Chapter 6 The Dress Nobody Wanted
883 Words
By the time the dancing ended, my feet felt like they no longer belonged to me.
The celebration continued late into the night. Laughter echoed through the grand hall while servants hurried between tables, replacing empty platters with fresh food and filling crystal goblets before they could run dry.
I stayed in the shadows, exactly where Lady Vivienne wanted me.
Invisible.
It was easier that way.
“Elara.”
I turned to find Willow carrying a basket of clean linen.
“You haven’t eaten all day.”
I shrugged.
“I’m not that hungry.”
She gave me a look that said she knew I was lying.
Without another word, she slipped a small bread roll into my apron pocket.
“My mother baked it.”
A smile tugged at my lips.
“You’ll get yourself into trouble.”
“So will you if you faint before the night’s over.”
I laughed quietly.
“You worry too much.”
“And you don’t worry enough.”
Before I could answer, the head housekeeper clapped her hands sharply.
“Servants!”
Everyone stopped.
“The guests will soon move into the Moon Garden for fireworks. Lady Vivienne wants every servant properly dressed. Go to the storage room and collect your uniforms.”
A proper dress?
That had never happened before.
Willow nudged me gently.
“Come on.”
We hurried downstairs where old wooden chests had been opened.
Each servant collected a simple cream-colored dress with a blue sash.
When I reached the last chest…
It was empty.
The housekeeper frowned.
“There’s only one left.”
She reached behind the chest and pulled out a faded gray dress.
The fabric was worn thin, and one sleeve had clearly been mended several times.
Someone snickered.
“Perfect for the omega.”
More laughter followed.
“I-It’s fine,” I whispered.
I accepted the dress with both hands.
Willow stepped forward.
“She can have mine.”
The housekeeper shook her head.
“No. Orders are orders.”
Willow’s jaw tightened, but she said nothing more.
A few minutes later, I changed into the gray dress.
It hung loosely around my frame, making me look even smaller than usual.
When I looked into the cracked mirror, I barely recognized myself.
Not because I looked beautiful.
Because I looked…
Forgotten.
Just like the dress.
Willow walked over and tucked a loose strand of my chestnut hair behind my ear.
“You know what I see?”
I smiled sadly.
“An old dress?”
“I see the strongest person I’ve ever met.”
I laughed softly.
“You really need your eyes checked.”
“No,” she replied.
“I just see what everyone else refuses to.”
Her words warmed my heart more than any expensive gown ever could.
Outside, the Moon Garden glowed beneath hundreds of lanterns hanging from ancient oak trees.
Guests wandered through flower-lined paths while musicians played gentle melodies beneath the stars.
I carried another tray of drinks between groups of laughing nobles.
Everywhere I looked, people smiled.
Families embraced.
Friends laughed together.
For a moment, I wondered what that felt like.
As I passed one of the fountains, I heard familiar voices.
Vivienne.
“…Father says Alpha Kael is the strongest unmated Alpha in the kingdom.”
One of her friends giggled.
“And he danced with you.”
Vivienne smiled confidently.
“Of course he did.”
“Do you think he’ll choose you as his mate?”
“He’d be foolish not to.”
The girls laughed.
I quietly walked away before they noticed me.
Across the garden, Kael stood with Finn beneath an old oak tree.
“You’ve been quiet,” Finn observed.
“I usually am.”
“Not this quiet.”
Kael’s gaze drifted across the gathering.
“I’m thinking.”
“Dangerous habit.”
Kael ignored the joke.
Instead, his eyes settled on a servant carrying a silver tray through the crowd.
The same gray dress.
The same chestnut hair.
The same quiet way of trying not to be noticed.
Without understanding why, he watched her a moment longer.
“You’re looking at someone,” Finn said with a grin.
“I’m observing.”
“There’s a difference?”
“There is.”
Finn followed his gaze and spotted me.
“The omega servant?”
Kael didn’t answer.
He simply looked away.
But the strange pull in his chest returned.
Stronger this time.
The first firework exploded across the night sky.
Brilliant silver light rained over the garden.
Everyone looked up in awe.
I stopped walking for just a moment, watching the stars of light bloom above us.
It was beautiful.
The most beautiful thing I had seen in years.
Then someone stepped backward without looking.
Their shoulder slammed into mine.
The tray slipped from my hands.
Crystal goblets shattered against the stone path.
The music stopped.
The laughter died away.
Every eye turned toward me.
My heart dropped.
Lady Vivienne slowly stepped forward, her expression filled with fury.
“What,” she said coldly, “have you done?”
I opened my mouth to apologize.
But no words came.
For the first time that night…
The entire gathering was looking at the girl no one was ever supposed to see.
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