Casanova H.S

1853 Every year the king and queen throw a ball, and each year it has a different theme. This year it is a masquerade ball. Both of my sisters are beyond excited, but the news only made me miserable since I knew they would make me go. That is why I am now losing my breath because of the tight corset. It has never been something I like to wear, but it is obligated for every woman to wear one. "Are you not excited, Mira?" My sister asks finishing up with my corset. Olivia has been waiting for this ball for months as she waits for every ball. She believes that she will meet her true love at one of them. The one destined for her, like every other girl except me. Do not get me wrong, it is not like I do not believe in love, on the contrary, I just do not believe you can find a guy remotely worth loving at one of these events. "Excited? You know I never had any desire to go in the first place." I shake my head already dreading the ball. I have never been one to socialize with boring, rich people for fun. I have never seen the point in doing so. Instead, I would like to stay home and finish my novel. Finish is not exactly the right term to use, more like getting started. "I know, I know." My older sister sighs in defeat knowing she is making me go against my will. She moves to stand in front of me and takes a hold of my hands giving them a weak squeeze. "Listen, I know this is the last thing you want to do, but who knows maybe you will meet someone." "Oh, dear sister, you know I would rather die before I marry off to one of those arrogant, rich men that only want me for their own satisfaction." I remove my hands from hers and move them up to her tinted red cheeks. I give her a weak smile letting her know that no matter how hard she tries to convince me it is a long-lost cause. "Why do you have to be so dramatic, Mira?" She laughs removing my hands from her face. "Luna!" She screams calling for our younger sister. Only seconds later she comes rushing into the room fully dressed, and ready to go. She certainly does not look sixteen in her dress and with her face full of makeup. "You look beautiful, Luna," I tell her reaching out my hand for her to come over. She moves closer and smiles at me in gratitude. "Yes, she does, and so will you if you just hurry up, and get ready. We are both dressed, and ready to go." Olivia says impatiently not wanting to wait for a second longer. "All right then," I say before she helps me put on my beautiful red dress. Luna wanted to make sure we did not wear the same color, so Olivia got pink, while Luna got blue, leaving me with red. I originally wanted blue seeing as it's my favorite color, but whatever Luna says goes. Once my dress is on we all move to stand in front of the mirror to see how we look. "We look stunning," Luna says almost out of breath by her own reflection. "Tonight is the night one of us meets our future husband," Olivia squeals making me shake my head in disagreement. "I can feel it." Her voice sounds determent, and she has a face to match it. I do not know what tonight will bring, but I'm sure it is no husband. - Masks are everywhere. In different colors and shapes. I never understood why people would bother to wear them seeing as it is easy to recognize the people you know, but I guess it makes it more exciting to meet a stranger. "Casanova is rumored to be here this evening," Olivia tells us while looking around in search of whoever this Casanova is. Luna giggles at the mention of his name, making me curious about who this person is. "Casanova?" I ask wanting to be better informed about this person that brings excitement to my sisters face. "Of course you do not know who that is," Luna says, and moves closer to me. "He is known to be quite popular among the ladies." She raises her brows while saying so, almost as if she knows it for a fact. "For a man named Casanova that surprises me." I laugh, but it seems like I was the only one finding it funny. "His name is not Casanova, silly. No one knows his name, people just call him that, because of his reputation." Before I manage to reply to Luna a young man makes his way over and asks her for a dance, which she gladly accepts. "Are you going to stand here alone all night," Olivia asks disappointed, knowing that I will not make an effort. "For your information, I am completely satisfied with my own company," I tell her walking away not wanting to hear any more of her complaints. I soon find myself in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by dancing people. With the masks on you can not even tell if they are having a genuinely good time, or if they are simply pretending. My guess is that it is a little bit of both. I believe that if the people here could choose what to do this evening they would be happy having to settle with this, however, this is all they know. "Are you waiting for someone." A voice speaks up from behind me. The first thing to catch my attention is the thick British accent. He spoke slowly drawing out every syllable, and it was easy to notice since his voice was so captivatingly deep. I turn around to find out who this mesmerizing voice belongs to. Before me stands a tall man with curly dark hair. The only part of his face that I am able to see is his lips, and eyes, the mask covering the rest. His heart-shaped lips are both pink and red, but the red is clearly dominant. His eyes, however, is green, resembling a forest, not only because of the color but because I heard once that the eyes reflect the soul, and his soul seems like a big dark forest and no matter how hard you try you will never get to explore every corner of it. "No, just making my way through the crowd." I finally answer him once I catch myself staring. "Well, would you mind stopping for a dance? You should take a break on your journey." His face holds a humored smile as he bows down reaching out his hand for mine. "You think a little charm will make me want to dance with you?" I huff already knowing what kind of man he is. He is just like any other man here, too full of himself. "No, but I am hoping my handsome face will." He smirks now standing tall, but his hand is still reaching out for me to take whenever I please. "Too bad I can not see it," I reply referring to his mask. I turn to walk away, but his hand is quick to stop me by grabbing my arm. "One dance is all I require then I will leave you alone." "What if I say no again? Will you follow me around until I