Sparkling Diamonds

I was wrapped in a bathrobe, sitting opposite Benedict's manager -- Sarah. She watched me with a smirk as I sipped at my tea. With her iPad open in front of her, she was flicking through Benedict's winding down schedule. He was due to fly out in the morning, which was kind of annoying that we would spend New Years Day on a plane, but it couldn't be helped. Season 3 of Sherlock was airing on the 1st of January and there was a premiere party happening in London that Benedict was required to attend...and so was I, apparently. My wardrobe probably wouldn't allow it but I would have to find something that would.

As for tonight, there was a New Years Eve party that we both would be attending. He didn't know that I would be coming and it would, hopefully, be followed by decorations and a night in bed that was long called for over the vacant months. Sarah handed me the invitation over the coffee table between us. I set down my tea and flicked open the invitation that was draped in blood and gold for a party full of ball gowns and dripping in money. I could imagine it now, just from the invitations. Vines wrapping around Greek pillars and grand staircase leading onto a dance floor with large glass vases and branches that would light up with red flowers. The theme, obviously from the invites, was "red" and "white" tie.

I could only imagine what Benedict would wear...

...or wouldn't.

Sarah clicked her fingers in front of me, snapping me back to the real world that would soon become this party at eight tonight. I looked up to her as she showed me a picture of a beautiful strapless red ball gown with a bodice criss crossed with silver and white. The dress flared out at the waist and would twirl when turned. I looked back up to Sarah and raised an eyebrow.

"It's great but I don't think that it would suit me," I said, leaning back into the chair.

The moment I spoke, the door knocked and in a second, the dress was in front of me being held up by Sarah.

"I took the liberty of ordering you something for tonight and you're going to wear it," Sarah said. "I had to guess what size you were, but I'm sure it will fit. You need to make an entrance tonight...the Plaza ballroom is going to be filled with celebrities with more money than either of us can muster with our bank accounts combined and you need to compete with that."

"How much did the dress cost?" I asked, standing up and running the fabric through my fingers. I studied the dress, pulling it this way and that. With someone with my eye, I could tell if it was decently made or not. And it was. It was beautiful. Not even I could deny that. "Where did you find this?"

"The internet," Sarah said smartly as she head into the bedroom and draped the dress over the tidied bedcovers. "There's an elderly Chinese seamstress that is absolutely brilliant. Next time I go to an event like this, which will most likely be never in a dress like that, I'm going to her."

"Well, since you seem to have everything organised, do you have something in mind for our post party attire?" I said with a raise eyebrow.

I get up from the couch and follow Sarah into the attached bathroom where I found a white flowing nightie that was almost see through. I stared at it blankly. How would I wear something like that? In front of Benedict? I suddenly felt all self conscious and stumbled back into the bathroom with fear. I bumped against the wall, against the counter, before falling onto the toilet seat with the back of my hand against my forehead.

Sarah, who was attached to her phone this time instead of her iPad, hardly noticed that I began to breathe heavily. I had gotten this far, shouldn't that have meant something? No. It didn't. Why would it? Sarah had worked so hard to try and fit this into Benedict schedule, even if it was only for one night before flying back to London where I could have waited for him mournfully. If I freaked out now and bailed, everything would have gone to waste. He wouldn't have even known I was hear and I would be left with the memory of his drunken state over Skype and the sneaking suspicion that he been with another woman during all of this time that he had been promoting his films all across Canada and America.

I wiped my tear stained face in time for Sarah to look up to only see me with red eyes and a fake smile. She moved towards me and rested a calming hand upon my cheek. I could tell through her eyes that she believed in me, that I would do what we had planned for tonight. The chirping of her mobile phone with a call from Benedict broke us apart. She apologised and disappeared back into the lounge room. She chatted away to Benedict as I was left alone in the bathroom. I reached up for the nightie that hung from the edge of the shower. It would hold tight around my breasts and swoop around the rest of my body. It was frilly around the top with silk and sheer material decorating the rest of the dress. I smiled at the thought of Benedict seeing me in this tonight.

I wondered back into the bedroom and checked my mobile for the time. It was drifting passed midday and my stomach rumbled with hunger. I looked out to the lounge room where Sarah finished off her call with Benedict.

"Make sure you're ready by eight thirty," she said to me. "Traffic is going to be hectic tonight so we're going to try and get you there by nine, nine thirty by the latest. Ben's going to get there by eight so he will see you walk in like the beauty you are."

I blushed as she swooped away from the lounge room and leaving me alone to my thoughts. I walked back into the lounge room and picked up the invite. I played with the corners of the invite and smiled. I put down the invite and got to work.

