During her time off, between her morning and evening chores, Merianna spent her time in the library glossing over books for information on debutante parties. Luckily her master had these guides and how-to instructionals on the shelves. She ran through the routines in mind when a knock sounded at the door. Meirin entered, with serveral sheets of paper. She laid them on the table, pulled out two chairs, and beckoned Merianna closer.
When she approached, she could see various sketches of dresses on mannequins. Charcoal sketches on a womanly shape drawn with ink, no doubt from a very rich person or company.
"Usually they send these to the master or mistress of the house and they pick what their servants wear," Meirin explained. "But Young Master will let us pick for ourselves!"
She started monopolizing through the sheets, looking at the dress themes and rejecting them into one pile or approving them into the next.
"Uh...haven't they chose our dresses already? From their previous visit?" Merianna asked.
Meirin shook her head. "It's not that easy! Ms. Culloch was deciding our palettes, the colours on the dress, but for the design of the dress itself, there has to be a unison concensus. The ones with 'Rosa' inscribed on the are the ones i pick from, and the ones with 'Sea', I'm guessing are meant for you."
Merianna picked up one with a blue 'Sea' on it, next to the figure. Ah, she thought. she must have come up with the colours after my name.
The two spent the afternoon away separating the papers, deciding on the outlook of the dresses and finally came to a consensus on one dress for each of them. Merianna prepare an envelope and enclosed the two they liked best, making a mental note to deliver it later on.
"How do you do? How do you do? How do you do?" Merianna whispered.
She was practicing her small conversations under her breath while she brushed the front hall with a broom. She had much to memorize from the books and had to practice having small conversations with higher gentry and possibly providing entertainment. Or maybe she was just reading too much into the event.
"L-Lovely weather for a ball...How is your family?...Is that so?"
It was late evening and she had already suffered through an examination with the hairdresser, who seemed infuriated at her 'dyed' white hair and despite Merianna's objections that it was indeed natural, threatened to dyed it brown or yellow. She wasn't allowed to, of course, but the two women got into a fierce arguement that was luckily toned down by Meirin.
Merianna's feet glided over the carpet and floor, practising the 'box waltz' steps the book had shown her...if she ever was invited to dance with aristocracy. Even if she did not dance at the debutante party, it was still fun to learn. At early morning, the hairdresser and tailoress would return and spend all day trimming them and dressing them up to be in time for the party.
Her right foot knocked against the broom and she fell on the floor painfully. She was naturally light on her feet, her whole body was naturally light. But that didn't mean she was particularly agile on her feet.
"Mamma said...to smile...even when you're scared." She reassured herself.
Deep within her, pushed to the furthest part of her mind, was the small fear of failure in public and humiliating the Phantomhive name. If her street-rat past didn't do that at the ball, she was sure her commoner behaviour would. She practiced and practice, and each time she placed a solid step in the right direction, the fear diminished. But as the past could not leave her, neither did the fear. She forced a smile on her face.
Ciel Phantomhive was very anxious for the ball, not only for himself, but for his servants. He could not control whether or not they would do something idiotic and humiliate themselves, whether intentionally or not. Feeling thirsty, he figured he could walk down and get a glass of water for himself. Before he went to bed, he ordered Sebastian to carry out an assassination order from the Queen.
The man was suspected of attending parties as a noble and hiring men to kidnap young ladies there after the party had ended, and Ciel wanted him gone before Elizabeth's debutante ball. Sebastian had still not returned, it seemed.
As he walked down the front hall towards the kitchen, he saw a figure in the darkness. Freezing, he set the candle holder he had in his hands on the drawer nearby. Apparently he was not noticed yet. As his eye adjusted to the darkness, he made out white hair and a book beside the figure. Merianna. She was sitting down, head limp and several books sat beside her, open in half.
"Merianna. What are you doing awake at this hour?"
She didn't reply. Ciel grumbled and set down the stairs with the candle holder for light.
"Are you drawing your maps and pirate ships again?"
When he shook her shoulder, there was no response, so Ciel kneeled down in front of her. Her head was limp and her eyes were closed. He gave an annoyed grumble. Meirin had warned him that Merianna often did things in her sleep that she herself was not aware of, but he did not believe her. She was muttering something too, but he could not make out the words.
Ciel took one of the books and read it in the candlelight. It was a book on the expected behaviour at balls, another about how to converse with gentry and arisocracy and various other materials. He decided to let her there and not disturb her...'sleep'. He got up and headed to the kitchen.
