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Penelope Featherington, spinster extraordinaire, wallflower of the Ton. Who would ever believe that she was actually the famous Lady Whistledown? The infamous scribbler, spilling the tea, as it were, on all the goings-on in London. One might say she's amassed as much or more power than Queen Charlotte herself.
However, this was not Penelope's only secret identity. Disguised in her Lady Whistledown cloak, Pen smirked to herself as she trotted down the steps of her carriage. It had been a long time since she had been this entertained by the mortals.
The Ton was completely enraptured by her society papers and she knew that they would continue to be influenced and flustered by them.
No one knew who she was.
Not just Penelope Featherington, her mortal alias, and not just Lady Whistledown, her pot-stirring counterpart.
No, she was sure that no one knew that she existed.
Pen was, in fact, not a mortal being.
She was the goddess, Nicola, and lived in a castle in the clouds.
Her castle was as pink as the beautiful sunsets she loved, and her stables were filled with multiple pegasus. She used the pegasus feathers to pen her columns as Lady Whistledown, therefore bestowing a tiny bit of their magic to her writing, making the readers more engaged with her words. She would never use magic to harm or deceive the mortals, and was always very careful about this.
In her castle, she was the queen. But it was a lonely life. She had no family and had no one to care for. This made her quite shy and introverted. This was why she took the form of Penelope, a wallflower. She wanted to watch from a distance and blend into the background.
This was the perfect plan until the day she met the Bridgertons. She met her perfect soulmates, Eloise and Colin Bridgerton. She, Eloise, and Colin were a perfect trio, the best of friends. Eloise and Colin both included her in every affair, making sure she felt as though she was part of their family. Eloise became her sister in every way that counted. At times, Penelope forgot that she was not just Penelope.
Colin, on the other hand, could never be like a brother to Penelope. He was very kind and attentive to her. She found herself in a position that she had never been in before. Colin was a charming young man who made her stomach flip and her heart pound rapidly when she saw him. But he was her friend.
She continued to write her Lady Whistledown column, but more and more she found herself thinking of him. It was absolutely confounding her! How could one mortal being be so infuriatingly charming and adorable and....wait… adorable? She shook her head, feeling just as flustered as the mortal Queen with her columns. That couldn't be right.
But the more she thought about it, the harder it was for her to think anything other than how adorable and kind he was. Soon, she was flirting with him and trying to keep his attention on her, but it was really hard.
That boy was as dense as a sack of potatoes! At least, he was when it came to her attempts to charm him.
But then he would give her that smile that made her heart feel like it was going to burst and she fell into blissfulness again.
Penelope knew she had to try to win his heart. Colin had told her just that afternoon, "My father told me: someday, someone is gonna have to take a stand. Someday, someone is gonna have to say enough! This could be that day. Trust your senses."
Who would want to live forever without the one they loved? She started making a plan to capture his heart and make him hers.
She was at her castle when she made her decision. There was a ball at Bridgerton House that evening, so she knew that he would be in attendance. Yet tonight, she would not allow Portia Featherington to dress her in a garish yellow gown. An insipid wallflower, she would no longer be.
As Penelope donned her favorite ballgown, a gorgeous pink with a black bust, adorned with diamonds and feathers, she knew that this would be the night. She gathered her courage and climbed into her carriage, being pulled by one of her many pegasus in disguise.
As she stepped into the ballroom, fashionably late, as it were, all the eyes of the Ton were drawn to her entrance. However, she only had eyes for one. And, it seemed, that he only had eyes for her, as well. Quickly intercepting her at the door was Colin Bridgerton. Even Eloise, with her eyes wide, saw what the entire room could see and for once, did not interrupt the pair.
No words were spoken, as Colin led Penelope to the dancefloor and into a waltz. He held her much too close and his eyes stayed intense upon hers.
Finally, he spoke. "Pen, you are beautiful tonight, as always. I have been hoping, that is…for a few days to have a word with you."
"I have been thinking about this for quite some time. All my life, I have been searching for a purpose. I never knew what that purpose was, so I continued on my way, looking for this elusive purpose never finding it."
"Pen, I have come to the realization that the only time I find any peace of mind is when I am with you."
