“Oh,” she gasped, when she saw her friend. She reached her hands out and caught Chara's fingers. “You are beautiful.”
“So are you,” Chara replied. Her dress was the pale green of spring leaves. When she moved, some trick of the light brought gold highlights gleaming from it. She wore a golden necklace, studded with tiny diamonds that flared in the glow from the lamps. Her chestnut hair was piled high on her head, held in place with a pair of ivory hairpins. A few small tendrils escaped to curl beside her smiling cheeks. “Are you ready to go?”
Andi nodded voicelessly and turned to leave, her heart singing.
And then it happened. Unused to walking on deep carpet in high heels, she caught one spike in the thick nap. She stumbled forward, arms flailing.
Just before she fell face-first into
