The ballroom was a brightly lit, beautifully decorated room. Usually dark and silent, this night the white gold light seemed to fall from the white-gold chandelier in the centre of the ceiling. The light flowed down on the rich and important of the kingdom. Wealthy land owners, royalty and all other people of importance in the kingdom mixed and danced to the music from the royal orchestra playing on one side of the room. They were raised slightly on a stage-like platform set aside for the royal orchestra. This ball was a major event in the kingdom's social calendar. It was one of only two given each year. All of Eawnell's notables were invited to attend.

Standing amongst a group of men, all talking with each other was a new man to this event. He had only recently acquired a large amount of land in the area. He was the son of a man who had lived in the area until war had called him to a foreign land. He had fathered a son during this war and unbeknownst to him had fathered a son. He had left and returned to Eawenell before knowing of any of it. Marshall was the name of the son he had fathered. He had had no knowledge of his father until the message of his father's last will and testament reached him. He had left for Eawenell as soon as he had heard on advice from the village prefect. Marshall had grown up in a village in another country, and had lead a simple life thus far. The fact that he was an Earl, he hadn't known until his father's messengers had reached him with the news of the title and land he had inherited. Marshall was a very intelligent man, and had been a scholar. The village prefect had seen his intelligence from an early age and had made sure that he was properly educated. For this reason Marshall had had little trouble taking his father's place as the Earl of Wiltshire. It was the social protocol Marshall was still learning. He was graceful and adept and adapting with extraordinary speed. This ball was his debut into the world of the rich and royal, the world he now belonged to. The men he was talking to were people he had met in the few months he had been in the kingdom. He had little knowledge of the royal family. He knew what the king looked like, but that was the extent of his knowledge.

Marshall bade his friends a temporary farewell as he left the group to secure himself a drink, to give him something to do with himself. He found all this idle chatter peremptory and pointless. He vaguely heard a kafuffle in the room as a new couple entered.

Josephine and Frederick stood together, arm in arm. Josephine's face was a mixture of excitement and anticipation. She had never been to one of these functions before. Although, as children, she and Frederick used to sit in a huge tree that they had climbed into from their nursery window, to watch the Royal Ball. Josephine had always loved the men and women dancing. It had looked like one huge doll's house to her from the tree. Finally she was to be a part of it. It was her debutante appearance in a way, because it was also a chance for the people to meet and admire the adult princess. She was revelling in it.

Frederick looked at his sister in amusement. He was older by two years and hence, had been to four of these balls already. He knew the layout and format of the evening, and was only attending because it was his duty. Tonight however, he was enjoying himself. His sister's joy, and the chance of a certain young lady being there had heightened his desire to attend this night.

They stood just outside the massive, carved oak wood doors, which had been closed for their entrance. They heard the fanfare for the Crown Prince that the orchestra was playing inside. A similar, but grander ceremony would take place when the King and Queen arrived. The impeccably dressed doorman opened the great doors, bowing at the waist, allowing the Prince and Princess to enter.

Marshall had just finished pouring himself a glass of champagne when he noticed that something was happening. He turned slightly and looked coolly over his shoulder towards the doors. He saw two people enter, a very handsome man and an astonishingly beautiful woman. They seemed to be together, but not quite. Marshall was wondering about it when she swung her gaze towards him and their eyes met.

Marshall's whole world seemed to swirl away from him and come around in a centre point: her. His eyes were riveted and he discovered after a while that he had forgotten to breath. He'd forgotten how to speak. His heart had almost ceased to beat when the shock of the powerful, instant love that had struck him hit. But now it thundered in his ears, blocking out any other sound. He didn't know how, and couldn't understand why. But Marshall had fallen in love, so strongly, he somehow knew that there would never be anyone but her.

