The sound of a symphony, an orchestra’s music fills the room
A large room with marble floors and golden walls
Beautiful people fill the room, dancing to their hearts content
Waltzing with their partners, some smile happily
Others frown at their partners, full of disdain
Some cast fleeting glances at the ones they truly love, as they dance with another
Colors dark and bright fill the room
Gowns sway as their wearers dance the night away
A beautiful lady descends the large staircase, looking at the gigantic diamond chandelier
She casts a glance over the railing towards the crowd
Her gown changes color with every step she takes
The crowd stills and the orchestra stops playing, all that can be heard is her foot steps
Click,
The dress turns a deep, vibrant red with rubies and dark roses
Clack,
The dress lightens into a pastel pink with lace and hydrangeas
Click,
The dress turns a deep emerald green, ivy trails behind as a train
Clack,
The dress becomes like the sea, deep blue, with every swish of the fabric sounds more like the ocean as white tulle hangs off the end
The process continues
The crowd stairs in shock, everyone frozen as they watch the beautiful woman
The light catches her slippers,
Glass
Beautiful, beautiful stained glass that glitters and changes as well
No one dares move
She smiles
Quietly at the end of the staircase, she whispers, “What a lovely party.”
People lose their breath
She looks at the orchestra and they start again
Everyone resumes dancing
She is pulled into a waltz
The lady dances the night away before escaping to the garden
A lady in a plain white gown follows her
The garden is large, filled with every flower imaginable
The scent of the flowers hits the woman in white’s nose
The garden is practically pitch black, the night sky dark with very little stars
Yet the woman continues walking
She stops at the fountain, the lady in white does the same
The woman in the gown turns to the lady, “What is your name?”
The lady responds, “Ester.”
Before Ester can ask her name in return, the woman starts to speak
“Ester, why are you wearing such a dress at this party? Would you not prefer a lovely dress?”
Ester’s eyes widen in the darkness, humiliation barely visible in the dark
Yet, the woman continues,
“Perhaps, you would prefer a dress like mine?”
“Yes!” Ester exclaims
The woman turns to Ester,
“You can have my dress and my shoes if I can have yours.”
Her voice is calculated and with little emotion
Ester does not even hesitate
“Shake my hand,” the woman says
The orchestra can no longer be heard
Ester grabs the woman’s delicate hand,
She smiles and as does the woman
Ester moves to pull her hand away but can not
The Ester’s hand is stuck, she gasps in horror
The woman’s smile goes wide and Ester sees row upon row of razor sharp teeth
Wind blows around them as flowers and leaves get caught in the small tornado that is forming
The sleeve of the ballgown moves down the woman’s arm and travel up Ester’s
As does the other
Then the entire dress is on Ester
She would be delighted to have such a dress in any other circumstance but all she can feel is fear
Esters shoes slip off as the wind lifts her
She feels cold glass underneath her feet, and suddenly she is wearing the glass slippers
The woman’s smile is no longer jagged
Her hand no longer sticks to Ester’s
The wind stops blowing
The woman whispers a thanks as she walks away, wearing the white gown and the plain shoes rather happily
Ester begins to wonder why she was worried
The event was strange but she now feels amazing in her dress
She looks into the water of the fountain with a smile
Her face fills with shock as she looks at her sharp teeth
Dread fills her as she tries to pull off the gown
The gown instead sticks to her skin just as the woman’s hand did
Ester moves to try to take off the shoes
It sticks to her toes as she tries to pull her foot out
Her heel gets stuck as she tries to pry the dreaded slipper
The wind blows past her ear
“Until midnight.”
The clock chimes as Ester feels a bony hand grip her ankle.