Page 99 of Songs and Spun Gold
When the bedroom door opened again, he turned and felt his brain freeze. Instead of the green dress she had worn earlier, Katy was now attired in a pale purple gown with cap sleeves and a sheer layer over the skirt that made her look ethereal despite her bouncing walk. It was a perfect match to the tiny purple blossoms sprinkled through her braided crown. She looked like the princess he wished she was.
“Katy,” he breathed when he found his voice, “you look magnificent.” He forced his feet to move, offering his arm when he was close enough. “But isn’t it a little early to dress for the ball?”
Elbowing his ribs first, she took his arm and replied, “This isn’t a ballgown, and you know it. If it were, it would be much harder to move in.”
“Then maybe you should wear this tonight,” he cheekily replied as he led her down the hallway. “’Twould be a shame to be hindered in your dancing. And it would be equally shameful to trade such perfection for something that can only be lesser.”
Katy laughed. “I finally rate one of your outrageous compliments, do I? Should I be flattered? Or should I be offended to be on the same level as your many admirers?”
He glanced over at her merry face. “Neither,” he replied seriously. “You should simply be pleased, because I did not intend it as flattery.”
She ducked her head, and he could see the hint of a blush on her cheeks. “Thank you,” she murmured.
They spent their music time reviewing the ballroom dances. It meant holding her in his arms, but regardless of her answer, it wouldn’t be right to let her fumble tonight for lack of practice.
It was torture, gazing into her fiery brown eyes while drinking in the faint scent of his lilacs in her hair and knowing that it might be the last time.
The evening came too soon. But then, every day since his proposal had passed too quickly; each one brought them closer to their inevitable parting. Each day, he forced himself to keep his distance, but at the same time, he treasured every laugh, every smile. He tried telling himself that she might say yes, but he knew better.
Nevertheless, he smiled broadly when they were introduced at the ballroom entrance, just as he had throughout dinner. He showed his pleased-prince façade to everyone who congratulated Katy, both the genuine and the insincere. When it was time for them to open the ball, he maintained his perfect poise as he led her to the center of the floor.
“Are you ready?” he asked quietly as the musicians brought their instruments into position.
Smirking, she replied, “I am. But are you?”
Before he could ask what she meant, the musicians began playing, and his heart skipped a beat in a mixture of shock and horror.
“Do you know anything about this?” he hissed. Releasing her, he swayed back in the first step of the familiar dance. It wasnotthe traditional opening dance that they had rehearsed.
“Of course,” she calmly replied. “I asked them to play it.”
“Katy, what are you—”
“You’d better get ready,” she interrupted. “Your entranceis coming up.”
This was a bad idea; what if someone questioned his knowledge of the dance? What if someone recognized his voice from one of the performances?
Distracted, Axel stumbled over the first few notes, but he took a quick breath at the phrase end and continued a little stronger.
“The night is almost over,
The day will soon appear.
Hold fast,
Our foe cannot touch you
As long as I am here.
Stay with me forever,
Run from me no more…”
His eyes focused on Katy when he could and over the heads of the crowd when he couldn’t. Singing for so many people as himself was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. Father was sure to be furious, but for some reason, Katy wanted him to sing tonight. So he would sing. For her.
Katy’s lovely voice took over for his. Hers was quieter; the part of his brain that stubbornly clung to hope whispered that, according to her eyes, she was singing for him and him alone.
“How can I be beloved?
