Dancing to Death

Rachel Montgomery

February 29, 2012

Honors Am Lit

1^st hr, Provenzano

Dancing to Death

Beyond the road, the trees and the winding dirt driveway; there is a house. A house that is so beautiful, nothing can be compared to its everlasting youth. As dark and scary as it looks, it still has an indescribable appeal to it. It is a house with a story of its very own. While it may not be pleasant, it is a story to tell and one to live on forever. This story is one that not many smile upon, except those wicked at heart. It has been told for centuries and will be told forever more. But it isn’t finished yet. Oh no, it has only begun. When the house’s story reaches an end though it will be dedicated to all those who went in the beautiful house, but never came out.

It was an immaculate house with immense size and a grand appearance.  It has towering black pillars and rugged black stone walls that greeted your eyes when first glancing at it. Windows, which were perfectly accompanied with beautiful dark gray shutters on either side, seemed to be more common than brick. Vines seem to crawl up the side of the house so precisely, that it makes the house look sinister almost. Black marble steps lead you to the grand, dark double wooden doors with large brass knockers on them in the shape of firey embers. It was an entrance to a place like no other.

Candle lit crystal chandlers hung in all the rooms, giving the place a sort of romantic ambiance as reflections of the dancers below glided about the dangling crystals. Firey embers in the fire places dance to the beat of the music. The clock ticks to each passing second and no one has a care. Clacks of the shoes hit the dark, checkered, marble floor as the dancers seemed to dance in perfect unison. Grand balconies were on either side of the dance floor with winding stair cases to each of them. Only to be accompanied by dark woodwork and book shelves on all sides of the room. One wall contained multiple grand windows between the dark woodwork and gave the place some life to it.

 Kids ran across the floor in their best attire possible as they giggled and laughed the night away. Women wore tight bodices with silk dresses that had giant full skirts, their faces covered in make-up and had their hair done in elegant and unique buns and curls.  Men were dressed in their full garb-like any noble Frenchman would-as they guided their partners across the floor with rhythmic steps, twirls in unison and an atmosphere of love and joy.

One girl in particular stood out among the rest though. She was a beauty beyond compare and they all knew it. She was a site to be seen with thick, firey red hair that looked like dancing fire embers when it was down and bouncing around in its natural curls. Today though, she seemed to have tamed it and has placed it in a tightly woven, intricate bun with only two small tight curls left to frame her face. She had emerald eyes behind thick eyelashes and naturally rosy red lips.

She was draped in a scarlet red dress that was tight around her waist and truly accented how tiny it was. Large skirts encircled her as floated across the room. They were imbedded with rubies and diamonds and made her seem to shimmer as she glided across the floor. It made her look like a goddess from the heavens dressed in precious gems.

  White lace was on the ends of her sleeves and trimming the front of her dress.  While it encircled her wrist on the sleeves, on the front the white lace outlined the only white on her dress. It was a small patch of white that went from her slightly plunging neckline to her belly button. It was pure white silk and white pearls imbedded in the lace. Red ribbon criss-crossed across it and tied into a perfectly small bow at the top to pull the dress all together.

She was stunning.

Her natural beauty was incomparable to any girl in the world.

Just like the house.

LUCY

I am so happy they are all here.

I am glad to know that the noblest of all the French in Paris have decided to grace the world with their presence today. To come to this ball and show off their new dresses and garbs and act like the kings and queens of France. To socialize with the rich and the wealthy, the only kind of people they would even dare to speak to. To go and the dance about the room with such naivety, ignorance and bliss, that brings a smirk to my face.

Their naivety and ignorance won’t get them very far though. They came tonight in hopes of socializing, dancing and making merry with all those who are fabulously wealthy, just like them. A night to remember is their goal and I don’t blame them. They know France is in trouble and it is only a matter of time before someone makes the first move. So they are going to dance the night away in hopes of erasing their troubles and being able to keep this one memory alive before their world turns to dust.

So naïve.

They don’t know how bad their future is going to be.

But it is only the price of being vain and self centered.

These are the ones that don’t know of what the rest of the world has gone through. The ones that throw away their money on rubies and gems, while the other half is starving and searching for food. They are the ones with giant homes and worrying who has the biggest and best decorated house, while others don’t have homes.

They don’t care.

And they will pay for it.

People who are like that deserve to be punished. They deserve to see what it’s like to be the underdog and how hard others have it.

 So I have something planned for them.

But it won’t happen now.

In good time it will.

But for now, I am going to enjoy the party. I am going to relax and watch the dancers waltz right on by without a care in the world. They will talk and socialize and go on about the party like it was any other high society event.

I, on the other hand, I will just be waiting for the right time to strike.

So I will watch all the people that pass me buy.

I will look at the smirks on the guy’s faces, and the shy smiles from the girls. The twinkles of promise of a brand new tomorrow shine brightly in their eyes. Girls laugh playfully and talking ever so softly like the sound of a sweet melody from a wind chime in the breeze. While the guys talk loudly and boisterously so their voices echo throughout the room in hopes of impressing some pretty girl.

Everyone is having the time of their life.

Good.

The clock is ticking and the time is almost right.

The outside is getting dark and it is reflected inside the house.

The light and happy ambiance from earlier in the night has faded, leaving a dark and sinister look in its place.      The chandlers have lost their glimmer as the dancers are no longer present in their crystals. Fire places now have firers with blazing embers in them as the room just seems to get warmer and warmer without warning. Everyone is still making merriment without a care, leaving me as the only one to notice the changes.

And it is bringing a smile to my face.

The room starts to gain a reddish glow and the outside world is no longer present through the windows. The clock seems to be ticking faster and it gets closer to midnight with each passing second. And ever tick makes my smile grow bigger on my face.

Everyone is still dancing when the clock strikes twelve though. They continue with each chime and I just feel myself slowly transform into my natural form.  The white is stripped away from my dress and the rubies and gems fall from my dress, leaving me in a tattered red gown. I feel myself become who I truly am as my hair is released from the bun. Then my skin becomes the color of the scarlet red from my dress. Horns have appeared on the top of my head as I grow a pointy, red tail.

Once I was transformed, the clock ceased to strike.

Everything was silent, though the dancers continued to dance.

Then I made my move.

Peasants from all over France crashed through the windows. They screeched and cried for revenge as they savagely attacked the nobles.

The nobles tried to get away, but the peasants seemed to come in from everywhere. Leaving the nobles trapped in the room like herded sheep. Screeches from both side became apparent and could probably be heard by all of France.

It was a sound like no other. And the grand room made the sound that much loud and deafening with every scream. It was ear shattering loud and was painful to have to hear.

Blood was spattered everywhere in the room and bodies laid all around on the checkered floor. What was left of the windows had a red tint to them and the fire burned ever so largely in the fire place. Everyone looked either like a savage beast or a terrified human being. The world seemed to be nothing but mass chaos in that one little room.

So I am just sitting there and watching.

I love it.

So I smile as big as I could go at the mayhem I have caused.

I start to cackle at the beauty of all the chaos that has happened.

In the fit of my happiness, I stop and pause to say, “Welcome to Hell”.

And then the house burst into flames.