Beautiful Beast

Chapter 28

KALISTA

He returns my smile and we close the distance between us. When we are a meter apart, he bows with a flourish. I laugh under my breath and respond with an elegant curtsy.

"Good evening, my lady." He extends his hand with a twinkle in his eye.

"Good evening, Your Highness." I place my hand in his palm and we descend the staircase and step to the ballroom.

"Are you ready?" I ask, pausing before the double doors.

"Ready whenever you are," he replies firmly.

A stream of magic twists past us and pushes the doors open, revealing a completely different world. Colourful gowns accompanied by stately brocade coats spin about across the sparkling gold and white marble floor. Golden light pours down from the intricate chandeliers and the music of a string orchestra weaves through the dancers.

"How is this possible?" Arawn asks, his eyes wide with wonder.

"These are memories—put together like the pieces of a puzzle to create a picture," I reply, soaking in the brightness around me.

"These are people you knew? And your family?"

"Yes, they are people I have seen before, but my family is not here. Their memories are best left in peace—I have mourned them long enough," I reply.

A couple dressed in plum and peacock-green pass by us as if we do not even exist. Their faces are powdered till they are nearly white and both sport elaborate wigs.

"They are just illusions," Arawn muses.

"Yes, it is all an illusion. Even the music. But let us not speak of that. Dance with me?" I back onto the dance floor and pull Arawn with me. Whatever qualms he had with living in an illusion seem to fade as we step into time with the people around us. We talk and laugh and wonder at the apparel of our fellow dancers. I lose myself in this—in the rhythm of the music, in the flurry of the dance, in the gold of Arawn's eyes. It is perfect. It is a beautiful dream that I never wish to wake from.

When we are out of breath, we step through the glass doors and onto the balcony. A cool breeze kisses our flushed cheeks and the sinking sun sets my gown ablaze. We lean against the stone railing and gaze toward the gardens where my roses bloom like velvet stars in a sea of green.

"If only there was a way to capture this moment, so I could keep it with me forever." Arawn murmurs and slips an arm around my waist.

I lean against him and close my eyes as I wish for the same thing, but even magic cannot attain that.

"You are truly a vision tonight. I daresay the most beautiful woman in the world." He affectionately kisses the top of my head.

I laugh at his words. "You are blinded."

"Blinded? By what?"

"Love." This one word gently falls from my lips.

"No, true love only makes a man see all the clearer."

"True love is the stuff of fairy tales." I counter.

"Is it?" He playfully tucks his chin into the curve of my neck.

The stubble on his chin tickles my skin and I laugh and push him away. "You are a dreamer."

He grins at me. "Ah, but I believe you to be as much of a dreamer as I am. You just don't admit it."

"Hmm, is that so?" I do not like the distance between us and slide my hands over the soft fabric of his coat and onto his shoulders.

But his brows pull together and his eyes darken. "Kalista, if only I could find..."

"Shh." I place a finger upon his lips. "Do not speak of it now. Let us enjoy this." I slip my hand into his. "Come, dance with me once more." We enter the ballroom again where my illusion is slipping away with the dying sun. The music still fills the room with its delicate melodies, but the dancers have disappeared.

Arawn rests one hand upon my waist and I put mine upon his shoulder. Then we fall into the sweet arms of the music. It spins us about and carries us across the room and fills me so full of bliss that I feel as if I am flying. When it finally fades and with it the last fingers of fiery sun, Arawn and I stand frozen, breathing hard and staring at each other.

How can I let him go? He is everything to me. Yet, how can I hold on to him? I have nothing left to give him. Truthfully, this evening stemmed from selfish motives. I wanted something to hold onto during the days to come.

A wolf howls, shattering the moment into a thousand shards of glittering glass. Arawn acts first, snatching my hand and drawing me from the ballroom. We step from this magical place and into the crumbling atrium. As we ascend the staircase, I gather a fist full of sheer fabric and lift it above my slippered feet. It is hardly the most practical clothing for escape.

We hurry into the west wing and to the library where we heave the great door closed. Arawn lifts the beam and drops it across the doors, locking us in and the wolves out.

"Is this still necessary?" I ask, smoothing the wrinkles from my gown.

Arawn pulls his coat off and hangs it on the back of a chair. His cravat follows and he absently rubs his neck. "They got in last night."

"Truly?"

"I didn't want to wake you and you seem to carry enough burdens, so I quietly fixed the window again. It will be fine, as long as we stay in the library between sunset and sunrise."

I send him an inquisitive look but remain silent. In so many ways he has taken it upon himself to be my provider and protector. I never asked him to do this, he just fell into it as if it were as natural as breathing.

"Are you hungry?" He lifts a pan of stew from where it had been tucked in a bed of embers.

"Yes, but let me first change out of this gown," I say, motioning with my hand to bring forth a simpler dress of pale lilac purple. Moving behind a shelf of books, I wrestle with the ties at the back of my gown. I would prefer to use magic to change my dress, but this gown is so complicated I worry that I will make a mistake with the spell and end up absolutely ensnared in chiffon and silk. With some difficulty and much reluctance, I struggle out of the gown and slip on the simpler and more comfortable dress.

Once I am changed, I join Arawn in front of the fire. He has already served a bowl of stew for me, and I quietly begin to eat. Although he does not speak, his questions hang in the space between us like rain-heavy clouds. He wants to interrogate me about Tauren's visit and no doubt about this evening as well, but something keeps him at bay. Perhaps it is my bleak expression and his desire to keep me from thinking of oppressive subjects. It is rather too late for that, but he needn't know it.

With only a few more words spoken between us, we settle into our makeshift bed. Yet, I do not sleep. I lie awake for hours, playing and replaying the events that must take place once the sun rises. He will hate me at first, but I hope that over time, he will realize the necessity of it and that I did it because I loved him.

*****

What is she going to do? What is her plan?