Maiden Ball

Laughter echoed, bouncing off the heavily decorated walls around me. Flowers, glitter, streamers, banners, the family left no portion of the wall untouched around the crowded dance floor.

I leaned on the black, iron railing, taking in the dancers below me. Many young women dressed in long pink, purple, and yellow dresses, all colour coded based on their house name. I rolled my eyes as one of the ladies batted her eye lashes at, I'll admit, a handsome young man in a suit and tie.

I hated black tie events.

You need to smile more. Try not to be so prickly. Are you even trying? How do you ever expect to catch the eye of a high house dressed like that?

I snorted to myself. Maybe I didn't want to catch the eye of some suitor perhaps I had bigger, far more grand aspirations for myself other than becoming a perfect little house wife.

I pushed off the railing, no longer able to stomach watching the girls throw themselves at any man who looked their way. Pathetic.

I stalked across the mezzanine, drawing disgusted looks from the older ladies who had been so tightly tied into their corsets they looked as though they may pass out.

Better if they did, I thought to myself.

How dare a woman walk with her head held high, like she was more than a piece of art to be bought or sold. I tossed a wicked smile as I winked over my shoulder at them. How dare I not be all dolled up in one of those ridiculous dresses either. They had probably never witnessed a woman wearing pants.

I pushed my way down the crowded stairs, shouldering my way past some of the most well renowned suitors, smirking to myself at their astonished faces. Good. The more they hated me, the less likely I was to be selected tonight.

Much to my mother's dismay, this was my 5th maiden ball, and with any luck, my 5th ball without being selected by any of the high houses. The more years that went by without being selected as a maiden, the less likely you were to be married off at all. Unfortunately for my mother, that was exactly what I wanted.

I ignored the snide remarks as I made my way over to the desert table, unsurprisingly, only surrounded by the men who attended the ball. An older gentleman with a salt and pepper beard narrowed his eyes at me as I eyed up the mountains of deserts. Little to no women ever gathered around the desert table, for fear of ruining the perfect figure they fought so hard to achieve, and even harder to keep.

I'd rather eat the damned cake.

I slid between the man with the salt and pepper beard and another man who didn't bother to acknowledge me. Good. I reached for the last piece of heavily iced chocolate cake, mouth already watering with the thought of the biting into the soft centre.

"Excuse me."

I bristled at the voice beside me, as a hand appeared beside mine, also in the direction of the chocolate cake.

"Yes?" I muttered, swiftly swooping the last piece of cake onto my plate and taking a bite.

A deep chuckle drew my gaze away from my plate, right into the deep blue eyes standing a solid foot above me. I tensed, preparing myself to snap at any rude remarks or gestures that had become a normal occurrence in my life. Men were always surprised when I bit back with my own remarks.

His dark gaze trailed down to the riding leathers I wore in place of the obnoxious black puffed dress my mother had insisted I wear. For 5 years now. She still never won.

"House Devoy?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, taking another slow bite of my cake.

"Does it matter?"

A half smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, his eyes motioning to the commotion that had come to a stand still around us.

Damn, he was handsome. As much as I hated to admit it.

"Perhaps we can find somewhere with less eyes to talk."

The whispers exploded around us drawing a low hiss from deep inside me.

"What would you possibly want with me?"

He motioned towards a small door just to the left of the desert table. I frowned at him, hearing my mother's words about how frowning was sure to cause wrinkles and was never acceptable of a lady to do-

"Just to talk."

Grinding my teeth, I fell into step behind him as he made the unbearably short distance to the door. I wasn't sure what was worse, being in that stuffy room full of fake smiles to hide the snakes that lurked beneath, or the thought of being trapped alone in a room with a potential suitor.

I went rigid, as he gently closed the door behind us, the whispers falling silent behind it. I locked my eyes with his, refusing to drop them submissively to the floor as I had been told to do time and time again.

"What do you want."

He leaned causally against the large wooden desk at the far end of the much too small room, black hair falling into his eyes. I forced my gaze to the bookshelf beside him, trying to fight the flush threatening to climb my face.

"To help you, Amaya."

My feet froze into the dark wood beneath my feet hearing my name on his lips.

"You have nothing I want."

"How could you possibly know that?"

I raked my eyes up and down his body, taking in every feature. The same way men took in a woman's appearance on a daily basis. Art on the wall.

"We're at a maiden ball, and I don't particularly care to become anyone's maiden," I spat.

He chuckled that deep, dark velvety chuckle that threatened to make my toes curl. I shoved the thought away.

"I'm not selecting you to be my maiden, Amaya. You have quite the reputation for...turning the high houses away."

I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"I'm offering you a place in my royal guard. You will not be forced to marry, or bear some stuffed up suitor's children by the new year. You will be given a job, and make your own wages to spend as you see fit."

The room fell silent between us, my heart pounding, the only sound in my ears.

"What makes you think I am able to serve in the royal guard."

He gave me an easy smile.

"You're the only Devoy daughter, don't think I don't know the skills your father has taught you behind your mother's back. He always wanted more for you. Did you really think you were that repulsive that you've made it all these years without being selected as a maiden on your own?"

My face burned with a mix of rage and embarrassment.

"Any mention of one of the houses choosing you and your father sent them packing with the threat of a knife in their back."

"So what do you want," I growled.

"I'm offering you more than anyone has offered you before. I'm offering you a chance to make a name for yourself, and giving you the opportunity to make your own choice."

My heart pounded hard in my chest as I held his gaze, his eyes swallowing me like oceans.

"And if I change my mind?"

"Then you are free to leave."

Silence lingered heavily between us for a few long moments, before I nodded my acceptance. The chance to live on my own, under my own rules...it almost felt like a cruel dream I was moments away from waking up from.

"Although, I don't believe you'll be in any rush to leave. We have the best chocolate cake in all the land," he said with a wink over his shoulder.

I smiled, a true dark wicked smile.

Oh, we were going to have fun.