“It can’t be,” an overweight woman with brown curly hair proclaimed.
“It’s true,” a younger, well-dressed gentleman whispered in disbelief.
“But how can it be,” an older, gray-haired man asked his wife.
Arianna turned back to her grandfather after she scanned the crowd, wondering why they were shocked.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“Nothing is wrong,” he replied. “They are all just entranced by your beautiful blue eyes.”
Arianna looked down below at all the transformed faces. She searched from dearg-dul face to dearg-dul face. Hidden behind colorful, feathered masks, she could not tell who each person was, but one thing was all the same. She could see only brown eyes staring back at her.
SEVEN
The dance continued once Arianna released her dearg-dul form, and the chatter died down. As she sat beside her grandfather watching the crowd of richly colored dresses twirl before her, periodically she could hear someone ask their neighbor about Arianna. She sat and listened to several of the conversations, still unsure as to why she was any different from the people standing below her, or what it meant. Strangely, Arianna was now relaxed sitting next to her grandfather. Love was pouring off of him, masking the slight murderous feeling she felt before.
“Grandfather,” she hesitantly began. Lord Randolph nodded, as he stopped watching their guests, and turned to Arianna giving her his full attention. “Why am I different?”
Lord Randolph smiled and patted her hand. “You truly don’t remember anything of your past, do you?” Arianna shook her head no. “We have a lot to tell you about, but don’t worry about it tonight. We have plenty of time.” Arianna tried to hide her disappointment from his loving stare.
Arianna returned to sitting in silence, and watched the people below enjoy themselves. She hadn’t noticed when Aunt Lilly left, but the faint fragrance of her perfume was not in the room any more. Unable to concentrate any longer on the people whispering about her, but not having an answer to her question of why she was different, Arianna yawned as she looked at the clock: two in the morning. Where’s Gabriel, she wondered, knowing he would answer her questions. Arianna closed her eyes and listened to the footsteps of the people dancing. She searched around the room. He wasn’t in the ballroom. She focused her attention on the rest of the building. Outside on the patio, she could hear the faint, distinct steps of Gabriel. Arianna opened her eyes to find her grandfather watching her.
“Are you getting tired?” he asked. Arianna nodded, wondering how she could detour to the patio before heading to bed. Arianna looked below at the people dancing. To leave the room, she could go straight through the dance floor, or around either side. If she headed around the right side, she could walk near enough to see if Gabriel was outside.
“Did you want to say goodnight to Gabriel?” Lord Randolph asked, surprising Arianna. It was of no use lying to him. Arianna nodded. Lord Randolph stood and offered her his hand. “I’ll take you to him.”
Whispers and stares followed them as they walked. Arianna tried to stay shielded behind her grandfather’s large, powerful arm as he led her around the right side of the room to the patio doors leading outside. Relieved to find that Devin was following close behind, Arianna tried to ignore the curious guests.
Outside, the cool spring air smelled wet, as if it had just rained. It perfectly hid the scent of her uncle as he stood outside, watching the stars. Gabriel only moved slightly to acknowledge he heard them near him. Arianna could feel the tension between the two older men, and Devin seemed to be anxiously waiting for something to happen.
“Nice night,” Gabriel commented. “What do you think, old man?”
Lord Randolph chuckled. “If I’m an old man, what does that make you?” he replied. “Arianna was heading to bed, but I believe she wanted to talk to you first. We will be right inside the door,” he said kindly to Arianna. Arianna nodded her head, thankful to be left alone with Gabriel.
“Not enjoying the party?” Gabriel asked. Removing his coat, he placed it around his tiny grandniece. “Too much to take in at one time, isn’t it?” Arianna nodded as she realized it was still quite cold outside, and his warm coat felt good.
“Why do they stare and talk about me?” she asked. “I know I’m different than them, but I don’t understand why.”
“You mean your blue eyes?” Gabriel asked. “They make you very special to them. There has never been a dearg-dul born with blue eyes. If I remember right, there’s some sort of legend that goes along with your eyes. Everyone is curious if you are truly the person of legend.”