I began to pull out my belongings from the suitcase and started blasting music from my laptop. I danced around the bedroom and the lounge room, decorating as I went with items that I had brought with me from London. Flowers and other larger decorations I would have to buy fresh from the streets down below. I cleared out the lounge room so that I was empty. I rubbed the carpet until the creases that the couch had left disappeared before, with the help of the hotel staff, attached a strong piece of silk to the roof of the suite. I pulled down upon it, making sure that it was sturdy, before I wrapped my foot around its base and began to hoist myself up the material.

I was dressed in a pair of hot pants and a singlet, as directed by a girl on youtube, and began to follow her instructions. I failed, miserably, but that didn't stop me from trying. I felt ridiculous but I needed to do this for Benedict, at least. When my mobile started to ring, I was hanging upside down with only the silk wrapped once around my ankle holding me steady. I groaned and slowly lowered myself to the floor before collapsing onto the floor upon my back.

I rolled across the carpet and picked up my phone from nearby my computer and answered the phone when I saw that it had no caller ID, "Hello?"

"Diana."

"Ben."

"Where are you?"

"At...home."

"Where are you."

"I told you, at home."

"Okay, I believe you. And I miss you."

"I do too." It was nice to hear his voice again, surrounded by the bustling city of New York and soon the screams of his fans as he was whisked away into a building. "When are you coming home?"

"Tomorrow. I'll see tomorrow."

"Finally."

"i know."

And the phone cut out and I was left again, alone, staring at the roof of the suite. I pulled the phone from my ear and held it up in front of me. I watched the screen fade away into darkness like the connection that I had just felt between Benedict and I. There was nothing really left to lose. I rolled over onto my stomach and began to research the rest of the items that needed to fill the emptiness of the room and within a matter of hours, candles lined the floor along with flower petals. The candles lead a pathway towards the bedroom for Benedict and I created a circle surrounding the base of the silk.

It was going to be a pain to light them all before midnight but Sarah promised that it would be done. It was a relief to have someone in on the plans that had been made, despite not having ever talked before. Or much, anyway. I had really stayed out of his life until this moment and he had been all over mine. If we were going to be married, it was time to start acting like more of a couple when at the moment, we were separated more then ever.

I decorated the bedroom with petals and set sticks of incense across the room to infuse while I was away and would leave the room with a sent that wasn't too strong. I would then sit on the toilet seat once more for such a long time, my butt went cold and numb. I only shifted to ease the pain and then to stare at my tired features in the mirror. I pulled and tugged at my features, unhappy with what I saw.

My stomach grumbled again and I was forced to order room service. I returned to the bathroom to eat as I didn't want to mess up anything that I had set up within the bedroom or bathroom. I could hardly eat because of nerves but I knew that my body needed it if I was going to get through the events of tonight. I showered and dried my hair, brushed my teeth, and did anything boring that's not worth mentioning. When I slipped on the red dress that Sarah had gotten for me, it was so tight that I could hardly breathe. I had to jump as I pulled up the zip upon my back.

Everything was held against my chest and I had to adjust myself but I soon realised that it wasn't going to happen. The dress would flaunt everything I owned and I couldn't help it, even if I tried. As I was jumping in zipping up the dress, a note had fallen out from within the seams. I picked up the letter and opened up the envelope. Inside were two accompanying ruby red drop earrings hanging from a silver chain. I held them in the palm of my hand as I read the letter, in Benedict's handwriting.

It was simple. Short and sweet.

"For a beautiful soul."

And it cut straight to my heart, too.

I cast the letter aside on the counter by the sink and slipped on the red earrings that matched the dress I wore. I looked away quickly, not used to what I saw in the reflection. Smoothing out the front of my dress, I began to apply what little make-up I owned. Mascara, extending my already long eyelashes; eyeliner; and a smokey red and silver eyeshadow. I coloured in my eyebrows a little, but not much. I picked out the most vibrant red lipstick I owned and spread it across my lips. It shined underneath the light of the bathroom with flecks of silver. I shook my hands, willing them to dry quicker with the glossy red nail polish. With a quick spray of perfume, I was ready.

I sat on the floor at the end of the bed with my phone in front of me and trying to calm my fluttering heart. All that I had longed for ever since the wrap of Sherlock was coming to place. I would see Ben again in a surreal setting. Who was I, an art department geek, dating a star of his quality and being invited to a New Years Eve party at the plaza? The last that I remembered was cowering away in the darkness, hoping another project would come my way to escape the world I so hated at home. I closed my eyes, disregarding those dark thoughts of my past. This future with Benedict was all that mattered now and all that I should care about.

My phone buzzed with a message from Sarah saying that Benedict had arrived and that the driver that she had organised for me should be knocking on my suite door within half an hour. My breathe caught in my throat once more, the imminent pressure to perform ever more present. I stood nervously, tucking my mobile into a hidden pocket amongst the folds of the dress, and tucked my feet nervously into a pair of silver stilettos that would put me on par with Benedict's height. Or just under it.

