"My lady, your feet." Owen gestured his hand for Luna to show them.
"Excuse me?" She said, shocked and offended.
"Your feet.. so I can prepare the shoes fitting them." He sat in front of her, with one knee to the floor.
"Ah...right...right." She awkwardly and hesitantly brought her pale white foot hidden behind the frills of her dress as she was seated.
"Selkie." Owen's voice made one of the pixies come forward and it started to weave something around Luna's foot.
"Make sure the edges are smooth so that she doesn't get hurt." He instructed the pixie as he stared at her feet.
Luna felt somewhat uncomfortable by his gaze on her feet. She wanted to hide them beneath the ruffles of her skirt but the pixie was working on the shoe at the moment.
"Can you stop staring?" She finally spoke in a harsh tone. Owen's glance went from her feet to her flustered face. For a moment, he remained silent as he read her face.
"I apologise for the rudeness. It's just that... nevermind." Owen stopped midway.
"Have you never seen such big feet before?" Luna completed what he dared not to say.
"I've seen bigger ones than that. But never a lady's." Owen replied politely.
You must be revolted by the sight.
"It's mesmerising." His words caught her off guard. She looked at his face trying to read it. It was the same expressionless face that he carried. No smile, no frown whatsoever except for the flicker of light in his eyes.
"Since you're always training and working, I thought your feet might be bruised or calloused. It seems I was wrong. They're more ladylike except for the size." He took in a deep breath before he continued, "But it makes sense too."
"My big feet make sense?"
"Big feet means they aren't fragile. They're stable. You cover more area and are able to maintain stability even on unstable ground. That's just like you isn't it? Even in adversity, you stood firm on your ground. Unshakable, and yet, ever so beautiful."
Luna smiled at his words. It was the first time she hadn't disliked her feet. The only flaw that nobles were able to find in her appearance didn't feel like a flaw anymore. Instead, it just grew her self-confidence. A bubble of joy formed inside her heart.
"It's done." The pixie's voice brought her to reality. She looked down at her feet with awe.
"Cinderella's shoes?" The shoes were made completely of gemstones of many kinds to give a harmonious look with her dress.
"Shall we, my lady?" Owen stood up and raised his hand towards her. She smiled brightly as she took his hand and walked out of her room towards the ballroom.
Behind the gates that led to the ballroom, the two stood next to each other as the announcement was made.
"Duchess Oleander and Lord Lily have arrived." The grand door swung open revealing the brightly lit room filled with the sounds of music and chatter. The two stepped in together wrapped by the stares of others.
"Heavens! Is that silk she wears?"
"I can't say for sure, it looks translucent but I don't see anything beneath."
"It looks ethereal. It's as if it was made for her."
The attention of the nobles were on Luna and her breathtaking beauty in the dress that was prepared last minute. The fascinating dress was white but reflected colours like a prism under the light. It was one of a kind for it looked translucent with all of its ruffles but it wasn't.
"I see you've caught the attention of everyone." Owen took small steps as he walked with her.
"I can't blame them. My dressmaker has put in a lot of effort to highlight my beauty. Say, what is this fabric? It's soft as silk but I know it isn't." Luna was curious like a little child.
"It's a fabric that only a few pixies can make with their magic. Rare to the point that the fabric hasn't even been named yet."
"Is that so? I'm more curious about that than the dress." Luna gazed up at the ceiling of the ballroom. "How did you manage to put up a sky on the ceiling? And one that's moving?"
"Mana stones. That's all I can tell you." His reply was rather mysterious yet alluring.
Luna looked around in worry, the glass tightly clenched in her hand. Hans had yet to arrive and the music for the first dance was set to be played in five minutes.
"Don't frown." She turned around to hear Owen's words. "You're the center of attention today. They can sense your unease even if you don't speak. Keep your shoulders squared and your head high."
Luna followed his instructions without any complaints. "What about uncle Hans? Any news?"
"Damian just came to inform me that he arrived a minute ago. Went to take a shower and a change of clothes since he reeked of blood." His words reassured her.
Five minutes passed by as a second and the music for the first dance started to play. However, Hans had yet to arrive. The nobles glanced at Luna waiting for her to start her dance with a partner.
She shut her eyes and took a deep breath to relax herself. As she opened them again, to her surprise, she saw Owen with one knee to the floor.
"Would you give me the honour of your first dance?" His voice was soft and somewhat seductive.
Luna smiled and took his hand once again, "Of course."
As the two began to dance, it felt as if no one else existed over there. Just those two in their own world with the music playing in the background. But the sight of Hans at the door brought Owen back to reality.
He and Hans nodded as Hans took small steps towards the center where the two were dancing.
Luna twirled, making her dress seamlessly flow like water around her. With one hand, Owen guided her rotation with a steady, lingering touch; with the other, he caught Hans's hand in a silent, fluid motion. In one fluid beat, he stepped back into the shadows, leaving the uncle and niece to lead the room as if the swap had been part of the choreography all along.
"About time you arrived." Luna scoffed.
"Sorry for the delay." Hans smiled warmly at her, "And happy birthday."
Luna chuckled, "Plan B did make me save face."
"I'm more impressed by the way he made you change partners in the middle of the dance." Hans admired him.
"He's, after all, Mr Perfectionist."
While the uncle and niece danced, Owen was tasting the delicacies of the night to check if anything was wrong. The head chef stood at the corner with his breath held. Owen walked towards him after testing out everything.
"Is anything wrong?" The head chef couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing wrong." Owen walked past him, his pace increasing. But his expression said something else.
The head chef followed behind him just in case only for him to see him retching everything he ate. The chef's knuckles went white for the fear of something gone terribly wrong.
"Lord Owen..I..I.."
"Don't worry about it. Your food's okay. He's not." The chef turned to see who spoke and patted his shoulders.
"Hugo." Owen looked up at him from the bucket he was vomiting in.
"Easy there dude. Shouldn't have eaten so much when you know you can't." Hugo rubbed Owen's back.
Owen stood up and left to gargle his mouth to remove the stench while Hugo turned to the head chef.
"Is he alright?" The chef asked with concern.
"Yeah. Doesn't eat much normally. Three bites at most. Seven on a lucky day. Figures he'd vomit everything." Hugo reassured him and went in search of Owen.
"And here I was complaining he never finishes his meal. Who'd have thought he eats less with that build of his." The chef mumbled to himself.