As the two ladies made their way down the first set of wide stairs, the chatter from below flowed up in echoes of conversation. It was nearly eight o'clock now, the time the ball was set to start. Althea felt she could see the amount of people in the main corridor before they'd even descended fully down the stairs.
When they did reach the landing where the corridor became visible, a wide range of vibrance filled Althea's vision. Both women and men dressed to the nines. Some more traditionally dressed, others wearing pieces Althea had never even imagined could exist. It made her happy to see that the crowd here did not conform themselves to a strict fashion regime as they did in regular society. But even still, none of the ladies in view were dressed precisely as the two girls were. Each gown and tailored suit were like snowflakes, none exactly the same as the each other. Though, Althea did recognize some of the gowns that had been hanging in Madam Layana's boutique. In particular one that had sparked her interest when she'd been combing through the rows and rows of gowns earlier in the week. It was an irredentist gown, with a slender shape like hers, but the portion that had really caught Althea's eye was the cascade of peacock feathers fanning down one side of the dress. They also splayed out like a fan, as a peacock would spread their feathers, behind the woman's back. The dress suited her fair skin and blonde hair nicely as she stood, sipping from a champagne flute and laughing at the man standing across from her.
Zellas arm was intertwined with Althea's, and as they began making their way down the steps, Zella breathed out shakily, "here we go."
Althea looked sidelong at the young girl, noticing for the first time, a slight unease to her features. She squeezed Zellas arm, gaining her attention and flashing her a warm smile, as if to say, ‘you're doing great.’
Zella smiled back and looked forward again. As they swept down the stairs, their gowns trailing behind them, Althea began to notice heads turning their direction. She focused on lifting the bottom of her dress slightly, so that it didn't catch on the stairs in front of her. When she looked back up her eyes met with stares of awe in every direction she looked. Some turned to their companions to whisper things, others raised brows or gawked slightly. Althea swallowed, keeping her firm hold on Zellas arm. She did the same.
When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Althea released a breath she hadn’t realised she'd been holding. They only made it but a yard into the corridor before they were greeted by an eager looking young debutante with golden blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. Her voice was high pitched and slightly nasally as she said, "my goodness ladies, your gowns are stunning! Would it be too much trouble if I pester you for the names of your designers?"
Althea smiled down at the young girl before replying, "not at all, we both got our gowns made by Madam Layana, here at the London institution. I expect she'll likely be making our acquaintance tonight, look for a tall, bodacious woman with long fiery orange hair like you've never seen. You can't miss her." Althea smiled at the girl who nodded swiftly and began looking around her.
"I thank you kindly!" she said as she walked away, appearing in a daze.
Althea and Zella turned to each other and shared a knowing grin before continuing their way into the ballroom. Althea had only ever been inside the ballroom during her rainy day training with Monique, and during the time while she waited for Arsalan to show, that first day of training. But the ballroom then, and the ballroom before her now were two entirely different concepts. It would appear that all of the preparation done by the staff had not been done in vain. As the two of them stood atop the wide dias before the curved staircase, Althea's eyes sparkled with wonder at the room beyond.
Upon stepping through the wide double doors, hand carved from dark stained wood, there was a room full of laughing, chattering, and dancing individuals. Even more people piled into the room beyond than there had been in the corridor. It was by far the largest event she'd ever attended, but she supposed that was fairly merited considering this institution now held nearly all of the members of the entire cadre. Hundreds of people filled the massive room. She didn't remember it being quite so large the last time she was in here. The patterned wooden floors were shiny and polished, as were the stairs, it looked marvellous here. The room was bright and the crystal chandeliers glimmered brightly as if each individual glass crystal had been cleaned and shined to perfection. She had no doubt that they had been.
The pair made their way to the top of the stairs, still clasping their arms together, mutually using each other to keep balance. Althea found herself glad that she had someone to do this with. This may have been too much for her if she had come alone.