I felt for the shoes and began to pace in what little space that I had amongst the deadened candles of the room. I found myself by the window looking out at the city. People were already starting to celebrate with the family fireworks at 9pm preparing to leap off the buildings within the hour. I could hear the distant shouts of excitement and the honks of the taxi's horns, willing me to embrace the excitement in the air.

By the time that I heard a rapping on the door and the calling of my name, I was ready.

I lifted my dress and pulled it over the candles, trying not to hit any of them out of place as I made my way to the door. On the other side, I saw the staff that Sarah had hired to put the final touches upon the room accompanied by a Security Guard that would lead me in the right direction. They all stood in silent awe as I moved passed them with a weak smile. I would have to get used to the attention because compared to what was about to come, it was nothing. I heard the scurrying of feet and the click of the door to my suite shutting as I boarded the elevator to the car park level.

The Security Guard went first, checking this way and that as he walked to a sleek black sedan. The Driver stood ready and opened the door as I approached. He kept his eyes straight forward and tried not to make eye contact with me. I thanked him as I slipped into a rear passenger seat. I could see him smiling in response as I pulled the rest of my dress into the car and he shut the door behind me. The Security Guard sat on the seat beside me in the rear and the Driver taking his place, also.

I watched the thriving city of New York slide by on the other side of the tinted windows. Lines and lines of people moved towards TImes Square to catch a glimpse of that famous ball dropping. Otherwise went to parties of their own, dressed up to the T and bottles of alcohol ready in their hands. As we approached our destination, the traffic holding us up a little longer then we would have liked, this provided the opportunity for me to see the family fireworks flying into the sky over the tall buildings that stretched out above. I rested my hand upon the window as I gazed in amazement. I had never enjoyed them as much as I did in that moment.

I was disappointed when the sedan came to a halt and I felt the soft breeze of the city touching my skin as the Security Guard exited the car. He walked around to my side and opened the door for me. The Driver looked back in his rear view mirror. I knew he wanted to say something, but he held himself back from saying a single word.

"I hope you're not out too late," I said to the Driver. "It would be nice to spend time with your family on New Years Eve."

"This is the only family I have left," he said sadly, tapping the steering wheel absentmindedly. He picked up his mood instantly, not wanting to spoil my night any further. "You enjoy yourself tonight, miss."

I thanked him once more and got out of the car. The Security Guard shut the door behind me and lead be into the Plaza. It was filled with people moving about in costume and in a festive mood. I grabbed onto the shoulder of the Security Guard as he lead me through the throng of people. It was trying my best not to lose him, and almost did at one point, but we were saved by a hall leading down to a private function area. At the door, flanked by two more Security Guard and a door woman, I gave her my name in which she didn't recognise.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" she said in a high pitched voice, looking me up and down. "You're not on the list." It was a stab in my heart that could clearly be read on my face. "Why go to all that effort when you're not even on the list?!" Another stab wound etched upon my features.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. She looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to speak. When I did, she couldn't believe the words I spoke.

"I'm Mr. Cumberbatch's partner," I said, flashing my ring upon my finger. "We're engaged."

"Good for you," she said, smartly. If her already pointed noise could reach for the roof anymore, it would have. "But that still doesn't put you on the list. All guests were meant to notify us of partners also attending over a month ago."

The Security Guard stepped forward, producing the invitation that I had left back in the hotel room. That clearly silenced the woman as she accepted what the Security Guard gave her. Stepping to the side, I touched the Security Guard's arm in thanks and walked through the doors into a room so exquisitely decorated it put my work, and even the oscar winning works of movies of the past to shame. Whoever was hosting the party clearly had money -- and lots of it. They weren't afraid to spend it, either.

I gaped at my surroundings as I walked to the edge of the steps leading down to the ballroom where the stars intermingled to a jazz band playing to the side of the room. A beautiful view of Central Park sat on the other side of the window opposite me, highlighted by the chandeliers hanging from the roof above. Everything seemed to dip a few decibels lower as I felt all eyes turn to me. This bought me back to reality and the dress that Sarah had found for me.

I was embarrassed at the amount of attention I was receiving but I had not other choice by to accept it. I crossed over my hands as I walked down the stairs and towards the crowd. They parted, a little, giving my some space to stand. I recognised some of the faces from American TV shows that I had secretly become fond of but never liked to admit to anyone. Sometimes even to myself. Otherwise were faces that blended in with one another behind three inches of make-up and a glass of champagne.

The volume of the crowd soon resumed its natural level before I had entered the room and I soon found myself holding a glass of champagne like the rest of the guests. Amongst the faces, though, there was one that I couldn't seem to find. Maybe I had walked into the wrong party and I began to panic. I drained the glass of champagne, hid it to one of the tables to the side and escaped to the window. I let out a few breathes to calm myself but its not like it helped.

"Diana," said a soft, deep, and knowledgable British voice.

I turned on my heels to find him there.