Dedicated to an old friend <3

My gown is black and made of chiffon silk. It has a sweetheart neckline and a choking bodice that squeezes my ribs. The skirt is long and trails slightly behind me. My hand is curled around Emmanuel's arm, who is dressed in smart evening wear.

Mary and Damon are rushing around, offering drinks and taking coats. My eyes linger after Damon, wanting to talk, wanting to end our argument but Mother has forbidden me to leave Emmanuel.

"Why, Eloise, you look absolutely ravishing!"

I turn to a beak-nosed, blonde-haired woman hanging off the arm of a haughty, eagle-eyed man. "Mrs Hall, thank you. Such a pleasure to see you here. How is Hank?"

"He's overseas on naval duties." Mrs Hall tells me, "And this is?" She fixes her beady eyes on Emmanuel.

"This is... my fiancée, Emmanuel. Emmanuel, this is Mrs Hall and her husband. They're royal blood, ninety-seventh in line for the throne. Is that right?" I look at Mrs Hall.

"Ninety-eighth, actually." She provides.

Emmanuel bows deeply, taking her hand and kissing it, "Pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Mrs Hall titters.

"I have just spotted Reginald. Come with me." Mr Hall drags his wife away rather protectively.

Emmanuel turns to me, unaffected, "How are you finding the evening?"

"Tedious." I reply sharply, avoiding Emmanuel's gaze. I look around the congested room, trying to separate faces, remember which ones are 'important' and which ones are 'commoners', as Mother calls them.

"Stop being so ungracious!" Emmanuel hisses in my ear.

I pull my arm away, staring up at him as I snap, "I'd rather be ungracious than be a liar!"

"Eloise!" says my mother in a sing-song voice. She waits until she's close to me to utter in my ear, "You brat! Stop misbehaving right now. If you say another word out of turn, I will slap you in front of everybody."

With that, Mother stalks away to be a 'good' host to the guests.

"Whatever, Mother." I mumble to myself.

Emmanuel sighs sharply, "Eloise, would you like something to drink?"

"No." I reply, smiling warmly at someone as they walk past, "Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you."

"Why?" Emmanuel asks, genuinely shocked.

"Because of you, my best friend is not talking to me. For the first time ever, he's doubting our friendship. And I hate you for that, you hear me? I hate you."

Emmanuel grabs my arm roughly and drags me out into the garden, far away from all the guests. "What did you say?" He asks through gritted teeth.

"I hate you. I didn't want to be married to you and I still don't want to be married to you. I don't like you, Emmanuel." I snap spitefully at him.

"You don't have to like me." says Emmanuel, holding my forearm in a vice-like grip. I can feel bruises springing up under his touch. I squirm uncomfortably, to no avail. "You don't have to like me. You just have to be my wife."

"Let me go!" I hiss, "Let me go before I scream."

"Scream! Go on, do it. I'll just say shadows scared you." Emmanuel shrugs, staring into my eyes, right down into my soul. For the first time ever, I actually feel afraid of Emmanuel.

Yet, I am determined not to show it.

"Emmanuel, I don't care about you. I don't care about this wedding, I don't even care about your mother. I don't want to be your wife; I hate you. I hate everything about you. The only person I care about, the only person who is important to me is Damon. And you can never take that away from me."

"Oh, I will."

"No, you won't. Damon - "

"Damon, Damon, Damon, Damon! Why are you so obsessed with Damon?!"

"Because he's everything you're not." I reply.

"You stupid wretch!" Emmanuel raises his hand as if to slap me and I cringe, closing my eyes. I wait for the crushing blow, wait for the stinging impact but there is none. Reluctantly, I open my eyes to see what is taking Emmanuel so long to slap me but what I see in front of me is unexpected.

Damon, holding Emmanuel to a tree trunk by the scruff of his neck.

Damon is shaking with fury, "Don't you ever lay a hand on her! Don't ever think of it! If you ever hurt her, I will hunt you down like a dog. You just made the biggest mistake of your life by touching her. You're lucky I'm holding back, otherwise all the bones in your body would be broken right now."

"How dare you - " Emmanuel chokes out.

"No!" Damon cuts in, pushing Emmanuel's back harder against the tree trunk, "How dare you think about raising your hand on her?! I might be poor, but I will never let you hurt her. Get out of here, before I do something that I will really regret."

Shaken, Emmanuel scampers out of the garden. Damon turns to me and his eyes soften. I watch him walk over to me.

He cups my face in his hands, "Are you okay?"

"I... I mean, yes." I stumble over my words, shaken by both Emmanuel's behaviour and Damon's fury.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No - you came just in time." I say, "Thank you."

Damon stares down at me, "What would I have done if you were hurt? Do you want to kill me, Ellie? I can't live without you, I just cannot."

I put my hands over his, holding them in place, "I can't live without you. Do you understand now why I protest the way I do against Emmanuel?"

"Yes." says Damon softly, leaning his forehead against mine, "I do. I really do. I am ever so sorry for raising my voice upon you; I should never have done that."

"It is okay; I am not in the least concerned about that. I'm concerned about you; are you okay?"

"I am fine." Damon says, closing his eyes, "I do not want to lead a life without you. I just do not know whether I can fight off the temptation anymore."

"What temptation?" I whisper.

