A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes {upscalerat}

[Shelby]

There was always a thought in the back of her mind, telling her that everything was going to be okay, telling her that things would start to look better for her in the future and that all of her hard work would start to pay off soon. That all of the trials she had been though would actually amount to something and that she would not just be wasting her life on seemingly pointless things that she had become subject to after the death of her father all of those years ago. And while those thoughts normally circled through her head on a daily basis to keep her spirits up and to keep her optimistic, when she would actually listen to the tone of the voice she would always stop and grow sorrowful because the voice was the voice of her deceased father. With the deep richness that it always exuded, with the kindness that always came from everything he said... Ella could not deny that she missed it. She could not deny that she longed for her father's embrace again, even after so many years of him being gone, even after so many years of not hearing his voice and seeing his face and feeling his warm embrace that he would envelope her with when ever she was feeling down.

She missed that, because she had never had that warmth of anyone again. Not the warmth of her step mother, not the warmth of her two step sisters... They were not her family, or at least not her real family. She wanted to believe them to be; she wanted to believe them to be not the evil wenches that they so were, but as time wore on that was beginning to get harder and harder to see, especially now with the position that she was in, with the hand that she had been dealt with. Forced to live in the attic of the house that she had grown up in with, a majority of the time, her step family because there was no other family for her. Her father loved this woman, he loved his step children as well, yet they did not seem to ever reciprocate that same love and it was a shame. But, regardless, she used to have a room, a room that had been taken from her with a nice bed and with nice air conditioning. But, she was stuck with this.

After she graduated college she had no where else to go; she had no place to stay and she had no job either. And because she had no where to go, she came back home, to which her step mother seemed to welcome with open arms, however the woman had only acted as such to have the same things back from Ella. To have that servant back in the house, to have that girl who would do anything for the woman and her step sisters because she could do nothing of her own self. And it worked. The woman had said that because of the help that she had done to put her through college it was only right that Ella come back to clean the house and do any other chore that she gave until she was able to 'repay her debt', which the woman had actually said. To what debt, Ella had no idea, but she worked at it nonetheless because she still had no job, she was still alone. But she was still hopeful, and she still dreamed, and she still loved her life regardless of the hardships. Things would work out, because given her life she often was referred to her own thoughts thinking that it resembled the life of Cinderella in the Disney movie.

Two evil step sisters and and evil step mother who had come to take over her life after the death of her father because they didn't like her as much, because she was considered the pretty one and the better one. Cinderella worked hard, she was always optimistic, and things did work out for her. She found her Prince Charming, and then she lived happily ever after. Maybe her happily ever after would be soon. It would work out differently, she reasoned, because she doubted if she would meet a prince, and she doubted if she would ever be whisked away into a happily ever after because life did not work like that. But good times were to come, right?

In that moment, Ella was staring outside of the one window that was in the attic, her eyes peering out into the darkness as headlights soon turned on, the revving of a car engine coming to her ears in that next moment. She pulled the window open a bit and relished in the feeling of the fresh air hitting her face, smiling as it cooled her off, herself having been warmed over the house cleaning she had just finished. The laughter of her sisters could be heard even more now as the doors to the car opened and then closed back, music beginning to play from the car before it pulled off down the drive and then disappeared down the street. They were attending a party, a party that anyone in the neighborhood, as well as the neighborhood besides this one, had been invited to, including herself. There had been thoughts of whether or not she would go, her step sisters mentioning it at some point as well, them laughing at Ella earlier about it being a waste of time for her because she would be, as they called, lame and just over all a waste of space there and that she had to finish everything around the house anyway, including the things that they had given her to do.

But... She wanted to go. And she had finished the list of chores that her step mother had given her before she left the weekend, and her step sister's laundry was nearly finished. Why not go? It had been a long while since she had done anything fun, and all she needed to do was come back before her step sisters did. Everything would work out, everything would go according to plan... And she even had an outfit to wear.