He fetched a mug from the cabinet and looked around for any source of water. There was a wooden bucket with water in it, although he was not sure if that was safe to drink or not. Ciel, angry with himself for not being able to fetch water, resolved to wake Merianna up and order her to fetch water for him.
When he returned to the front hall, Merianna was standing up now, but seemingly still asleep.
"Risado sirscunus..." she said.
"What?"
She had something in her hand. Suspicious, Ciel stayed put, concealing himself halfway behind a pillar holding up the balcony above. A light shone from her, so bright that he had to cover his eyes.
"Dris-satu"
When he opened them, several dark objects were lifted from the book, circling around Merianna who was still shining yellow. The room felt warmer, like an invisible ball of plasma gas and chemical reactions was in the centre of the room. Small specks of light were being emmited from her and in the light, Ciel could make up the dark things. They were words, forming sentences that spiralled around Merianna.
They drew in closer and closer until they wrapped around her like chains. They disappeared upon contact with her skin and the light was beginning to fade as well. Ciel wasn't sure what he saw, but he had more suspicions of Merianna now. Perhaps Sebastian was right.
Speak of the devil, and he will come.
Sebastian was suddenly in from of the doors that led to outside. Ciel must not have noticed him there. And he as well, was watching the sight.
"As I thought, I felt something different when those thieves broke into the house. Although I'm not sure what you intend to do...Let us talk, shall we?" He offered.
When Sebastian took a step forward, the books on the ground flew towards him, crashing lightly on the wall behind him. A warning. Merianna took another thing from her skirt, replacing the other she held in her hand. Ciel could see now it was a card or other paper material. Although she did not do anything more, Sebastian frowned.
"Those don't have the scent of holiness. In fact, quite the opposite." He commented.
"Risado sircusnus."
Merianna opened her eyes and a smile spread on her face.
"Satu"
Something broke out on Merianna's back. There were sounds of cracking, like a giant invisible being had cracked all the knuckles in its body all at once. White feathered wings appeared. Ciel gasped, feeling like he'd seen angel wings somewhere before. But unlike an angel, Merianna had two sets, resulting in four wings sprouting from her back.
When she recovered, her eyes were aimed at Sebastian.
"Senna ayru-sis vei haneik...Sebastian"
"What kind of angel has four wings and speaks that sort of dialect?" He said, instinctively getting out the silverware and branding them.
She lifted up her arms and suddenly the chandelier above them shook, the glass on it tinkling. It freed itself from the ceiling and dropped down. Before it crashed on Merianna, it transformed and landed on its paws. A gold, black and transparent monster stood in front on her and roared at Sebastian. It was a sphinx, formed from the chandelier and given life.
Sebastian threw his first set at the monster, and although it pierced into its face, it seemed null to the pain and swung a paw at him, forcing him to take a leap back.
"Who are you?" Sebastian demanded.
"Sh..Ch...Sher...Sheryiat..." she replied, as if she could not pronounce words right. "Chyariet."
"Chariot." Sebastian completed.
The sphinx suddenly opened its mouth and its eyes glowed red, turning right to where Ciel was hiding. Sebastian and Merianna also turned to where it pointed. Once, Merianna's blank eyes and Ciel's met, sh dropped to the ground, the four feathered wings foling back into her. Sebastian only smirked.
"I told you, she was unnatural. No wonder her body was so light. No wonder her hair is the colour of an unripe peach. No wonder she became so attached to you..."
Ciel stepped out from the pillar, and the sphinx shrunk back. It made a crackling sound as it leapt up and in the blink of an eye, became a chandelier again.
"So what is she? I'v never seen an angel...human or...demon...like that."
Sebastian shook his head. "I cannot tell either..."
When Merianna woke up, she was surprised to see that she was in bed, but in her normal wear. She couldn't recall going to bed, but figured she was so tired that she fell asleep without even changing. Her hair seemed like a mess and she had to brush it multiple times before braiding it up. Her back ached, like after her adventures with Meirin and recovering from Cuff's hit to her forehead. She blamed it on sleeping with an apron still on. Judging by the daylight, it must have been morning, although none of the servants were up. She figured that she would try cooking breakfast today, steming from her experience of watching Bardroy do it...
She was surprised the eggs came out so well, but she wasn't sure if they were always as crunchy as she made them. She just hoped the slightly-burnt meat made up for it. Halfway through the cooking, she realized that she forgot to add butter or oil, opting for a bit of water instead. That was okay though, the small fire that followed should have negated the sogginess.
