Werewolf Bride

The Ball

*Ball gown pictured above*

The palace was spectacularly white, and crowded with the most excessive garden you've ever seen. It's grand entrance flooded with guests of all kinds, but mostly women. Desperate, desperate women hoping to catch a glance of their dream husband with all the riches needed to sustain their needy lives. 

I slip past most of the crowd and manage to lose my sisters in all the bustle. 

As I finally stepped inside, I was absolutely flabbergasted. Though the King was quite conservative and ancient, the Queen made up for his lack of style in all the paintings she hung. The ceiling was the most beautiful, exhibiting a vibrant mural, casting the appearance of a massive stained glass window covering every inch of it. Reds, oranges, and yellows cast down at us, so mirror like I could have sworn I saw my reflection. 

The ballroom stood right beneath the mural, the floor absolutely spotless, and white as well. It shined so bright and clear you could check your reflection there for real. If my dress wasn't so long I swear you could sneak a peak under it otherwise. 

Quiet music played from the live musicians that were set up in the far corner. The two modest, but tasteful thrones faced the room for both the King and Queen to observe. 

However, the King was not present. It was only the Queen who sat upon hers. She was a great deal younger than our dear King, but still graying nevertheless. I looked about the room as I saw some fellow women just as surprised. 

The King's health is declining even more, isn't it? That's why he can't be present. 

That would be why the Queen is desperate to find a partner for her son, so that he will be prepared when he has to take the throne. 

I quietly gravitate to the edge of the room as some begin to dance. Some men had attended and were asking some to dance simply for the hell of it. All important men. Even if you do not catch the Prince tonight, all the women knew they still had a decent shot at someone else almost as wealthy. A bold Knight even at worst. 

The hours passed and there was still no sign of a Prince or the King. Perhaps the Prince was choosing to humbly stay with his sick father rather than entertain the likes of these drooling women. I respected that. 

As the sun began to droop in the sky I made my exit into the quiet night. As I stroll to the gates I hear a subtle rustling in the side garden. "Hello?" I calmly call. Quietly, I walk down the small path into the gallant array of flowers and trees. It felt like a tiny forest. It led to a small courtyard, centered with a beautiful fountain. I walk to it confidently, peering down at the beautiful moon reflection in its water. 

The world is quiet again with the exception of the crickets. I nearly forget the initial rustling that brought me there in the first place. 

A voice greets me from the shadows of a nearby tree.  "Hello Charlotte." It simply says. My heart startles. They know my name? "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here." I swear under my breath as I turn to leave. 

He chuckles as he comes out into the light. "No, stay. I haven't had company all night." 

My words are stolen right from my throat when I see that it is the Prince. I had seen him before, too engrossed in the crowd for him to possibly see me. I never got quite as close until now either way - and I have to admit, he is the thing of fairy tales. 

"Hello, your highness." I quickly curtsy. 

"No need for that." He waves it off. "I'm barely older than you. It makes me feel ridiculous when people do that anyways." He smirks before slowly bowing to me.

My heart nearly bursts. I had only felt that feeling when I was occupied in one of my favorite romance novels. 

"I-I didn't expect to be seeing you tonight." I stutter with a blush. 

"Yes, I didn't expect to see anyone either." He shrugs, before smiling directly at me. "But I'm thankful I'm not that only one who appreciates this place. This is where the real party is." He winks before walking closer, each of us facing the other on opposite sides of the fountain. 

I can barely speak. "It's so beautiful." I find myself looking directly at his caramel skin instead of the fountain or the flowers. 

He can barely contain himself with laughter. 

"Oh, stop. This can't be the first time a woman has lost their bearings around you." I scoff, before turning on my heel. I feel embarrassingly lightheaded as I realize my sudden rudeness. 

"I'm so sorry." I turn back in merely a second. "Sometimes I can't hold back. Bluntness is my biggest sin." 

"It's not a sin if it carries an interesting conversation." He winks. "Especially for someone who hears nothing but boring this and that all day long. The last thing I get to do is speak to someone who isn't hot headed and is also my age." His smile is incredibly contagious.

That would be true. The King may be old, but his son is painfully young to be taking the throne so soon. Carlos was the last of seven children...and somehow he is the only one left. A mystery much talked about, but never answered. Most of his sisters deaths were passed off as death by childbirth, and his brothers death at war overseas. To be fair, all did go away to war or were rumored to have been pregnant.

I blush as we stare at each other in silence. I turn to the moon instead. "It's a gorgeous moon, tonight. I can't remember the last time..." I drifted off, thinking of the last night I had with my mother. 

"...That is was this bright?" Carlos carries on for me. He peaks a glance at my face. "Everything alright?" 

As I stare at the moon, a dreadful feeling passes over me, hinting that I must leave urgently. But why? "Uh, yes, thank you, your highness. It has been lovely speaking with you, but I think I have to leave now. It's getting much too late for a lady to be out." I lift up my skirts to avoid the dirty garden path as I make my way to leave. 

Carlos lightly tugs on my hand. "Do you need a ride home, miss? I can have my men bring you back in a carriage. I think it is going to rain shortly."

And that it was. A light drizzle of rain was slowly starting, and I dreaded my walk home...but something urged me to leave this second! A nauseous, horrid feeling is forcing me to leave this instant! "I think I'm going to be sick." I gasp as I run away from him. He chases after me out of concern, but I lose him once I ducked into a nearby alley way. 

After vomiting in the road I find myself blacking out. I slump against the alley wall and allow myself to close my eyes for only a minute. I find the strength to stumble home, my left leg rather sore, causing a slight limp. Fearful I'd wake everyone, I choose to sneak in through my window rather than cause a disturbance. I throw myself onto my bed, still sopping wet, but too relieved and exhausted to change. 

Instead, I fall into a deep slumber. Horrible dreams filling my sleep of a unrequited, monstrous rage. Tortured screams and the taste of blood filled my mouth. 

But of course, when you awake still in your bed you assume it to have never happened. 

Until, of course, you rush to the mirror in a panic, only to gaze back to the reflection of the terrible beast itself.