The part was to be a semi formal one, where the girls wore dresses and the men wore suits, and she had just the dress. A smile graced her lips as she turned away from the window after the car had disappeared from her line of vision. She headed over to the small closet that she had, herself having to dig all the way through the small space before she found the dress that she had been looking for; a navy blue sleeveless dress that would reach to her knees. It had a sweet heart neckline, the part across her chest tight while the rest of it flowed around her, a blue mesh lining that started from just under the to portion of the dress, the fitted part, and then reached up to her neck to stay around it. It had been a gift from a friend of hers, a friend that she was no longer in contact with because of her having come back home and her stepmother removing most contact from her life. Ella, after pulling it out, held it up to herself as she turned and looked in the full length mirror that she had in the little room, twisting her body a bit as she laughed to herself gently. Yes, this would be perfect.

Soon enough she started to get herself ready; she took a shower to get the sweat off of her, she did her hair and curled it, she went downstairs to flip the laundry quickly, and then she went to put the dress on. And, last but not least, she went over to her dresser and opened the little box that was there, revealing the necklace her father had given to her before he passed. It had a little gold chain with a heart shaped locket on it. On the outside the heart was gold, an intricate design put on it, but when opening it up it it had a small picture of her and her father together, an old picture because she was but a mere child in it, but she cherished it nonetheless.

She overlooked herself in the mirror again, smiling to herself before she turned and quickly started to head out of the house. Now, just how was she going to get there? It wasn't far from the house, as far as she knew anyway, so she knew that she always could walk. And, she decided to do just that, despite the darkness of the night, despite how it was probably a terrible idea to walk alone at night, but she did it. And it took her about fifteen minutes to get to the party, music playing in her ears, people's voices more prominent. She suddenly grew nervous at it all, but, steeling her nerve, she took a breath and headed forward. At least her feet didn't hurt with the heels she wore.

 

[upscalerat]

It was almost sort of embarrassing, really, what an extent the Charmant family went to, sometimes. Oh, certainly, Henry couldn't deny that it was sweet. After all, it was his birthday, and his father could have held a small party. But ever since Henry's mother had passed, his father often went to extremes to give the best to his son. He was trying to play the role of two parents, perhaps, but he didn't need to. One was enough, when that one was as caring as Mr. Charmant was. That didn't stop the older man from going all out with anything that he could- for instance, this party. Had the wealthy family been at the head of a kingdom, why, the entire land would have been invited, Henry confessed to a friend. As it was, despite being somewhat of a formal occasion, there was no limit to who was invited. The doors were completely open. If one could make it, they were allowed in, provided they looked the part. It was an occasion to look past social class, his father would say, and to just have a good time. Henry didn't have the heart to tell him that social class perhaps wasn't as important to Henry's young adult life as it may have been to his father's, and just thanked him, instead.

The preparations were on a scale that took days of overseeing. The Charmants had a comically large house; almost a castle, to fit in with the kingdom metaphor. Henry and his father had to oversee the cleaning, direct what was to be done with what, determine what parts of the house would be open to the public and what not, decide where tables and bands and other such things would be. A terribly large affair, his father insisted. Why twenty two was such an important marker was yet to be revealed, but the party business really was a terribly large affair, and didn't give Henry much time to ask about such matters. No, he had to select a band and a catering service, and guesstimate how many people would show up. He suddenly appreciated guest lists much more, now, but it was a bit too late for that.

Relief was almost more powerful than excitement when the day finally arrived. At least for one day, he wouldn't have to worry about planning; clean up would wait until the morning, where he and his father would again have to oversee the hauling of this and that and all else, before they could finally rest. Unfortunately, with the day finally at hand, there wasn't much that Henry could do. It was a Saturday, so he couldn't spend his time going to class, but many of his friends would be busy, perhaps even preparing themselves for his party. With little else to do, Henry found himself wandering through the mansion, giving everything a final check. The tables were ready, the stage was ready, the proper doors were locked... Now it was truly just a matter of waiting. Wait for the temporary service that they had hired; wait for the food; wait for the band; and wait for the guests.