Penelope's quick intake of breath and small smile must have given Colin the boost of confidence he needed.
"I have everything I need. Right here. All my life you've been there, you never left me. This purpose I was looking for is you, Penelope. I can't leave you again."
Pen smiled, a brilliant smile and summoned all of her courage and said, "Colin. I love you."
Heartbeats that felt like centuries went by before he smiled and replied, "I love you, too, Pen."
Penelope knew that there were a lot of explanations she would need to give before she could have her happily ever after with Colin. She was not only the notorious scribbler, Lady Whistledown, but also the immortal goddess, Nicola.
It was as if the entire scene froze at that moment. Only the two of them were there. Okay, everything did actually freeze, she was a goddess after all.
"Colin, we have a lot of things to discuss. And I'm not sure how you will take this, so please, let's sit down."
Colin, being so enraptured by Penelope, didn't even notice that everyone in the room had frozen. He only had eyes for her. His heart was racing and he couldn't imagine a scenario in which anything would say him from the path he had so clearly chosen, which was to make Penelope his wife.
Penelope, knowing Colin as she did, first went to the refreshment table and gathered some eclairs and lemonade, for it would definitely be needed. Colin grabbed some sandwiches, since they were there. She took him to a table in the corner.
"Colin, I don't know how to say this except to come right out with it."
She took a deep breath and said, "I am Lady Whistledown and…"
"Pen, I know you are. I've known for years," Colin said, shocking Penelope.
To say that Penelope was shocked would be putting it mildly. She had been so careful. "But how?"
"We have been corresponding for years, Pen, and your writing style is quite unique, I must say. And you are truly the only one with the wit and intelligence to be able to pull it off, which is part of why I have fallen in love with you. But not the only reason."
"Colin, there is more I must tell you," Penelope started. "I am not only Lady Whistledown. I am…" and Pen went on to tell Colin that she was indeed not a mere mortal, and told of her life in her castle and the loneliness she experienced there. She explained why she became Penelope Featherington and her alter ego.
As she spoke, Colin, for the most part listened intently, asking questions, as was his way, and finally said, "Penelope, all my life you've been there, you never left me. I can't leave you. Does this revelation change things? Well, of course it will, but it will never change my feelings or my need for you."
That's when Colin finally looked around then and took notice that the entire scene was hilariously frozen in time. With a mischievous look, he asked, "Did you do this?" Pen nodded. "Shall we have a little fun, Pen?"
Now, this was the Colin she loved, the mischief maker. She had a mischievous streak herself, and the only one who knew was Colin.
The two started by placing decadent pastries into the hands of the debutantes that were cruel to Pen, including Cressida Cowper, since it was unseemly for a debutante to be seen eating at a ball. Then, they started switching up dance partners, since they had been in the middle of a waltz, after all.
Colin couldn't help messing with each of his siblings, but not in ways that would embarrass them within the Ton. Just little things, like adding a flower in their hand, or removing the glass they were drinking out of. Things that would confuse them, but not cause scandal. Because Colin decided that he was going to cause enough scandal for the entire family.
"So, how about we take our places on the dancefloor and you snap them out of this?" Colin said laughingly to his Pen.
Penelope took her place and looked lovingly into his eyes and said, "Are you sure, Colin? With all I have told you, do you still care for me?"
"No matter what, you will always be My Pen, and I will love you with my dying breath," Colin professed.
"Hmmm… about that…" Pen started.
"Later, later," Colin hushed her with a gentle kiss on her lips.
With a nod, the music began and they seamlessly continued their waltz. However, the rest of the Ton was in complete chaos and utterly confused.
Cressida Cowper shrieked and dropped her pastry on the floor.
Many couples stopped dancing, and Colin gave Penelope a scandalous kiss in the middle of the dancefloor to the shock of everyone. He then got on one knee and proposed properly.
The wedding was planned quickly and Colin and Penelope were married in a fortnight. Upon their wedding kiss, Colin also became immortal and would spend the rest of his days with Penelope.
For their honeymoon, they rode on her Pegasus and flew back to her castle, hands intertwined.
There they lived in the clouds, together.
On cloud nine, that is.
"Oh Pen, my love, as much as I adore your pegasus, could we get some unicorns around here?"
