“Beautiful, dear… just beautiful,” the elderly woman’s wrinkled hands caressed her hair as she stared blankly at the woman in the mirror. Her jet black hair pulled up with soft strands of silky hair adorning her shoulders and framing her face. She gazed into cloudy blue eyes, the edges of them pinched with frustration. She hated to be the center of attention and yet her father, because of his position, required nothing less than the best, the biggest, the showiest of all ceremonies for her birthday each year.

She touched the woman’s hand and smiled at her, “Stop fussing over me. Go and busy yourself with the rest of the preparations as you know father will be a mess by now.”

The servant laughed and kissed the top of Claudia’s head, walking out and closing the door softly. Claudia turned back to the mirror and sighed, her body relaxing as she was finally alone. She hated these parties. Hated people watching her and waiting for her to make a move that was less than becoming of the Emperor’s daughter and yet, she was not offered a choice in the matter. Her brother, Antonio loved these idiotic parties and he would be in rare form tonight, drinking and laughing, flirting and bedding several of the available women that showed their faces at the palace.

She slipped from the expansive vanity and walked to her closet, pulling down a hair of white sandals to accent her lovely gown, small baby’s breath adorning her dark hair and crimson lipstick outlining her full mouth. She barely had time to finish pulling her shoes on when her brother busted into the room, a smile on his handsome face and laughter on his tongue.

“Are you ready?” He half ran, half skipped toward her, laughing as he did. “You’re going to be so very thrilled with the gift father has procured for you, sister!”

She laughed because it was contagious and pulled him into a hug, “I don’t want any silly little gifts. I’d rather you enjoy the party and me recline in the comfort of the grand library and read something old, stuffy and rather boring by your measurement.”

He pulled back with a gleam in his eye, “No… you’re going to love this. I cannot wait to see you face when father presents it to you.”

She shook her head and went along with his merriment. Gift or no gift, she’d pretend that this night above all was a life changing moment, and by some miracle of fate… it just might be.