Waltz into the Waves

by Sarah Holman

  Waltz into the Waves

  by Sarah Holman

  Waltz into the Waves

  www.destinyofone.blogspot.com

  Cover Design by Sarah Holman

  Photos by Mikayla Holman

  www.thebubblegumballerina.blogspot.com/

  Waltz into the Waves Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Holman

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the permission of the publisher and the copyright holder.

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  About the Author

  Other books by Sarah Holman

  Dedication

  To my dear nieces, Summer and Michelle:

  Never forget that you are princesses and your princes will find you

  Chapter 1

  “Amelia!”

  I swung around at my father’s voice. He stood atop the sand dunes, waving to me. I hoped he was not coming to take me home.

  “Father! Come and join me. This water is lovely!” The seawater swirled about my ankles, and the sand squished between my toes. I didn’t want to leave.

  My father threw back his head. I could hear his laugh even though he was far away.

  “I thought you might rather persuade another to join you!” He yelled.

  “Who? Cynthia perhaps?” Even the name of my dear friend, who was a servant on the neighboring estate, brought a smile to my face. Being a rather odd girl, I didn’t have many friends. Cynthia was my senior by a full ten years. She had taken me under her wing when my mother had died shortly after my birth. Cynthia was a good friend and understood the deep attachment I had to my father. She, however, did not understand my love for the ocean. She feared the waves almost as much as I loved them.

  “I was thinking you might prefer Alex’s company this day.” I could almost see my father’s eyes dancing.

  “He is here?” I lifted my skirts and ran as fast as I could in the sand.

  My father was still laughing when I reached him.

  “Is he truly here?” I threw my arms around my father’s neck. His eyes were indeed dancing. The same way they danced in the winter when he and I would work on gifts for each other, making a game out of who could keep the gift a secret the longest. They also danced that way on long summer days, when we worked together to build castles in the sand or hunted for crabs.

  He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a squeeze before nodding. “He arrived minutes ago and came right over to see you.”

  I shrieked with joy and pulled away from my father. Taking fists full of my skirt, I started racing back toward the house. Soon my bare feet were slapping against grass instead of sand. As I approached our neighbor’s manor, I slowed my steps. Shielding my eyes from the sun, I gazed toward the house, where Cynthia worked. I saw him! Alex stood with his broad back turned to me. His hands rested on his hips as he watched servants carry in his trunks.

  “Alex!”

  He pivoted in my direction when I called. For a moment he stood still, as if he didn’t recognize me. The next moment, he was racing toward me. The waist-high fence that surrounded the manor didn’t even slow him down; he flung himself over it in a fluid motion.

  I rushed toward my dear friend. When we met, he lifted me off my feet like always and spun me around. I squealed as he picked up speed. He had greeted me this way every summer since… I couldn’t remember a time when I did not know Alex.

  Alex continued to spin me, and I pretended to be angry, pounding my fist against his shoulder without any force behind the blows. Laughing, he set me down.

  “I have missed you, Ella.” His rich baritone saying my middle name was pleasant in my ear as he hugged me.

  My breath caught as I stepped back to look at him. My heart fluttered, but I couldn’t understand why. Wasn’t this the same Alex I had known for years? No, not exactly. His smile had not changed, but his handsome face had lost all his boyish looks since last summer. His nineteen years showed in his bearing. He was now a man.

  “Amelia.” Keeping hold on my hands, he stepped back to survey me. “You… you have grown.” His smile had disappeared, and he grew serious. Something had changed between us in the year we had been apart. We both felt it.

  “How was your season at court?” I asked with a broad smile, knowing what his reaction would be. Sure enough, he groaned as he reached down to retrieve a package he had dropped when greeting me.

  “Duller than the dullest book in your father’s library. I am ready for the sea air and to step into the waves.”

  I took hold of his arm and pulled him toward the path. “Come, it is the perfect day for getting your feet wet.”

  He peered down at my bare feet as he fell into step beside me. “I see you have already tested the waters.”

  I glanced down. The hem of my emerald gown was soaked, and my feet still had sand on them. I turned a shy gaze back to him. “I am sure no lady at court would be caught with a wet hem, or bare feet.”

  Alex took both my hands into his own and spun me around, laughing. “Perhaps not, but why do you think I am always so eager to return to you?”

  I gave a half-hearted smile. “My father says it is time for me to learn the ways of a proper lady. After all, it is only a matter of time before the one I am pledged to comes for me.”

  The mention of the fact I was destined to be an unknown noble’s wife seemed to put distance between Alex and myself. I immediately regretted saying anything to dampen our reunion.

  “Is that why your father is marrying after all these years? To give you a mother to teach you?”

  I bit my lip. My father’s marriage, only a few days away, was not something I wished to discuss. “I love him dearly, but I know that a daughter cannot fill all the emptiness my mother left in his heart.”

  He put his hand on my shoulder as our feet touched the sand. “You aren’t happy about the marriage?”

