Words before Beauty

"Water minx?" Elise laughed aloud covering her mouth to soften it into a more lady like sound. "Whatever do you mean by calling me such?"

"Only that I don't know your name and wish to call on you," The man answered.

Elise turned around facing him front on herself but he remained still his gaze still fixed to the tree in front of him his back turned to her. She didn't dare remove her hand from her face just in case. She studied him and thought with the way his voice lifted at the end of his statement he might even be smiling holding in a laugh better than she had.

"You may call me such," Elise answered smiling and sinking into the water quickly before returning to the surface hoping the cool water would cool her red face.

"I might call you differently if I knew your name," The man replied unfolding his arms and stretching them behind him so he leaned back. Elise stiffened and readied herself to dive into the water. However, his back remained facing her with no movement suggesting he meant to turn to face her.

"My name is a rather private thing at the moment seeing as how I have no knowledge of nearly anything about you." Elise smirked studying his arms as they held him up. He had very nice arms strong with an even tan she could see from his rolled up sleeves.

"Ah reversing the question to fire back at me," the man laughed aloud this time. The sound was music to Elise's ears. "If you wish to know my name you need only ask."

"What is your name," Elise asked quickly turning the conversation back on him again.

"I seem to recall the inquiry was given to you from me first," he laughed again taking a hand and shaking his hair out of its perfect coif. Turning it into a ruffled curly look that was even more dashingly handsome in it's disorder.

"Seems rather childish of you to return with that." Elise scorned him with a smile jokingly.

He shrugged and shook his head making his curls fly to and fro before Elise's ever watching eye.

"Says the woman bathing in a very public lake."

"It was hot," Elise muttered her blush returning quickly at her pitiful excuse for her public indecency. "I looked and saw no one around."

"And yet someone was," he laughed. "You are lucky it was me. A man of strong character who can restrain himself from gazing at a beautiful woman."

"You don't know I am beautiful," Elise retorted casting her eyes away from him now.

"You don't know that you are not," he argued back.

"I would very much know my own reflection," Elise snorted rolling her eyes and rubbing her face feeling the bumps and grooves as she did so.

"You forget we are talking of two different things. You're definition of beauty might fair differently to mine. While some look on physical appearance for theirs and others on the intellectual mind of it all. Others a simple look from the eyes or by word of praise from others to guide them in a certain direction of thinking. Some like myself look beyond everything to the very core of a person. A deep understanding of the soul within in all it's seemingly outward imperfections hiding a truly unmeasurable beauty within just waiting to be discovered. This is the beauty most sought after but rarely found. Not many know how to look for it and those who do spend countless years in their search."

He paused as if reflecting on something which gave Elise time to ponder on what he said. Her stepmother had always told her that her cursed personality and bad temperment had tormented and ravaged her insides in so much that it was shown through on her face a very public and unfortunate place for it to leak through. What this man was talking of was the opposite that the outside not only didn't reflect what was on the inside but that it might not even compare in the slightest to the greatness she had within.

"You have pretty words," Elise smiled weakly treading carefully.

"Words are all we have from the early age of two and beyond. Growing stronger and more elaborate as we grow and gain more forever adding to our vernacular as we go. They stick with us through the dark and tiresome years of old age even when our looks don't. What I say I like to think I ponder over enough that I feel confident it represents who I am better than my appearance could. If someone were to get to know me years from now, I would want them to judge me by my words rather than a portrait they saw on the wall."

Elise couldn't help but nod and smile in agreement before remembering that he couldn't see her acknowledgment of hearing what he said.

"I agree," Elise waded closer to him as she spoke her body aching to be nearer to him she felt strangely connected to this man through his words alone. He made her feel safe without even touching her. "I...I want someone to love me and appreciate me for my thoughts and actions rather than my standing in society or my looks and fancy clothes."

"Words from my own mouth," he laughed again a deep chuckle that seemed to come deep within his chest. "This may seem rather sudden but I feel something. I don't know what but I want to talk with you again."

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Elise shuddered to think what he would say if he saw her face. Even with the way he talked of appearances not mattering to him. Her face was something of an extreme to most everybody who first met her not giving her a chance to change opinions.

"You don't feel the same," His voice which had sounded light and hopeful took on a depressing dark edge. He started to rise up from his sitting position on the ground. "I understand I'll take my leave now."

"No," Elise nearly shouted splashing water as she raised her other hand to stop him from standing. "I mean...I just...I'd rather you not look on me just yet. The mystery is still fun to me you see."

She laughed nervously trying to make a game out of it so he didn't know she was truly so hideous she couldn't bear him to look at her and ruin everything they had built.

"I see," he laughed his voice light again with an edge of mischievous play. "If that's the case have you heard about the Prince's Masked Ball?"

Elise thought back to a week before when the masked ball was first announced. It had made the entire household frenzy with activity. The Prince in order to raise spirits after the third anniversary of the queens death had announced a ball. It was to be a ball unlike any other. With anyone in the kingdom invited to attend a high social standing not required. With the commoners mixing with the elite society members. To make it all more enticing it would be a masked ball. With no one knowing of what standing they were conversing with.

Elise nearly gasped at what she thought he had in mind. A mask would be perfect. It would hide her face from not only him but everyone around her no one from her family would know that she was attending such an event and she could talk more with her mystery suitor without her looks getting in her way just yet. It was perfect.

"I have heard of it but if we were to attend how would we find each other? We both have not seen one another and we will be masked on top of it all. It all will be rather confusing." Elise shook her head trying to think of some rendezvous point they could meet at a certain time.

One that they would both know the location of. Coming up short she nearly groaned aloud at the inconvenience of location no matter how magical it was. She had never set foot past the palace gates let alone the inside of the ballroom.

"I will be drawn to you I am sure of it," his voice grew deep sending a pleasant shiver down Elise's spine. "We met with water wear blue and I will find you. I promise we will meet again."

With that he stood up walking to his horse and mounting quickly before kicking it into galloping away from the waters edge. Elise dropped her hand only when she could no longer see the horse in the distance. Floating back to the edge of the river she sat on the grass by Reginald drying quickly in the harsh sunlight.

"Do you think simply wearing blue will help him to find me at the ball filled with every commoner, market person, and high society persons?" Reginald snorted shaking his head. Elise sighed looking away and laughing bitterly. "I don't think so either but I guess we shall see won't we?"