I was absolutely ecstatic about going to the Masked Ball. The entire way there, I was playing with my costume. Erik had been a bit surprised by what I wanted to wear, but I just couldn't help it. It was sooooo pretty! Now picture this: a black dress with a full flowing skirt that brushes the floor, slightly poofed shoulders, bell sleeves split at the elbow on top of the arm, laced entirely through with silver threads, so it looks like spider webbing, a black stomacher with silver spider web threading and a silver front panel with black spider web threading, with a square neck-line ending two inches below the top of the cleavage, and the inside of the sleeves are pure silver. My slippers are pure black, and my gloves, also pure black, go up to the middle of my bicep, under my dress sleeves. I really wanted black feather wings to go with the outfit, but I didn't think we could find any, so I didn't mention them to Erik…. No hoop skirt under the dress or anything… Now, I can't believe I talked Erik in to it for me, but…well…Erik got me completely new jewelry, too!! Two new rings, one is a silver snake curled around my finger on my left hand—to replace the one I left in the 21st century—and the second is a silver spider with an onyx on its back on my right hand. Okay, okay, okay, that's not even the best part. I mean, it's really good, but it's not the best! First, though, the rest of my costume. I managed to talk him in to buying me black lipstick. I know, it's not easy to find, but he got it for me—and a bit of black make-up. And then there was the black mask that I very carefully put silver webbing on, and a few new things for me to put my hair up with. So, there's my costume. And it. is. GEORGEOUS!!! Sorry, sorry….got a little carried away…I do that sometimes… Anyway, Erik was surprised when I said this was the dressed I wanted. Really, it wasn't exactly, but I didn't think I could get black and purple, and this just fit so perfectly.

The best part of our shopping trip was what else I talked Erik into getting me. The entire way to the Ball, I couldn't stop playing with two things—my dress and my new toy. I couldn't help it! It was so shiny in the moonlight, and nice and sharp…When the carriage pulled to a stop, though, I slid my new dagger away and went inside the Opera House.

It was very loud inside, to say it mildly. In fact, that was a gross understatement. It was more like—insta-headache. I stayed there for hours, and the later it got, the more noise there was. By a quarter to midnight, my head was pounding, and I'm guessing quite a lot of booze got passed around by the way some people were hanging off of each other….I tried my best to avoid these people, lest I get an urge to stab them and sully my nice clean shiny dagger…Luckily, Raoul was pretty easy to spot. I just kept an eye on him. He was wearing this god-awful mask with his white suit, and I mean it was just horrid…a white mask covered in thick white lace, a white head wrap on his head…no one would even guess it was him, it was that horrid. It was one of those outfits that you could never loose—God, how you'd try if you have any choice, but you'd never lose them… Just before midnight, I followed him up the staircase to the crush-room. There seemed to be half the whole damn party in that little room. There was so much noise and so many people dancing in that room. He got caught up with the dancers, and as soon as he was free, they got me instead. With a hiss and a flash of my dagger, I got away sooner and made my way across the room. In the next, smaller room, the other half of the party had to have been. How many people showed up to this thing?! People were coming and going here, and it was nearly impossible to keep an eye on any one person. I ended up being glad I didn't have any wings on, they would have gotten ripped off in a hurry. My dress and feet got trampled on enough. The edges of my black dress ended up turning a light gray…There were so many people, though, that I nearly lost Raoul all together! He was almost out of the room with someone in a black suit before I spotted him again. I had to push my way through the crowd, going against the flow, and it took some time. I hoped he stayed in a straight line from that room…

Once more through the crushroom I followed them, but this time, most of the room seemed to be focused on one particular costume—though they gave him a wide berth. He seemed to just part the waves of people as he passed. So cool. I could immediately tell it was Erik. No one else could possibly have the notion of terror like he did, and he always did have a flair for the dramatic. I couldn't tell if he was wearing a mask or if that was his real face, but I imagine it was a mask that accentuated his face. He wore completely crimson. It was a suit, a little different than a red tux, but I'm afraid I can't describe it any better. Sorry, I wish I could. It was amazing. He also wore a cavalier's hat, with the one side of the brim swept up, and red, white, and black feathers in it. Hanging from his shoulders was an immense red velvet cloak, which trailed a good three feet on the floor behind him as he walked. I could hear everyone around him whispering, but it was still too noisy to hear distinctively.

