The Butterfly Masque [ONC 2024]

A Secret Ungranted

Once the door closed, Jenna sank into the couch with a sigh. For some reason, that steward made her uneasy. He seemed like a ball of energy, but in a very stress-inducing way. She felt nervous how his eyes shifted everywhere under his leafy mask.

"We really scared him with that boot," she joked, "Maybe he was worried we'd drop the other one."

"If the saying holds true, I suppose it's only a matter of time," Lord Masquerade smiled. 

Rising to his feet, he returned the ointment to its place in the cabinet.

Jenna pulled in her lip, hesitating before she spoke again, "I really appreciate you helping me. Most people wouldn't do that."

"I know. It's an odd thing, isn't it? We have so much to offer, but offer it so seldom," he said, pouring himself a glass from the tray of liquor bottles. "Are you sure you wouldn't like that brandy?"

She should refuse. "A little bit, yeah. Thanks."

Lord Masquerade poured a small amount into a short glass. Returning to her side, he passed the glass to her. He then gathered the ends of his long dress coat and sat on the edge of the sofa. Jenna shifted to give him room but he insisted she stay where she was.

The room settled into a cozy sort of quiet. Jenna sipped her brandy, and its pungent warmth soothed her anxiety. 

"Well," she met his eyes when he spoke. He leaned back, his silhouetted carved against the softened glow in the walls, "you're quite the puzzle to me, young lady. I must admit, I wasn't certain you would arrive."

"What do you mean?" Jenna asked. "You didn't know I was coming."

"Not you, yes. But I knew someone would come. And that someone happened to be you."

He said this easily, as if he didn't feel surprised that she walked into his party unannounced and uninvited. A small sense of relief came over her. After all, he didn't seem angry, or even inconvenienced. Which in itself struck her as odd. How had he known someone would come?

"I admit it might be too soon to discuss this. I would have waited until your ankle would heal, but," his dark eyes seemed to reach into her very soul, "you seem to be in great distress."

Jenna's stomach dropped. Did he know about Dylan? Had he seen their argument at the Carnival? Heard about all her antics in the worst way possible?

On the one hand, it gave her hope that she wasn't crazy and the Carnival hadn't vanished into thin air. On the other hand, she hated that his impression of her must be lower than it already was, given her fiasco in the garden.

She lowered her eyes, embarrassed, "Is that why you were staring at me?"

"Yes. I wondered if you were the one to come. When at last I found you, you collapsed."

Jenna pulled in her lip, swirling the brandy in the bottom of the glass. "Yeah, I, um...it's been a rough night," she mumbled.

His hand touched her wrist, "I can't imagine. The desperation you must have felt. To make not one, but four wishes? Usually," he snapped his fingers, "they enter my halls with just one."

A playing card appeared between his index finger and thumb. Jenna gasped.

"How did you do that?"

His eyes gleamed, "Answer me this first, do you recognize this card?"

He extended it towards her. The soft glow bleeding in from the ballroom illuminated the card. The thin paper almost seemed to come alive on his palm, shimmering in the dark. Jenna leaned closer to look.