The heavy door to Bardroy's room opened and he stepped out, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"Good morning." She greeted, adding the last of egg to the sixth plate.
"Mornin'" He replied, coming to glance at the breakfast she made."Ah, you know how to cook!"
She laughed. "I learned from watching you, mostly. I felt as if I could do it today instead."
He gave her a thumbs up and bussed the meals to the table, getting the silverware while Merianna cleaned up the grease.
"Hey, Snowy. Why'd you make eight plates?" He asked, eyeing the small portions on the many plates.
"O-one for each person." She answered. "There's...Master Ciel, Sebastian, Tanaka, You, Meirin, Finnian, Pluto and I!"
He laughed and doubled over, clenching his stomach from laughing so hard. She puffed her cheek up and gripped the spatula, confused and annoyed with how hard he was laughing.
"It's okay, Merianna. Sebastian usually cooks Young Master's breakfast earlier in the upstairs kitchen, not the servants kitchen, and Tanaka gets up when the sun rises to make his own. All you needed to cook were my, Meirin's, Finny's and yourself's!" He explained.
"It looks like we have double what's needed, but that's okay." He added.
He shoved one plate's food onto another with a fork, combining them.
"More food for us-hey why are there eggshells in this?!"
The females were dressed in the parlour room with Ms. Culloch, her daughter and fifteen assistants along with the hairdresser, Mrs. Chevaux, her machines and tools, and her five apprentices. Merianna swore her face resembled a horse. (french puns indeed) The men were dressed in the study, with less people fussing over them. Young Master was dressed in his room, by Sebastian. Everyone was swarming over the house, calling for fabric, soaps and perfumes.
Merianna was just being introduced to a corset. She protested that she could put it on herself, even if she didn't know how, but the assitants laughed and told her it needed a helper. The corset fit tightly over Merianna's chest and she didn't understand why Meirin was grumbling and panting over it. Ms. Culloch examined the corsetted Merianna, as if there was a problem with it.
"It is not that she requires a corset, but she needs a full corset, ladies!"
They grabbed Merianna's arms and started stuffing fabric inside the corset so that there was greater contrast between her bust and waist. Now she could see why Meirin was having such a hard time. The apprentices helped Merianna put on a white gown, simple and flowing. They stopped her before she opened the parlour door.
"No, miss!" they cried. "You aren't finished yet!"
Confused, she let herself be dragged back in. That was only the second layer of the hundreds of layers that were about to be put on. It was getting stuffy in the room with people dashing in and out, or perhaps it waws just the numerous dresses, frocks, petticoats and chemises being put on her. Meirin seemed to be in the same situation as well; the assistants were busy strapping a wire cage around Meirin. It looked alarming to Merianna, but Meirin seemed calm with it. In fact, there was a red blush forming on her face as if she were enjoying herself.
Ms. Culloch came around with a purple-ish new object she called a 'bustle'. Apparently it was gaining in popularity and she wanted to try it on Merianna first. It would, as she put it, give Merianna a fuller look. Merianna thought it just made her butt look big.
"Erhm...thank you, Ms. Culloch...for the wonderful design...the sea..." She said.
Ms. Culloch held her head high in regard as she added the last of the fine material and helped Merianna into her lace opera gloves. Meirin, on the other side of the room, insister she keep her glasses on, her hairstyle the way it was ('or Young Master won't recognize me!'and the golden chain around her neck.
Sighing, the hairdresser turned his attention to Merianna. She pulled and tugged at her braid until it burst open and the long white strands flew out. Merianna flatly refused to wear a wig, saying that only nobility and gentry should have them. She sat on a stool while the hairdresser applied clips, bows and even several cuts to her hair. She even had an fire-heated iron tool she claimed would make Merianna's hair wavy, although Merianna wasn't sure if she could trust it. Meirin was done and left the parlour earlier than she did, and Merianna hoped that she was having a much better time than her.
The hairdresser, Mrs. Chevaux, next took out a brush and opened a container of red powder. Merianna asked if that was red shoe polish, which sent her into fits of chuckles. She explained that it was rouge, it was a cosmetic to make her cheeks more rosy. Merianna had to keep herself from squinting or wiping off the powder as it was applied to her face. She was now very annoyed and vowed to never attend another party. This was getting ridiculous.
Mrs. Chevaux had spent many hours tying together Merianna's hair. She wanted it to look exquisite and contrast her dress with ribbons.