agree?" I ask raising my eyebrows, but he can not see that since my mask is in the way. It is black and has lace covering only around my eyes. Very different from his that is golden, and starts just above his lips. Only reveling his eyes the rest of the way up. "Indeed. You see, when I want something I do not stop until I get what I desire," he says even slower than before as he moves closer to me, making my breath become heavy. "Is that so?" I say not wanting him to notice my change of breath. He nods confirming his statement. "Alright then. Just to make sure you will not follow me." His lips turn into a smile. I place my hand in his hand, and he is quick to move his other one around my waist. "What is your name, love?" He asks casually as our bodies move from side to side intact with the music. "Mira Mcallister, and yours?" My name seems interesting to him as stops almost like he is repeating my name in his head. He is hesitant with revealing his name, and I start to wonder why. However, he tells me nevertheless "Harry Styles. A pleasure to meet you, Mira." I just nod my head letting him know I heard him. I look around for the quickest exit after the dance has ended. "I get the impression you do not want to be here." "Good to know that I am giving the right signals," I tell him still looking around until a glass door catches my eyes. "Why is that?" He asks intrigued seeing as I am probably the only girl not being beyond thrilled to be here all dressed up, and ready to impress every man within a mile. "My idea of having a good time is not getting dressed up to meet men that only wants you for three things. Their own pleasure, keeping their house clean, and to look pretty. I do not see the point in marrying someone because of their money when you know you will never be truly happy. Life is too short to waste it on obligations." I tell him, and my opinion strikes an interest in his eyes. "You should not marry a man that makes you feel that way." His eyes are serious, and he does not break eye contact making sure I know he means what he said. It is rare to find a man that agrees with a lady's opinion. "Like Casanova for example. That is a man that only sees women as toys existing to pleasure him." His eyes turn wide in surprise, because of me suddenly dragging Casanova's name into the conversation. "There is nothing wrong with wanting a moment that lasts for a lifetime, is there?" Even through the mask, I can see him raise his eyebrows, questioning me. "Besides did you not just say that life is too short to waste on obligations?" "I did, but that is different." I huff. "Are you seriously defending this person?" I can see no sense in what Casanova is doing, and for someone to defend him is just wrong. "I am only saying that he is probably not the only one getting pleasure out of it." He spins me around before pulling me in closer than before. His face is close to mine, now getting a closer look, his green eyes are even greener than a few seconds ago. His breath danced over my lips as he looks down at me. "I suppose, but it does not make it right. Using those women." My voice is shaky making me sound uncertain, but I am not. Harry does not answer me, instead, his hands' lets go of mine, and travel up to my face. He takes a hold of the edge of my mask. I think about stopping him but decided against it, and move mines up to his as well. For a second I thought he would let go of my mask simply to prevent me from seeing his face, but he does not. He starts to take mine off, as I take his. Once the mask is off I almost lose my breath at the sight before me. He is even more beautiful then I imagined, but I will not let him know that, seeing as he clearly already does. "Beautiful." He breathes out as he takes in my now revealed face. My brown eyes meet his, and it is clear that we are both satisfied with what we see. His lips are slightly parted as he just stands there. "Mira!" I hear Olivia scream for me. I turn around to look at her and see her waving me over. I turn to look back before I go, but once I do he is already gone. I walk over to my sister that is now standing alone. "Who was the special person that got you to dance?" She asks once I am standing beside her. She sounds terribly happy at the fact that I danced with someone making it sound like it was the first time, but it is not. I have danced before, but I have never quite enjoyed it. "No one." She looks away sad that I am never happy with the men that actually try to start a conversation with me. However, this one was different. His way of speaking to me was something out of the ordinary, sparking some kind of emotion within me, but I will not admit that to her. If I did she would never let me rest until I found him again. "I am in love!" Luna screams as she makes her way to us by running. When she appears before us she almost jumps on us out of joy. "Oh, that is wonderful, Luna," Olivia says sounding even more excited then Luna. I however only stand here wondering who it might be this time. She says this at every ball and comes home devastated every time. "He was extraordinary. He never even asked for a dance, he just took my hand and swept me off my feet." She spins around showing us how they danced. A smile permanent on her face the entire time. "There he is!" She yells out pointing at the stairs leading upstairs to the private area. I search the stairs for any men, and when my eyes find one my heart stops for a second. He is the only man with a golden mask here. His hand is wrapped around someone else's. A girl, a tall blond girl. Her body is slim, and she almost looks like a princess in her beautiful dress. "Where are they going?" Luna asks foolishly confused. "To a bedroom of course," Olivia says losing all excitement for Luna's love. "What do you mean, of course?" I asked wondering why it is so obvious that he would bring her to a bedroom. "Because he is Casanova, that is what he does," I swear my heart beat starts to speed up now realizing that I insulted Casanova before the man himself. I also realize now why he was so hesitant with revealing his name since no one knows it. I let out a breathed laugh at the fact that I seem to be the only one here that knows. Luna's eyes start to tear up leaving her devastated again after yet another ball. "I think we should go home now." Olivia wraps her arms around Luna bringing her into a tight embrace. "You go ahead, I want to go for a walk," I inform them, and they only give