Cinder and Blood

5

If she thought the halls were big, then the ball room is ten times bigger. Everywhere she looks, she can see marble and gold. The columns that hold up the ceiling appear to be crafted from pure gold, banners and tapestries decorate the ceiling and limestone walls, and crystal chandeliers illuminate the room with golden light.

A wide set of stairs leads down to the dance floor, where several women stand around in their crimson dresses. To the sides, buffet tables line the walls, stacked with every type of food under the sun. There are exotic fruits, rich and fatty meats, fresh seafood, deserts, cakes, chocolates, and food Elle has never even heard or seen before.

In the middle of it all, is a large fountain flowing with a dark red liquid. Upon first glance, Elle thought it was blood, but realizes it's red wine when she sees some woman filling their glasses underneath it.

Once over the shock of the grandeur of the room, her first instinct is to turn and flee. There is no place for her here, the other women will see right through her. They will know her dress is made of cheaper materials, they will see her blunt nails and the peeling skin around them, they will smell the lies and deceit Lady Octavia tried so hard to hide underneath all this perfume. And then they will tell the King and he will have her punished.

There is no hesitation about it; she must flee.

However, as she turns around to leave through the doors, the man already closed them, trapping her inside with all these nobles.

Frozen in place, Elle begs her heart to stop beating as rapidly. Surely, a vampire can hear it from the other side of the castle. She tells herself there is no way the King will choose her, not by appearance at least. And now she hopes her blood wouldn't appeal to him as well. Hopefully, it tastes like garlic and onions, or something foul and rotten. She just needs to stand by what she planned; sticking to the shadows and praying to be overlooked.

Choosing to focus on that, Elle descends the stairs slowly in the heels. The last thing she needs is to make a spectacle of herself by falling in front of all these ladies. Nobles don't fall off their heels, and tonight, she's a noble.

Once she reaches the bottom, she passes the others unnoticeably, ensuring to keep close to the walls and dark corners. Luckily, the other ladies are too busy conversing and dancing to pay her any mind.

Only six hours, she reminds herself. Only six hours and she's free. No more stepmother, no more stepsisters, no more scrubbing floors until her knees are scraped through and her fingers blistered. After this, she never wants to see a bucket and cloth in her life again.

For most of the time, Elle manages to evade the other women and their conversations. But on more than one occasion, her eyes wander to the endless line of buffet tables and the delicacies they display. Her stomach growls every few seconds now, as she hasn't eaten anything the entire day.

The clock on the wall reads a few minutes to eleven. In little over an hour, she will be on her way home and then gone for good.

So far, she's been safe. There hasn't been a sign of the King or any vampire in that case yet, and Elle begins to wonder if the King will make an appearance at all, or just send a messenger to announce which lady he's chosen.

However, everything changes when the clock strikes eleven and the set of doors open with a loud, metallic noise.

Every lady in the room falls silent and turns to see the man from earlier enter the ball room. A servant follows him in, carrying the wooden box containing each woman's blood sample.

Elle moves in behind a group of ladies to hide herself from view but peers past their shoulders to see what will happen.

"Ladies from far and wide," the man announces, "Please welcome his majesty, King Lorcan Von Baldassare, third of his name!"