Positivity Awaits You
A Taste for Life Weekly Prompt for April 1, 2024
Prompt 5: Positivity (love, chamber, river, enigma)
Hors d’ oeuvres
Who is Positivity and why does she await you?
She sat before Prince Bartholomew mesmerized by his beguiling presentation. He was smitten by this beautiful creature, not knowing if she is real or just an enigma. He had been summoned to her visitor's chamber to answer for a comment made at the Winter Solstice Ball this Saturday past.
He was at the Ball with Lord Bonaventure, a strapping lad of 15 years of age. The prince was infatuated with Lady Positivity when she had arrived socially late to the Ball, in accordance with her heritage and sense of refined etiquette. When she descended the front stairs of the King’s Balmoral Castle, all eyes turned to watch Lady Positivity. She wore a blush-colored gown with an hourglass fit, which was adorned with pink stones hand-sewn.
The Entree
The gentry of all the land was invited to this Ball from Southern England to Scotland and between. It was the hope of the King that Lady Positivity would find a suitor she would be interested in enough to fall in love.
Prince Bartholomew was distantly related to Lady Positivity by several generations once removed. She moved through the crowd of nobility with ease, almost like she was floating across the parquet floor. She did not look directly in the eyes of any of the men she met while making the sweep of the room until….
Lord Bonaventure was eager to meet this enchantress and jostled all the waiting men to get a better advantage of meeting this beauty. When it came to his turn, Lord Bonaventure gallantly bowed the most elegant and sweeping bow but almost lost his footing in the process. Lady Positivity let out a little snicker, but quickly closed her mouth with her bejeweled gloved hand.
Lord Bonaventure wanted to crawl in a hole in the floor and die! Prince Bartholomew however, let out a hearty laugh which started the whole ballroom to laugh in unison. This caught the gaze of Lady Positivity who had not noticed him standing several men behind the embarrassed Lord.
When their eyes quickly met, Lady Positivity licked her lips, a non-verbal gesture she quickly regretted. The Prince not only witnessed her reaction, but he also turned on his charm like a light switch, and gave her a debonair glance, undressing her with his eyes. She let out a gasp and turned away into the crowd of nobility.
Lord Bonaventure asked the Prince, “What was that? What did you do to receive a reaction from the Lady”? The Prince was processing what he had thought happened just then and wasn’t paying attention to the Lord’s question. When the Lord queried him again in exasperation, the Prince’s trance was broken. “Oh, oh, I don’t know actually Bonaventure”, he replied.
The Ballroom was lively with music and the din of the guests all two hundred of them, the King’s entourage and the Lady’s ladies in waiting. Now, Lady Positivity was not the King’s daughter. She was a nobleman’s daughter with the highest rank in the King’s army. He had died in a skirmish with local tribes in the Highlands. It was a fluke because the Major-General was a gifted swordsman and the finest horse rider in the King’s army.
When his Major-General passed away, the King offered the Major-General’s wife and daughter a place to live, other than the barracks where they had been living as long as the King could remember. So, only Lady Positivity had come to live in the grand castle, her mother had returned to London to stay with family.
The Piece de Resistance
The Prince finally got to ask Lady Positivity for a dance. It was the Blue Danube’s Waltz, a favorite in the elite society. She was a great dancer, he thought, but she was not as close to him as he would like. So, towards the end of the dance, he pulled her arm towards him, instantly moving her body to touch his. She blushed and when the dance was over, she curtsied, and quickly left the Ballroom with her entourage of attendants.
The Prince was slightly aroused more than he cared for, so he went outside for a breath of fresh air. He took in a deep breath through his nostrils and exhaled forcefully. He returned to the Ballroom and asked Lord Bonaventure if he was ready to leave the Ball. Lord Bonaventure said he was going to stay for the meal, but the Prince was not interested in the traditional food served at these Balls.
The Prince was overheard by a footman at the back of the Salon saying to Lord Bonaventure, “She is the most beautiful woman I have ever lain eyes on before”. He explained to the Lord that her blood seemed to flow like a river when he was holding her throughout the dance. Her energy had transferred to him.
Thank you for reading this at least 30 seconds or so! Thank you, Jason Edmunds, from A Taste of Life Publication.
© Jezebelle Darling — April 2024