Forbidden Love - Chapter 2

The party was huge. Hundreds of people, dressed in their finest Christmas garments, clung around the ballroom, parlor, and dining room of the Smithson mansion. Mr. and Mrs. Smithson made their rounds, eagerly smiling at each visitor. "Who is that?" Mr. Smithson whispered agitatingly to his wife. "Mr. Long, my dear! Remember him? He sold us that fine race horse that you gave to Juliet for her 16th birthday!" "Oh, ahem, yes. Of course I remember him!" And then proclaiming loudly, "How ARE you, Mr. Long?" This process continued for the rest of the night. As the host and hostess, it was Mr. and Mrs. Smithson's duty to society to make sure they greeted every single person at their party. They had a long and boring night.

Juliet searched the terrace eagerly from her balcony. She had been looking all night for Romeo, hoping he would show up to her party. A knock at the door turned her away from her sightings. "Come in!" She forced, rather impatiently. "Miss Juliet?" Her maid's face showed from the door. "Yes?" "Your parents are asking for you downstairs." "Tell them I'll be right there!" Juliet replied shortly. "Yes ma'am". The maid circled around and walked back down the stairs. Juliet abruptly turned back to her view from the balcony. She rolled her eyes as she saw Victor making his way into the ballroom, followed by a trail of girls. She glanced over her shoulder at the open door, sighed, and walked towards it. Walking down the stairs delicately, she tried to compose herself. Excitedly pondering whether Romeo would show or not, she stopped before she protruded from the covered stairwell into the light, and breathed heavily. She then walked out into the open, where all eyes turned to her as she made her way down the uncovered stairs. A couple of girls sighed and looked enviously as their beaus stared at Juliet. Forcing a smile, Juliet hurried into the crowd of onlookers, where she was immediantly pursued by Victor. Flirtaciously smiling, he bowed to her. She made a polite but quick courtsey, and moved on until her grabbed her hand. "Juliet...?" He looking into her eyes searchingly, then flashed a smile again. "Yes, Victor?" She forced, rather impatiently. "You will join me for the next reel, won't you?" Juliet's heart sank. She knew she couldn't deny him this. Denying a young man a dance, especially a suitor, was like spitting in someone's face -- Rude and demeaning. "Yes, I will." She replied, her heart sinking even more. "Ahh, yes. I knew you would comply to my reasonable request. I win the honor of dancing with the most beautiful young lady at this party." He flattered her and bragged at his victory. Sweeping her onto the dance floor, they arrived at the center just in time for the music. Gracefully, they flew together across the room, while the onlookers admired their grace. Juliet couldn't help but smile. She loved dancing, even if it was with Victor at a large dinner party. But the moment the dance ended she hurriedly courtsied and rushed off to find Romeo. Searching the crowd, she looked for him. He was nowhere to be found. Juliet sighed disappointedly, and walked to the refreshments room. Peeking in on a lone figure, she smiled and walked in, straight for the hors d'vours. Shyly, she glimpsed straight into the face of Romeo. He turned and smiled as he saw her. "How did you know I made my stand here?" He questioned, smiling all the while. "I knew a young man like yourself would go for the food. I would too, if I could. But I am consistently forced onto the dance floor." She rolled her eyes dramatically and grabbed the nearest biscuit. "Ahh, I see. And you don't enjoy the constant attention?" He asked, sarcastically. "No, I do not. I'm not like most girls." "Oh?" "I'm not. Unlike most girls, I enjoy riding for hours on my horse, Excalibur." "Really?" Romeo said rather quickly, with excitement in his tone. "...Yes. Do you ride?" Juliet asked. "I do! A beautiful chestnut mare named Bullet. And you?" "A black philly called Excalibur." "Oh? How long have you ridden?" "Since I was young," Juliet recalled, "But I recently started up again." "Why did you stop?" He persisted, searching her eyes and seeing insecurity in them. "I... Uh, I had an unfortunate accident." "Oh?" "Yes... I'd rather not talk about it, thank you." Juliet shut herself out from him, finding herself growing red at where the conversation was headed. "I'm sorry. I understand." Romeo backed away from the subject, seeing the spark in her eyes and realizing it was a sensitive subject. "Would you like to see her?" "Who?" "Excalibur, of course!" "Oh! Yes, I would love that." And Juliet grabbed Romeo's hand and led him outside to the stables, where Excalibur rested, warmly snuggled against hay. "Excalibur! Come here, girl!" Juliet coaxed, soothingly. The clopping of the horses hooves were heard as Excalibur campered towards her master. "There, girl!" Juliet smiled as her horse came near her. Excalibur was her closest friend. Juliet would run away with Excalibur for hours at a time, returning to find her parents in a worried frenzy. They always commanded her never to pull the same trick again, but she never listened. Riding was her life, and she would do what she pleased. "Shall we go for a ride? Bullet is out front right now." Romeo asked. "Yes! That sounds delightful. I'll meet you on the ridge in 10 minutes." Juliet replied. And with that, Juliet grabbed Excalibur's saddle as Romeo ran off to get his precious Bullet.