Holy War: Two Worlds and an In- Between

Chapter 42: Your Choice

My dress was gorgeous. It was a black Cinderella gown with long sleeves and a slightly plunged neckline. My hair was straightened using a hot comb and I wore four-inch heels. I still had my satchel slung over my body much to Winter's dismay.

The girls got a dress made for me a while back and said that they wanted it to be a surprise. I can't lie, I was a bit overwhelmed by how much the girls had opened up to me. Even Summer was excited for me to attend. I felt awful knowing how badly I was going to screw them over just to save Jack and Ally.

Even walking into the ball I was beyond intimidated. I knew that Sir Itachi was keeping an eye on me as I could see all of the royal guards staring at me. I was waiting for the moment they would throw me back in my cell. I knew that I was a target that night, but I had to stay in the castle for my boys.

We were in a giant ballroom with a huge diamond chandelier hanging overhead. The floor had a beautiful intricate lily design and there was a balcony that made a circle all around the room. There was also a stage with a singular throne in the center where the king sat as he stuffed his face with food. The live band played near the stage but not on it.

The people were dressed to the nines. There were people waltzing around in dresses made of gold and suits made of diamonds. There were dukes and duchesses with kings having glasses of wine. There were a bunch of people dancing in a way you'd only see in beauty and the beast.

"Keep your head on Diana," I whispered to myself as I walked through a group of people.

For a moment, a strange clock caught my eye. Instead of the numbers going from one to twelve, it went from one to thirteen. The hour hand was on the thirteen and the minute hand was between twelve and thirteen. There was something familiar about it though. Almost like I heard about it somewhere.

Every move I made was watched by the guards, and as the girls soon branched off on their own I was left to fend for myself. In a room full of people I was alone as and in danger. I walked about, but I remained uncomfortable as eyes continued to fall on me.

I kept my head low causing me to bump into a few people as I walked. It made my attempts to stay incognito futile due to the annoyance I was causing. I saw a guard swiftly walking in my direction after I stepped on the toes of a, particularly well-dressed man. The guard seemed determined to get a hold of me as he maneuvered around people just to get closer. In a panic, I began to swiftly walk backward not really caring where I was going. The man had his eyes set on me as he moved closer and closer.

"Hey, are you alright," a young man about my age walked over to me and asked.

I nodded my head, "Yeah, I'm totally fine," I assured him. 

He smiled at me as I tried not to make a fool out of myself in front of the handsome stranger. His eyes were a deep brown and his skin was a light ivory color. For some reason, his smile made me smile. Even though I was facing a truckload of challenges, a sweet smile from a stranger made me feel like the world wasn't so bad.

"I'm Margaret," I lied extending my hand to him. He looked down at my hand and laughed as he shook it.

"Well, Margaret, do you care to dance?" He asked me.

"Uhm," I stalled. I looked around and saw that the guard took a step back not wanting to make a scene in front of the boy, "yeah, I guess so."

As much as I wanted to blend into the background, I couldn't do that with the armed guards on my tail. Even though I didn't want to do something as silly as dance while my friends were trapped in cages, there wasn't anything else I could do. I had no idea how I'd move on and free them, but winging it was really starting to work for me.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and he put his on my waist. He pulled me in close as we swayed to the smooth classical music. I'd occasionally look over his shoulder to see the guards keeping a close eye on me. I could even see a few girls giving me the stink eye.

"You seem popular," I commented.

He looked behind him at the group of girls staring at him, "Oh, don't worry about them. You know how these things go," he chuckled.

I shook my head, "No, I really don't," I responded as we did one big twirl. I had to admit, my dress did move beautifully as I danced.

He looked at me with furrowed brows, "What do you mean?"

I shrugged my shoulders a little, "I've never been to a ball before," I confessed.

He smiled, "Well, lucky you," he said, "these are a bit of a bore anyway."

The music came to a stop for a moment, and I was dipped and stayed in position even as the music began again, "Well, this one isn't so bad," he smiled as he brought me back up.

He picked me back up, "So I'm guessing you're the prince that I heard about in town," I said as I thought back to my first day in town. I remembered the conversation about Janet and if the prince would even care for her.

"You can say that," he responded, "but I'm not sure you care to know what I'm the prince of."

I couldn't help but stare at him in amazement. There was something very warm and familiar about him. I had never had any real moments where I was actively flirting with anyone. Never mind actually dancing at a ball. I hadn't even been to a school dance. Well, maybe I did and couldn't remember seeing as I still couldn't remember anything before England.

Still, in the perfect moment where time seemed to stop, and I was in the hands of Prince Charming,  I couldn't help but think of Jack. I couldn't help but imagine dancing with him under a diamond chandelier. The feelings I had for Jack were hard to ignore, but I had to forget about him for a while.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I cut in here?" Sir Itachi suddenly appeared beside us.

"Of course," the guy said.

Sir Itachi took hold of one of my hands and gripped my waist. I held one of his hands and grabbed onto his shoulder. We began to move and he gave me a very angry look. I tried to pretend like all was well, but I couldn't control my anger for him.

"What are you up to Itachi?" I asked grinding my teeth together.

"Nothing that I'd like to tell you," he responded as we continued to move.

"What have you done to the king?" I asked as we neared the stage.

He laughed a little, "Little girl, I would advise you not to speak on anything you don't understand. I just wanted to let you know that this little stunt will not go rewarded. The girls may be too attached to you for me to off you, but your little buddy Benny will not be that lucky."

I opened my eyes in shock, "What have you done with Benny?"

"Nothing yet, but I promise things can get very bad for him," he said in a harsh low tone, "now, you have two options. You can come with us and serve out the rest of your miserable life taking care of my girls, or you can carry on with whatever shenanigans you plan to unleash, and I kill him along with that boy you were crying for at the festival. Your choice."