Red, of the Ruby Kingdom

Chapter 5

Red slipped unnoticed through the crowd. The drinks tray perfectly balanced between his fingers. He considered that if once he got married he ended up being expelled from the castle, he could always become a maid. He was good at it. Years and years spent with health like his' had worked wonders for his ability to slip and avoid all forms of contact with people and attacks. Not even the flutter of a dress, of a lace or a sudden movement could touch him. And he was silent. Nobody noticed him, hidden behind the tray that he held high in front of him. He was like an anonymous presence, a shadow that no one bothered to look in the face. He was fine with it. That way he could observe without drawing attention to himself. It was a good cover. The nobles were so busy talking to each other that they didn't pay attention to their surroundings. And for them Red was a background presence. Something that was there, but it wasn't important. Food and chat their only thoughts. Red considered it reckless and irresponsible. In addition to being very haughty and disrespectful. But not being noticed at the moment was what he wanted. So he just saw it as a victory of his judgment skills over those people. His attention returned to his task. He went from group to group, listening to bits of conversation and offering drinks. The nobles were busy weaving political and economic relationships, talking about useless anecdotes or filling their stomachs with food. Seriously, there were an incredible amount of people huddled at the buffet tables. How much did they eat? From their round bellies they didn't look like starving people. Red shook his head. Gluttons were the least of his problems. For the first few hours he stayed in the ballroom serving the guests and getting an idea of ​​them. Red found particular satisfaction in making fun of them behind their backs. He did nothing, just insult them in his skull and silently chuckle at their misfortunes. It was almost a euphoric feeling to be able to listen without being recognized. He could spy as much as he wanted without the risk of getting into trouble and the effort of hiding. For a moment the thorn of solitude hit him. In the crowd, no one noticed him, no one knew he existed, no one cared about him. A small and insignificant piece of society lost in something much bigger and confusing than him. Discomfort grew in his soul. Damn. That was not the time to get caught up in existential crises! He pinched his arm in hopes of banishing the negativity, but it was already too late. His unheplful mind supplied with images of his late father and his possible demoralizing future, causing his soul to quickly beat in sadness. Great. Just what he needed. Just wait for him to have an emotional break down. In the middle of a room full of people ready to mock and disapprove of him. The princess caught disguising herself as a maid. It would be the scandal of the century. Red took a deep breath and decided the best solution was to get away for a moment. He headed for one of the glass windows, intending to get some fresh air. But once he got out he noticed that someone was already there. He cursed under his breath and was about to go to find another secluded place when he noticed that he did not recognize that person. Strange. He knew practically all the nobles. He took a moment to get a better look at the man. He was a skeleton like him, but much taller. Red barely reached his waist much to his embarrassment: he thought he could be mistaken for a small child. To hell with his self-esteem. And it wasn't much from the start. Whatever. He was used to it by now. There weren't many monsters shorter than him around. Anyway, the stranger looked younger than him. 18 or 19 maybe? Red figured that that was one of his first engagement dances and that he was probably just there to understand how these things worked. He had done the same at that age and he remembered being impossibly awkward. A wave of sympathy washed over Red. Maybe it was the same for that skeleton and he had decided to take a break outside. Thought, that monster seemed much more composed and serious than he had been. And scarier. He was like a general ready to fight and at the same time regal and elegant. Red couldn't help but think he would be a great ruler. At least in appearance. Never judge a book by its cover. As far as he knew it could all be a facade to make a good impression. Or the ostentation of a power he did not possess. What mattered were his actions. After a few minutes of watching the stranger Red began to feel a bit like a stalker. Fortunately, the other seemed to be immersed in his thoughts and had not noticed his presence yet. Red noticed the empty glass that the other was holding, then the tray of drinks he had ... he might as well play his part. Clearing his throat he walked over to the skeleton and offered him a drink. When the other's gaze landed on him, he shivered. Damn it. The aura of authority was even stronger now that he was focused on him. But Red refused to show any signs of anxiety. He was in no way inferior to him. Despite this, he still kept his head down, to appear as harmless as possible. And then ... those words. Those unexpected words, which reflected perfectly his own vision of the world. They were not said in a pitying tone, but in a matter-of-fact way. Like it was obvious and universally recognized. At that moment Red decided he liked this guy and a smile made its way to his face. The meeting between the two was short, but as Red slipped through the crowd, his smile only widened as he realized that his previous emotional crisis had been completely forgotten and he was feeling a lot better.

