Chapter 2:
The preparations for the evening were almost ready. The voluptuous, auburn headed female stood overlooking the project.
"Get more china for the dining hall. We need more wax. I want to see my face on the floor! What time will the musicians be arriving?!" She heard footsteps down the main corridor.
"Vilandra." She turned to face the tall man in front of her. He stood; his light brown hair slicked back, his tuxedo neatly pressed.
"Good afternoon Rath. My, you look absolutely exquisite this evening." She smiled playfully and he puffed out his chest in pride.
"Why, yes of course. As good as always." They laughed in unison and he kissed her cheek in greeting. Some doors slammed and some cracking of plates hitting the floor echoed through the hallway. Vilandra closed her honey eyes in frustration.
"Fantastic. That's the third piece in an hour." She held her face in her hand for an instant and felt Rath's comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Go. There are only few hours left before the ball. I'll take care of the remaining arrangements, you go and prepare yourself." He smiled halfway, a crooked smile that looked like something between a sarcastic grin and a frown. She laughed to herself at the thought and thanked him profusely for allowing her to depart. She walked out and was met with her brother in the corridor.
"Lonnie."
"Zan." He reached out and kissed her hand. She laughed at the absurdity of the action, alone in the corridor.
"Practicing, I see." He laughed knowing her sarcasm was well meant.
"Just trying to remember how to act royal." She smiled and looked him over.
"Well, just remember to call me Vilandra, not Lonnie. And fix your tie." He straightened himself out and tugged on his tuxedo jacket. He looked back up at her for help.
"Oh! And so you know, Ava contacted us. She will in fact be coming tonight."
"Great. I'm excited about this one Lonnie. Tonight's the night. I can feel it."
"Yea, well lover boy, there's an eclipse tonight. Weird things always happen during eclipses. You may get more than what you bargain for." She walked away and onto her chamber. Zan shrugged and went into the dance room. Rath stood, people running back and forth from him, as he shot out orders. Zan smiled, an interesting look on his face. Rath was always in such control of things, at least when he wasn't screwing them up.
"Rath." Zan stood next to his second - in - command and smiled. "How's it going?"
"Well, I took it off of Lonnie's hands so she could dress, but I'm about to murder someone." They laughed and heard another plate crash. Rath let out a loud sigh.
"I beg the gods for patience because I swear I'm going to explode."
"It's tonight's eclipse. It has everyone acting weird already."
"Is Ava coming?"
"Yes. And I feel this may be the night I declare my love for her. Or ask her to marry me. Whichever may come first." Rath smiled at his dear friend. He was truly happy. But Rath had a feeling about Ava. One he couldn't ignore.
"Just some advice Zan. Be careful when giving your heart openly to a woman. She may not return your sentiment and she would likely break it before she could fully embrace it. You've only been courting for about two months. Just be careful. She may not be all your heart desires."
"You do not think she is all my heart desires?"
"I do not think she compliments you. I know how you feel about soul mates and bonding. But if what you say is true, if your belief in everlasting love is what you say, then maybe your other half would have to make you a better person. She is beautiful, I do not deny that, however, she isn't the woman I see you spending the rest of your life with."
"You're right. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. If she is one I'd be willing to see every morning and kiss every night. And I'm not sure yet if I've made that decision. I know I feel something strong, but since I've never been in love before, I don't know if it's the way I should feel at seeing my soul mate. But, we will see how it goes tonight."
"Who knows? Maybe tonight is the night you meet a woman who will sweep you off your feet. And doing that to you is practically impossible, that big head of yours always gets in the way." They laughed at Rath's comment and Zan patted his back.
"Well then. Let the party begin."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
LATER THAT EVENING AT THE BALL:
They stood against the protection of the back curtains. Elena and Alakiah were nervous still, even after they'd made it in without a problem. Mayala however, was involved in everything as soon as she stepped in. Her dark blue dress flowed like the sky on mid summer nights. She had received several invitations to dance and had accepted every one of them. Her hair was up in loose, golden spirals. Her blue eyes shining as brightly as her satin dress, lined with blue eye makeup. Her lips were shining with natural flower gloss and she looked like she had been royal her entire life. She carried herself with the same pride and confidence as even the princess of Antar. It was absolutely incredible.
Elena also looked absolutely stunning. Her velvety scarlet dress hung from her, shaping her body smoothly and falling loosely to her feet. Her lips were a shade of red, not dark but a noticeable gloss that made her look like she was glowing. Her naturally golden skin was flawless and her big, deep brown eyes were lined with black liner. Her hair was pinned back as well, the dark strands falling loosely on some areas of her face making her look like a painting. Alakiah was proud of the masterpieces he helped create. He knew they were beautiful, they always had been. But like this, they looked absolutely amazing. They didn't even look like the servant girls he knew. He had on his tuxedo as well, his hair slicked back in proper noble style, and he fixed his golden mask. He had provided them with small masks to cover their upper face. It was a ball after all. With the different colors and varieties, no one should know they were not who they claimed. After all, they had the masks and gowns. Who could suspect?
"This was a bad idea."
"Elena, you have to breathe. It's ok. We are going to have a good time. Now, I'm going to go walk around. Perhaps dance. Will you be ok on your own?" She smiled shyly and placed her mask on as he had.
"Yes. I will be fine. I'm going to get a drink." He smiled and walked away. She looked behind him nervously and as she saw him walk into the crowd of dancing faces, she made her way to the punch bowl. She took a sip of the fruit juice and closed her eyes for an instant. When she opened them again, there was a handsome gentleman standing before her.
"May I request the pleasure of this dance?"
