Chapter 78 - Love At First Sight

"Sooo... about what you said before."

Haziel perked up. She had suggested we walk the gardens together for a while before the Marquess arrived, so here we were. The moon shone brightly upon us from above, so much it was as if it was smiling. The lush grass crunched under our feet and I could feel grass blades poking at me through my sandals. It bothered me, while Haziel, who wore closed shoes, was oblivious. 

In the distance I could make out the faint, moon-lit silhouettes of clean-cut bushes and certain shrubbery lined neatly outside the Plaza walls. As a soft breeze flew past us, the stray strands of my hair danced wildly upon my face. Pulling them behind my ears, I covered my shoulders with my hands because of the cold night.

Haziel alongside me walked casually, swinging her arms as if undisturbed by nature. 

"What about?" she asked as she leaned forward and gave my face a sideways glance. 

I wavered. "Erm..." I wanted to ask about that comment she had made earlier, the one which seemed too awful to be real. All this time, I had assumed it was a joke, and despite her cheerful act, the sad look had never left her eyes after she said that.

But wouldn't it be too thoughtless to bring up? The fact that her father had killed her biological mother… I shivered. 

"Is it too cold?" Haziel said, suddenly worried. "I shouldn't have suggested coming outside. Let us go back-"

"No, it's alright." Though it indeed was a bit chilly, I'd rather be outside in the comfort of our own presence against the watchful eyes of the scrutinizing women inside. 

"Hmm, then what did you want to ask?"

I squeezed my shoulders. "No, it's nothing."

"Oh, come on! Do say," she exclaimed as she bumped her shoulders to mine. "Tell me."

I shook my head. I was about to make another excuse when we heard a loud hollering of trumpets coming from inside the Plaza. 

"Cripes, it's started!" Haziel beamed as she took a hold of my shoulders. "Come on, let's go."

Once again, I was dragged away from the quietness of the garden and we hurried in through the entrance that adjoined the Plaza to the garden. The warmness inside the Plaza enveloped me the moment I set foot inside and my shoulders eased back in relief. 

I must've slowed down because Haziel tugged at my arm again and led me through the crowd. 

"Come on!" she said hastily as her eyes searched the crowd. I, too, looked and noticed that everyone had their backs to us and had their head turned to the same direction: The middle of the ballroom. 

"He's here!" Haziel said excitedly as she pulled again and we emerged to the front of the crowd. I'd rather have stayed at the back like a loner, but since everything was going so quickly, I had no idea how to react. In the front of the crowd, I looked to my left and right because for some reason, everyone had dispersed to form a pathway in the middle. There was a crowd mirroring ours not far in front of ours, and they, too, had looks of anticipation on their faces. 

"What's going on?" I whispered to Haziel, confused. It was as if Moses had appeared and made a path for his people, but this time, instead of water, the crowd of girls had dispersed. 

I followed the bright gazes of everyone else and noticed that where the lines of girls began stood two guards wearing the similar blue uniforms I had seen the guards don two days ago at the inn. 

They held old fashioned trumpets in their fingers and blew into them once again, sending the loud, blaring bellow through the ball room. Nobody seemed to be perturbed by that, but I recoiled as the sound hurt my ears. 

What was going on?

"Haziel?"

"Shh!" she hissed as she craned forward to catch a glimpse of up ahead. "The Marquess is about to make his appearance. Stand straight and look pretty so he would choose one of us." 

Instinctively, I fixed my wind disturbed hair and fixed the shoulders of my dress. I didn't even want to be a bride, what was I doing? 

Suddenly, a low murmur emerged in the crowds and women shuffled closer to get a closer look. I was pushed several times from behind, but I stood my ground. I took one look ahead and took a deep breath.

At the start of the hall, Marquess Huxley stood in all his glory and golden hair, wearing a white and blue dress coat with matching pants. He looked quite regal in the attire he donned, and the guards beside him added to the image. 

Slowly, the Marquess took a step forward, and then another one as he walked down the hall, his eyes searching faces to his left and right. Soon, his eyes would be on me as I was right in front of the crowd, and I recoiled in horror. He can not choose to dance with me! No way, all eyes would be on me in that case. 

"Excuse me," I mumbled as I pushed my way to the back of the crowd, feeling weak headed and nauseous. 

