Not So Empty Vows

Cecilia is a 15 year old, single, duchess whose life gets turned upside down when she goes to her best friend's masquerade ball.

Not So Empty Vows

            The clock tower struck 8. The noise echoed through the dim, damp streets of London. But between the pitter-patter of the somber rain and the sounds of revelry from the mansion, Cecilia hadn’t noticed. She had just arrived at the masquerade ball, fashionably late as usual, despite being the guest of honor. When Cecilia opened the carriage door a welcoming face greeted her.

            “Duchess Cecilia welcome! Master Asher was worried that you wouldn’t show! He will be very excited to know you’re here!” said one of Asher’s servants, Sebastian. Sebastian was a relatively mediocre servant but a close family friend of Asher’s and he could never find it in him to fire Sebastian. Cecilia nodded and followed the brunette butler inside the house. He led her through long, tiled hallways until they reached an ebony door. Sebastian pushed open the door revealing the ballroom behind it. Upon walking in Cecilia saw all the couples that were dancing in perfect synchronicity stop and turn towards her. Most stood in respectful silence but some whispered about Cecilia’s date or there lack of. The people who were silent stared in awe at Cecilia’s flowing cerulean dress. She also had two matching bows in the front of her hair. An isle cleared as Cecilia approached the stairs. Elegantly she started up the steps to join Asher at the top. She could feel her anxiety growing more and more palpable with every step. When she finally reached the top she turned around to see hundreds of people staring up at the pale girl. She was thankful this was a masquerade ball because behind it she was shaking. No matter how many times she did things like this she was always nervous. But this time she was especially nervous. Recently she had celebrated her 15^th birthday and there has been an ample amount of hearsay about whom she was going to marry ever since. People expected a girl her age to be engaged by about a month after. It was now 3 or 4 and she still wasn’t engaged. Luckily her best friend from childhood, Asher, was there to comfort her during this time.

            “Welcome everybody, I would like to introduce our guest of honor, Duchess Cecilia Harrisburg” said Asher motioning to her with his hand.

            “Thank you Asher. I am honor to be here tonight and to be able to celebrate with all of you” said Cecilia frankly. She learned early on that at these kinds of events that less is more. Everyone clapped tepidly and continued dancing. Then Asher and Cecilia locked arms and started down the stairs. Cecilia felt safe next to Asher, she always did, but she could never explain why. She had spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out.

            “Maybe it’s his warm, comforting facial figure or the way he smiles at me” Cecilia always thought. But her mind always managed to meander to how he cared about her. When they were little the two of would always play in the courtyard. One day the two of them were relaxing under a tree, for it was a rather sunny day, when Asher suddenly tied a piece of grass around her finger.

            “I, Asher Long, vow that I will love you till the end of time and that one day we will get married. Do you accept?” asked Asher holding her hands? Cecilia smiled and kissed him on the cheek. This caused them both to become a dark shade of crimson.

            “I, Cecilia Harrisburg, corgiely accept your offer” she said smiling. At the time Cecilia meant cordially but since she was young she said it wrong. But those vows were made long ago and meant nothing now. Little did Cecilia know, Asher’s vows were sincere and to him were still meaningful. The two of them walked over to a sitting area and sat down on a long cushioned chair. Not long after they sat down someone came running up to the three of them. It was countess Mimi, not a member of Cecilia’s circles but she knew a little bit about her. Mimi was a shameless flirt who would get with any man she could sink her paws into. Her recent target was Asher.

            “Hi Asher! You look handsome tonight!” said Mimi twirling her hair! Cecilia just rolled her eyes as the two conversed. She wanted to comment on Mimi’s slovenly behavior but decided against because she didn’t need anymore gossip about her.

            “Asher could you go get us something to drink?” asked Mimi flirtatiously? Asher nodded and walked away leaving the two girls alone. Mimi had a cheerful smile on her face until Asher was out of earshot. Once he was, her jovial smile quickly became a petulant pout.

            “I cannot believe the audacity you have to show up here without a date! A girl of your prose and social stature should have been married months ago! But I guess I can only blame your w***e of a mother for not educating you properly. She was always to busy performing burlesque actions to care about you. The only reason she actually tried to reconnect with is because she needed money” said Mimi maliciously. Cecilia felt her vision being clouded by tears. Her mother was a sensitive topic still and nobody dared talk about it especially not in such a bawdy way. On her 15^th birthday Cecilia’s mother had a mental break down and died days later. The doctors told Cecilia she had caught syphilis from one of her many sexual partners. Despite being the duchess her mother was not the queen. She was the daughter of a well-known courtesan who got impregnated by the king. She left the baby with the king because she couldn’t afford to keep it. Her mother then showed up at the castle a few months before Cecilia’s birthday. Angrily Cecilia got up and stormed out onto the balcony. Once she was there tears burst from her eyes as if a reservoir was just broken and everything flooded. After sitting there for a while her mind started to drift. Eventually it drifted to her and Asher’s vows.

            “Empty. They didn’t mean anything” she told herself reassuringly. That was when she realized maybe her empty vows, weren’t so empty. She started thinking about her feelings towards Asher when the balcony door opened meekly. It was him.

            “Hey, I finally got Mimi to tell me what happened. I am sorry for her vulgar behavior” said Asher sitting next to her. There was a moment of silence as the two best friends looked over the quiet city. Asher then placed his arm around Cecilia causing them both to blush slightly. Suddenly Asher pulled out a small box but Cecilia was to deep in thought to notice. He then pulled a ring out of it and slipped it on Cecilia’s finger. This she noticed. She looked at the ring then back up at Asher who was smiling.

            “I, Asher Long, vowed to love you till the end of time and to marry you someday. Well today is that day. Do you accept?” asked Asher wistfully. Cecilia smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

            “I, Cecilia Harrisburg, vowed to accept. Therefore, I do” said Cecilia. Asher smiled and hugged Cecilia. That is when she realized what made her feel so safe. It was the love that the two shared for each other since childhood. When the embrace broke, just for a split second, Cecilia saw something. Something magical. She saw a miracle. Because for just a second in time childhood love flourished into something more, something greater.