That evening, the night of the ball, everything was perfect. The chandeliers were sparkling, the silver was polished, and only the best was worn on the best of people. Every important person was there, except one: Nickolas. Erica paced around the bottom floor of the castle, busily greeting people and searching for Nickolas at the same time. Suddenly, she saw Brian and their eyes caught. She turned and walked fast up the red carpeted stairs that faced the front doors. She ran up into her room and pretended to fix her hair. She supposed that Elizabella was downstairs hanging off of the arm of the Lord Kevin, her set up.
Erica was dressed in her most galiant gown. Crushed green velvet fabric that was strapless with long sleeves. The bottom of her dress had a six foot circumference and accentuated her slender body. Her shoulder length, brown hair was pulled up and hung down in banana curls that had taken her all day to do. She sat down on her bed and tried to sort out her thoughts.
Nickolas knocked on the large, brown castle doors and was immediately let in. The doorman greeted him and handed him a drink in a delicate, crystal wine glass. The string quintet played in the corner and people were dancing on the ballroom floor. He stood in the foyer and in front of him was a long, red carpeted staircase with dark wooden banisters that were beautifully carved. He drew his eyes up the flight of stairs and saw and even better sight.
Erica.
He had only come tonight to only help this woman in destress the best that he could. He wasn't going to stay long, but now, he wasn't sure.
Erica looked into the crowd and saw Nickolas, immediately, standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was wearing a traditional outfit for men, but it wasn't overdone nor was it too casual. It was a dark shade of green, and from the distance it looked almost black. Their eyes caught and locked. She smiled at him as she lifted her dress and slowly started decending the stairs, never once removing her eyes from his. She stopped on the last stair and he took her hand and kissed the top of it. Without saying a word to each other, he led her into the ballroom. The crowds parted for them and everyone left the floor and stared; including her father and Brian.
Nickolas took Erica in his arms as a new song began from the quintet. The company of the castle surrounded them with gazing, confused eyes as they compared this gentleman to Brian, who looked equally as confused as everyone else. Erica's father, however, was very pleased with this young man that his daughter was with. He was clean-cut and reeked of impecable breeding and money.
As Erica danced with her eyes closed, she inhaled Nickolas' scent. His scent was hard to come by these days. Cologne was very, very scarce. But it went deeper than that. Not only his cologne smelled good, but his presence was that of a perfect, rich gentleman; one of class, and it felt great to be dancing with him. Nickolas was aware of the staring eyes of everyone, especially Erica's father. He had thought before that if he won over her father and married her, he would be rich and live nicely for once. His life wasn't that bad but he lived on each dollar and didn't have much for frivilous things. He wantd to have enough money to just throw around, to spend it on himself, and spend it on a woman. But when he looked into Erica's eyes, none of that mattered. He had a feeling that he was falling for her, but knew that he couldn't get too close. He made up his mind that after tonight, he would have to leave her. Get out of her life.
Later on that evening, after everyone had eaten and more people continued to get drunk and people were still dancing, Erica and Nickolas still sat at the dinner table. She looked at him across the table. His blonde hair was falling in his face as he looked down at his hands. To her, he looked very gorgeous and the man that she had been hoping for. So he did not have very much money. It did not matter to her, anymore. He was better to her than Brian or any man, for that matter, had ever been, and that's what mattered.
As Nickolas looked down at his hands, his mind reeled. He could not believe he had just eaten dinner at the royal table, or toasted with the father of the most beautiful woman he had ever imagined would be sitting across from him. It all seemed sureal and that was the reason that he had to flee. Suddenly, he felt something brush his forehead. When he looked up, he saw that Erica had leaned across the table to brush his hair out of his face. She was smiling at him and he realized that he was smiling back. She stood up, walked over to him and took his hand.
"Come with me," she said quietly. He grasped her hand as she led him up the red carpeted stairs and into a room. "Sit." She motioned for him to sit down on her bed. She sat down next to him.
"Where are we?" he asked looking around at this glorious room.
"We are in my bedroom," she said. "But I-"
"This is your bedroom? God, it looks like a house in itself!" He turned and looked at her then tensed up. "I do not think that we-"
She laughed, interrupting him. "It is okay. I brought you up here so we could talk, in private. I am not that kind of woman, Sir Nickolas."
"What did you want to talk about?"
She leaned in closer to him. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me out tonight. If you knew anything of Lord Brian, or my father, you would stay forever."
I wish I could, Nickolas thought.
She brushed her hand over his jacket. "How can I ever repay you?"
Nickolas quickly stood up. "I-I have to go. It is way passed my bed time."
"But-"
"I hope to see you again, but I do not think that it will be possible. Good bye." He gently, but quickly, kissed her hand and fled from her room and the castle.