Since seeing Fredrick and Jacqueline, Anna found that not only had she been keeping an eye out for the two, but she'd been thinking about them more as well. Memories she'd tried so hard to repress came flooding back to her. She remembered times she'd spent not just with Fredrick, but with Jacqueline as well.
Jacqueline had been Anna's best friend growing up. They'd lived next door to each other since the two were only six or seven years old. Even then, Anna had been the shy, quiet type, while Jacqueline had been much more adventurous. Anna remembered how much trouble they used to get into – playing in the dirt and running through fields. Jacqueline had always been the one to push Anna into doing things she normally never would have dreamed of doing. Like climbing trees and swimming in the lake at the edge of town – neither of which was something Anna would have ever done without Jacqueline there urging her on. Anna wasn't sure whether it was the times she'd been brought up in or simply the town where she'd lived, but girls just didn't do those kinds of things. But Jacqueline had never been one to care about what she was supposed to do; she did what she wanted, and who cared what anyone else thought! And while Anna never dared swim after she'd become a vampire, she couldn't help but be grateful to Jacqueline for teaching her how to climb trees – it had turned out to be quite a useful skill, especially since it had saved her life on more than one occasion.
They'd shared secrets and dreams. Jacqueline had dreamed of being mayor of their town – or even a governor; she knew someday she'd do something big – be someone important. Anna, on the other hand, had just wanted a normal, quiet life. She'd told Jacqueline that, and remembered how Jacqueline had just laughed; that kind of life would never suit Jacqueline Chilton.
Eventually, however, Anna's precious memories turned dark, and her face clouded over. Thinking about Jacqueline always led Anna to one place – that Saturday night, when everything changed. That night, there had been a dance in the Great Hall, in the center of town. It was the social event of the season, and everyone in both the town and its surrounding areas had showed up, ready not only to dance, but also to catch up on any town gossip that they might have missed out on during the year.
The party had started off well, and everyone was having a great time. The dance floor was filled with couples. Young ladies in long dresses danced merrily with men in formal coats. Anna had chosen to wear her favorite dress – a silky pale blue one that came just above the floor. It was trimmed with lace, and matched nicely with her formal white gloves. She had pulled her hair up, with long tendrils falling gracefully about her face, and she looked absolutely beautiful.
Anna walked in to the dance hall, a little late. Everyone turned to see her when she came in, and she could hear the gasps and whispers about how stunning she was, making her smile happily to herself; she had always been pretty, but rarely noticed. Now that she was engaged to Fredrick, however, she had become much more talked about. Anna walked past the awestruck faces and said hello to her friends before looking around for Fredrick. She found him at the back of the room, wearing a dark coat, his blond hair tied back with a black velvet ribbon. Glass in hand, he was talking and laughing with a group of friends – the center of attention. Anna laughed in spite of herself; here was Fredrick, popular as always.
When Fredrick saw Anna, he smiled brightly and immediately made his way over to her, leaving his friends almost looking disappointed by his absence. She greeted him warmly, and the two of them walked out to the dance floor. They danced together for hours. Even now, all these years later, Anna still remembered the touch of his hand on her waist as he paraded her expertly around the dance floor. But the night air was hot, and after a while Anna needed to take a break. She walked over to a table at the back of the room that had been set up for refreshments and got herself a drink. While there, she met up with a few friends of her own, including her best friend Jacqueline. Jacqueline congratulated Anna, saying how lucky she was to be marrying such a great man as Fredrick. Anna smiled happily; she knew she was lucky, and having the support of her friends made her feel even luckier. Someone asked if a date had been set yet, and another girl asked if Anna knew where she and Fredrick would be living. It was all idle chatter; everyone in town already knew all the details of Anna's engagement. In fact, Anna wouldn't have been surprised in the least if it turned out her friends knew more about her engagement than she did!
As the group of girls gossiped and congratulated Anna, Jacqueline became more and more withdrawn. Anna smiled fondly to herself; Jacqueline never was very good at letting someone else be the center of attention. After a few minutes more, Jacqueline quietly excused herself from the group and melted back into the crowd while Anna allowed herself to be fussed over for a little while longer.
Eventually, Anna's thoughts drifted back to Fredrick, and she realized that she hadn't seen him in quite a while. She wondered where he could be, and started looking around the room, searching for him. After several minutes of scanning the crowd, Anna realized with a slight shock that Fredrick wasn't there. That's strange, she thought, wondering where he could be. Probably outside with his friends, she reasoned. She decided to go out and look for him.
The Great Hall was seated next to the local inn. Behind the inn, off in the distance a little, were the stables. The stables were close to the inn so that people who stayed there could have a place to keep their horses; they were also far enough away to help keep the smell from anyone in the nearby buildings.
Since the stables were a little out of the way, they were a favorite hangout place for people who didn't want to be disturbed, for whatever reason. And since she hadn't seen Fredrick in the Great Hall, she wondered if he and some of his friends had gone out to the stables.
Anna hesitated for a few minutes, trying to decide if she should go check. After all, was it really her business if he went out there with his friends? But then, why wouldn't he tell her? She was almost certain that he wouldn't have gone off without telling her, but she still had that nagging feeling. If he wasn't at the dance with her, where was he?
