cruel nature, I had not thought it possible for him to be such a violent brute. I was captivated by the tales that were unfurling, and although doing nothing to ease my mind, I felt that I was learning to recognise the devil , which might just help me escape him in the long term.
“And his latest wife?” I asked, both wanting , and not wanting to know.
“He turned her mad. No one really knows how, but he did. He’s grown more quiet in his cruelty – got worried about the rumours he heard circulating around the palace. Growing up ‘as made him more sly, b ut that ain’t a good thing in my opinion. A quiet cruelty always offers the deepest cut .”
“Yes, ” I whispered. “ I know what you mean.” I smiled at Gwen, thanked her for talking to me and walked off to the woods to think of an escape plan.
*
On the eve of my sixteenth birthday my mother hosted the most lavish ball our palac e had ever witnessed. I t wasn’t just a celebration of my birthday but of my engagement to Prince Vincent.
The whole of the palace glittered and glimmered like the inside of a Christmas bauble. Tables groaned under the weight of large meat roasts and dainty candies. A full orchestra played dancing tunes , and everywhere I looked garlands of silk flowers had been hung . Mama said the effort and expense she’d gone to was an attempt to make the peace between us . She told me how she had known how much I loved flowers.
She had also had a specially commissioned gown of scarlet red silk made; the bustier was sewn with over a hundred real garnets . It was so heavy that it proved almost impossible to walk in , and yet the movement of dancing seemed to bring the gown alive with it s own energy and I found myself spending the night halfway between total inertia and being swept along on a wave of fabric.
As a combined birthday and engagement present , Vincent produced a large ruby ring surrounded by diamonds . When he placed it on my finger , half of it disappeared under the cover of jewels. He must have consulted my mother over it because it matched the dress perfectly. It reminded me of spilt blood on skin.
Our engagement was to be officially announced at one minute past midnight. Symbolic of my coming of age. It was a silly ritual , being that no one could miss the large engagement finger on my left hand.
The clock sped towards the midnight hour , and whether it was the heat from the hundred candles, the tightness of my corset , or the fear of my impending groom, something moved me to make a run for it . B efore I fully knew what I was doing, I found myself fleeing across the lawns towards the edge of the forest. Running through the woods in my s carlet dress gave me the surreal feeling I had once again caught between the pages of a tale. Only this time Little Red Riding Hood was in serious danger of being eaten by the wolf, b ecause waiting for me in the shadows was Vincent. He stood there as casually as if we had arranged to meet.
“ Evening, Sylvani a, ” he said between drags on his cigarette.
I gasped; my breath was ragged with running and fear. “Vincent,” I replied forcing a smile on my face. “Isn’t it just glorious tonight ? The stars, the ….”
He looked at me and smiled. “Yes, just the kind of night to take a stroll and g et away from it all – away from the crowd s .”
He took a step towards me and I stepped back from him as if we had b egun some kind of secret dance, which of course, we had.
“It was just so hot in there, I needed some air.”
“Yes, me too,” he said.
“Well time to get back. The guests will start to miss us.” I said it as casually as I could, but I knew that in reality it was more of a prayer than anything else.
He looked towards the palace in the distance. The lights glowing like warm , yellow eyes in the darkness.
“It’s not that far. We’ve got plenty of time.”
I also looked back towards the palace, saw that it was in fact not very far at all, just a sprint
“And his latest wife?” I asked, both wanting , and not wanting to know.
“He turned her mad. No one really knows how, but he did. He’s grown more quiet in his cruelty – got worried about the rumours he heard circulating around the palace. Growing up ‘as made him more sly, b ut that ain’t a good thing in my opinion. A quiet cruelty always offers the deepest cut .”
“Yes, ” I whispered. “ I know what you mean.” I smiled at Gwen, thanked her for talking to me and walked off to the woods to think of an escape plan.
*
On the eve of my sixteenth birthday my mother hosted the most lavish ball our palac e had ever witnessed. I t wasn’t just a celebration of my birthday but of my engagement to Prince Vincent.
The whole of the palace glittered and glimmered like the inside of a Christmas bauble. Tables groaned under the weight of large meat roasts and dainty candies. A full orchestra played dancing tunes , and everywhere I looked garlands of silk flowers had been hung . Mama said the effort and expense she’d gone to was an attempt to make the peace between us . She told me how she had known how much I loved flowers.
She had also had a specially commissioned gown of scarlet red silk made; the bustier was sewn with over a hundred real garnets . It was so heavy that it proved almost impossible to walk in , and yet the movement of dancing seemed to bring the gown alive with it s own energy and I found myself spending the night halfway between total inertia and being swept along on a wave of fabric.
As a combined birthday and engagement present , Vincent produced a large ruby ring surrounded by diamonds . When he placed it on my finger , half of it disappeared under the cover of jewels. He must have consulted my mother over it because it matched the dress perfectly. It reminded me of spilt blood on skin.
Our engagement was to be officially announced at one minute past midnight. Symbolic of my coming of age. It was a silly ritual , being that no one could miss the large engagement finger on my left hand.
The clock sped towards the midnight hour , and whether it was the heat from the hundred candles, the tightness of my corset , or the fear of my impending groom, something moved me to make a run for it . B efore I fully knew what I was doing, I found myself fleeing across the lawns towards the edge of the forest. Running through the woods in my s carlet dress gave me the surreal feeling I had once again caught between the pages of a tale. Only this time Little Red Riding Hood was in serious danger of being eaten by the wolf, b ecause waiting for me in the shadows was Vincent. He stood there as casually as if we had arranged to meet.
“ Evening, Sylvani a, ” he said between drags on his cigarette.
I gasped; my breath was ragged with running and fear. “Vincent,” I replied forcing a smile on my face. “Isn’t it just glorious tonight ? The stars, the ….”
He looked at me and smiled. “Yes, just the kind of night to take a stroll and g et away from it all – away from the crowd s .”
He took a step towards me and I stepped back from him as if we had b egun some kind of secret dance, which of course, we had.
“It was just so hot in there, I needed some air.”
“Yes, me too,” he said.
“Well time to get back. The guests will start to miss us.” I said it as casually as I could, but I knew that in reality it was more of a prayer than anything else.
He looked towards the palace in the distance. The lights glowing like warm , yellow eyes in the darkness.
“It’s not that far. We’ve got plenty of time.”
I also looked back towards the palace, saw that it was in fact not very far at all, just a sprint
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