Her eyes scanned the colourful crowd of feathers, precious silks, hand strung lace, and glimmering crystal gowns as she peered down at the crowd below. An orchestra consisting of violinists, a pianist, harpists, and flautists played an upbeat waltz in the far corner of the ballroom.
She continued scanning the room until her breath caught suddenly in her throat. Familiar icy eyes stared at her with such intensity it made her body tense up. She swallowed, not breaking eye contact with Arsalan as he took a sip of amber coloured liquor, drinking her in with those sultry eyes of his. She could feel her heart rate pick up as she watched his eyes run down the length of her dress. He licked his lips as he set the glass back down on the table in front of him. Two women approached his table but he paid them little mind as his eyes devoured her whole, that stare somehow growing more intoxicating with each passing second. She could feel herself still moving as she walked down the stairs, but her mind was frozen on him.
Suddenly someone blocked her view, and she nearly tripped, but Zella held her firm thankfully.
When her eyes focused on the male in front of her, they widened and she grinned.
Dressed in a grey tailcoat and a fitted suit, stood Jasper looking dapper as ever.
"Good evening my love," he smiled sheepishly at her, the dimples in his cheeks shown through. She pulled her left arm from Zellas embrace and threw them both around him, letting her long sleeves drape over his shoulders. She didn't realise how much she had dearly missed his company until he was standing there in front of her. Althea let out a breathy cry, "Jasper!"
He wrapped a firm hand around her waist, the other held her head as he embraced her.
"I've missed you so much," he sighed into her hair. She could feel the warm trickle of his breath on her neck.
When they finally pulled away slightly, she cupped his face, planting a yearning kiss on his lips. She could feel the desperation within him as well as his warm lips moulded to hers. She didn't want to draw the kiss out too much, as they were in a very public setting, so despite what her heart wanted, she pulled away. She turned breathlessly back towards Zella who only smirked.
"My apologies for briefly stealing away your companion miss Elizabeth," Jasper crooned and Zella gave him a knowing grin.
"Oh it is quite alright. In fact, the two of you should go share a dance or two together! I am going to greet some of my old friends," Zella beamed looking passed them at a group of young girls who appeared as though they could be Zellas age. "But you take care of her, I need her intact so she can keep applying my cosmetics for me." They both laughed before Zella walked past them.
Althea turned to look at Jasper again, his eyes falling on her emerald gown.
"God above, you look absolutely delectable tonight," he said, lowering his hand down her back slightly. There was a hunger present in his hazel eyes that suggested he indeed hadn’t forgotten an ounce of what laid beneath her dress… what she’d let him witness of her that day by the water.
"You look very handsome yourself," she crooned, leaning up to place another kiss on his lips. He tasted mint and citrus just as she remembered. This time Jasper slid his warm tongue into Althea's mouth, draping it across her own. She pressed her legs together slightly, feeling the heat radiating from her core as his hands roamed her jewel covered body.
He pulled away this time, seeming to have forced himself not to take their embrace any farther before so many eyes.
"Shall we?" he asked, as the orchestra struck up a new song. She nodded, taking his outstretched hand as he led her to the ballroom floor. While she walked behind him however, she found herself glancing back to where Arsalan sat. He no longer paid her any mind, as many beautiful ladies flanked his table. She supposed his hopes for tonight would likely come true. She ignored the odd feeling that bubbled within her at that thought.
…
Arsalan was seated at the large, round table, trying his best to seem interested in the ladies who sat around him. The one at his right, he believed she said her name was Kathrine, leaned over the table on her elbows, staring at him with big, doe eyes. He knew she did this so that her swelling breasts were positioned perfectly in his line of vision. Not that she needed any help showing them off as they were already hanging nearly out of her bustier gown. "So all of that training must get you really tense huh?" she asked, curling a strand of thick black hair around a finger.