"Where are you going!?" Haziel whispered as she touched my arm. "Don't you want to dance?"

"Restroom," I murmured as I looked away and made my way back. Other women were grateful to take up my spot in the front and they jostled amongst themselves. 

I gave Haziel a second glance back and the sad look in her eyes never left my mind as I stood at the very back. Crap, what do I do now? It must've seemed so rude to abandon her at the last moment. 

I bit my lips as I stood on my tip-toes to catch a glimpse of Haziel from the back, to see if she was doing okay. Right at that moment, the Marquess passed by my original spot and his eyes searched the faces amongst mine. Soon, his eyes came to rest upon me and his face instantly glowed up. I was f**ked.

"Sh*t," I muttered bitterly as I tripped over my feet in my haste to run to the gardens. People gave me dirty looks as I pushed past them before the Marquess got to me. It seemed that he was already making his way to me because a loud murmur had started within the crowd and I heard shuffling behind me.

The Marquess's voice only confirmed my suspicions. "M'lady, wait a moment!" he was calling as I ran to the gardens. 

"Is it her?", "Is he asking for the girl in the green dress?", "Someone, catch that girl with the black hair!" were some of the murmurs I heard as I exited the Plaza and collapsed against a far wall attached to the garden. 

There was still jostling in the Plaza, and people were heard saying, "Where'd she go?", "Who was she?" inside. I put my knees up to my chest and made myself as small as possible. 

"Sven was right," I hissed at myself, my tone chastising. "He knew I wasn't gonna be okay." Mama had been right, too. The Marquess really was smitten with me. I had made a mistake. I shouldn't have come.

As I sat in the silence of the garden, trying to block out all the distant, confused cries from inside the Plaza, I thought to myself: Why can't I just catch a break?

A heavy sigh escaped my lips. I rested my head on my knees and closed my eyes, focusing on the calm cricket sounds rather than the bustle of women in the Plaza. I was almost asleep, when I heard a heavy panting and then a groan. 

Startled, I jerked my head up and my eyes widened in horror as I recognized the moonlit figure of Marquess Huxley. 

"Found you," he said gently and under the moon's guidance, I saw him smile.

A lot of thoughts ran through my mind at once. Do I run away? Do I shout for help? Do I play dead? What do I do, dammit???

Awkwardly, I inched away and nodded. "Uh, hi."

In a boyish manner, Marquess Huxley flopped down beside me and sighed. 

"You didn't think I'd follow you out, did you?"

I shook my head. "No." My response was short. He waited for me to continue but I wanted to get the message across that I wasn't in a position to get too frank. 

He folded his leg over the other, making himself comfortable on the dewy grass. "Well, why did you flee, then?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

He chuckled softly. I peeked to my right and saw him looking up at the moon. 

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" he whispered, "The moon, I mean."

I turned my face to look up as well, and this time, I was positive that the moon was smiling upon us. "Mm," I murmured and jerked my head towards the plaza. "The others must be looking for you."

He shrugged as he wrung his white gloved hands. "Let them be. Competitive women are dangerous."

Against all my silent vows to remain cold and distant, I laughed. Marquess Huxley flinched at my sudden change in composure and then grinned. 

"Finally," he murmured almost to himself. "You smiled."

I was surprised at myself. "No," I said, reverting to my old self. "You must've been mistaken."

Under the moonlight, I saw him raise an eyebrow, but he remained silent. By now, I could hear shouts of "Where is he? Where'd he disappear to?" inside the Plaza. Marquess Huxley must've heard them too because he shuffled uncomfortably. 

"Were you going to ask me to dance?" I said quietly, looking at the grass.

He didn't say anything for a while. Then, "Yes."

I figured that much. His face had lit up at the sight of me the way it had when I had first chosen to dance with him at the Ceremony. I remembered those times fondly, the times I slept on a comfortable bed and ate the best food. The times I didn't always need to hide.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Marquess Huxley was clenching his fists tightly, to the point it seemed uncomfortable even from here. 

"To be honest," he said suddenly, drawing in a deep, long breath. "I think it was love at first sight for me."

I frowned. "With whom?"

He turned to look at me, and even in the dark, I could feel the intensity of his gaze. 

"With you, of course."