Lost Royalty

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Elle!" She heard her Pa call from the room next door. Elle quickly ran through the house and skidded into the room.

"Yes, Pa?" She asked.

"You haven't yet made the delivery to the Travilla house, have you?" he asked, looking annoyed at her.

"No, sir," she muttered, looking at the floor.

She had been so busy in the book store that she had completely forgotten about the delivery. It seemed that her Pa was making her busy so she didn't get involved with the party that had just started.

"You'll take it now please." He said, thrusting the package towards her.

It was now 7:30pm. The party would just be starting. No doubt her father wanted her to see all of the happy girls dressed in beautiful gowns, to show her what she was missing. It appeared to be such a harsh thing to do, but she wouldn't put it past him.

Elle grabbed her shawl, wrapped it around herself, and slipped out of the door.

The village was buzzing with activity, and Elle passed several girls in beautiful ball gowns, all rushing to make the first dance.

The house that she was visiting was not far away at all. In a short 15 minute walk she had arrived.

After knocking on the door she heard a shuffling from inside and the door was opened by a young maid.

"You got the books?" she asked, looking unsure if she should let Elle and her ripped, dirty clothes into the house. Elle nodded her head. "Bring 'em in then."

Elle wiped her shoes on the mat that was laying on the doorstep. The maid closed the door behind her, and Elle's cold hands instantly began to warm up.

She was lead through the beautiful corridors of the house and to a large library. It was bigger than the whole bookshop, and Elle found it rather sad to see that most of the books looked untouched.

Even the mayor's library paled in comparison.

"Drop off the books, then," The maid said. Elle had almost forgotten that she was standing there. "You'd best be out quickly. Wouldn't want mistress Trivilla seeing you in her clean house."

Elle quickly put the books on the correct shelves and turned to follow the maid out.

"Ah, if it isn't poor Elle Winters," Mrs Trivilla's loud voice boomed across the hallway.

"Good evening, ma'am," She muttered. She'd never liked Mrs Trivilla, as she had always treated Elle badly.

"My, those can't be the clothes that you are wearing to the party?" she asked, giving Elle a disgusted look. "Or are you not going? I can't say that I am sorry for you, I'm much happier with you far away from my daughter."

With one last disgusted look in Elle's direction, she turned and walked away.

Truthfully Mrs Trivilla didn't like Elle as she thought that Elle was a threat to her daughter. It was no secret that many of the young men in the village had been watching Elle closely more recently. Nobody could blame them, as Elle was the most beautiful girl in the village.

It was only last week that she had caught James Parson, her own daughter's future husband, watching Elle. She would not have it, for James belonged to Delilah.

As Elle was walking back through the village she couldn't help but feel slightly hurt by Mrs Trivilla. She had no idea why she was hated so much, for she surely hadn't done anything wrong.

Nearing the village hall, Elle could begin to hear music. As she got closer the sounds of laughter and talking became more dominant.

Elle decided that she would have a look at the party from a distance. If she were to go around the back of the hall she would be able to see in through a window, and no one would see her.

Her Pa would never find out, and she had extra time as she had been walking very quickly. Besides, she may never see a party like this again.

She walked down a small alleyway that circled the hall. When she got to the back she saw that all of the windows were open, to allow air in.

There was a large window in the back left corner of the hall. It was well hidden from the inside as it was under a balcony, and no one would think to look that far into the corner. She would be able to see the entire room from it.

She approached the window, peaking around the edge to check that no one was looking. The coast was clear, so Elle stood directly in front of it watching the scene before her.

The village hall was beautifully decorated. There were candles along the walls, and paper decorations hanging from the ceilings.

Towards one end was a stage filled with musicians. In the centre of the room was a dance floor, where a few couples had already gathered, dancing to the quick beat of the song.

Along the wall closest to Elle were tables of mouth watering food. All sorts of pastries and cakes that Elle had never seen before were sat there. On one plate were a dozen cupcakes, all frosted to perfection. On other plates were savoury foods. It all looked incredible to Elle.

The most incredible thing, though, was seeing everyone all dressed up and looking wonderful. Girls whom she had only seen in maid's outfits or work clothes were wearing beautiful dresses. It made Elle sad to think that she had missed it all.

Just as Elle was about to turn away, something, or rather someone, caught her eye.

James was stood there, chatting to a group of boys who all looked to be his age. They all looked slightly uncomfortable as they glanced between the girls and the dance floor. It made Elle smile to think that they were all too nervous to ask the girls to dance.

James turned, and caught her eye. At first he thought that he hadn't seen it correctly, but when he excused himself from his friends and wandered towards the window, he saw that it wasn't his eyes playing tricks.

Elle Winters was standing there, looking straight at him. She was just wearing her ordinary clothes, and her hair was not done specially like all of the other girls. But somehow, Elle was the most beautiful girl there.

He sent her a smile. She had obviously snuck around to see what the party was like, and it made James sad that she could not be there. He surely would have asked her for his first dance if she had been.

When he was just metres away, James felt a hand close around his wrist. Tearing is eyes away from Elle, he turned to see Delilah holding onto his wrist.

"James, you promised me a dance," she purred. He sighed and gave her a small smile.

"Of course," he said, as he took her hand and began to lead her to the dance floor.

When he turned to send a smile of apology to Elle, she was already gone, and the window was empty once more.

A/N- here is the promised update!

I was thinking that I would change the name of the book, do you have any suggestions? Xx