The wait service came first. They were a small collection of men and women, dressed in simple suits. Henry showed them about. Here was where guests would be permitted, here was where they would not be. The bathrooms were this way or that way. Civil conduct was expected, but if the service had to be persuasive, well, just don't do anything that would cause a lawsuit, and all should be well. Then he gave them their spots. One by each locked door, two by the entry way, and the other couple could wander around, and relieve their coworkers whenever they felt it appropriate. And since they were early, would they like lunch? It would be simple, just sandwiches, but the Charmants had found that even just a little bit of hospitality could go a long way. The service seemed to relax then, breathe a little, and become a little more human. They left their professionalism at the door for a few minutes, shared a few laughs, then picked it back up again when that was over.

The band arrived next. With how his father was prone to be, Henry was almost surprised; the group was smaller than what he had mentally prepared himself for, but now the size of the stage seemed fitting. There was a member or two to represent most instruments, though strings were favored somewhat over brass and woodwind, it seemed. They required much less attention. Here is the stage, and here is the bathroom; with that, Henry excused himself to go find his father, who had been rather mysteriously absent for the final preparations. The older man, it turned out, had been occupying himself with his own hobbies inside the house- Henry was a man, now, after all, and didn't need an old coot like him hovering about, he defended. The young man had to laugh at that, then told his "old coot" to watch for the catering company while his son prepared.

Though he hadn't exactly been working hard, Henry showered. It was almost more for mental preparation than anything. He spent time combing his black hair, and carefully dressing in his suit, so as to not crease it. It was simple, all black but for a white shirt, with gold buttons connecting the sides of his jacket roughly halfway down his torso. And the entire time that he dressed, Henry stared at the clock, willing the minutes to tick by faster, to no avail. They obstinately trudged on, refusing to speed for anything, until finally the young man could waste no more time. He returned back to the ground floor, and walked through everything again. Outside, empty tables waiting for party goers sat on the grass as an audience to the band. Between the stage and the tables, and faux dance floor had been set up. Inside, speakers brought the music in, with buffet tables lining one wall, and an array of more tables, with varying amounts of chairs at each, serving as a buffer between the food and the expanse of floor that would also serve for dancing or mingling- however people chose to approach the situation.

And there was everything. Henry went and stood next to his father, by the door. Now, they could only wait for guests, and soon enough, several of Henry's friend arrived, some with dates and others without. Though a small crowd, it was a start. The young man welcomed them in, showed them about, and talked until another group arrived. At first, the trickle of people was slow enough that the host could greet each one individually, and show them about. Quickly enough, he could only welcome them, and soon after that he no longer stood by the door, but instead walked through the people, strange and familiar alike, intermingling at random throughout the room and the yard.

 

[Shelby]

Her eyes searched this way and that, taking in the sights of everything, taking in the noises of everything, that stood around her. People talked and walked as they laughed with one another, some holding cups in their hands while others held plates with food in their hands. The lawn seemed more than well taken care of, the landscaping of the place was more then beautiful in her eyes but the sight that captivated her all the more was not the grass and the lawn; it was the house, or mansion rather if she wanted to give it an accurate name. Her eyes blinked as her legs stopped at the sight of the large building, beginning to compare it to the house that she lived in with her stepmother and stepsisters, a small breath of air sucking into her body as she found herself much too amazed by the sight to do anything else. Ella half took notice of the fact that other people who walked up behind her had to abruptly stop and turn a bit in order to avoid running into her, sounds of low grumbles coming from those people, however the girl pushed those sounds aside and continued to take in the sight of the mansion. It was overwhelming, and for once Ella was beginning to think back to what her stepsisters had told her about her not being worthy or good enough to come to a place like this. She had half a mind to believe what they had said now that she was here.

