A Tangled Web of Truth | Complete (ONC 2021 Shortlister)

1. Invitation to Glamour

The day they delivered the invitations, Alicia DuMont was sitting at her kitchen table reading the latest issue of her favourite style magazine and drinking the first sips of her too warm coffee. The remnant crumbs of breakfast littered the counter, and the sun streamed through the lace cream curtains of her kitchen window.

Three sharp taps on the door almost made her jump right out of her skin. No one ever knocks on the door at this hour except Ailine when she loses her keys. But she's definitely asleep in her room, Alicia thought to herself. Pulling her thick black curls back into a ponytail, she slipped a sweater around her shoulders before answering the door.

"A message from Her Majesty," the man dressed all in deep blue handed her an invitation that sparkled like a diamond in the sun. "Miss Alicia DuMont, please consider this a formal invitation to his royal highness's Coming-of-Age Masquerade Ball next month. You will find all details enclosed."

"Thank you," Alicia said, gingerly holding the gold embossed paper between her fingers.

The man tipped his hat and consulted his companion before moving to the next door. Three quick taps also greeted them, presumably for the same reason.

Still dressed in her pyjamas, Alicia quickly returned indoors despite the fact that it seemed every young woman on the street was congregating in the centre of the street. They're probably comparing stories and deciding what to wear, she thought to herself. I'm going to have a lot of hair to do in the days leading up to that.

When the door was securely locked behind her, she turned to face the dishevelled hair of Ailine, who yawned and padded over to the coffeepot in the corner. "Who was that trying to break down our door?" she drawled. "I was trying to sleep."

"It's almost nine in the morning," Alicia pointed out. "And it was some messenger for the Queen, I guess. Invited me to the coming of age ball."

"How'd you manage to snag one of those? Have they finally decided to expand their horizons and invite girls without titles?" she asked, reaching her coffee stained hand out toward Alicia's invitation.

Alicia pulled it back sharply. "I don't know. It seems everyone on the street got one. They're all out there comparing notes or something. I don't know."

"So they actually invited the common folk? I guess that doesn't surprise me with Alejandro. Or the queen. They're cool."

"Yeah, because you totally know that." Alicia rolled her eyes and slid the invitation open.

"I mean, they seem cool compared to her old man." She shrugged and downed some pain medication with three glasses of water. "Plus, you forget I have met them for at least twenty-five seconds once."

"Yeah, yeah. Brag it up. A real claim to fame." Alicia couldn't help but laugh.

Ailine's attempts to prepare eggs and toast echoed through the kitchen and Alicia let her mind wander to the beautiful invitation she still held in her hand. The mauve paper looked handmade and was embossed with the royal seal. Deep purples, golds, and silvers informing her of the various details accented the invitation. Near the bottom was a strange insert in a deep green about the dress code.

"Hey, check this out," Alicia called out to Ailine and crossed the short distance between them to show her the invitation. "Apparently there's a dress code."

"Ooh, fancy invitations," she commented, reading over the dress code as her hands busily swirled her eggs around the pan. "So you must wear green. What have they done, colour coded us by our parents? What kind of ball colour codes its guests?"

"Apparently a royal one," Alicia laughed. "I also need gloves and a corresponding mask, apparently. 'Masked ball' is being taken very seriously."

"Always is," Ailine retorted, tasting some of her concoction. "I mean the masked part is required by law. Apparently it's supposed to be so the heir has the chance to meet someone more authentically. All bullshit if you ask me. Needs salt," she added, dropping a pinch into her pan of eggs.

"That one history class you took really paid off, Ailine," Alicia laughed.

"Yes, my parents really failed me by not teaching me all of these conventions when I'm so close in age to our royal heir." She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out. "Who would have thought my parents didn't waste their money sending me to school for an entire year before I decided to... how did they put it? Oh yeah, 'throw my life away learning to style hair.'"

"Yes, we'll never make it!" Alicia laughed sarcastically, but it had been a real uphill battle to establish themselves in the city. Only now, after nearly five years in the business, were they really starting to feel established and secure. Alicia herself had only managed to afford her own living space in the last year, and that was only achieved by pooling her resources with Ailine's.

"Well, we would have made it sooner if we'd stayed at home and lived off our parents' money. Maybe we should have tried that." The two girls looked at each other and burst into peals of laughter.

"Your invitation at your parents' then?" Alicia asked, stealing a bit of egg of Ailine's plate.

Ailine groaned. "Yes. I haven't even seen it, but apparently they were sent out months ago. I'm not supposed to wear green, though. Mother has concocted some deep purple contraption. I'm sure it will be completely hideous and I won't be able to breathe, but the whole thing is going to be so much more fun with you there!"

"Will it, though? I mean there has to be thousands of people coming," Alicia argued. "I mean how on earth is the prince going to wade through that?"

"I think it's probably only a thousand, if you count everyone who will skip it. I know a lot of people don't want to go. Don't want to buy a dress to follow those ridiculous guidelines." Ailine was not usually the voice of reason to Alicia's outrageous theories, but she had a point. The two girls moved into the bathroom to fix their hair before work.

"Still, what are the chances of even seeing the prince in that kind of crowd? What would be the point?"

"Are you kidding?" She just about dropped her brush into the sink.

"No?" Alicia asked it like a question. "I mean it seems like a lot of effort to put into going to some ball."

"It's a free party. At the palace. Where we will get to meet all the glamorous women who will pay way too much to get their hair done." Just when it seemed like she might be finished speaking, she added, "And there will be so much food and fun dancing. If we all go, we can have so much fun."

"Well, as long as you and Oketa help me get this dress sorted," Alicia reasoned. "Then I guess it won't be so bad."

"Ah! I'm so excited!" Ailine pulled Alicia into a tight hug. "I'm so glad to not be going alone."

And just like that it was decided: Alicia was going to her first ball. 

* ~ * Author's Note * ~ *

I will admit I kind of fell in love with these cuties right from the start. I know you aren't supposed to have a favourite book-child, but right now this is mine. Please feel free to vote and comment if you want -- it makes me smile! Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you again Friday for the next chpater!