And then someone decided to be suicidal. One guy tried to touch Erik. Everything went deathly silent, and I heard a collective gasp as Erik's bony hand shot out grasped the man's wrist. The man screamed and tried to jerk away, but Erik held on. When Erik finally let go, the man, dressed in a jester's costume, shot out of the crushroom like lightning, everyone around him laughing and jeering at him.

Erik turned towards the two dominos that were trying to sneak past him and out of the room as well, and Raoul, in the white domino, stopped for half a second like he was going to say something before the black domino pulled him out of the room in a hurry. Erik followed. It was then I could read what everyone else had been whispering about. In gold letters embroidered on the back of his cloak was "Do not touch me! I am the Red Death who passes!" I quickly followed Erik, who was even harder to lose in a crowd than Raoul, what with the peoples parting for him.

Come to think of it, wasn't Erik's cloak supposed to say "I am Red Death stalking abroad"? Honestly. That's what the book said it said, right? Maybe it's a translation problem... Hey, if this gets posted on ff, could someone, like, look this up for me and see if you can send the answer back in time to me? Please? 'Cause it's gonna bug me now...

He may have been nearly impossible to lose, but Erik was also nearly impossible to keep up with. I followed him up two, three, four floors, chasing after Raoul and Christine. Barely anyone was on the second floor, and no one but us two on the third or fourth. The love birds had disappeared. By the fourth floor, I was gasping for breath and my calves hurt. I never was one for running stairs—especially in a dress. I was just finally walking the last couple steps up when a hand shot out and pulled me against a wall. Red Death hovered over me as I let out a small shriek.

"God, Erik. Don't do that!" I said, wheezing slightly, my hand on my chest for my pounding chest and constricted lungs. "I already can't breathe! God…how can a fifty-year-old man run so fast up stairs?..."

"Why are you following me?" he demanded.

"To make sure you don't do something stupid," I wheezed. I held up a finger and proceeded to almost cough my lungs out trying to loosen my airways again. "…Next time, could you not run so fast when I'm trying to follow you…?"

"Or you could just not try to follow me."

"I could, but where would be the fun in that?"

Erik snorted and started back down the stairs. I followed at a safe distance.

"I like your costume," I smiled. "It's very you. Based off of Edgar Allen Poe's Red Death, isn't it?"

"I still don't see how a woman could read such things."

"Oh, I love Poe. The Raven has got to be my favorite, though The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are close seconds," I beamed. "It's so much fun to watch the characters go insane."

Erik didn't say anything to that. As we came down to the second floor, I saw a door open just a crack and a black mask peek out. Erik didn't seem to notice. Then the door slammed shut. His head whipped back towards the door, but I started pushing Erik further down the hallway.

"Nothing to worry about. She's just saying good bye to him forever, and she'll come back to you after the party. Promise." Erik reluctantly allowed me to push him around a corner. "There, it wasn't so hard, was it?" Erik looked back, fighting with himself if he should go back or not. I sighed tiredly. "Just leave them, Erik, okay? She is going to come back to you and they aren't plotting anything together. Isn't that good enough?"

Erik hesitated for a moment before stalking off towards the rest of the party. I sighed and massaged my temples. Didn't anyone here know the meaning of "indoor volume"? Obviously not from the noise that the revelers were still making. I groaned and headed back to the hotel. I couldn't see Erik anywhere on my way out, and neither could Raoul, obviously, for he was asking everyone he saw if they had seen him. Yes they had, no they didn't know where he was currently. It was nearly one when I fell into bed, and I silently vowed to never, ever do anything like tonight again…

Shame-ed Begging: I know it's been a long time, but things have been hectic with school and tests and other stuff... So here's a new chapter for you! :) Please don't be mad or worried if I don't post again for a while. Like I said, things are very hectic by me. Please! Tell me what you think about the Masked Ball!