Thinking of them, where were her stepsisters? Again, Ella looked this way and that only to never see a trace of them, however there was no doubt in her mind that they were walking around the yard or in the house somewhere talking with the few people that they were bound to know here. Either they were doing that, Ella believed, or they were trying to mingle with other boys of their age, herself having heard them mention something along the lines of them trying to find a boyfriend while they were here. The thought was enough to make Ella laugh when she heard them say that in the house a few hours before they had even left. She put it in her mind to avoid those two girls as best as she could, though it again reminded her that she would have to hurry back home once it got to late, least they figure out that she had left and would proceed to tell their mother about it. But steeling herself another breath, she shook her head and took a deep breath as she tried to calm her racing nerves, bouts of apprehension running through her system but also a sense and rush of excitement. She could do this; she was just as right to be here as her stepsisters were, as well as everyone else who was attending this party. Though their dresses were better than hers, though the other girls wore better jewelry than she did, that did make them any better than she was. Or, at least that was how she wanted to think. It made her feel better nonetheless, and with the thought she started moving her legs again to get more onto the property, her hands folding in front of her as she tried to keep down the grin that wanted to grace her lips. She let a small smile come to her lips, of course, but she refused to have a full on grin to come to her least she look like some sort of fool.

With the growing crowd of people, she almost felt a bit stifled, however she pushed the notion aside and continued to travel about until she made it to the entrance of the large house, stepping inside after a second of thinking to herself and of how it was a wonder that she found herself in this place. Not even when she was in college did she partake in any activities such as this, parties she meant, but it was a wonder no less. Maybe she should have gone to one or two during college. At least then she may not look as lost as she did in that moment. Regardless, she walked her way down the halls that were lined with food and lined with people, the voices louder in the large house then they were outside. The smells of the different foods took into her noise and she couldn't help but smile. She wasn't hungry though, and instead of standing in the steady moving line that stood beside the buffet tables she continued to walk around, nearly mystified, her head turning to look up and down, side to side, before she found herself back outside of the house and into the yard. It seemed like more people had come to the property, more people even coming with the headlights of their cars beaming a bit as they pulled in. Shaking her head though, Ella walked back into the yard, only to stop a little when she caught the sight of two familiar figured, Anastasia and Drizella, Elle backpedaling a bit until she turned at the sight of her two stepsisters. No, do not let them see her...

Only did they stand a few feet away from her, however she didn't necessarily hear what they were saying, their words intermingling with the rest that was in the area, however when she turned to look in their direction again she noticed that they were standing with a few other girls, all of their obnoxious laughed coming into Ella's ears in that moment. But before long, they all left and started in another direction, Drizella seeming to lead her sister as they seemed to have a particular sight in mind. Ella raised her brows at the sight as she watched them happen upon a young man with dark hair and a handsome complexion. She watched as her step sisters tried their best to be sultry, maybe even a little sweet, but, eventually, Ella turned away and started walking in another direction. Better to just leave them be so that they wouldn't see her.


As Drizella made her way over to Henry, she looked back to look at Anastasia, the pink dress on her sister a bit of a contrast to the green one that she sported. Nevertheless, she snorted and puffed her chest out a bit as they approached him, putting a smile on her face as she lifted her head higher if only to seem a little more confident. "Henry, there you are! How nice it is to see you!" She spoke to him as if she had known him for a while now, even if this was only the first time that she had spoken with the young man. Regardless, she sported a grin across her lips as her eyes hovered over his body to check him out, no ounce of shame coming to her in that moment before her eyes went back to his face. But despite how she had never spoke with him before, she knew who he was; every eligible female here knew who he was. "I want to personally thank you for inviting me to your party, and I do want to say that you look amazing with what you are wearing. I almost think that with our outfits we would look so good together, don't you think?" She tilted her head a bit to the side, raising her brows.

 

[upscalerat]

((I am so, so, so, so, so sorry for how long I've been. I had to cram for APs and I really should have sent you a message explanning where I was, so sorry!))