Finally, Mrs. Chevaux took out a beautiful necklace adorned with glimmering pearls. She and Ms. Culloch collaborated on the Phantomhive dresses and figured that Ms. Culloch could lend her a pearl necklace to complete the look. Although it was very pretty, Merianna quietly refused it.
"Oh, don't be so fussy, dear!" she squawked. "It would complete the theme of your dress, the Sea!"
Under her breath she huffed. "That's what he said too..."
Merianna really did not want to wear that, but in the end she relented and let it be put on her neck, promising to take care of it and to have it returned.
The hardest part was getting into the carriage. Her and Meirin's dresses were so huge they had to have two carriages. Despite anyone else knowing, she snuck her pack of tarot cars into her dress, tying it around the ribbon around her waist. It ended up that Merianna would have to cram in with Ciel in his carriage while Sebastian drove. Following them was Bardroy and Merianna, with Tanaka driving theirs. Finny simply hung onto Meirin and Bardroy's carriage.
While Ciel sat non-chalently on his seat, Merianna's face was plastered on the glass pane of the carriage, watching as people started lighting up the lamps on the road and other carriages with rich looking ladies and men stode by.
"You look nice, Master Ciel." she complimented.
He didn't reply, but she saw a twitch in his mouth. He was clothed in dark blue and black. Straight bows and a beautiful cane added to his childish gentleman aura. She tried to stop herself from giggle, but failed a little. Merianna wondered if Mr. Tills made his costume from the sky. If he did, he missed. By a lot. She noticed he had a bouquet of roses, lillies and carnations on his lap and he carried them silently.
The carriage finally stopped with a jolt and Sebastian leapt off the front, opening the door. Merianna sat still and waited for her master to exit first.
"Ladies first." Ciel said, motioning his palm to the door.
"I-I! But I-I'm no lady...!" she gushed, clasping her hands to her cheeks.
No one would move, so she stepped out first, wobbly in her dress. She felt a hand grab hers and was surprised to see Sebastian holding her up. She stepped down, handing bringing up her skirt a little. When she landed on the ground, Serbastian let go and she thanked him...under her breath.
"Don't do that." He said.
She gave a hmph and rebuffed. "I didn't ask you to take my gratitude anyways."
"I meant lifting up your skirt. To do so in public is considered scandalous."
She held a hand to her face, facepalming herself before such a gesture existed, muttering an apology. He turned to help Ciel down from the carriage. She looked around to see if there was Tanaka driving his along, but there was none. They were still a little from the mansion, but there were less carriages here. The night was starting to get cold.
"Have you got a little change, mistress? 'Be grateful for anythin you gots." a boy said.
Once again she recognized him and backed away without a word, holding a hand to her forehead as she remembered their last meeting. Suddenly, Sebastian held a hand before her.
"Is this man bothering you?" He asked.
She held a hand over her neck, as if to conceal the pearl necklace she wore.
"N-No...not at all." she mumbled.
"Sebastian, Merianna! Let's go." Ciel called. "The others will meet us in the castle."
They hurriedly left on foot to the Midford mansion. Once they got there, Sebastian and Merianna waited for Ciel to enter solitarily. A strong voiced announced that the Earl of Phantomhive had arrived. In the distance, Merianna identified four figures as her friends walking up towards them.
"Young Master had ordered me to keep an eye on you so as to not cause problems. As far as I can tell, you've made many mistakes already." He said.
She tightened her fists and looked away, muttering an 'unbelievable'. As soon as she could, she would be like paint and stick to the walls, away from Sebastian, for the whole ball. He suddenly grabbed her arm and led her in.
The same solid voice asked them their names and titles in a qhisper before screaming out the arrival of the Phantomhive servants Merianna and Sebastian. Merianna knew this part, she was going to walk straight to the hostess and Lady Elizabeth and greet them before mingling with the crowd. But knowledge had nothing to do the the gripping tension in her legs. She stayed there, unmoving and sweating hard before she felt an arm curve under hers and pull her forward.
She hated Sebastian, but for this once she was grateful with his help in dragging her on. She smiled and shuffled forward nervously. Elizabeth's eyes sparkled upon seeing them and she and her mother stepped forward. She had the bouquet Ciel had in her arms.
"How are you, Lady Midford?" Sebastian started, kissing her hand.
He next turned to Elizabeth, repeating his sentence. Merianna curtsied, very low to Lady Midford.
"How...How do you do...?" She said, in a quiet voice.
She nodded before Merianna turned to Elizabeth.
"You look lovely, Lady Elizabeth." she said, smiling and taking her hand.
