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Chapter Fourteen- Part 1

Chapter Fourteen

Masquerade

            The following week went very fast, since Alice was both nervous and excited for Saturday. On her day off she bought a long red dress and a sequined black mask with blood-red feathers.  It was dramatic enough to thrill her, but it made her anxious thinking about seeing Ambrose again. He was so suave, his manners and charm bordering on arrogance. His dark good looks were both intimidating and alluring.

            “It’s weird,” she complained to Azura on Saturday morning, “I’ve always wanted to go to a masquerade party. I just didn’t expect it to be a masquerade party thrown by a man who claims to be a god.”

            Azura smiled. “Try not to worry. We’ll all be there with you tonight - just remember to act like you own the place.”

            “How do you mean?”

            “It’s called Peacocking. You use it on any predator. If he was a Bear, you would shout loudly, and try to look as big as possible. With Ambrose, you have to act like a Sorceress. Strut around like you’re more powerful than any of them. Don’t let him see weakness.”

            Alice giggled, imaging herself standing on her tip toes, shouting at Ambrose as though she were trying to fend a Bear off.

            Lacy and Tricia impressed her by showing up at eight on the dot. Both girls were dressed in floor length gowns. Tricia’s was midnight blue satin. She had a beaded steel grey shawl over her shoulders and her mask was done in gray and blue.  Lacy held her own mask on a stick. It was completely black with glittering sequins around the corners, and two little cat ears carved in the top. Her red hair was complimented by her deep purple dress, and her shoulders were covered by a black dress jacket.

            “You look amazing.” Tricia smiled at Alice.

            “Thank you. You girls look great too. I love the colours.”

            At quarter past, Altair arrived, his shaggy hair brushed for once, looking suave in an all-black suit and white tie. His simple black mask hung from a string around his neck. Alice tried not to stare. How could he have looked so dishevelled and dirty when she’d first met him, and now look like some kind of handsome lord?

            “Where did you steal that from?” she asked, in an effort to disguise her interest.

            “I’ve connections, miss,” he said. “You look absolutely stunning by the way.”

            She could tell her face turning red and was thinking of something to say when Azura came out from the back room.

“Here Alice, put these on.”

The older woman was wearing her mask already, a white strip of porcelain with dangling crystals on the edges that glimmered as she walked. Her long, ivy coloured gown had crystal beading underneath the bust, complimenting her steel coloured hair.  She gave Alice a small leather box.

            “These were Ruby’s. They were in the safe but I forgot about them up till now.”

            “Forgot what?” Gabriel was outfitted in a black suite and purple tie. The mask he held in one hand was purple as well and made to just cover the eyes. Behind Alice, Tricia whispered something to Lacy and giggled.

            Alice took the little box Azura gave her. Cushioned on the velvet interior of the box was a pair of sparkling diamond earrings. They were beautiful. Each diamond linked into the next to form a glimmering chain.