Raphael D'Winter

The royal ball was held, as always, lavishly and tastefully... with the taste characteristic of a fashionable king who thought about everything but politics. I hadn't been to such social events in a long time. Not that I disliked them, but I hadn't been there since my brother's death... since the day everything went topsy-turvy, including my life. Who insisted on marrying the girl who would become his undoing? He used to say, "She's more beautiful than an angel," and why are all lovers such idiots? I was sure no woman could drive me mad; after all, I was Count Winter, not some passing clown from Provence. The herald again commented on some apparently majestic and wealthy person, but I raised my eyes for just a moment and glanced at the broad-shouldered figure of a graying man, and behind him... behind him followed a young woman, "apparently his daughter"... I thought, wondering why this lady had caught my attention so much in this riot of colors... The orchestra began to play a waltz, His Highness Louis invited Anna to dance, but I didn’t care, after thinking about it, I decided for some reason that dancing wouldn’t be so bad, involuntarily meeting the gaze of a young lady who had only recently appeared in the hall, approaching, I bowed respectfully, glancing at the girl, she was quite pretty, her light hair was braided in an intricate hairstyle and her cornflower-blue eyes looked at me as if I was that very jester, chuckling to myself, I met her gaze

"My lady...please don't take it as rude, I don't know your name, but would you like to give me one dance?