The ball was finally here. There was a bit of a buzz going around the castle. There was an evident excitement in the atmosphere. I was happy that all of the servants finally had something to look forward to.
Organizing the ball hadn't been too much trouble. The most complicated part had been music. There were former musicians who had been turned into their respective instruments because of the curse, but the difficult part was making sure the ballroom would contain the music as much as possible. We didn't want the beast to hear the ball going on.
According to the servants, everything was in order to keep him preoccupied. He was usually in the mysterious room sulking, the problem was just keeping him there. The candelabra suggested locking the room shut, but that would be too obvious. We didn't want the beast to know we were up to something.
The plan was to have Cogsworth, the clock, go to the beast and distract him. If all went accordingly, the beast would have no idea. Unfortunately, Cogsworth was somewhat unreliable. He didn't like the plan at all, and it was very easy for him to betray us. We had to put our trust in him however, as he was the one the beast trusted the most.
"Alayna, what time should we meet in the ballroom?" a feather duster asked me as I walked through the halls from the kitchen.
"Around 7:30 is when we shall start dancing," I replied, smiling.
The excitement got to me. I had not looked forward to something like this in quite a while. Any balls my family had held were planned by my sisters, although mostly Tatienne. When I was younger, I had dreamed of planning balls and inviting so many guests. They would all dress in the finest of clothing, dancing around the halls of our manor.
My dream never came true, obviously. This was the closest I had ever, and likely would ever, get to fulfilling it.
Finally, night hit, and I was determined for this to be the best night the servants of this castle would ever have. I had done some slight decorating of the ballroom with miscellaneous things I had found throughout the castle. I had asked many of the candelabras to be lit during our ball, to help provide light. We also managed to get the chandelier lit, which helped light the room immensely.
"What are you going to wear tonight?" Hortense asked me, waddling around my room.
Hortense had spent most of her time talking to me about outward appearance. It was a big part of her life, I understood, but I had never been one to focus on beauty. I had always had my nose stuck up a book, or my leg stuck in a tree.
"What do you suggest?" I asked her. She rolled her eyes dramatically, then opened her doors to reveal all of the dresses.
"I particularly like this green one, but the blue one compliments your complexion so very nicely. You would look stunning in either one, of course," she flung the dresses onto my bed.
"I will wear the blue one, I think. It has a lovely pattern," I remarked.
After I changed into the dress, I analyzed myself in the mirror. I didn't really have a good reason to dress up, or even want to dress up. I was a prisoner, and no one expected me to look nice. This wasn't a real ball, after all. For some reason, I still wanted to look nice.
"Do you need help with your hair?" Chantelle, one of the feather dusters, came into my room.
I really didn't want to offend her, but she had no hands. I had no idea how to react to her question.
She started laughing. "Obviously you will be doing your own hair, Mademoiselle. I just meant help deciding how to do it."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Of course, Chantelle. What do you think would look nice?"
YOU ARE READING
The Other Side of the Door
Romance"Mademoiselle, you mustn't be too angry with him, he has had a hard time coping, you know," the teapot spoke to me. "I have every right to be angry with him. He could go meet the devil himself, and I would still have every right to be angry. He has...
