[lindsayx159]

Chapter 8: Broken Glass

Oliver turned to look at the silver platter, which was now empty.

“Oops,” he thought, as he brought it down to his waist. He held the platter at his side, and looked back up at the balcony.

Genevieve was gone. He had only looked away for a couple moments, and she'd disappeared! He began to scan the entire ballroom again, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He flinched and shook his head in surprise.

“Snoozing on the job, mate?” a familiar voice rang in Oliver’s ear. Oliver rolled his eyes and turned towards Joseph, who was also dressed in a stuffy uniform.
Oliver shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against the wall. “Pretty much. You’ve got platter duty as well?”

“Used to.” Joseph corrected him with a cheeky grin. “Flipped the tray on some fellow’s fancy white waistcoat, and Matilda’s head nearly burst into flames. So she banned me from the ballroom ‘til the party’s over.”

Oliver shook his head at his friend’s utter defiance of authority. “I should’ve guessed.”

Joseph laughed with him, and began to scan the ballroom floor just as Oliver was. “Alright, well I came over here to ask you if you’ve seen the princess’s chamber maiden.”

“You mean the one with the thick brown hair and the big brown eyes? That’s Ellie, well, Elizabeth, I should say.” Oliver said, now switching his search from his love to his friend.

“Ah, yeah. She’s fit, ain’t she?” Joseph answered, drifting slightly into a fantasy.

Oliver stopped searching and gave Joseph a sideways gaze. “Servants aren’t allowed to have any sort of relations,” he mused. “are they?”

“S’long as no one finds out, we can. Jeeze, Fendrel. I know you’re new here and all, but you’ve got to lighten up some.” Joseph commented. “Ay, there she goes! Well, I’m off, mate.” Joseph laughed as he patted Oliver once more on the shoulder.

As Joseph began to weave eagerly back through the crowd, Matilda came rushing up to Oliver, her hair frizzled and her stomach jiggling.

“Oh, wonderful! The hors d’oeuvres were a hit! Let me take that platter, dear.” Matilda said in a jumble as she snatched the platter from Oliver’s hand. Oliver acknowledged her presence, then continued on again to look for Genevieve.

“Oliver, I need someone to pour drinks at the buffet table, because I‘m much too busy to do it myself.” Matilda explained to him, as she pointed with the platter. “Go over there, now! And please remember to address the guests formally! I don’t want to hear any more complaints about disobedient servants!”

Oliver nodded to Matilda, but when she turned away, he scowled at her large bum as she wobbled off. After he'd given her a good insult or two in his head, he began to walk across the ballroom towards the buffet table.

When he reached the table, he stood between the long, elegantly adorned table, and the tall wine shelves. He scratched his head reflexively as he observed his new surroundings. There were glass goblets stacked on the table before him, in little pyramid formations. Each had a little golden and purple napkin folded in them.

“Wonderful,” Oliver thought sarcastically. “Great choice, Matilda, leaving me with the extremely breakable and expensive china. This is going to be interesting.”

Oliver began to ponder on which glass he would take down first, when a young woman approached the table.

“One wine, please.” She asked firmly. When Oliver looked up, he noticed that the woman was staring strait into his eyes with her own, deep brown ones.

“Uh, sure,” He said, as he reached for a glass. “my Lady.” He added quickly, remembering Matilda’s request for him to be well mannered.

While Oliver poured the wine, he felt the woman’s sharp eyes piercing him. “Uhm, here you are, my Lady.” He said in a shaky voice, as he held the glass out to her.
She took it from him without looking at it with one hand, her other fondling her thick gold necklace. She was staring directly at his chest. “Dear, your shirt isn’t buttoned correctly.” She pointed out, sounding as though she was holding back laughter.

Oliver looked down at his white shirt, and sure enough, he missed the top button completely. Exasperatedly, he groaned “Perfect. Excuse me.” and turned away from the table to re-button himself.

“Well, isn’t he a catch?” Alexandria thought to herself sarcastically. “He can’t even dress himself. Poor Genevieve, she’s fallen for a worthless, brainless servant. Oh well, at least he won’t be hard to distract.”

When Oliver turned back around, his eye caught sight of Genevieve on the dance floor. She was being whirled around like a fairy by a tall, blond man whom Oliver had spotted standing in the corner alone not too long ago. Oliver wondered if it was wrong for a servant to ask to step in, then shook his head from such a silly thought.
“Don’t be stupid, Oliver.” He thought, as he took another glass from the table. But the more he thought about it, the better it sounded.

Oliver looked around at the guests standing near the buffet table. Most of them already had a glass of wine. “Well, it won’t hurt if I just watch her dance, right?” Oliver thought as he slowly inched away from the table.

Alexandria spotted Oliver slowly moving away from his post, and panicked. Her mind raced quickly, and she did the first thing that came to mind.