"Not really," Arsalan said lamely, then forced himself to add, a bit less drab, “I meditate to help with that.” He already wanted to leave and he'd only been here less than an hour. He glanced over at Althea who was now being led over to the centre of the ballroom for a dance. Arsalan clenched his jaw as he watched the smile that was plastered on her pretty, plump lips as they bowed to one another and began their dance, minuet. She had taken his breath away when he'd first caught a glimpse of her at the top of the stairs. The gown, the way it fit her so perfectly. She looked like an ancient ruler with that glimmering, emerald tiara atop her head, and she had the demeanour of one too as she stared down at the crowd, as if strategizing how best to conquer them all.
"Did you hear me, Mr. Hashemi?" the woman at his side asked, her tongue clicking with each word, god it made him want to rip off his own ears.
"What was that?" he asked, trying to sound somewhat interested. She was a pretty girl after all. But her personality was just so... dull.
"I was asking if you were thinking of dancing tonight? You appeared to be longing for the dancing floor as you gazed over there," she said, sending suggestible glances between him and the centre of the room. He sighed, knowing she wanted a dance with him. But if he were being honest, he didn't want to dance with anyone... anyone but... he glanced again at Althea who grinned up at her lover. Arsalan rolled his eyes, hating the rage that built up in him, seeing her wrapped in his arms. Even the way he danced was so utterly boyish. His minuet formation was all wrong, even Arsalan knew it and he rarely danced. The right hand should always remain between the shoulder blades and the middle of the back for the most support. It was the man's job to support the woman as she danced. And yet this pompous boy was too busy sinking his hand lower and lower towards her arse. Arsalan forced his eyes away from the centre of the room, unable to sustain his calm demeanour any longer.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"I don't think so, now if you'll excuse me," he said, standing abruptly, and making a quick exit from the ballroom without looking back. He needed to step outside, just for a moment, for he was beginning to feel slightly suffocated with so many people around him.
The woman said something from behind him but he didn't bother listening as he made his way out to the corridor.
…
Althea's heart raced as Jasper twirled her around the ballroom, one hand on her lower back, and the other cupped against her own hand. Her emerald gown whirled around them in wide sweeps of green. She thought of that very first night they'd met, when he'd spun her around just as he did now. It felt like it had been centuries rather than mere months since their first encounter that summer night. Oh how blind she truly was to the things that existed around her without her knowledge. She found herself wondering if he had known, that night as they swayed beneath the stars, that she would grow to love him as she did. Althea felt Jasper's fingers curl around the fabric at the base of her spine, pulling her closer to him.
"I wouldn't have missed this night with you for anything," he breathed into her ear. Althea swallowed back her strong yearning for him, knowing that if she thought of anything but the motion of her steps, she'd likely lose her balance and send this whole dancing floor into a frenzy.
"I'm so glad you're back home safe. I've missed you dearly," she said honestly. She had missed him more than she ever thought she would miss a man, but there was still a fraction of a thought in her mind that prompted, ‘how will you keep your secret from him?’
How would she continue being with him and keeping so many secrets? She couldn't. It was as simple as that. And it wasn't fair to him if she wasn't honest about her findings and her feelings about this place and the members of the cadre. But what if he told others? He wouldn't do that to her right? She knew that it was a general rule here that missions come before relationships. As long as you are a member of the cadre, you must dedicate your loyalty to them and only them. This included not giving away any classified details about missions, as well as not refraining to tell the board of any new information that you've learned. But he loved her. He would never betray her, especially if she showed him the written evidence that suggested that a lot of the cadre members, including the board themselves, seemed to be hiding vast amounts of information from other members.
"You seem... distracted tonight," Jasper's words were soft and his left hand squeezed hers, "is there something on your mind?" She couldn't very well tell him right here in the middle of everyone and risk someone hearing. So instead she prodded a smile across her lips and shook her head.
"Just thinking of how fortunate I am to have such a wonderful man in my life," a blush crept over her cheeks. Jasper smiled down at her as they continued their minuet around the ballroom floor.
"Not nearly as fortunate as I am to have you," he cooed.
The music came to a slow stop, and the couple ended their dance with a mutual bow to one another.
"One more before we take a rest?" Jasper asked, those hazel eyes sparkling down at her in awe. She was about to nod her approval when a dark shadow cast over them.