She took a small bunch of flowers from her pocket. On the walk to the mansion she snatched them from a nearby bush, just as Ciel had a bouquet. Although hers was much smaller and less fancy.
"B-Baby's Breath." she whispered.
Elizabeth blushed as she accepted the gift. Hurriedly being pushed away by Sebastian, she bowed her head and mingled with the crowd.
"Why did you do that?" Sebastian hissed.
She swatted his hand away and he stopped pushing her away from the hostesses.
"Well...Master Ciel had a bouquet, and so did a couple others arriving here. I did not want to be rude so I gave her some flowers as well."
Merianna though it was rude in some way...perhaps because of her lower station, or the fact that they were not wrapped up in paper. The small bouquet of Baby's Breath was only tied with a bit of wire she found.
"My, my." He sighed. "Only family and potential suitors bring the debutant bouquets of flowers, Merianna. Po-ten-tial suit-ors."
Merianna held a gloved hand over her mouth. She only wanted to seem nice to the family...
Ciel and his butler went to greet the other nobility, as was his duty to do during balls. Although he seemed to have enjoyed himself when he asked Elizabeth for a dance, spinning her away from the other (much older) suitors. Tanaka went to converse to others as well, having a great standing among the gentry. Bardroy had gone to grab some food and Finny was nowhere to be seen. Only Meirin and Merianna stood near the pillars and walls, although frequently, men would come and ask Meirin for a dance or offer her a drink. Merianna stayed close to the wall, like the Ghost-Walker she was.
When she was practising her steps, she did not account for the dress overflowing over her feet and was embarrassed in case she would trip or step on her partners shoes. Behaviour and rules in high society was much too strict and demanding for her tastes too. Earlier, she had found a fan on the ground and now she was opening and closing it, admiring the feathers and black lace on it, fanning the air around her. It seemed more like a child's toy than an accessory for nobility. She heard that the Queen arrived earlier, but went to rest a while in one of their guest rooms before joining in the festivities.
A butler came up to her and gently tapped her shoulder.
"Her Majesty, The Queen, request you in the chamber upstairs." he whispered.
She nodded and followed him through the crowd and up the staircase. Hoping that she was not drawing attention to herself. The butler motioned to the room and bowed before leaving. It looked like he was tense and left in a hurry, not even knocking on the door for her. Just about as she was going to raise her knuckles to rapt at it, it opened.
Ash Landers stood there and beckoned her in. The Queen, veiled and in her mourning dress, stood up from her chair. Merianna panicked and curtsied as low as she could, wobbling a bit on her knees when she rose. She could not mess up now.
"Y-Your Majest-Majesty...!" she stuttered.
Ash brought Merianna a chair as she sat down on it and faced the Queen. She sat on the edge of the bed, clasping her hands together perfectly. Merianna dug her fingers into her dress and sat with her back straight.
"Ash tells me wonders about you." She said.
Her voice was much gentler and soothing than Merianna expected. Before she could answer, Her Majesty put a hand on her veil and lifted it off, revealing a young face and greying hair with sad eyes.
"Tell me, Merianna. What is wrong with this face of mine? Go on, be honest."
Merianna looked at her face. There was nothing wrong.
"There's nothing wrong, Your Majesty." she answered truthfully.
She laughed and clapped her hands together.
"Perfect, perfect!" she exclaimed.
She composed herself again and held her clasped hands over her heart.
"Ash tells me that you are special, Merianna. Did you know that?" She asked.
Merianna shook her head, looking down at the Queen's feet.
"I want to see it too...for the future of England..."
"E-Excuse me...your Highness?"
"Ash!" She commanded. "Please lead Merianna out to the ball. She should enjoy herself as much as she can."
"With pleasure, your Majesty."
Merianna quickly stood up from the seat, as stiff as ever as Ash led her out of the room, closing it behind him. They walked together across the balcony, and the sudden bright lights hurt Merianna's eyes after being in the Queen's dark, closed off room. Although Merianna didn't want to, she kept her mouth shut about not wanting to walk with Ash. At the bottom of the stairs, he bowed to her and went back up, presumably to attend to the Queen.
She sighed and turned back to the dance hall. She loved the music playing by the musicians and went over to watch them play. Shining brass and polished wood greeted her as the music swam through her mind. Although she did not recognize the piece, she complimented the composer in her mind. Her gazed shifted from the violin, a reminder of her first meetings with her master to the trombones and piano and the cello, a reminder of...