Alexandria dropped her half drunken wine glass on the floor in front of her, the wine splattering all over her lavender ball gown. “Oh, dear!” She wailed dramatically, as she flailed her hands over her head.

Oliver saw Alexandria, and rushed over to help. “Can’t I just have one break?” He thought to himself, as he began to scrape up the shattered glass with his bare hands.

---

“This is unreal!” Genevieve thought as she waltzed with Sir Thomas. She simply could not fathom how a man, as tall as Thomas was, could handle himself so gracefully on the dance floor. Genevieve felt that even if she didn’t trying to keep up her pace, as long as she was with Thomas, she would look just as skilled at the Ballroom Waltz as he was.

“Are you enjoying yourself, my Lady?” Sir Thomas asked, as the Waltz came to an end.

“Oh, yes, very much,” Genevieve sighed happily back. Suddenly, Genevieve’s serene mood was interrupted by the shattering of a wine glass. Seeing as the band was silent while they transitioned songs, everyone turned to see what had happened.

“Oh, dear!” Alexandria shouted, as her arms flew up above her head. She then caught eyes with Genevieve, silently apologizing for the commotion.

The band began to play again, and Thomas took Genevieve’s hands once more.

“Well, that’ll put a damper on her night, won’t it?” He said in a piteous tone.

“Yes, I suppose it would.” Genevieve responded, as she began to understand why Alexandria had put on such a show. Genevieve saw Oliver scurrying on the ground, picking up the glass fragments. As she continued to dance effortlessly with Sir Thomas, Genevieve watched as Oliver was scolded by Matilda, for something he didn’t even do. She then watched with silent empathy as he sulked away, out of the ballroom.

Throughout the rest of the night, Genevieve stayed with Thomas. Although he was genuinely sweet and charming, Genevieve didn’t feel any attraction to him. She couldn’t stop comparing him to Oliver; his eyes weren’t nearly as soft as Oliver’s, his voice wasn’t as soothing, and his hair was much too straight. But putting those thoughts aside, when the ball was coming to a close, Genevieve invited Sir Thomas to come back on another occasion, for dinner.

“Thank you, my Lady. I’d be honored to. Until then, dear Princess.” Thomas said in a suave voice, as he bowed. He then turned away with a loving smile, and left.

Genevieve lingered in the ballroom, as the servants began to sweep the marble floor and pick up wine glasses. She strolled slowly to the giant doors at the end of the ballroom. When she decided that she was tired, and left the ballroom, making her way to her bedchamber.

There was no one in her chamber when she arrived. Genevieve wanted to tear off her bulky ball gown, but she couldn’t find the energy to do so. Instead, she fell onto her bed, and fell asleep.

[lindsayx159]

-cough-
Because I am a comment wh*re.
NO COMMENTS = NO MOAR.
(:
Gettit?
Lurkers beware. I'm after you.

[cash1]

More Please

[smileychik_100]

It's a very nice story.
I really like it; in other words.
Hope for you to write more!

[kaniny13]

Wow, you are very gifted in the writting department, i hope that you write more, i look forward to reading it.

[lindsayx159]

Chapter 9: An Unfortunate Truth

“If you break even one of these glasses, I swear you won’t be eating for a week!” Matilda hissed at Oliver, as she paced behind him.

Oliver rolled his eyes and grumbled “Yes, Matilda.” as he submerged another wine glass in the soapy dishpan in front of him.

“The same goes with you, there, Joseph!” Matilda added, as she pointed at the boy standing next to Oliver, drying the glasses. Matilda then grumbled something undecipherable, then waddled out of the kitchen.

“What’s steaming her bottom now?” Joseph asked Oliver as he nudged him with his elbow.

“Some lady at the Ball dropped her glass, and Matilda thinks I did something to make her drop it.” Oliver explained in a sharp voice. “She’s really gone off her rocker this time, if you ask me.” Oliver said bitterly afterwards, as he began to gaze out the window.

“Hmm, yeah.” Joseph said, taking note of Oliver’s sudden loss of interest. “Is something on your mind, there, Oliver?”

“Uh, no.” Oliver said as he broke his stare out the window. “Nothing really important, anyways.”

“Ah, come on. I’ve got nothing better to do. What’s up?” Joseph urged.

“Well…” Oliver mused for a moment. “Alright, but it’s a pretty big deal. You can’t go telling everyone under the sun. You have to promise me you won’t tell a soul.”

“Your secret’s safe with me, mate.” Joseph promised eagerly.

“Well, alright. I kinda… fancy this girl. She’s really fit, and I just can’t seem to get my mind off of her.”

“That’s brilliant, mate!” Joseph exclaimed as he patted Oliver on the back. “I had a feeling you were into one of the maids.”

