Before the Dawn Page 5

Aline got ready for the dance that night without any of the excitement and enthusiasm she had felt for it just a few days ago. Her mind kept going over and over what she had seen and felt in the strange dream she had the previous night as well as the mystifying encounter with the man wearing feathers earlier. When she was all dressed, she barely glanced at her reflection in the mirror to check if she looked okay. All she saw in that brief moment was a pale, black-haired girl with dark eyes who was made up to appear like a princess in a fantasy movie she remembered watching when she was little.

  Her dad proved true to his word and he did take pictures of her before she left home. He even complained a bit about the decision she had made with her friends that they wouldn't be taking dates to the dance. She bet he would have loved it if he had been able to take photos of her posing with a guy in a bad choice of a costume so he could make fun of it for years to come. Right before she stepped out of the door to head for the limousine waiting for her at the curb, he asked her if she really felt well enough to enjoy herself since she was looking kind of pale. She wasn't too sure of the answer either, but she just gave him a kiss and told him not to worry.

  Aline then put on a smile for her friends when she joined them and resolved not to think about any weirdness for now. Once everyone was in the limo, she told the others about her phone conversation with Trevor and they all agreed that she should definitely talk to him at the party so she could get things cleared up between the two of them. They were happy for her that the guy she liked seemed to feel the same way and they heartily approved of the fact that he went to their school. Her previous idea to date someone from the only Catholic school in town, which was their biggest competitor in all sorts of scholarly and athletic activities, had not been very popular with anyone last year, especially since the guy turned out to be a bit of a douche. Now they wanted her to settle down to dating a nice boy within their campus so she wouldn't drag them to any inter-religious chastity club meetings sponsored by the local parish anymore. Not that there was anything wrong with chastity, they had said to Aline, but they totally minded being chaste with the type of kids who normally joined such clubs. Plus, again, her Catholic school boyfriend was a bit of a douche. So she had broken up with him and that was that.

  The girls arrived at the dance acceptably late for their social standing, and it never failed to secretly amuse Aline that they always seemed to linger for a bit at the door whenever they entered a room. They weren't doing it on purpose, but it just always seemed to happen. It was like one of those scenes in teen movies when the popular kids would show up and be introduced by voiceover as they surveyed the room like high school royalty. But it was a thankfully brief moment, and then they dove into the crowd and started mingling with their schoolmates.

  The decorations committee had really outdone themselves in transforming the smelly gym into something that could reasonably pass for an enchanted ballroom. The theme for this year's dance, which Aline and her friends had vigorously campaigned for, was the Faerie Court. They were sick of looking at kids in sloppy or scary costumes, so they worked on their teachers and schoolmates to convince them that it would be a good idea to have a unified theme for the dance other than the usual instruction to "Come in a Halloween costume." They settled on the Faerie Court idea because all the girls could dress up in gowns and look pretty. The girls had all been for it, but the boys had balked at dressing up in fancy clothes instead of Freddie Krueger or Storm Trooper outfits. But when more than one girl had a fight with her boyfriend because he didn't want to dress up according to the theme and the cheerleading squad declared their full support for the idea, it was a done deal. The school's own royal court had put their seal of approval on it, so everyone got in line.

  For a few hours, Aline let herself forget about all the weird stuff that had happened to her and she just had fun. She danced and laughed with her friends, and the only thing that distracted her from time to time was the thought that she wished Trevor were with her. But she was going to see him in the Ballroom, so the night still had the potential to be something truly special. Before eleven, kids started leaving the dance and Aline made her exit, too, along with her friends. As they got out of the gym, laughing and slightly drunk from the shots they had downed behind their teachers' backs, she started to feel really excited. She'd be sixteen in about an hour, she was going to have an amazing party, and she'd make sure she would get to at least kiss Trevor before she went home. So what if she was having creepy dreams? Tonight, she wasn’t going to sleep!

  "Happy birthday to me!" she suddenly shouted happily.

