Uno

The sound of music filled the air. Couples twirled on the dance floor. Beautiful young ladies who were obviously ready for marriage flirted and danced with gentlemen on the dance floor.

Some ladies, however, those who weren't deemed pretty, stood on the sidelines waiting for somebody to ask them for a dance.

All ladies wanted to be asked to dance, and they would readily say yes to any man. But there was one exception, Theodore. No matter how desperate the ladies were, none would agree to dance with Theodore.

Theodore was a young man of marriageable age who appeared to be cursed by God himself. He wasn't really the attractive sort. He looked bony, he had a huge unflattering birthmark on his face and to crown it all, he was born with a limp. None of the ladies wished to dance with Theodore, not to talk of getting married to him.

Last summer, his childhood fiancée had broken their engagement. The both of them had been betrothed from birth, the young girl had threatened to kill herself if her parents refused to break the engagement.

The engagement had, of course, been broken, and Theodore was back to the marriage mart to look for a bride.

The ladies shunned him, even the spinsters wanted nothing to do with him. His fellow men pitied him, but none of them would be seen talking to him.

Theodore stood on the sidelines tonight as usual. He looked at the dancing couples and sighed. His ex fiancée Olivia pointedly ignored his existence as she talked to other young Lords. He didn't blame her one bit. Even he didn't like himself.

He really wished he wasn't an only child. If only he had other siblings, his parents wouldn't force him to come to these balls in the hope of finding a wife. They desperately wanted him to have a child, so the line could continue.

There was a sudden hush in the hall, someone important must have just walked in. He wondered who it could be.

His curiosity was satisfied when Lord Alistair walked in. The ladies started to whisper in excitement. While the men walked up to him to exchange pleasantries.

Lord Alistair had just moved back home, and he had inherited the title and all the properties that went with it from his old uncle who had passed away.

He had become one of the richest men in the Kingdom. His wealth coupled with his good looks and charms had quickly made him one of the most eligible bachelors. Ladies swarmed around him, each of them wanting to become the next Lady Alistair.

Lord Alistair exchanged pleasantries with his fellow Lords,, and then he moved over to the ladies. He flirted with Olivia, and then they took to the dance floor.

The duo laughed as they waltzed around the dance floor.

"She is so lucky to have caught the Lord's attention, this is the eighth time he has danced with her", one of the ladies who stood close to Theodore whispered to her group of friends.

"He hasn't danced more than once with any of the ladies", another added.

"He is such a good catch, much better than her ex fiancé". One of them said, throwing a scornful glance my way.

"Hush!", They tried to silence her.

Theodore sighed, he had heard enough for tonight. He looked around to make sure his mother's attention wasn't on him,, and then he left the hall. He walked to the back of the mansion and went to the gardens, he found a bench at a dark corner and sat down.

From where he sat, he could hear the giggles of couples who had come to the garden for a little alone time. He hoped none of them would wander here. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody. His plan was to remain here until it was time to go home.

He sat in silence, picking at the surrounding flowers. Thankfully, nobody had come here. He was a little afraid though, recently, there had been rumors about a strange beast who attacked people, those it attacked usually lost consciousness, and they woke up to find bite marks on their neck. The bite marks usually faded after some days though, and the victims had no other issues. But Theodore was still afraid,, and he wasn't sure he wanted to have an encounter with the beast.

He just hoped the grounds were too secure for the beast to attack here.

"May I sit here?", He looked up to see Lord Alistair.

"Huh?", he echoed. For some reason, his voice sounded squeaky.

"I asked if I could share the bench with you?", Alistair asked again.

"sure, you can", Theodore replied as he scooted over, so Lord Alistair could sit.

Alistair sat down, he looked at the boy sat next to him, he had seen him at other balls as well, but they had never spoken before.

"Escaping from the ball too?", He asked the boy, trying to make conversation.

Theodore nodded. Lord Alistair was talking to him, he thought. Why would he talk to him?

"I find these balls very tedious to be honest, but alas I have to go to keep up appearances", Alistair confided in a whisper.

"I hate it too. I only go because my mother forces me to", Theodore whispered back.

Alistair laughed, the boy was quite funny.

"Mothers, they can be so stressful, can't they. Thankfully, my mother is far away. If she were here, she would have been nagging at me", Alistair said with a smile as he thought about his mother.

"I wish my mother were far away, too. She is constantly nagging at me as well", Theodore complained.

"Is that why you are hiding out here?", Theodore nodded.

"Well, I hope you don't mind my presence here. I just need a breather from the ladies and their mothers", Theodore couldn't believe his ears. He would do anything to get the attention Lord Alistair received, and yet, Lord Alistair clearly didn't care for it much.

"You don't mind my presence, right?", Alistair asked again when he didn't get a reply.

"No, I don't", Theodore replied. Alistair smiled at his response,

"So what is your name?", He asked.

"Theodore. My name is Theodore", Theodore replied.

"Pleased to meet you, Theodore. I am Alistair".