Josephine saw the ballroom and smiled from ear to ear. She'd been looking forward to this moment since childhood. She was looking around the people in the room when all of a sudden her eyes met his. The ball, the event and everything slipped away from her. Only he was there filling her reality. His soft, intelligent brown eyes captivated her as he captured her heart. Love was something Josephine had never expected to feel and had never felt. This was strong, it made her strong, giving her everything she wanted. It filled an empty place inside that she had never been aware of before. She knew he was the centre of the feeling that had struck her as soon as she had looked at him. She knew that she had to be with him. Love at first sight had never occurred to her before, but as she experienced it , she respected its power. She vaguely felt Frederick pulling her forward as the initial shock that had blocked everything from her reality but him, lessened.

Frederick half pulled Josephine across the ballroom to the opposite side to the door, where they were to wait for the king and queen to enter. Somehow Josephine's eyes never left Marshall's as he unconsciously followed them across the room, but behind the line of people that had formed the sides of their path. The assembled guests applauded the prince and princess as they moved across the room. Josephine vaguely remembered to smile as they went. It was only for Marshall though, because she never even saw any of the other people there.

Marshall saw the love in Josephine's eyes as he felt it in his heart. Strong and powerful. He followed as she and Frederick walked to the wall, he was not aware that he was doing it. He could see from the look of strained patience on her face that they had to wait before they could meet. She tore her gaze from his with great effort, but they both understood that soon they would meet. They already felt strangely like they had known each other forever.

Marshall watched the door also, the direction of her gaze. He saw the doors closed and heard the royal fanfare being played by the orchestra. Although all of this was happening, he could only see and think of Josephine's exquisite beauty. The king and Queen entered the room and all applauded as they took up their position in the center of the dance floor.

As soon as the King and Queen began to dance, Josephine was free. She started towards Marshall as he did her. Unhurried, only natural. They met on the dance floor, niether saying a word as he took her hand and then kissed it. He bowed and she curtseyed and they began to dance. The dance was fluid and together they weaved a magic spell on the dance floor. Their bodies moved together in perfect harmony, the dance became something alive, ensnaring them in its musical seduction..

Marshall had always had a natural flair for dance and Josephine too, always loved to dance. She had been formally trained in the art form. But this was more than dance, the pair of them together made it something more, magical and a part of their love. Both were thinking of nothing but the other. They felt an urgent need to be away from the ball, to be alone and to love one another. Both knew that this would be their only dance there that night.

As they danced, their eyes never left each others. Their stares were intent, each probing into the other's soul, drawing locked secrets into their open scrutiny. They could keep little of their feeling hidden.

The music ended and they slowed and gently came to a stop. They applauded the musicians as everybody else did and then they stole out of the room together, separately and quietly. Very few noticed they were missing. Among those who did however, was Frederick. He had noticed Josephine's immediate change as soon as she had set eyes on Marshall. He had not known exactly who or what had caused the change in his sister until he had seen the two of them on the dance floor. He had been overcome with a sense that he was watching magic, he could see the love and was shocked by it. He had not known his sister to have a love. He felt sorry for them when he had realised that, knowing that there could only be heart break for them.

Once they met outside the great ballroom and into the great entry hall Josephine stopped the man she was so deeply in love with. She'd just realised that she didn't know where they were going to go.

"Where are we going?" she asked him. When he heard her sweet voice, he realised that it was the first time either of them had spoken to the other. He also realised that he didn't know her name. He had her hand tightly clasped in his own.

"My estate is not far," he replied in a rich accented baritone.

"Wait, I must get my cloak," Josephine said. He waited for her as she hurried into the next room and got her long black cloak. She clasped it around her shoulders, but as she went to leave, she noticed the glittering diamond tiara she was still wearing. She took it off and gently placed it on the table in the cloak room. She did not want to take it with her, it had been her grandmother's. Once she had done this she rejoined him and they went outside, through the open, massive front doors. Marshall's carriage was around the side of the castle, with all of the others. When the ball was coming to an end, the footmen would bring all of the carriages around the front, but while the ball was still young, the carriages and horses were left around the side, the horses grazed while the footmen joined the castle staff in the servants quarters. The two in the carriage were glad of this, both knew somehow that their flight into love. Only Josephine, however knew why.

Continued on the next page



 
Last Updated:
25-Dec-1999
© 2000 Paul Rands, MissM and Simon Gledhill
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