INVITATION
Eliot Hathaway
I sat at the table, my right leg shaking nervously as I stared expectantly at the blank paper on the typewriter. An hour, almost two, had passed and I still had not written at least one word. I leaned back in the chair and, out of habit, bit my fingernails, secretly begging for words to make their way into my head, but nothing came.
I've been trying to type something for three days now. Nothing came out, not even a letter. After releasing a sigh of surrender, I jerked up from the chair and off to my bed where I unceremoniously threw myself.
I scarcely made a turn when my ears picked up the sound of a horse neighing from outside. A frown replaced the beads of sweat and swiftly decorated itself across my forehead soon after I caught Sir Derick, the foot messenger, carefully dismounting from his horse that neighed with relief from his weight.
"What is he doing here? Is it another letter from the bank? I am sure my sisters paid off half of the loan." I whispered while peeking through my slightly naked window. We cannot not afford to receive another letter from the bank; at least not now. Sir Derick happily marched towards the house while his right hand tightly held onto an envelope.
I quickly moved away from the window and raced down the wooden stairs that creaked with every step I took. I stood at a distance where Sir Derick could not see me and witnessed my twin half-sisters receive a black envelope that seemed to have bold letters written in fancy golden ink at the top. That was not typical of the bank; letters from the bank were and have always been without an envelope, especially not a black envelope.
My twin sisters curtsied as Sir Derick left. My eyes involuntarily closed with the hope that this was not a letter from the bank. This would be the thirtieth and final letter, in which we are told to vacate the house.
"I cannot believe it! We are invited to a ball by Lord Zyren!" Janet shouted deep from her lungs. Her voice rudely brought me back into the present, pushing away all the dreadful thoughts back into a pit. Janet, the other twin, joined her sister, and off they began jumping and dancing. Their childlike laughter boomed across the cottage.
“Who is Lord Zyren?” Coming out of my hiding place, I asked the twins, who immediately stopped dancing, their faces twisting with disgust, which I gracefully ignored. That was not out of the ordinary; in fact, what was out of the ordinary was seeing them jumping and dancing. “Which world do you live in? Everyone knows who Lord Zyren is, Eliot! He is respected by many, including the King.” Janet explained, her eyes bulging with wildness.
“He is one Lord who is wealthy, respected and admired by many across the lands; not to leave out that he is handsome!” Janet interjected and squeezed in her elucidation. “He throws balls every month. Usually, only the Upper and Middle Class get invited.” Jane added to Janet's words. Both of their startling blue eyes widened as they looked up at me.
“Only the upper and the middle class? Why are we only invited now? Do you not find it—?”
“Oh, hush with the questions, Eliot! This is our chance to gain the respect that your birth took away from us! Who knows, we might be asked into marriage by prominent men!” Janet yelled. Her words swiftly landed on my back and dug into my dignity.
“Or this could finally uplift our status within the society!” Jane added in a stern tone. “Without further ado, let us go look for the best dresses. You better wear something decent, Eliot!” The twins dashed upstairs. A sigh escaped my lips as I ascended the wooden stairs; up back to my bed chamber.
I sat down on my bed while contemplating what to wear. Lower Class or not, I rarely got invited anywhere; only my half-sisters. I quickly recalled my father's tailor-made suit that he gifted me on my eighteenth birthday.
I opened the closet, hoping dearly that the suit would fit. By whoever's will, the suit did fit like a pair of gloves. Without wasting more time, I fixed my hair – not necessarily doing much on it, and went down the stairs to wait for the twins.
It was after fifteen minutes that they finally came out of their bed chamber, glossed and robed in elegant dresses. We left for the ball in a carriage brought in by the Lord Zyren. “It seems as if he knows we are peasants. He personally brought in a carriage…!” I huffed, and swiftly received deadly stares from my sisters as a warning to keep my gob shut, and so I obeyed.
We did not expect our journey to be long and uncomfortable. The road had so many rocks and potholes that constantly thwarted the carriage from making through. I had to help the coachman clear the road. Only after a struggle did we arrive at our destination.
My eyes looked up at the tall, gothic building which, for some reason, was covered by ominous darkness.
“Welcome…!” An omnipresent voice rang in my ears. My heart skipped a beat…
