Chapter 3: It's all a show
Gerti kept quiet as her maids got her ready for her first ball. It didn't hold the excitement that it had just this morning. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened only hours before. How could she ignore that her people would much rather hold her for ransom that be her friend. A lump welled up in her throat. It spilled out her eyes slowly, quietly.
"Give me a moment alone with my daughter" the queen dismissed the maids. When it was clear that the maids were out of earshot she comforted her daughter " I know it's hard, but we have to be strong and hold our heads high tonight".
"But mom, how do I know people won't try to kidnap me there?" Gerti asked.
"Don't worry, they won't do it here" the queen assured her daughter.
"Do only commoners do those things?" Gerti questioned.
"No absolutely not. Nobles can be just as nasty if not nastier than commoners. The actions that you saw today were the act of desperation. Anyone can be desparate. Tonight no one will be actively desparate. The difference is that with noble's it's all a show, kidnapping at a ball, it would break the illusion that they're better than the commoners."
Gerti starred at her mother confused. Her mother looked around as if physically trying to find the right answer to calm her daughter's shot nerves. Finally her eyes rested to the cloak that drapped around her shoulders. It was an old cloak that her mother had given to her. It was bright blue with simple trimming. She took off her cloak and drapped it around Gerti.
"This cloak is magic, no one can hurt you when you wear this cloak" the queen comforted.
Gerti accepted this answer and clung tightly to the cloak on her shoulders for a while. The queen brought the maids back in to finish helping Gerti get ready for her first ball. They made her look beautiful. The tacked the cloak to make it look like a better fit so that it flawlessly accented her outfit. Under the kings instructions they had done all that they could to make Gerti look older than she was. It was now the queen's turn to shed a tear. Gerti looked beautiful, but why must she be forced to grow up so soon? The queen quickly regained her composure before anyone noticed, but still her heart sunk at the sight of her beautiful daughter.
Soon it was time for Gerti to make her grand entrance to the ballroom. Her name was anounced, and she descended the stair case, to where her aparent fiance was waiting to have her first dance of the night. He was 17 years old. He had kind enough eyes--per Gerti's assessment. They danced without saying a word for the first song. When the first song was over, they continued to dance for the next one, an easy walts that Gerti didn't have to concentrate to glide around to. This is when the "silence" was broken.
" I know this is an arranged marriage. I know that love isn't likely for us. However, there is one thing that I hope to achieve. I want you to always feel safe around me. I know that isn't much, but unfortunately it's about all I can offer in the world we live in." Horatio offered.
"Thank you" Gerti responded cordially.
What else is she supposed to say? She did all she could to maintain the show, her hand slide down to her cloak. Could she even imagine what it felt like to be feel safe right now. Gerti was on the verge of loosing it. She needed to find an excuse to leave the dance floor, leave public's eye, even if only briefly.
"I'd like to meet Snow White, I'm going to go visit the nursery" Gerti excused herself to meet her step-daughter-to-be, that was barely further in age than her and her fiance.