Damon closes his eyes and leans in. His mouth merges with mine, soft and moist. I kiss him back, my eyes closing as I melt into Damon's arms. He circles his hands around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I wind my arms around his neck, fearful that my weak knees may collapse under me any moment now.

It finally makes sense to me. Our closeness, our relationship, our entire camaraderie; it's not friendship. It's love.

I love Damon. And he loves me back.

The final pieces of the puzzle come together. No wonder my heart was so resistant to Emmanuel; it has already surrendered itself to Damon. Sweet, caring, beautiful Damon. My best friend, my love, my first kiss. All this time and I didn't realise. How could I have been so blind? It's meant to be, it's all perfect when he's with me. How could I not have seen it? Damon is the one for me, not Emmanuel.

We pull away, the only thing tying us together is our arms.

Damon strokes my cheek, "The temptation to do just that."

I smile at him.

Damon kisses me again, his lips just as soft and moist as the first time he kissed me, "Come with me."

"Where?" I ask.

"Away from here. Away from where we shall be judged. Let us run from this house, let us run to somewhere we shall be free."

I look at him, truly understanding what he is saying, "I want to."

Damon smiles.

"But I can't."

The smile disappears, "Why not?"

"Because I will shame my mother. Even though I do not wish to, I must stay and marry a man I hate."

"You do not have to do this!" Damon says, "You have a choice! Come with me now, while everybody is distracted and nobody will notice your absence. Come with me, so we can be together, just like you have always wanted."

"I'm sorry." I say, near to tears, "My mother's pride and honour means a lot to her. I cannot destroy it with my own hands."

"So you shall destroy our love?" Damon asks. I step forward, shaking my head but Damon steps away from me.

"No. I think it is best we stay away from each other. After all, you have a fiancée."

"Damon..." I say softly, tears streaming down my face.

"Your footman, Miss Eloise. I should leave before somebody sees me here and perhaps thinks anything inappropriate. I would never want anything to hurt Mistress Adelina's pride... or honour." Damon bows deeply and then walks out of the enclosure.

I stare after him wistfully and then crumple to the ground, drawing my knees up to my chest and sobbing. Why, whenever I find happiness, must it be taken from me so quickly? Why do I have to make all the sacrifices? Why do I have to lose everything I care about? First I lost my father, now Damon... I do not want to marry Emmanuel, I just can't marry him! Why is this happening to me?! Do I not deserve happiness??

***

Mary finds me an hour later. My tears have dried and my throat is scratchy. I am freezing cold.

"Oh, Miss Eloise." She says, as she helps me to my feet, "What is wrong?"

"Please can you take me to my room before anybody sees me this way?" I ask, feeling a fresh wave of tears coming on.

"Of course." Mary puts her arm around my shoulders and leads me through the servants' quarters up to my room.

She sits me in front of the dressing mirror and begins to comb my hair, "Now, tell me. What has made you so upset, Miss Eloise?"

I hurriedly tell her everything; Emmanuel's animosity towards Damon, the way he dragged me into the enclosure, how he was about to slap me, the way Damon stopped him, how we kissed, the way he asked me to run away with him - everything that had occurred today and everything that had gone wrong.

When I finish, Mary puts the comb down and holds me against her tightly, "Oh, Eloise! Oh, my poor darling. So much has happened in the space of one night?"

"Mary, what do I do?" I wail into her apron. Mary stands me up and leads me over to the bed.

She tucks me in and wipes my tears, "You are a wonderful girl. Whatever you do, will be the right decision. The only true advice I can give you is to listen to your heart."

"Mary, will you stay with me tonight?" I hold on to her hand just like I used to do when I was young.

"Of course, Miss Eloise. I would not even think of leaving you in this state. I'll fetch you a blanket; you must be freezing."

I fell asleep almost instantaneously; crying all night long had tired me out and I needed an escape. The only one I could find was sleep.

"Eloise! Eloise!"

I crack open one eye to see Mother hovering over me.

"Mother." I groan, "What is it?"

"Wake up." Mother drags me into a sitting position.

I rub my eyes and look at her, "Yes, Mother. I am awake."

"Where were you last night?!" She demands, "I warned you! I told you to stay by Emmanuel's side. Do you want to ruin me? Why aren't you content with the husband I have found you?"

I fold my arms silently; no response will pacify her.

"Mistress." Mary cuts in. Mother turns to look at her. "Mistress, actually, Miss Eloise did not feel well all of a sudden last night. I saw her near the food stand. She - she looked extremely pale and was swooning a little, too. I - I brought her up here and instructed her to get some rest."

I smile gently at Mary, who sends me an imperceptible nod of her head. Mother stalks out of the room huffily.

"Thank you... for lying for me." I say to Mary.

She smiles at me, "After everything you've been through, you do not need a scolding from your mother. How do you do it?"

"Do what?" I ask sullenly.

"Be so strong." Mary smiles, "You're such a wonderful person, Miss Eloise. You've been through so much and yet you don't show a hint of bitterness. I just wish I could do something to help you."

"There's nothing you can do. I just have to... accept my fate. It's time to give up, Mary. I've fought as much as I can, but I lost. I have nothing left now, nothing to fight for, nothing to live for. I surrender. Will you help me dress? I need to speak to Emmanuel."

I was so excited about uploading this chapter! It's one of my favourites!! Well, lots to come your way, readers <3