The preparations for the evening were almost ready. The voluptuous, auburn headed female stood overlooking the project.
"Get more china for the dining hall. We need more wax. I want to see my face on the floor! What time will the musicians be arriving?!" She heard footsteps down the main corridor.
"Vilandra." She turned to face the tall man in front of her. He stood; his light brown hair slicked back, his tuxedo neatly pressed.
"Good afternoon Rath. My, you look absolutely exquisite this evening." She smiled playfully and he puffed out his chest in pride.
"Why, yes of course. As good as always." They laughed in unison and he kissed her cheek in greeting. Some doors slammed and some cracking of plates hitting the floor echoed through the hallway. Vilandra closed her honey eyes in frustration.
"Fantastic. That's the third piece in an hour." She held her face in her hand for an instant and felt Rath's comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Go. There are only few hours left before the ball. I'll take care of the remaining arrangements, you go and prepare yourself." He smiled halfway, a crooked smile that looked like something between a sarcastic grin and a frown. She laughed to herself at the thought and thanked him profusely for allowing her to depart. She walked out and was met with her brother in the corridor.
"Lonnie."
"Zan." He reached out and kissed her hand. She laughed at the absurdity of the action, alone in the corridor.
"Practicing, I see." He laughed knowing her sarcasm was well meant.
"Just trying to remember how to act royal." She smiled and looked him over.
"Well, just remember to call me Vilandra, not Lonnie. And fix your tie." He straightened himself out and tugged on his tuxedo jacket. He looked back up at her for help.
"Oh! And so you know, Ava contacted us. She will in fact be coming tonight."
"Great. I'm excited about this one Lonnie. Tonight's the night. I can feel it."
"Yea, well lover boy, there's an eclipse tonight. Weird things always happen during eclipses. You may get more than what you bargain for." She walked away and onto her chamber. Zan shrugged and went into the dance room. Rath stood, people running back and forth from him, as he shot out orders. Zan smiled, an interesting look on his face. Rath was always in such control of things, at least when he wasn't screwing them up.
"Rath." Zan stood next to his second - in - command and smiled. "How's it going?"
"Well, I took it off of Lonnie's hands so she could dress, but I'm about to murder someone." They laughed and heard another plate crash. Rath let out a loud sigh.
"I beg the gods for patience because I swear I'm going to explode."
"It's tonight's eclipse. It has everyone acting weird already."
"Is Ava coming?"
"Yes. And I feel this may be the night I declare my love for her. Or ask her to marry me. Whichever may come first." Rath smiled at his dear friend. He was truly happy. But Rath had a feeling about Ava. One he couldn't ignore.
"Just some advice Zan. Be careful when giving your heart openly to a woman. She may not return your sentiment and she would likely break it before she could fully embrace it. You've only been courting for about two months. Just be careful. She may not be all your heart desires."
"You do not think she is all my heart desires?"
"I do not think she compliments you. I know how you feel about soul mates and bonding. But if what you say is true, if your belief in everlasting love is what you say, then maybe your other half would have to make you a better person. She is beautiful, I do not deny that, however, she isn't the woman I see you spending the rest of your life with."
"You're right. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. If she is one I'd be willing to see every morning and kiss every night. And I'm not sure yet if I've made that decision. I know I feel something strong, but since I've never been in love before, I don't know if it's the way I should feel at seeing my soul mate. But, we will see how it goes tonight."
"Who knows? Maybe tonight is the night you meet a woman who will sweep you off your feet. And doing that to you is practically impossible, that big head of yours always gets in the way." They laughed at Rath's comment and Zan patted his back.
"Well then. Let the party begin."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
LATER THAT EVENING AT THE BALL:
They stood against the protection of the back curtains. Elena and Alakiah were nervous still, even after they'd made it in without a problem. Mayala however, was involved in everything as soon as she stepped in. Her dark blue dress flowed like the sky on mid summer nights. She had received several invitations to dance and had accepted every one of them. Her hair was up in loose, golden spirals. Her blue eyes shining as brightly as her satin dress, lined with blue eye makeup. Her lips were shining with natural flower gloss and she looked like she had been royal her entire life. She carried herself with the same pride and confidence as even the princess of Antar. It was absolutely incredible.
Elena also looked absolutely stunning. Her velvety scarlet dress hung from her, shaping her body smoothly and falling loosely to her feet. Her lips were a shade of red, not dark but a noticeable gloss that made her look like she was glowing. Her naturally golden skin was flawless and her big, deep brown eyes were lined with black liner. Her hair was pinned back as well, the dark strands falling loosely on some areas of her face making her look like a painting. Alakiah was proud of the masterpieces he helped create. He knew they were beautiful, they always had been. But like this, they looked absolutely amazing. They didn't even look like the servant girls he knew. He had on his tuxedo as well, his hair slicked back in proper noble style, and he fixed his golden mask. He had provided them with small masks to cover their upper face. It was a ball after all. With the different colors and varieties, no one should know they were not who they claimed. After all, they had the masks and gowns. Who could suspect?
"This was a bad idea."
"Elena, you have to breathe. It's ok. We are going to have a good time. Now, I'm going to go walk around. Perhaps dance. Will you be ok on your own?" She smiled shyly and placed her mask on as he had.
"Yes. I will be fine. I'm going to get a drink." He smiled and walked away. She looked behind him nervously and as she saw him walk into the crowd of dancing faces, she made her way to the punch bowl. She took a sip of the fruit juice and closed her eyes for an instant. When she opened them again, there was a handsome gentleman standing before her.
"May I request the pleasure of this dance?"