Finally, standing by the door was no longer worth the effort; enough people had arrived that Henry was justified in mingling about them, rather than just greeting. He didn't know everyone very well, but he and they made the pretenses; hellos and how have you beens, we ought to spend more time togethers and how lovely it is heres. Henry wandered from pleasantry to pleasantry, and ignored the whispers that he was sure would follow- 'This house is huge for just him and his father!' 'Never knew he was rich.' 'Really should get to know him better, if this is how he lives.' Not everything would be so selfish, sure, but Henry guessed that some of them were like that. He couldn't hear the conversations that continued without him over the clamor of guests and music and silverware clinking against plates, but more than a couple of them felt as though they were following that format. The theoretical conversations weren't exactly wrong, though: this house was a bit on the lavish side for anything short of all of his extended family, and future in-laws, and perhaps their extended family too. But it was still his home; though it may have seem something more like a museum to his guests, the echoing rooms and expensive art pieces were nothing short of nostalgic to Henry.

There were also people here that Henry was closer with. He couldn't deny that his "bouncing around" was really just bouncing between them, but the rounds still did take him inside and outside. Particularly outside. It was nice out; nice enough for a long walk, or a casual gathering with friends, or a not-so-casual gathering with half of the town. Still, Henry found himself walking back inside, leading guests towards the band or to the food and drinks inside. It was nearly dizzying, between keeping track of so many flitting conversations and walking back and forth so often between the garden and the foyer. Next year would have to be smaller... Or at least, more casual. He could tell that some people were nervous. They seemed uncertain as to what was appropriate for them to do; could they take more food? Would it be alright if they danced with each other? Some fidgeted carefully with their clothes, tugging with the care they might afford to a tattered, sentimental baby blanket. Others were quite the opposite- the easily spoke to each other, and meandered in and out of dance, and had no mental dilemmas when they were hungry or thirsty. Henry developed a routine when he saw a group of the former: he would excuse himself from whatever cluster of people he was in (usually one of the latter) and smile and introduce himself, and ask if he could get anything for them. In some cases, this eased the tension; in others, this worsened it. In one, he led a lady outside and started a dance with him, before one of the men she had been with cut in. It wasn't long before all the groups that seemed so uncomfortable dissipated. Seeing no more, Henry returned to his closest friend.

Alas, the arrangement couldn't last forever. They had been discussing getting together later on, but before anything could be cemented, a voice sounded loud and clear over the nearby crowd. It wasn't the first time that night that someone had approached him loudly, and it likely wouldn't be the last. He turned to the approaching girl in green with a smile. Beside her was a similar looking girl in pink; her sister, perhaps? Or friend? It was hard to tell if people were related or not, sometimes. "Henry, there you are! How nice it is to see you!" trilled the girl in green. He felt closer to a potential cut of meat than a person whom held the interest of this girl as her eyes scanned the length of his body. "I want to personally thank you for inviting me to your party, and I do want to say that you look amazing with what you are wearing. I almost think that with our outfits we would look so good together, don't you think?" the girl continued, tilting her head and lifting her eyebrows. The urge to point out that only a few friends had been specifically invited, and that she had been just as welcome as anyone else rose, as did one to point out that there was little that did not go with his black-and-white ensemble. Despite years of etiquette practice and observation, Henry still had to make the conscious decision to bite those comments back. Perhaps etiquette was just discerning between comments to refrain from saying and those to say.

"I'm glad that you could make it. I do hope that you two ladies are having a good time," he said instead, and smiled and nodded at both of them. Henry glanced down at his own outfit and chuckled. "You're too kind; I look as though I have stepped out of a black and white film, but you two have so much more color and vibrancy. I am sure that you could find someone to compliment that shade of green much better than my blandness," he said. "If you'll excuse me, though; my apologies, ladies, but I believe my father is looking for me." Another thing that wasn't a first- using that little white lie to get away from unwanted suitors. He stepped back towards the house. He felt as though the two of them were tag teaming him! Perhaps they were. But inside, Henry was in a different world. And in the world, Henry noticed another girl in a navy blue dress. He saw no one talking to her, so approached. "Excuse me, miss...? Is there anything I can get for you?"