  I pulled away, and walked toward the waves.

  Alex caught up with me in two long strides and turned me toward him once again. “I have met the woman your father intends to marry at court. She is ambitious and a tad selfish at times, but she is charming and genuinely seems to care about people.”

  I stared down at the sand and wiggled my toes deeper.

  Alex let out a sigh. “Amelia, we have been friends long enough to tell me what is bothering you.”

  I slowly lifted my gaze to meet his. “I’m not sure I want to learn to be a lady and leave this place. What if I don’t even like the man my father has pledged me to? What if my new step-mother doesn’t like me?”

  Alex stepped closer and placed both his hands on my shoulders. “You know that your father would never force you to marry a man you did not love. Even if he did, I would rescue you. All you would have to do is send word to me, and I would whirl you away to court.”

  The thought of the two of us at court was enough to turn my frown upside-down. “We would scandalize everyone, and then we would be banished from court forever. If that were to happen, how would the prince and all your friends at court get along without you? I heard the prince gave his first ball this season.”

  “Princes are only good for giving old women something to gossip about and young women to set their sights on. Oh, I brought this for you.” He reached down and picked up the package he had once again dropped.
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br />   I took hold of the white box and dusted off the sand before lifting its lid. At first, I thought it was an oddly shaped looking-glass. However, when I held it up, I found that it was slippers. I held a shoe up and saw the refection of the waves. “Are they made of glass?” I asked.

  “No.” Alex moved closer, picking the other shoe up. “They are silk, but something was added to make them glass-like. The merchant spouted all sorts of nonsense when he sold them. But I remember you said you always wanted to dance on air. I thought this might be the closest you would get to it.”

  I looked from the shoe to Alex, and my heart fluttered once again. I placed the shoes back into the box. “Thank you.”

  Alex clasped his hands behind his back. “Promise me you will wear them to your first ball?”

  “I promise.” I said it as solemnly as a knight taking his oath.

  “Amelia!”

  I winced at the high-pitched voice.

  Alex grimaced. “Who is that?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Did I mention that I am also getting a new step-sister? I had better go or she will start screaming my name.”

  “I will see you tomorrow, then.” Alex said.

  I nodded and turned reluctantly to return to my house.

  Chapter 2

  I had little time to spend with Alex in the weeks that followed. Most of my time was spent getting things ready for my new mother and sister to move in and keeping my new sister from taking my room. However, I do believe that my new mother and I would have gotten along fine had it not been for the tragedy.

  Two weeks after his wedding, my father went out riding and was thrown from his horse. He died that same day without ever opening his eyes.

  I made it through the days that followed and the funeral with the decorum my mother felt I needed, which meant not venturing outside the walls of my home. After the funeral, I couldn’t stay inside any longer. I ran to the place my father and I had always gone to whenever we were sad – the ocean.

  How long I sat alone, just watching the waves, I don’t know. I didn’t even look up when footsteps disturbed my peace.

  “I knew I would find you here.” Alex sat next to me on the sand.

  I lay down, turning my back to him.

  He leaned over me, blocking the sun overhead. “I’m sorry I missed the funeral. Please don’t be mad at me. I…”

  I grabbed him around the waist and buried my face in his chest. I let all the tears I had been holding come out in sobs. He held me tight, sometimes whispering calming words.

  “He was supposed to stay,” I cried when I could speak again. “There was so much he was supposed to teach me. He was going to help me learn to waltz for my first ball.”

  “I’ll bet he is waltzing in heaven right now, waiting for you.”

  “I want him to be here, now!”

  Alex cupped my face in his hands. “God loves you and will be with you, Ella, and so will I. And I will teach you to waltz.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t want to learn now. I don’t want to do anything without him.” I tried to pull away, but Alex held me fast.

  “Don’t stop living just because your father is dead. Come, let me teach you. Close your eyes and imagine it is him.”

  He pulled me to my feet. I followed him, only because I was too tired to argue. He arranged our hands; placing one of mine on his shoulder, and taking my other in his own. He slipped his other arm around my waist.

  “Close your eyes,” Alex whispered. “Imagine your father’s favorite song and follow my lead.”

  I closed my eyes, and imagined the lovely melody. Alex pulled me toward him, and I tripped over his feet. I opened my eyes and tugged. “I can’t do this. Not now.”

  “Yes, you can.” He seemed so determined. “You would have done the same thing if your father had taught you. I will step back with my left, you step forward with your right. We will do this three times and make one full turn.”

  I nodded and closed my eyes and remembered the song my father loved. To my surprise, I had no trouble this time. My feet followed Alex’s lead and we waltzed in the sand. Tears spilled down my cheeks, even though my eyes were shut. It should have been my father teaching me, but he was gone.

  Alex pulled me closer, resting his cheek against mine. “You dance better than the ladies at court. Your father would be proud.”