"May I?" A deep male voice bellowed. Arsalan. Jasper's smile faded and Althea could see his jaw visibly clench. He shot her a wary look but she gave him a warm smile in return.
"It's okay Jasper, I will meet you after this quick dance," Althea said, trying her best to keep the nerves out of her voice. In reality she was trembling within. She had no idea what had prompted Arsalan to ask her for a dance like this. And besides, what could a brute like him possibly know about ballroom dancing?
Althea waited with bated breath for an explanation as Jasper nodded and took his leave of her. She had to admit, Arsalan did look rather dashing in his midnight black tail coat and fitted suit. She hadn't noticed it before but around the collar and pockets of his coat were tiny emerald details. She furrowed her eyebrows, thinking that the coincidence of that was a bit too perfect to merely be an accident. Perhaps he also had a deep love for the earthy stone.
"Well?" she prompted as they waited for the next song to begin.
He stared down at her, those glacier eyes freezing through her as he said indifferently, "if you're going to dance at a ball, you should at least have proper form."
She snorted, unable to hide her amusement at his words. Of course he had ambled over here to reveal to her all the ways in which her dancing form was wrong. Arrogant bastard.
"And what do you know about ballroom dancing?" she asked coolly, placing a firm hand on her hip. Arsalans eyes seemed to follow her movement as his own eyes slipped down, down, down and back up again taking in her vibrant figure. Her face began to heat when he smirked at her. There was something animalistic in his features, there always seemed to be when he traced her with those wandering blue eyes.
"Allow me to demonstrate," he said, and as if on command, the orchestra began their next tune. It started out soft with some smooth piano chords. This should be good. Just when she thought her training was over for the week, he had to go and turn this ballroom into a training ring. She wouldn't let him take charge of this too. Althea thought she had been dancing perfectly fine before he came and interrupted her and Jasper.
Arsalan bowed deeply to her, that bold stare boring up at her devilishly as he rose again. The ebony suit was tight around his large bicep as he reached his hand out to take hers. Suddenly, his other hand reached firmly around her back and the music picked up slightly as the violinist began playing a low, almost sinister, melody. Arsalan leaned in close, bending down to whisper into Althea's ear, "follow my pace." His voice was low and rough in a way that, despite her own disinterest in him, soothed something deep and aching within her.
His grip was firm around her and he held her very close as they began their circular movements around the floor. A waltz. Each step he took felt calculated, but exteriorly he appeared to be the face of elegance and grace. When Arsalan moved, it wasn't just a dance to him, it appeared to her as if he were an ancient warrior practising combat movements. Perhaps that was why he was so naturally good at dancing… After all, it wasn't much different from memorising the sequences of battle moves he'd taught her during training. She'd already internalised the set circular steps he took to guide them and to show him she didn't need any of his assistance, she began taking the steps the slightest second before he did, carrying him with her as she danced. She knew he noticed too, as the smallest glimmer of a smirk perked his lips up to one side.
"Althea, your muscles are tense," he said, rubbing his thumb in deep circular motions around the centre of her back, "remember your breathing, and let the music guide you as you move."
She closed her eyes, hating that she relished in the feeling of his fingers against her spine. And hating even more that he was right. She'd been so caught up in out-dancing him that she'd not even been paying attention to the music.
Suddenly the snare hit and Arsalan threw her out into the crowd, before twirling her around and around so many times she no longer recognized the room beyond her. She rested a firm hand upon his chest when he pulled her close to him once more, trying to clear the dizziness from her sight.
The music boomed around them, but all she could focus on was the intoxicating scent of musk and forest and spice on the man before her. It slightly calmed her rapidly beating heart.
"I never got to tell you how divine you look tonight," Arsalan whispered. His breath tickled Althea's neck causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. Before she could respond he lifted her arm and spun her again, the green fabric at the bottom of her dress twinkled as she twirled.