As Anna waffled, she looked out towards the stables, hoping for a sign one way or the other. She squinted into the darkness, trying to see. She was almost certain that the stable door was cracked open. That was odd. The doors were always fastened shut – especially on a night like tonight, when they'd be full of horses from neighboring villages. The doors didn't latch from the inside, and they always swung open just slightly if anyone was in there. Since it was such a well-known place for the younger people in town to run off to, Anna had seen those doors ajar more than a few times. Clearly then, someone was inside. But who?
There was a narrow dirt path leading out from stables, but it made its way to the inn, not the back of the hall where Anna now stood. If she was going to get there, she'd have to walk through an abandoned field of dried up hay and weeds. If she did decide to go, it would be a long, rough trip.
After standing outside debating for several minutes, Anna eventually decided to just go out to the stables and see for herself if he was there. He wasn't here – that was for sure, and her worrying was starting to get the best of her; something might have happened to him. She grabbed up her skirts in her hands and slowly started making her way towards the stable doors. The weeds were up past her knees, and the ground was rough and impossible to navigate. She stumbled several times, but thankfully managed not to fall. Eventually, she made it to the stable doors. When she got there, Anna hesitated. She didn't actually know who was in there. What if she barged in on someone else? She sat outside the door for a few minutes, debating and starting to feel like a fool. She hadn't been invited out here, what if she wasn't supposed to come? But then, she knew everyone in town – would they really mind if she was with them? After a few minutes more of standing by the thick, wooden door, she heard a laugh coming from inside followed by something mumbled indistinctly. She recognized the laugh as belonging to Fredrick.
Hearing Fredrick's laugh set Anna's mind at ease. If he was in the stable, then it would be all right for her to go in. After all, she knew him well by this point, and he wouldn't do anything that he wouldn't want her to know about.
The door was heavier than she remembered from when she was a child. She pulled hard. Slowly, it swung open. Inside, it was almost completely dark; there were no lights, not even a single candle. The only light came from the moon, and it streamed through the windows at the back of the stables and onto the hay-strewn floor. Cautiously, as quietly as she could, she walked past the stalls where the horses slept.
The first three-fourths of the building was lined with stalls to keep horses in; one row on each side. The remainder was filled with hay, about waist-deep. It was in this hay that Anna saw a shadow moving. Since all the light was coming from in front of Anna, whoever was in the hay hadn't seen her yet. She walked slowly forward, her heart beating fast. She was only about ten feet away when the figure she'd seen sat up. It was Fredrick.
When he saw her, he didn't greet her like he usually did. Instead, he sounded angry and upset. "What are you doing here?" he demanded sharply.
Anna was stunned, and she wasn't sure how to respond. As it turned out, she didn't have to.
Fredrick's outburst hadn't only startled Anna – it had also surprised someone else. Someone who had been sitting in the hay next to Fredrick. Anna jumped a little in surprise. She hadn't noticed another person here; she'd been too focused on Fredrick's reaction to seeing her. But if Anna was surprised to see another figure in the shadows, her reaction was no match for the one she got from this second person.
Anna heard a sharp intake of breath and then a long drawn out, "Oooh...nooo..." Anna realized that she knew exactly who this was. The voice belonged to none other than her best friend – Jacqueline.
Anna felt as if she had just been slapped. What was her fiancée doing sitting alone in the dark with her best friend? She couldn't believe it. Here was the man she was going to marry – the man she loved – sitting here with her closest friend, the one person Anna had felt sure she could always trust. They'd been friends forever; Jacqueline would never betray her like this. They knew all each other's secrets – well, apparently not all of each other's secrets. Her chest felt tight, and Anna could feel herself start to shake.
"Anna," Fredrick said, back to sounding just as sweet and loving as he always did – the anger and hostility completely gone. He stood up and started walking towards her. "I can explain. It's not the way it looks." As Fredrick started walking towards Anna, arms outstretched reassuringly, she started backing away.
"No," she said quietly, shaking her head. "I think it's exactly the way it looks." Tears were starting to run down her face, and she was grateful for the darkness. She turned away from Fredrick and Jacqueline and stumbled towards the door. As she reached the heavy oak slab, she heard Fredrick's voice calling out to her from across the darkness.
"Fine." he said, sounding cold – almost detached. "I guess that's that, then."
Anna thought he'd said something else, but by that time, she was already out the door and running through the field. Tears were streaming down her face and she had to hold her dress up around her knees to keep from tripping on the hem. Anna didn't even bother to go back to the dance. In fact, that was the last thing on her mind. Right now, all she wanted to do was go home.
Anna was a mess by the time she actually made it home. She didn't live far from the center of town, but it was still a long walk, especially dressed as she was. She shut the front door and leaned against it. Turning around, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror that hung over the mantle. Her hair was disheveled and her face was stained with tears; her makeup had run down her face in streaks.
Her parents were still awake, and had been surprised by the sound of the door shutting – they hadn't expected their children to be home so soon. Anna's mother had asked her what was wrong, but Anna was too upset to explain. They'd find out soon enough anyway; Anna was sure it'd be the talk of the town by the next morning. All she wanted right now was to go up to her room and melt into her bed.
Once she was safely upstairs, away from all the curious questions, Anna ripped off her dress and threw it in a ball in the corner. After washing the smeared makeup off of her face and brushing her hair out, she pulled on her nightgown and slipped wearily into bed. There, curled under her covers and clutching her pillow in both hands, Anna cried herself to sleep.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCH1JptNel