She reached a hand to her neck and felt the pearl necklace enfused with her own body heat. Perhaps she needed a bit of air. As she moved past the people dancing, she saw a glimpse of Meirin happily waltzing with a handsome man and even Tanaka being swirled around by a lovely woman. She was careful to use her Ghost-Walker skills to maneuover around them without even leaving a breeze.
Merianna stepped out onto the balcony, and the temperature suddenly dropped. Not many people volunteered to get away from the central place to get some fresh air. Merianna didn't feel like dancing in such an uptight place. A couple men drunk with the wine in their hands laughed as they clapped each other on the shoulder before exiting the balcony, leaving her with it alone. She sighed and looked up at the crescent moon and stars.
The moon looked like a sideways smile, and Merianna tilted her head so that she could smile back at it. Mamma always said that things lost and things unknown were found on the recalled. Sighing, she rested her head on the cool, stone railing. A bout of laughter echoing from below caught her attention. It seemed as if a group of butlers below were playing a game on the lawn, as they were in a circle, and then a line. Several boxes and balls were strewn around.
Merianna squeezed back amongst the crowd and found the front door.
The boys all stopped once Merianna arrived, panting for air. Usually she would have been fine running across a lawn, but the corset made it very difficult to breath.
"Aw, shit. Looks like we've been caught..." one of the boys said.
"Yeah, yeah, Miss. We'll get you another glass o' champagne."
They stuffed their hands into their pockets and made for the door, grumbling and moaning.
"W-Wait!" she called. "I want to play with you."
Merianna could handle boys. She had grown up with boys as friends. Her only problem was the big dress she had on that got in the way of the potatoes races and kicking the balls. Despite her fancy and uptight appearance, the young butlers had to admit that she had a good kick and solid reaction timings. She obviously lost at Blindman's Wand, being the only girl and unable to disguise her voice efficiently. Tired of her short-breathness, she reached below her neckline and pulled out the stuffing and fabric from under the corset, to the awkwardness of the males around her.
"Let's play Pass the Ring!" a boy named Friedrick shouted.
She asked them for the rules, which they explained. They would be passing a ring around in a circle, and the one in the centre would have to guess who held it. The trick is that the others would make hand gestures as they passed it on the confuse the person. The boys and Merianna all assembled and a young lad named Marco was sent to the centre.
Merianna pinpointed the ring's location and watched it as it past through clumsy, greasy and into her hands. She passed it along as subtely as she could, sliding it into the boy's pocket next to hers. The game continued on, and Marco was beginning to seem worried and was biting his fingernails.
"Hey, I haven't seen the ring around for a while, Who's got it?" A voice shouted.
No one seemed answer, opening their hands to show no counterfeit.
"Okay...who had it last?" Marco yelled.
"I did!" Merianna answer. "I gave it to him next! In his pocket."
The boy next to her frowned and dug into the pocket of his trousers, amazed when he produced the golden, ruby-studded ring. The round of boys all laughed and so did Merianna. Suddenly, an angry voice from the balcony yelled out.
"You lazy ingrates! Get your butts back in here!"
The boys muttered and the one next to her shoved the ring into her hands before running off into the mansion. She confusingly glanced at the ring. Surely it was much too expensive to be given away as a gift? She sighed as she sat alone on the grass, wishing that she would have someone else to play with her.
"So that really is you."
She turned to see Cuffs, pressing his face against the bars of the fence.
"I could hardly recognizes you!" He exclaimed.
She clenched the ring in her hands. No way was she letting him pick that out from her.
"What do you want, Jake?" she growled.
He backed off, raising his hands up defensively.
"Woah, are we onto real names now, Ghost-Walker-Blood-Eyes?" he retorted. "Or should I say, Lady Ghost-Walker?"
She stayed silently, turning away from him angrily. It was always his sacastic tone that annoyed her the most. It wasn't her choice to atten the party, and she didn't even want to. She did like the dress and magical aura though.
"I just came by to enjoy the after-party." He continued.
She wanted to chuck the ring at his face. Maybe it was hard enough to make his head start bleeding. But it was much too pretty.
"Say, that there ol' necklace ain't yours, is it?" He said.
"If you must know, it was given to me." she spat back.
Obviously it made a cut into him.
"So you choose to wear that one, and not the one I gaves you?"
"I said it before...I don't want to wear something stolen."
A cool breeze blew across the area, it neither put or or fanned the heated flames between them. When she looked back up at him, he quietly stalked away. If there was anything lost on the moon, perhaps Jake Hawkins would have been found there.