Chapter 442: The Third Elimination Ball
Lyria's POV
The night of the elimination ball had arrived at last, and I found myself standing in a gown of deep sapphire silk, my hair arranged in a fashion of considerable elaboration, one that had required no less than two hours of my maids' labour to achieve. The storm had raged for three days entire, confining every soul within the castle walls, and it was not until that very morning that it had finally ceased. The world beyond the windows appeared battered and bruised — branches torn from their trees, shutters hanging askew upon their hinges, the cobblestones glistening with melted hail — and the servants had been at their labours since the earliest hour of the morning.
The ballroom, though yet filled with nobles from near and far, was not so crowded as it might ordinarily have been. Many who should otherwise have attended had been delayed by the storm, their carriages quite unable to travel through such treacherous conditions.