  "Yeah! Happy birthday, Ali!" The other kids she had invited to her party were getting into their rides, and they called out greetings to her as they all began to drive through the streets like a weird little caravan. There was something in the air that seemed to make all of them feel a little reckless, but Aline was laughing too hard the whole time to be worried about it. The night felt alive and electric, like something amazing was going to happen, and it was an exhilarating feeling. There was a curious sense of anticipation that Aline could feel burning throughout her whole body.

  "We're going to the ball!" She heard someone yell, and she laughed harder. Her head was practically spinning from all the excitement firing up her senses. The limo rocked and swayed as it drove towards the Ballroom with a speed that should have concerned them, but no one minded in the least. In fact, Meran even started urging the driver to hurry.

  "The ball's starting soon!" she exclaimed. "We need to be there fast!" By Aline's side, Gracelyn and Sam giggled over something they were whispering about and, across from the two cousins, Cassie was looking outside the window with a dreamy expression on her face while she hummed a tune under her breath. Aline looked outside, too, and saw the bright full moon shining down and making everything appear like it was covered by a dusting of silver. The moon seemed to be racing right beside them as the limousine wound through the empty streets of the quiet town.

  Soon, they arrived at the Ballroom, and she stood still for a moment to admire how gorgeous the place looked with all the Halloween lanterns illuminating its exteriors. The building appeared bigger and grander somehow with all the lights around it. Her guests had arrived as well, and they climbed out of their cars and they all made their way as one large group towards the club's doors.

  "We're expected," Meran announced gaily to the costumed men outside who bowed and swept the doors open before them like the footmen in period films. A young man came up to greet them, a very handsome one with black hair and a thin face, and he beckoned for them to follow him. So they did and, as they trailed behind him, Aline realized that she had no idea the Ballroom was so big because it seemed like he kept leading them through room after room, all of them dimly lit with only a few candles here and there that illuminated brief snatches of opulent-looking surroundings. But they kept walking without questioning him, and she found herself unconsciously moving in time to the sound of a sweet tune that gradually became clearer and louder with every step they took. Feeling slightly dazed, she glanced back once and saw that her friends were swaying along to the music as well. Then she got a bit of a start when she thought she saw the shadows of glittering trees behind and all around them, which was just silly, but then she felt truly surprised when she noticed that there were strangers mingling with their group. But, as she looked more carefully, she realized they weren't really strangers. She had seen them around school and around town, though she had certainly never spoken to them or invited them to her party. But they were dancing too, and that was all that really mattered. Except, wait–there was something else, something she had almost forgotten.

  She reached out and grabbed the sleeve of their black-haired escort. "I know someone named Trevor who works here," she told the young man. She thought her voice sounded a bit odd, like she was hearing herself speak from somewhere a great distance away. "Can you tell him I'm here? I want to see him."

  He smiled at her, and there was something incredib
ly familiar about his smile. It was sharp like a knife. "Forget about the boy," he said in probably the smoothest, most beautiful voice Aline had ever heard. "Just dance." Then she was suddenly struck by the odd certainty that his face was merely a beautiful mask, which then slipped for a fraction of a second, and she knew that she had seen him before. However, she just could not manage to remember exactly where.

  "Where have we met before tonight?" she wondered as she stared into his eyes. The candlelight made them look like they gleamed with an amber cast. "I'm sorry, but what's your name again?"

  He gave a low laugh. "It has always been Raven, Your Highness," he replied, which just made her more confused. "Come." He held out a pale, slender hand. "He has been waiting for you."

  "What? What do you mean–?" But she never got to finish the question. The man who called himself Raven had taken hold of her hand and, with a gentle pressure on her fingers, he pulled her through a pair of tall doors that opened to reveal a grand ballroom.

  It was the most astonishing place she had ever seen. The walls, floors, and ceiling were made of what looked like black stone, but they shone softly with an eerie light. There were also white candles everywhere with flames that burned a pale blue. On the farthest end was a low balcony where black-clad musicians with faces painted to resemble crying dolls played something slow and sad on their spindly instruments while elaborately attired men and women danced a languid waltz. On tables nestled in the cozy nooks of the room were rich-looking dishes on golden platters and bottles of wine encrusted with jewels that the dancers simply ignored, but which the kids who had come with her fell upon and consumed with gusto. Meanwhile, in other dark corners, there were large cushions thrown carelessly on the floor where people lounged together and, as she looked curiously at one couple in particular, the woman laughed when the man made a graceful gesture with his hand over his dark head, then a sheer curtain slowly fell in hazy folds around them, blurring them from sight.