me a nod in return before they walk towards the exit. I turn around, and head for the door I saw earlier. I push past the people bumping into me while they dance. I let out a breath of relief when I finally make it to the door and push it open letting fresh air hit my face. I walk out the door, and walk towards the kings garden, knowing the way from all of the other dreadful balls. The garden is truly one of a kind. I fall in love with it all over again every time I come back. The beautiful flowers in all shapes and colors spread across the green grass. The small bushes making it into almost a labyrinth letting you enjoy little parts of the garden at a time. There are no lights out here, but there is no need for it, because the moon lights up the whole place, leaving only corners in the dark. No one ever comes here during the ball's, because it is in the back. Everyone wants to be where the people are. I am starting to think that the people in this town are scared of their own company, desperate to be with someone at all times. My father used to take me out here when I was little every time there was a ball. I like to think that he was the only person that could see my emotions without me having to actually say what I was feeling. He knew I hated balls long before I did it myself. I was the closest to him out of all my sisters, so it was the hardest on me when he, and mother died. They were on their way to visit some old friends, and people say they died at sea. I never really believed that, because they never found the ship. A noise breaks my attention away from my thoughts and brings them to a window on the second floor. It gets pushed open, and out of it comes Harry. His shirt is ripped open, his belt is unbuckled, and there is no sign of his shoes. Harry looks behind him in panic and is having second thoughts about jumping, but it looks like he has no choice. He jumps down and lands in the bushes. He pushes himself up from the ground at once, and rush out of the bushes. He looks at the door as if he is expecting someone to barge through it. I clear my throat and catch his attention. His breath is heavy from the jump, almost sounding out of breath. "That was quick," I said referring to his little rendezvous. "Funny," He says moving closer. "Why do you say it like being quick is a bad thing? That just means I know what I am doing." He tells me with a smirk as he walks over to the flowers, taking in the sight. "Why did you not tell me earlier that you are Casanova when I brought up your name?" I ask curiously as to why he did not just tell me when he knew I would find out eventually. "I had no desire for you to get to know that part of me because I knew you were to smart to fall for any of my tricks anyway." His eyes scan over the flowers before him, looking for one he likes. "You are smarter then you seem," I tell him as I walk over to him, and join him by the flowers. "And you are just as smart as you seem." He moves his hand close to a flower but keeps his eyes on my face as if to see what I think of it. "If I pick a flower in your favorite color will you do me a favor one day?" He asks backing up from the white flower. "If you manage to guess the right color I will do you a favor, and be very impressed," I tell him while I sit down on the bench behind me. He walks back and forth in front of the roses with his hand behind his back. He turns to me saying "Close your eyes." I do as he says, and hear him pick up a flower. I hear his footsteps move closer until I feel a flower brush against my lips. "Open them." I open my eyes, and a beautiful blue orchid appears before my face. I gasp in surprise that he managed to guess. "How?" I ask in awe as he takes a seat beside me on the bench. "I saw you eyeing your sisters dress earlier, and I just guessed it was because you wanted to wear it," he tells me. The sound of a door being slammed open brings us both to our feet. We snap our heads in the direction of the door to see guards rush out of it heading towards us. Harry starts to run, but stops and comes back to me. He takes my hand in his, and bring it up to his lips. When his lips make contact with the skin on my hand, an unknown feeling appears in my body making a blush appear on my cheeks. He pulls back letting his lips linger for only a second. "May we meet again," he says as he lets go of my hand, and runs through the garden disappearing into the woods. The guards run past me, and I turn to make my way back home speechless. - "Did you enjoy your walk?" Olivia asks with Luna in her hands crying as I walk in through the front door. I do not blame her for being hurt by the incident, but she has to learn eventually that she cannot fall in love with every man that offers to dance with her. I close the door behind me and walk further into the house. "I did. It was-" I start saying but can not really find the words to describe my encounter with Harry, so I decide on simply saying "Interesting." "How so?" I walk over to the mirror while Olivia speaks, dying to get out of my dress. "Never mind," I tell her as I try to take off my dress with no luck. "Would you mind helping me?" I ask her making her stand up immediately. Luna is quick to replace Olivia's shoulder with a pillow. She walks over to me and starts to untie the back of my dress. When it is off she opens my corset. I let out a huge breath now being able to do so. "You remember that girl we saw walk up to a room with Casanova?" She asks while she walks back over to our heartbroken sister. "Yes," I simply say. I put on my nightgown hanging over the mirror, and pick up my brush. "It was the Kings' daughter," she says as if it is the most exciting thing that has ever happened. "And I heard people saying that the King walked in on them and that Casanova had to jump out of the window because the guards were chasing him." So that was why they never got to it. "Poor choice of lady," I tell her making the both of us let out a laugh, humored by my words. "I think I am going to go to bed," I inform her while walking towards my bedroom. "Goodnight, sister." "Goodnight." I open my door, step inside, and close it behind me. I walk over to my bed and almost throw myself on top of it exhausted by the events of tonight. I turn off the lights and get under the covers. Memories of a pair of green eyes flash before my eyes, and I can still feel my hand tingle from his kiss. Soon after darkness takes over me bringing me to a deep sleep.