  I only cried harder. I laid my forehead on Alex’s shoulder. Somehow, I still managed to keep time, and we waltzed on the beach. Memories of all the hours my father and I had shared on the beach were all I could think about, but they were easier to bear in Alex’s arms.

  I took another waltzing step and felt something cold and wet wrap around my leg. My tears stopped in an instant, and I screamed. Before I even had time to react, Alex had scooped me up into his arms. It was only when I opened my eyes that I realized that we had waltzed into the waves.

  I swallowed hard. Suddenly, all that I really was aware of was the fact that Alex was easily holding me above the water, and my arms were wrapped around his neck. His face, so handsome, was only inches away from mine. The wild beating of my heart had nothing to do with my scare. I longed to lower my lips and share my first kiss with the boy I had grown up with.

  The shock of that thought brought me to my senses. Like it or not, my father had pledged me to another.

  “Good thing I wasn’t wearing my silk slippers,” was all I could think of to say.

  Alex said nothing. He slowly, ever so gently, set me down. For one moment, I was sure he was going to lower his head, but at the last instant, he stepped back. Perhaps he also remembered I was pledged to another.

  “I must get back.” His voice was full of regret.

  I stepped back, trying to break the emotion that now lingered between us. The invisible cord, though, did not snap with distance.

  “Amelia!”

  I wanted to shove my new sister into the ocean for interrupting.

  “Coming!” The last thing I wanted was for her to join us. I turned to go, but Alex took hold of my hand.

  “Meet me here tomorrow?”

  I nodded and then raced toward my home, not wanting my sister to come for me. I was panting for air when I reached the house. The sound of furniture scraping the floor above greeted my entrance.

  Bounding up the stairs, I went straight to my room. I found my step-mother struggling to pull the wooden chest with my belongings out the door.

  “What are you doing?” I looked into the room. Most of my belongings lay in a heap on the bed and my step-sister’s dresses now hung in my wardrobe.

  My step-mother turned, her red-rimmed eyes squinting, her nostrils flaring. “You took him from me! If he hadn’t been working so hard, he would have lived. Instead, you forced him to go out, and it killed him!”

  I winced, and my heart thudded against my chest. I knew my step-mother had been distraught with grief, but I didn’t think she would go so far as to blame me for my father’s death.

  “What are you doing to my things, and my room?”

  She grabbed me by the arm and jerked me down the stairs. She dragged me into the servant’s room just off the kitchen. “This is where you will stay. You will not take anything else from me or my daughter! I will not have you marry a prince so that my own daughter has to curtsy to you!”

  Now I knew she was going crazy with grief. “I will never be a princess, and I will always do what I can to…”

  I hadn’t realized my step-mother was carrying a parchment until she threw it at me. I unrolled it and struggled to decipher the full meaning of the words.

  “This must be some mistake.” I started to re-read the document. “I knew my father had pledged me to someone, but…”

  “I will never allow you to marry the crown prince!” My mother grabbed the contract from me. “You have stolen my husband. I will not let you steal this chance for my daughter. She will take your place as Amelia Ella. She will wed the prince, and you will serve her until your dying day.”

&nb
sp; I rose to my full height and clenched my fists. “You have my room!” I yelled. “Let your daughter marry the prince, I don’t care. But you will not take my name!”

  “How dare you!” My step-mother shoved me through the door that adjoined the kitchen. “You will do as I say.”

  I backed away from her, my anger rising. “My father gave me my real mother’s name, you cannot have it!”

  “I will take from you whatever I want!” She rushed toward me, and I stepped back, losing my balance. It wasn’t until I was lying on my side that I realized the cooking fire had been behind me. For a moment I didn’t feel anything, and then it hit me.

  My step-mother’s face turned ashen, but she had the presence of mind to jerk me to my feet.

  I screamed. I couldn’t help it. The searing pain was worse than anything that I had ever felt before. I had fallen into the cinders, and my whole right cheek had been seared.

  Chapter 3

  I couldn’t help but smile as I skipped along the path between my home and the neighboring manor. I drank in the early morning scents…and the quiet. There was no step-mother giving her orders, and no step-sister call me Cinder-Ella. It was her constant way of reminding me of my scar, and the fact that she had taken my first name.

  I paused for a moment and closed my eyes, listening to the distant waves that seemed to be calling me. The day was already warm; summer was here to stay. But I wasn’t able to spend much time at the shore, I was needed elsewhere.

  Opening my eyes again, I hurried on my way, not wanting to be caught outdoors once more people woke up. It wasn’t that I worried about my step-mother’s scolding, which she did often enough. I wanted to be indoors when people had started waking. I had to admit, even after three years, I did not like people staring at me.

  The fall in the fire had caused the right side of my face to be marred. Actually, it had also scarred my right shoulder and upper arm, but that wasn’t visible. Only Cynthia, who had attended to me in the days following my injury, had seen the full extent of what the fall into the fire had done to me.