11. The Engagement Party

When the doors to the large venue open, my eyes widen considerably.

I feel like I've stepped into the nineteen hundreds. The venue is more of a ballroom, and it's breathtaking and majestic.

And the crowd.

There are so many guests, all immaculately dressed. I notice this even from afar. There's a grand staircase leading to the party below, and so I can oversee everything from where I'm standing. It almost feels like someone will stand beside us and announce our presence like in the old days but that doesn't happen.

The guards disperse once we step through the massive engraved doors and it's just Hubert and me. My courage fails me. I'm convinced that I won't be able to see this evening through.

I can't face these many people.

"I can't do this," I murmur to Hubert.

"You must," he insists. "And I am certain that you can."

Sometimes it's hard for me to tell whether he's on my side or not, because everything he's done so far is to benefit Igor. But he's also helped me from making a fo