Chapter 1

"The black dress, definitely the black one."

Devon held the tiny black dress up to Caitlin's small frame and smiled. Devon's ever changing eyes mirrored the mysteries of his soul and the brightness of his mind. His eye color changed from brown to amber depending on his mood but always clear and sparkling. He watched closely as she took the dress and laid it on the bed. Her uneasiness was apparent through her moves. She couldn't stand still, constantly fidgeting with her hair and checking her self in the mirror. Her stomach was turning like a spinning top on a marble floor. Black pumps with a small-embroidered design were set at the foot of the bed. Devon held an open royal blue velvet box in front of her eyes. The diamond necklace inside would make any woman's body feel like it had just dropped free fall from a plane. She was speechless. Devon placed the box in her hands and she jumped up with excitement landing on the bed in a sitting position purely by luck. The smile on his face widened as he saw her reaction to the first gift he had given her. Nothing could have been more perfect in his mind. He gathered her long dark hair in his hands twisting it tightly yet gently, holding it on the top of her head. She replaced his grip with hers and held her hair while his hands fumbled with the locking mechanism on the collar. The diamonds surrounding her neck looked like the halo of an angel. The sparkle from the stones reflected the light from the large chandelier in the bedroom.

"Sir Devon, it's beautiful," Caitlin said with both happiness and amazement in her voice.

He leaned over and kissed her softly on her forehead, her hair fell cascading over her shoulders. She was stunning no matter what she wore. There wasn't a specific part of her appearance that stood out, not one was spectacular feature but they all worked together to create a perfect Earthly form of an angel.

"It's time to dress, we are going to be late. " Devon commanded as he turned and walked out of the room.

The staircase stood in the middle of the house like the center pole of a carousel. The thick oak banister wound in a circle like a vine falling gracefully from the sky. Caitlin slowly walked down the stairs donned in her black dress and diamond collar that was sure to catch the attention of all the other patrons and their guests. Devon was rendered breathless as he caught his first glimpse of her on the staircase. The excitement of showing her off was building inside of him, the ball would be her first and she was incredibly nervous, as they all were their first time.

The limousine pulled up around the front of the house and the driver knocked on the door to alert them he had arrived. Devon grabbed his jacket and walked through the door; Caitlin followed close behind with her mind racing trying to go over everything she had learned so she wouldn't embarrass Devon. She wanted nothing more than to please him.

Mozart played on the sound system in the car, which she knew was intended to relax her but she also knew it would take more than Eine Kleine Nachtmusik to do that.

"You remember what we went over this afternoon Caitlin?"

She looked up and tried to reassure him with her eyes

"Yes, I've been going over and over it in my head since then."

He smiled, he knew she would be great but realized the silence would make matters worse. All of the "what ifs" would be going through her mind driving her crazy.

"Have I ever told you about the first ball I went to?"