When she was back within his strong embrace again, she said, "thank you, I suppose you clean up nicely when you want to." He only smirked as they continued their silent battle. She led him, using her force as the music crescendoed. His eyes sparkled with delight at her as she stared up at him, thinking of that woman who stared back at her in the mirror earlier. The conqueror.
A smirk rose to her lips and she leaped and twirled, creating a dance all her own. It was Arsalan who followed her lead now, steadying her each time her feet hit the ground. Never once did he fully let go of her, and yet she was able to move perfectly free in his hold. The music began to build again, and this time, as it reached its peak, Arsalan placed both of his hands around her waist. His hands were so large, his fingers nearly touched on either side of her tapered centre. Without warning he lifted her into the air, allowing her to soar far above the other dancers. He spun her around slowly, her gown draping down over his chest like glimmering green starlight. As she averted her gaze from him, and towards the spinning room beyond she couldn't help but feel like she was flying. Althea closed her eyes and imagined she were soaring through the clouds. Arsalan's arms held firm as marble as he spun her around and around, not even trembling slightly under her weight.
When the song finally began coming to a slow close, he placed Althea back down on her own two feet and looked deeply into her eyes as he pulled her to him. Placingboth hands firmly on her back, he dipped her low. Althea’s entire body felt like it was on fire. From the rush of the dance, to his hands fixated on her body. She swallowed, his prowling eyes watching her throat bob beneath her skin.
She didn't understand what it was about him that set her off inside. She could fill her mind with all of the thoughts of how brutish and calloused he was, but she knew that despite all of his rough edges, there was something deeper within him that made her yearn for this, for him. It was different from what she felt for Jasper, but she didn't know which feeling was more true. She loved Jasper, she loved how kind and caring and soft and charming he was, but she had also somehow formed these odd array of feelings for Arsalan over the past months as well. She didn't know if it was love, but it was certainly something that had struck her with passion at the oddest of times. She, without ever meaning to, had admired his slick demeanour and the way he made her feel safe when she was in his presence and his mysterious aura and the way he could turn her insides molten with just a glance from those icy blue eyes.
She didn't think as she slowly reached her fingers up to touch his cheek. She could see his eyes flicker with what appeared to be desperation, as if she couldn't make the move fast enough for him. When her fingers made contact with his burning skin, he closed his eyes, letting out a sigh, as if he had been waiting for this. As if he had been yearning for her touch all night. She studied the perfectly angular face before her, with his sharp jaw and his sculpted nose and perfectly symmetrical eyebrows and those lips. Those full mauve lips that parted slightly as he sighed. There was a longing within her too. Althea found herself aching to kiss him. She didn't know, or understand why, but she needed to know the feeling of those perfect lips on hers. Her own eyes fluttered closed, and she began lifting her neck, leaning up to kiss him as he still held her low below the crowd of people on the dancing floor. But before that growing desire within her could be fulfilled, his hand squeezed at the fabric gathered at the back of her waist and he sent her flying up into a standing position once more. Her eyes shot open and she looked at him with pure shock and embarrassment. He didn't meet her eyes as she stared at him, desperate for any sign that the thoughts, those feelings that had been swirling up inside of her a mere second before, were not one sided. But he just let go of her, the song completely finished now, and said coolly, "enjoy your night Althea," before walking away. She stood, completely frozen and stunned. She couldn't believe she'd played such the fool! To think that he had any sort of romantic feelings for her was so completely mad. She couldn't even believe she'd let herself be so idiotic as to feel the smallest inkling of desire for a monstrous man like Arsalan. He wasn't capable of loving her. He wasn't even capable of being kind to her most of the time. What in god's name made her, for that second, think that she felt anything for him? Especially when she had someone who she loved so dearly waiting for her as she stood contemplating this insanity.
Snapping her mind out of her dazed thoughts, Althea scanned the room looking for Jasper. Her eyes finally landed on him, laughing and talking with Monique, Meg and James. With a deep breath in, Althea released all thoughts of Arsalan and their dance on an exhale, and made her way to her friends, and the man whom she loved.