Estelle

Chapter Six

We woke early the next morning to head down to breakfast. I was prepped very little to provide less work for later. The morning and afternoon passed slowly, and Katherine and Isabelle had reached the new record of 12 verbal fights during the day.

Upon arriving back to the suite to prepare for the ball, Gabrielle, Julienne, and Rosaline broke into a three-person whirlwind frantically trying to find the perfect dress. After a few minutes, I realized that they had also forgotten about me in their frenzy.

"Um, excuse me? But I think you are going to have a problem once you find a dress."

Through her busied trance, Gabrielle replied, "And what would that be?"

"The lack of a debutante to wear it."

All three whipped around to face me, realizing they had forgotten about the most important asset for tonight.

"Sophie, get her out of that dress and into the bath.  Adeline, start setting out everything we'll need for hair and makeup. I'll work on finding the dress and accessories," Julienne ordered.

Sophie whisked me out of the room and into the bathroom where she helped me out of the day dress and into the waiting tub. She helped wash my hair and got me out when she was done. After drying me off and putting me in a robe, she began to further dry my hair and style it.

Adeline joined us and started my makeup based on what dress Julienne had picked out and was currently finding accessories to go with. I finally saw their work once they had finished. My hair was twisted and pinned in many sections on the top of my head, with little diamonds placed in through out the style. A few loose curls were left down to frame my face, which had been painted with a dark red color on my lips, and a shimmer on my eyes. My lashes were exceptionally dark from what Adeline had brushed onto them.

After looking a my reflection for a little, I was helped up to be put into the dress. The dress Julienne had picked explained the diamonds in my hair, and was absolutely exquisite. It was deep royal blue satin, with a heavily beaded bodice. Amongst the shimmery beads were pearls and diamonds. There was silver embroidery in swirls along the neckline which continued down the sleeves that were fitted until they flared out around the elbow. The skirt was ruffled and layered, with clusters of diamonds peaking out sporadically. The dress was even more beautiful once it was on as the light caught the different diamonds and sparkled. The corset was tight, making my chest look bigger and my waist smaller. Rosaline finished it off with a large diamond necklace and matching earrings.

As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door and girls voices began to drift into the room. At some point Rosaline, Julienne, and Gabrielle had taken the time to get themselves ready, so we walked out the door to join the others.

Their voices fell away as they saw us emerge from my room. After a few moments, Alira broke through the crowd, her ladies-in-waiting struggling to follow.

"You look absolutely stunning! No wonder you were the last one to come out."

"Well you look even more beautiful than normal as well." Alira's ballgown was of a ruby satin with off the shoulder sleeves. The sweetheart neckline was outlined by gold embroidery with diamonds and rubies. The skirt was full and displayed ruching throughout, with a small train on the back. Her dark hair was pulled back in an intricate bun with wispy pieces framing her face. Instead of a tiara, she wore a headpiece with a diamond and teardrop-shaped ruby that hung on her forehead. Alira's makeup included intensified dark lashes and a ruby lipstick to match her dress.

"Come, we have to lineup for our entrance."

The two of us fell into line as the rest of the girls began to make their way down the hall to the top of the grand staircase. One at a time, we would be announced to the attendees below and then begin our descent to join them. Our ladies-in-waiting would go down a separate staircase and join us at the bottom. It was my turn next to be announced when Alira tapped me on the shoulder.

"Since we'll be the last two, you should go last so I'm not in the shadow of your exceptional beauty."

"Really? I think you should be the one-"

"Don't say it. You need to blow everyone away to stand a chance against the competition. Be the last one they see so their attention doesn't change to the next debutante," Alira cut me off. I did see her point, so silently I let her go in front of me to be announced.

Finally I heard the booming voice on the other side of the door, "Lady Estelle Lafontaine, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Whitevale."

The doors in front of me were pulled open, and the crowd at the base of the stairs hushed. Taking a deep breath, I straightened myself our, stood taller, and plastered a demure smile to my face.

Walking our onto the landing that overlooks the crowd, I felt hundreds of gazes burning into my skin. I knew that there would be a large crowd, but I had not been expecting it to be as large as it was. Slowly, yet elegantly, I began my descent down the stairs. I focused on my footing, so I didn't trip down the stairs.

At the last stair, I was greeted by my ladies and Luc who put my hand in the crook of his arm, and began to lead me into the ballroom.

"You're doing wonderfully," he whispered in my ear as we walked. "You look very beautiful as well."

Too nervous about making a misstep, I gave his arm a squeeze in response. After what seemed like an eternity of weaving through the crowd, I joined the rest of the debutantes in the middle of the ballroom. I exchanged a small smile with Alira, the royal trumpets sounding soon after.

"The royal family King Astor Harwood, Queen Elaine Delin-Harwood, and Princess Alexandrie Marie Harwood." We all sunk into curtsies, with our heads bowed, waiting for the prince to be announced. After a few moments of silence he was.

"The Crown Prince of Osleia, Prince William Andrew Harwood."

I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious in the slightest to see the prince. After a brief battle with myself, I finally gave into my curiosity to sneak a glance. My breath hitched in my throat, shock filling my body. The prince's face was an all too familiar one, one that I had spent many days with. His eyes scanned the crowd, and when they caught mine, I knew that what I was seeing was very, very real.

Prince William was the plain commoner I knew for years as Will.