3- Trespassing

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Standing at the end of the dusty road, Kylo watched as the dirt path became a cobblestone one that lead through a pair of grand, golden gates. Carriages were driven through the open gates with a clop-clop sound of horses' hooves. Realizing he could enter the property if he sneaked behind one of the carriages, Kylo drew in a mouthful of air and tried to steady his nerves and shaky hands.

Just an hour, he thought. I will only stay long enough to see the grand hall and watch the guests dancing. Perhaps I will catch a glimpse of the lord. Is he as beautiful as they say with ivory skin and hair as black as night that curls at the nape of his neck? He sounds like something out of a dream. Casting a look at his clean, yet humble attire, Kylo mustered as much bravery as he could and sneaked into the property behind a slow-moving white carriage.

Once inside, he dashed to hide behind a cluster of trees. He felt his heart thundering behind his ruffles. The adrenalin rushed through him making his whole body feel as though he'd just run a mile. Kylo stood in the sanctuary of the grove and surveyed the land before him. The lord's property was vast, larger than anything he had ever seen. The house stood before him white and immaculate, with Grecian pillars holding up a balcony right over the entrance. There were flowers of all sorts decorating the lawn yet what Kylo found the most impressive were the unnaturally large red roses looming like kings and queens. Timidly stepping out of his hiding place, Kylo inched to a large bush and plucked a rose. He was careful of the flower's thorns as he pinned it to his lapel and turned his attention towards the home.

Slipping towards the side of the house, Kylo peeked into the windows. Guests were arriving, some sat in high-back chairs chatting behind their fans while others stood in small groups sipping from champagne flutes. Not able to spot the lord, or who Kylo believed may be the lord, he tiptoed towards another window and peeped inside. As he witnessed the musicians bow to their audience in welcome, Kylo felt someone grab him roughly and pull him away.

"Do you have an invitation, sir?" said the gruff voice of one of the guards.

The other guard looked at Kylo and scoffed as he uttered his companion. "Look at how he is dressed. He is not one of the guests, surely. Unless he has come disguised as a vagrant."

Both soldiers laughed.

Kylo bit his tongue, unable to speak.

The two men were burly with long beards and even longer swords. They were dressed in the same manner the riders had been with purple coats and white trousers, except their trousers had a thick black line going down the side of each leg and they bore no bow on their short hair.

"I thought not," said the first guard knowingly as he tightened his grip on Kylo. "We do not take kindly to trespassers."

"Please," begged Kylo as the two men dragged him toward a shadowy back entrance, "I will leave. I meant no harm."

"Well, harm will come to you soon enough, boy. You will think twice about ever trespassing again when you are being whipped."

Upon hearing he would be whipped, Kylo began to squirm violently, yet trying to break free only made the lord's guards rougher with him. As they pulled him along, one raised his hand and slapped Kylo, splitting his lip. "Silence!"

Trembling, Kylo couldn't help but think about what the guard had said, that what waited for him was a cruel punishment. Tears stung his eyes, blurring his vision.

As they passed through a dark hallway, Kylo heard the music coming from the ball. At that moment, he felt miles away from the areas in the house were people were happy. Simple walls separated others' joy from his misery. Coming to a dark room, the guards opened the door and pushed Kylo inside.

"Sit," ordered the first guard as he roughly shoved Kylo onto a chair.

Kylo felt his breath coming fast, his mind became fuzzy. With the help of a candelabra sitting on the table in front of him, he saw that the room looked like a study rather than some sort of dungeon cell. There were pictures on the walls yet he couldn't make out the faces. A large bookcase covered two of the walls. There was a settee near to where he sat.

"Stay here and do not move, am I understood?" growled a guard.

Behind the men, shadows swayed menacingly on the wall. Each candle playing a cruel trick on Kylo making the guards look as though they had four arms. Tensing, Kylo managed a nod and whispered a Yes, sir to the one who pulled a deep grunt from his throat and smacked Kylo again. When the guard raised his hand again, Kylo cringed and turned away trying to avoid yet another smack.

"Enough," called a deep voice from behind Kylo and the men.

The guards stepped back from Kylo and stood at attention. "My Lordship," said one and they both bowed. "We found him trespassing. He has no invitation and by the looks of him, he is obviously no guest. What do you wish we do with him?"

Ever so slowly, Kylo lifted his eyes as Lord Vincent slipped through the shadows and came into view. Kylo's dark gaze met with a pair of grey, nearly silver eyes which instantly took his breath away. In the pale light of the candles, the lord looked unearthly. He was paler than Kylo thought he would be, his skin finer than porcelain. Ink-black hair looked like silk and Kylo wanted to reach up and touch the strands. Clad in a black shirt, the lace ruffles of his cuffs plumed out of a black coat which was dotted with ivory buttons and roses stitched in silver thread across the breast. The lord wore black trousers, new and well-tailored which made Kylo blush about his old tan ones. Upon the lord's feet were a pair of black leather boots with metallic toes and heals. The words Kylo had heard about his beauty did not match what he saw standing before him, a man painfully bewitching.

Lord Vincent took a step closer to Kylo and leaned his palms on the tabletop. He did not break the young man's stare. "Dismissed," he said to his guards.

"My lord? The boy?" one asked in confusion.

When the lord looked up and repeated himself, the two soldiers could do nothing more than nod and obey their master's command. With an As you wish, your Lordship, the guards exited the study.

Lord Vincent inched closer still, reminding Kylo of a lion nearing his prey. Hooking a finger under Kylo's chin when Kylo tried to look away, the lord said softly, "Look at me."

The lord's touch was icy and Kylo shivered.

Lord Vincent looked at the blood lingering from the cut on Kylo's lip; for a moment he stood motionless, then he slipped his hand away yet his gaze remained on Kylo. He walked around him slowly as if he were drinking him in. "Why are you here uninvited and disheveled?"

"My lord," Kylo began in a whisper, "I wanted to see the ball. My family was invited but I was not permitted to join them."

"My invitation clearly stated all esteemed members of a family are to come."

"Look at me, my lord," Kylo said sadly. "Do I look esteemed enough?" He gestured to his old trousers. "I live in the family's cellar though I am kin by marriage. I work for them, I clean the house and fix their meals yet I am never allowed to sit with them at the supper table or take part in conversation. And I am certainly not allowed to join them when they attend balls."

Looking at the rose on Kylo's lapel, Vincent asked, "Is your family unkind?"

Kylo bowed his head and began to twine his fingers nervously. "Yes, my lord."

"And they are here tonight?"

Kylo peeked up and nodded again. "The step-mother and both step-sisters are."

"I do not see why you should not be here, as well," Lord Vincent said with annoyance in his tone. "You will stay and you will enjoy the ball as the others."

Kylo felt his heart flutter. It was what he wanted yet he had no fancy dress and no mask. When he mentioned this to the lord, Vincent smiled and held out his hand. "You and I are about the same size. I will find something. Will you accept my personal invitation and join me as my guest tonight?"

A smile spread over Kylo's face as he slipped his hand in the lord's. "Yes, oh yes!"  

word count: 1495

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