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It took an incredible amount of encouragement, reassurance and the promise of a pay raise, as well as the presence of the guards, to get the frightened crier to go out and read the short speech Red had prepared. Red could understand him: the nobles would not have taken it well and moreover they were all important people. Not someone an ordinary citizen would like to be on bad terms with. And that was a whole crowd. So Red could understand him. But spending a full half hour to convince him and then having to send guards to look for him afterward because he had run away to hide was a bit too much even for Red patience. He huffed irritably and turned his attention back to the wild mob of nobles. As expected they were not happy with the news. Far from it, they were furious. At one point Red had had to call in other guards to keep them under control. He was sure that this dance would go down in history as the most unusual and scandalous ever seen. Ah! As if he cared what other people thought. He had to admit it was fun to see those snooty people so upset. And it was only the first night! Wait and see what he had prepared for the next day! Ok, ok, he has to focus on the present. Let's see, Lord Anfio and Lord Francis were fighting for an unknown reason, Lord Edwin, Harald and Lapo had left the castle permanently. Count Oleg vented his anger by gorging himself on sweets. The ladies had fled at the first signs of violence and nothing more was known from them. Red sat on the sidelines, sheet of paper and quill in hand, drawing bars on the names of the discarded. He had made sure he was in a secluded corner, hidden by a column and protected by guards. So taken by their fury no one noticed him. Red spent an hour like this, until the guards managed to calm all the guests down. At that point his list had shrunk by a quarter of people. Acceptable. Noticing that the situation was quiet again and that there were no more stray bullets of magic and food that could accidentally hit him, Red got up, collected his paperwork and retreated to his rooms. His intention was to go to sleep immediately, but his stupid thoughts were still in turmoil from the whole thing and they wouldn't let him relax. The more he tried to stay in bed, the more irritated and restless he became. After twisting and turning for the hundredth time, he had had enough. He threw the sheets off, got dressed and headed for the palace gardens. The cool night air didn't bother him, on the contrary, it invigorated him. He quickly reached his destination and sat down at one of his favorite places to relax: his piano. It was a magnificent instrument, perfectly maintained and decorated with gold inlays. Red put his fingers on the keyboard and closed his eyes. He didn't need to see, he wasn't trying to read a score, but to let his mind and body speak through the music. It was a trick he had learned when he was little and it gave him a sense of freedom. He took a deep breath, held it for a second and then the first notes began to reverberate in the air. With every key he pressed, his mind cleared of any unwanted thoughts. Until reaching a state where there was only the harmony of music. He let his emotions take over his fingers, changing the melody based on how he felt. There were no restrictions, everything he had suppressed during those last days came to light and nothing could stop them. It was like a raging river, full of mixed emotions and Red let it flow, let it run wild in the silence of the night. It was liberating. In that state, Red paid no attention to the passage of time. It wasn't important. What mattered was to get rid of the chaos inside him and relax enough to finally be able to sleep. He stayed there for hours, going from song to song. The more he played, the more a sense of peace enveloped him. Eventually all the tension in his bones melted away and the whirlwind of notes diminished in intensity and fervor. The weariness of the day began to be felt. His fingers moved more and more slowly on the keyboard, until they stopped. Silence fell upon the world again. Or so Red believed. The sudden sound of applause made him jump in alarm, open his eyes, and whirl in the direction it was coming from. To his surprise, a few feet away stood the skeleton he had met at the ball applauding his involuntary performance ... Welp. That was unexpected.