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"I can't believe I agreed to this" Lovina mumbled as she stared at her reflection. Gilbert was having a dumbass party. And to make matters worse, it was a costume party. She felt like an idiot and was ready to beat Antonio's stupid head in after seeing the costume he chose.
God he was such a five year old sometimes. He wanted to go as pirates. Pirates. Lovina was seriously regretting letting him choose. She groaned and grabbed her mask before stomping down the stairs.
"Remind me why I agreed to put this stupid thing on?" she asked with her arms crossed. Antonio turned around in his costume. He was the lucky one. All he had to do was put on an over the top coat and hat with and obnoxious feather and call it a day. He had wanted to grow out some facial hair to complete the look but Lovina swore she wouldn't let his face anywhere near hers. There was no way in hell she was letting him kiss her with a damn caterpillar on his lip.
Antonio frowned when he saw her. Don't get the wrong idea, she looked stunning. Just…a little too stunning. Her corset hugged her body in a way that left little to the imagination, and the shirt she was wearing fell off her shoulders and didn't help much. Antonio didn't want other men to try to imagine.
"I don't like it" he said as he walked closer. Lovina pouted and crossed her arms. "You're the one who picked it out! And it took me thirty minutes to get the damn thing on, and I'm not going to let it be for nothing" she snapped.
Antonio placed his hands on her shoulders. "Mi amor, I did not know it would look…quite so good on you." He pulled her closer and kissed her neck gently. "And I would me more than happy to help you take it off" he mumbled into her skin. Lovina rolled her eyes and pushed him away. "Let's just get this over with. Grab your mask so we can go" she said before removing the hat from his head and put it on.
"Hey! What are you doing, that's mine" hecalled after her as she headed toward the door. Lovina turned back around and smirked. "Tonio, I think we both know who's calling the shots."
Antonio grinned and followed her. He would most definitely help her out of her costume tonight.
(-)
Lovina was strangely quiet for the whole ride there. "Lovi, is everything alright?" he asked while she stared out the window of the carriage.
"What's the date?" she asked quietly. Antonio gave her a puzzled looked as her eyebrows furrowed. "It's the twenty sixth…" he responded hesitantly. Lovina's eyes widened as she turned to face him.
"Wh-what, already?" She shook her head and looked away. "Th-that's not possible, are you sure?" Antonio tilted his head and reached for her hand. "Lovina, why is this such a big deal? You're starting to worry me."
Lovina looked out the window and put her scarlet mask on. "It's nothing. We're here."
(-)
The place was packed. Lovina latched onto Antonio as they searched for Gilbert. Everyone was masked, so it was almost impossible to pick anyone out from the crowd. Fortunately, they both only knew one silver haired albino.
"Gilbert, this is quite the party you've got going on" Antonio exclaimed as he put his arm around the host's shoulders. Gilbert was dressed up as the devil, complete with tiny horns. Go figure.
"Mein Gott Lovi is that you?" he asked as he eyed the Italian. Lovi was glad her mask covered up her blush. "Hey, quit staring stronzo!" she snapped. Gilbert laughed and embraced her.
"Yup, that's Lovi. How have you been Mädchen?" Lovina wriggled her way out of his grasp. "F-Fine thanks for inviting us, I guess…" Gilbert laughed and winked. "Anytime, Lovina."
"Lovina?!"
She whipped her head around and saw a nearby man step forward. "Lovina? Do you remember me?" Lovina looked the man up and down. He had a large top hat and a colorful suit on, along with a purple mask. "No…" she responded with a quizzical stare.
The man rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Let me give you a hint; you left halfway through our dance, leaving me to be preyed on by Francis." Lovina's eyes widened as she tried to stifle a chuckle.
"Arthur, right? I hope he didn't get you too bad." Antonio glared at Arthur and pulled Lovi closer. "Kirkland" he snapped. Arthur smirked and stepped closer. "Good to see you Carriedo. I hear Bella's here tonight." Lovina felt her chest tighten.
"I don't care" he responded, half to Lovina. Arthur raised an eyebrow and turned to the Italian with an outstretched hand. "Well, I would be honored if you'd care to finish our dance."
"Ah, but why do you need to when you could simply spend time with me." Arthur froze as he felt a hand drape around his shoulder. "Dammit Francis, leave me alone!" he hissed through gritted teeth. Francis smirked and stepped forward. Lovina rolled her eyes at his flashy cape and half-mask. Francis was probably one of the more flamboyant guests at the party.
He chuckled and pressed his lips to Arthur's ear. The others watched as his face turned bright red while the other mumbled something and smirked. Arthur nodded and walked off, followed by Francis, who was grinning like a fool.
Before Lovina could comment on the scene that unfolded before her, she felt someone tap on her shoulder. Another masked man stood behind her and smiled. "I was wondering if I might dance with you miss?" Lovina eyed him suspiciously. Something about him made her feel uneasy. She glanced back at Antonio, who gave her a small smile.
"It's alright Lovi, go ahead. Just come right back, ok chica?" He winked as she nodded and was led to the dance floor by the man. He smirked and placed his hand on her lower back. "Watch it buddy…" she warned. He chuckled darkly and pulled her closer.
"It's nice to see you again, Miss Vargas."
Lovina's eyes widened as she stared back at the man. "H-How do you know my name?" she asked hesitantly. The man squeezed her hand, causing her to wince. "Forgive me Miss Vargas, I have not properly introduced myself; my name is Sadiq. I'm the one who tried to kill your precious Spanish bastard."
Lovina tried to pull away but was kept in place by his arms. "You're not going anywhere Miss Vargas" he hissed. Lovina glared at him and continued to struggle. "I'm going to kill you for what you did to him!" she snarled.
"I'd love to see you try" he sneered. "But that's not why I'm here. Your grandfather owes me quite a bit. You're going to tell me where Roma is, Lovina."
"Never" she growled. Lovina searched frantically for Antonio, Gilbert, anyone. "Anto-" she tried to call out for him, but was stopped by Sadiq's hand covering her mouth, earning the two stares from the surrounding couples.
"I will give you one more chance Miss Vargas, and if you try anything stupid, you will regret it. Where is Roma?" He removed his hand from her mouth slowly.
"I won't tell you" she responded with narrowed eyes. Sadiq shook his head and smirked. "This was a poor decision Miss Vargas. I promise you, you'll wish you had cooperated." Sadiq released her and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Lovina quickly pushed through the other dancers in search of Antonio. She had to find him and tell him what happened. Lovina's pace slowed and her eyes widened. No, she couldn't tell him. If he found out, he'd run off after Sadiq again. Who knew if he'd come back the next time. She couldn't let him go out and risk his life again. She'd just have to keep quiet, for now.
"Lovina!"
She jumped a bit and turned to Antonio, forcing a smile. "I-I'm glad I found you. My partner left." Antonio smiled and kissed her. "I hope you don't miss him too much. I might get jealous." Lovina gave him a nervous chuckle as he took her hands in his.
"D-Don't be stupid, he was a terrible dancer anyways." Antonio chuckled and held her against him while they began to sway to the music. He wrapped his arm around her waist and let his hand creep down to her lower back. His lips pressed against her temple, then her forehead.
"Promise me you'll never dance with another man again, Lovi." She nodded and let his lips meet hers again. Lovina silently thanked god Antonio didn't witness her encounter with the masked man.
Duh du DDUUUUUUUHHHH… in case you didn't pick up on it, Arthur was the Mad Hatter and Francis was the Opera Ghost, aka the phantom of the opera. Alice in Wonderland is British and Phantom is French, so I figured what the hell…until next time kiddies…
