How does it begin?
With an empty room, everything void of colour and sound. I stood in the middle, my voice floating through the room but never reaching my ears.
And then the piano appears. One note and colour begins to spread throughout the entire room. From the cream wallpapers to the floorboards, to my gown and my hands...to the flowers by the windows.
Then the violins follow, creating a perfect symphony that floods the room, taking my legs along with them as they go.
One by one, the people appear.
Fake smiles and lighthearted conversations about fashion and politics, marriage gossips and status updates. Afterall, those are the only conversations that goes on among the elders in a ballroom.
The younger ones like myself sway softly to the music, some on our own and others with partners. Eager young ladies straighten up, eyeing prospective young men whose attentions lie somewhere else.
With the people comes the tea and the wine.
It's a ball afterall. It's never complete without the tea and the wine.
But somehow, something is still missing from the room. It feels empty and cold, even with all the warm colours and the hot tea that runs down my throat.
"Nicholas, where are you?" I murmur to myself, eyes scanning the room for any signs of my lover.
But atlas, he's nowhere to be found as alw-
"Lost in love." Eloise says as she shuts my book in my hands, pressing the pages against my fingers.
"El!" I hiss both in pain for my fingers and in irritation for getting rudely interrupted. "I was just getting to my favourite part!"
"How many times have you read this book?" She taunts.
"I would be reading it the fifth time if you hadn't shut it on my hands."
"Consider it a favour on my part." Her voice is a bit distant as she moves to the window at the far end of the library. "You've been hiding away for the most part of the day."
She's right.
I have been hiding away.
I usually prefer to read in the garden or at the balcony where I can have grand access to fresh air and the marvelous scent of flowers.
But not today.
Today started off bad and if I don't hide away from every single member of my family, it would surely get worse than it already is.
What seems to be the problem?
Marriage. That's what it is.
Lord William from Ferndel hall has requested my hand, and my mother thinks it would be delightful if I consider it.
She thinks every proposal thrown my way is delightful, and whatever she thinks becomes the idea of the entire family.
But I can't.
He's not a bad person to spend the rest of my life with, but he's not the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.
I want a man that I would love, just like Elizabeth and James in the book I'm currently reading.
I want a man that would look at me like I'm the most precious thing he'd ever seen, and I want to look at him the same way.
We would have children born from love and not just from the duty of procreation. I want something magical... something from a novel.
"I would rather be here than out there, Eloise. Leave me be."
I reopen my book, my eyes promptly resuming from where I had stopped.
"And why is that? It surely can't be because of Lord William, can it?" She teases.
Her hand clasps my arm, startling me because my last memory of her position was by the window at the far end of the library and I didn't hear her come any closer.
"Precisely. But more so because my family is upset that I plan to turn him down."
She lets go of my arm like it's burning hot with a gasp, her grey eyes widening in horror.
"Why would you do such a thing? Lord William is such a nice man with more than enough to cater for you for a lifetime!"
"Then maybe you should take on the proposal yourself?" I tell her and her nose crinkles with mild irritation.
"Why? It wasn't made to me, silly. And besides, Lucas would blow a fit if I ever thought of something like that."
The mention of my brother has her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink, a wistful smile on her lips as she twists her blonde curls round her delicate fingers.
I frown in disgust at her open show of feelings towards my entitled younger brother, but I also can't help the subtle pain in my chest too.
Lucas adores Eloise to the point where he would give his life for her even though she has about three years on him. As children, she was the one running after him but he would always turn away from her because he thought she looked boyish.
However, as the years went by, she grew into a beautiful lady with lush blonde curls and pretty grey eyes that men would die for. She was no longer boyish, for she was one of the most beautiful young ladies in town.
That had him chasing after her like a lost puppy.
Unfortunately for me, I do not think I ever outgrew that boyish look. Of course my features became a bit more feminine, but as my mother always says, I lack the grace of a woman.
I always did.
I was nothing like Nancy, my older sister who has the face of an angel. My face is sharper and more angular...more manly.
That is why I am currently under heat for refusing to consider Lord William's marriage proposal.
Because in the world I find myself in, love is never an option for women with a face like mine, women without grace or the smile of an angel.
Unlike Nancy who has the liberty to turn down any proposal, I am expected to take what I am given, even though I do not like it.
But I would not take it.
They would throw a fit, but it would end before tomorrow.
My eyes find Eloise again, her lips still curled up in a smile, and I get the sudden urge to tease it away from her lips.
"And when would Lucas send a proposal? Perhaps when age is no longer on your side?" I ask lightly, to which she throws a book at me.
"To hell with you!" She giggles, tossing another book my way after I successfully avoid the first one.
It hits me right on my nose, bringing water to my eyes and also a new found determination to get back at Eloise.
As I pick up a book to haul at her, I forget all the things I had on my mind. The only thing I can think of is hitting my target with more books.
**************
A/N
Soo...
To those who made it to this point, whatcha thinking?🫠🫠
I'd really love to know so please leave a comment on your thoughts.
P.S:
I'm a ghost writer and I'm currently on a project that's taking up a whole lot of my time.🥲
I would update daily as promised though...I won't leave you guys hanging, I swear.😌
Muah!😘😍
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Down To The Gallows
Romance"You look better with your eyes closed." I heard him say to my father that night. I heard him say more than that, and I saw more than what I want to believe, but I cannot speak of it to anyone. I would not speak of it...ever. I would be faithful to...
