrance of the stairs carrying a long scroll. Aiden begins to lead me down the stairs and I'm so busy gaping at the ballroom that I barely notice the scores of people staring at us as we descend.
"Gold" was obviously the theme of the night. There's gold banners draped across the ceiling. Gold candles are everywhere, seeming to be magically floating in the air as I can't see any strings holding them up. The walls have somehow been enchanted from their usual black color to instead be a gleaming white color with gold sparkles embedded in the wall. I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
My attention is brought back to the crowd when their murmuring begins to get louder. People are gasping and pointing, and a few even look to be crying.
"Everyone was told that I would be here right," I whisper to Aiden who annoyingly chuckles.
"I wanted it to be a surprise," he says, his grin growing broader as a severe looking, older woman dressed head to toe in blue lace appears to faint as we pass by.
"I would say that you have succeeded," I tell him, feeling inordinately self-conscious with all the eyes that are on me.
"Let's dance," whispers Aiden, stopping in what I realize is the center of the ballroom to pull me into him. Music that had stopped upon our entrance starts up again, a seductive cacophony of sounds that adds more magic to the moment. Aiden spins me around the room, and surprisingly I don't miss a step. It's like I've done this dance a million times before. This close to him his eyes appear fathomless, so dark that the lights of the candles are reflected in them, appearing to be almost like stars in the sky.
"I've dreamed of this moment for so long," he tells me, the longing in his voice so pronounced that it gives me heartache. "It's hard to believe that you're here. I'm so afraid that you'll disappear right in front of my eyes."
I feel emotional, and I can't find the right words to say back to him. Tonight, for the first time I feel close to him, like we actually could have the relationship he says we did. Maybe it's the dream-like perfection of the night, or how achingly beautiful he looks with the gold reflecting off his darkness, but I feel like tonight could be the start of us.
Around and around the room we spin. I feel myself responding more and more to his call, like I never want the night to end. He dips me at the end of the song and for some reason I see myself in a red dress in a similar pose, but it's a gold face that's staring down at me with overwhelming love instead of Aiden. I blink my eyes and the picture fades away, leaving Aiden's unflinching, hungry stare. He pulls me back up, and then let's go of me to clap for the musicians.
Another song starts, and an attractive man is standing next to us asking Aiden for permission to dance with me. Aiden nods and the man bows low to us both before spinning me away for another dance. The gold plays off the russet streaks in the man's hair as he twirls me around. He introduces himself as Theodore, but there's little conversation after that beyond base pleasantries. The night continues like this, striking stranger after striking stranger, every man more beautiful than the last. I've noticed that there's no one ugly among the Fae. None of them compare though to the shadowy gaze of the beautiful man that I feel following me around the room. No matter where I am, I get the sense that Aiden is watching. It leaves a slow burn inside of me, knowing that he's so enraptured by me he can't take his gaze away no matter who is talking to him.
I feel like a mouse that's being stalked by his prey. I keep on thinking he will step in to take me on another dance, but he stays seated in the large black, high backed chair on the far wall, his throne if you will. Various party goers stop to talk to him, but still he watches me. We've passed hours like this, me dancing, Aiden silently stalking me with his eyes. The slow burn that started when we danced has turned into a raging inferno. It's the first time I've felt lust in his presence, but how can I feel anything else when his gaze never stops caressing me.
I finally decide to take a rest, although the line of party goers wanting to dance with me has only grown throughout the night. I promise them I will return, and head to the extended banquet table that sits against one of the walls, laden with every delicacy imaginable.
I'm filling my plate when I sense a presence behind me, and Aiden's words whisper across my neck, stoking the fire within me even more.
"Haven't you ever heard the legend about Fairy food," he murmurs. "Mothers across all the realms warn their children about ever accepting a bite or drink from the Tir Na Nog. One taste and your trapped in its realms forever, never to return home."
His words send shivers down my spine.
"It's a good thing that I am home then isn't it," I say, biting down on the most flavorful piece of chocolate that I've ever tasted.
"Is that how you think of it finally, that you're home?" he asks, his voice hard to read.
"Well I'm certainly hoping that I'll soon master my magic and that I won't be attacked anymore by the local wildlife, but I've never felt as safe somewhere as I do here," I tell him.
He looks strangely torn by my comment, and there's a flicker of what looks like regret that passes over his eyes. It disappears before I can really study it. He gives me a smile that doesn't stretch to his eyes and I wonder what I have said that has upset him.
"Let's see what other Fairy delicacies I can get you to try so that you have to stay here forever," he jokes, taking my plate from me and beginning to spoon various items on it. I smile at his inability to not take charge, but follow my king as he makes his way down the aisle.
***
The elegant notes of the last song fade away as the ball ends. Looking out one of the enormous windows that take up nearly an entire wall, I'm surprised that there's no hints of dawn. It feels like I've been dancing all night.
The night passed by in a blur. After Aiden and I's confusing interaction at the food table, I continued to dance with various courtiers, Aiden actually choosing to cut in from time to time. When he did dance with me he showed me the rarely seen witty side of him, telling me stories about some of the odder members of the court and the trouble they've gotten into. Some of the stories are so ridiculous that I can't help but laugh loudly, I'm sure shocking the guests around us who are used to Aiden and his more elegant, austere ways. When I look back at him after recovering from my laughing spell I see nothing but fondness and wanting in his gaze.
I notice that Aiden doesn't dance with anyone else despite the tittering and obvious glances from the beautiful women in the room. No matter what, Aiden's eyes never wander from me.