“No actually, she's not a servant.” Oliver said in response. “She’s, kind of out of my league, if you know what I mean.”

“Aww, what, is she rich or something?” Joseph questioned. “A noble lass from the ball?”

“Well, yeah…” Oliver said softly as he handed Joseph another clean wine glass.

“What is she, then?” Joseph prodded.

“Uhm, she’s kind of a…” Oliver drifted off slowly as he began to stare out the window again.

“Spit it out, mate!” Joseph demanded with a wide grin.

“A… princess!” Oliver exclaimed, as he whipped around to face Joseph. Alas, when he turned, the glass he had in his hand slipped, and shattered on the ground. Oliver stared at the broken glass with dismay.

“Well, that‘s unfortunate.” Joseph said gently.

[amazing_zia]

Ha, I love the dailogue and characters! Continue, my lady. XD

[kaniny13]

I'm begging for you to continue and it says your online currently so i think that you should lol

[cash1]

Lol
Im begging for more

[lindsayx159]

Chapter 10: Dibston’s Secrets

Elizabeth urged on the horses with a crack of her little whip, and the carriage veered out of the castle’s drive and onto the path that led to the Dibston Square Market. Genevieve sat in the carriage, hidden by its wooden frame and cloth covered roof, clutching onto the seat as the cart rattled over the uneven ground.
Elizabeth was in a horrible mood; the seamstress who made all of Genevieve’s dresses had passed away, leaving her the duty of looking for another one to replace her. Genevieve had come along to help select the new seamstress, against her wishes to simply stay home.

As they neared the little village square, Genevieve’s nerves began to kick in. She didn’t enjoy going into the market, for the last time she had had been with her mother, when she was a mere fifteen years of age. On their return, her mother became fatally ill, and died of what was known as the ‘Commoner’s Disease‘. The idea of returning to the place where her mother had caught the disease frightened Genevieve, but Elizabeth swore on her own life that nothing of the sort would happen to her.

“Here we are, my Lady!” Elizabeth suddenly announced as the carriage came to an abrupt halt. “Let me help you out.”

Elizabeth held Genevieve’s hand as she stepped down out of the carriage, and immediately realized that all of the villagers whom had been bustling about had stopped to watch her. With flushed cheeks, Genevieve swayed as much of her hair as she could to cover her face. She could hear whispering, mostly from men, saying things like “princess,” and “beautiful,” and stuff of the sort. If Genevieve hadn’t already been frazzled to hell in the first place, the undivided attention she was being given just for stepping out of a carriage definitely would have.

“Follow me, my Lady!” Elizabeth called out to the dazed princess, patting her forearm to get her attention. “The shoppe is just around the bend, down that way right there.”

Genevieve nodded, trying to convince herself that the villagers were merely staring at the carriage, though she knew better. She followed close behind Elizabeth as she weaved through the crowds, before some of the outposts and other shoppes, lifting her long day-gown up with both hands to keep it out of the filth of the streets. Finally, Elizabeth took a corner down the side of one shoppe, between a large, stone wall and the side of another shoppe.

Just as she was about to follow Elizabeth down the ally, however, a fairly small sized notice plastered onto the side of the building caught Genevieve’s eye. It was written on a thick sheet of parchment paper, in a glittery, golden ink. She stepped up close to the wall, and in the shadows of the ally, tried to read what it said.

“My Lady?” Elizabeth called back, nearly on the other side of the ally. “Why’ve you stopped? Come along!”

Genevieve shook her head as she read the notice. “Elizabeth, come look at this.” she called back, her voice in a slightly far off place.

Elizabeth came back down the ally, a look of slight annoyance and impatience on her face. “What is it, my Lady?”

“Is this true?” Genevieve queried, pointing to the notice. In large script across the top of the parchment was the title ‘Potions’.
Elizabeth shook her head. “Ay, ‘tis.” She replied, scrunching her freckled nose.

With awe, Genevieve read over the notice again. “Do they really work?” She asked, scanning the list. “A potion that makes your hair grow long? One that can blind your enemies? And,” Genevieve felt a smile form across her lips. “one that can make someone fall in love?”

Elizabeth pursed her lips at Genevieve‘s hopeful gaze. “Yes, my Lady. But the way these potions are brewed are evil, heaven knows. Blood of thine enemy to blind one, blood of those whose hair thy covet, and blood of a virgin to find love that’s not in one’s heart. That’s what the soulless pay for for those potions. And you wondered why such a notice is posted inside an ally!” Elizabeth informed her, and whatever wonder had been in Genevieve’s eyes had faded off.

“Oh,” Genevieve replied with understanding.

Elizabeth shrugged off the cryptic thoughts of the potions, and sighed. “Well, come along, my Lady. We’ve got some dresses to look at, don’t we?”