  "I–I had no idea this kind of place was in the Ballroom," she said, suddenly blushing when she saw the couple's outlines join together in what was unmistakably a very intimate kiss.

  Raven only looked amused. He bowed to her and, quick as a wink, he turned and he was gone. Aline spun around slowly, trying to take in all the strange and beautiful sights she was seeing. She noted that her friends seemed to be dealing with all the weirdness better than she was because they had started to wander around the ballroom, laughing and joking with one another. The dancers welcomed them quite warmly and, soon, they were all moving energetically to a lively song that made her think of golden sunlight shining down on tiny flowers swaying in a playful wind. She got several invitations to dance while she wandered around the place, but she only shook her head at each one and explored as much of the room as she could, thinking that there was something incredibly familiar about what was happening around her. If she could only try harder, then she would remember, but the answer only teased at her mind and refused to be understood.

  There were a pair of glass doors on each corner of the room, and when she opened and stepped through one, she saw she was in a balcony that offered an excellent night-time view of a dark lake. The water glistened under the light of the moon and, for a moment, she thought she could see a man’s sad face reflected on the small waves that rippled across the lake’s surface.

  "Aline?"

  She heard someone speak behind her and she quickly turned to look at him, her heart suddenly beating much faster. She had immediately recognized the voice as Trevor's, and now here he was standing before her. His hair looked messy, like he had just run a hand through it, and he was dressed a lot like Raven had been in black, old-fashioned clothes. But there was a frown on his face and an uncertain sheen in his eyes as he looked at her.

  "Something's not right," he muttered, almost as if he was talking to himself. Then his expression sharpened and his gaze focused on her. "Aline, are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "I have this really weird feeling about tonight, like, I feel like I’m sleeping…"

  Whatever he was about to say next, she could only wonder because he was interrupted by the deep toll of a bell. She felt her heart seize up for no reason, then the glass doors flew open once more and Raven appeared to grab her by the arm. "There you are!" he exclaimed. "Come. Come! The dance is beginning."

  She could only stare helplessly at Trevor as she was led away rather forcefully. Raven pulled her to the very center of the now-silent ballroom where everyone had gathered in a large circle with every person partnered by another. She expected that Raven would then lead her in a dance, but she was surprised when he abruptly dropped her hand and took his place by Meran's side. The music started and everyone began to move in graceful revolutions around the room while she just stood there. She tried to search for Trevor, but her eyes couldn't manage to pick him out from the thick crowd of dancers. Then another bell rang out, silvery and clear where the previous one had been somber and dark, and she felt a hand slip into hers.

  Startled, she looked up to meet the palest blue eyes she could ever imagine. They were as brilliant and clear as diamonds. The young man who now took both her hands in his and led her through the steps of a slow dance had a face that was dreamlike in its perfection. She had thought Raven was handsome, but this man–he was beautiful. He was dressed all in black, which made his fine blond hair look almost white and his skin appear luminous. But his incredible beauty wasn't what made her feel like he had laid a possessive hand on her heart.

  As they gazed at each other, she felt like something vastly important and mysterious had finally been revealed to her. All thoughts that used to mean so much to her–her dad, her friends, grades, what college she wanted to go to, Trevor–all of it suddenly stopped to matter. She was here now, with him. She had found him, or he had found her, but the important thing was that they were together once more and they were dancing. The way they should have stayed all those years ago if the cruelty of fate hadn't intervened. But they had found a way to cheat fate now, hadn't they?

  "My Princess," he whispered as he held her tighter in his arms.

  She closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest. The gentle throbbing of his heart lulled her senses and made her feel comforted and safe.

  "My Prince," she said.

  ~~~

  Chapter 6