DEVIL

1.2 | Pride

Pride; noun: "a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired."

Poetry and Alyssa awoke with excitement. Granted, Alyssa seemed to be more enthusiastic, whereas Poetry seemed to be full of nerves. She'd begun regretting her decision to go; Poetry wasn't ever too entirely fond of being around large groups of people. Moreover, Poetry loathed the idea of sporting an extravagant gown with an elaborate hair and makeup combination.

Theodore never made Poetry do anything that she didn't want to, however, he did always tell her that it would be a shame to miss out on anything that could prove to be a fun memory, solely because of a bad mood or nervousness; and that's exactly why Poetry decided to attend after all. Poetry and Alyssa both had their hair in updos, with a few strands of curls hanging loosely around their faces. Their makeup was kept simple, since their eye makeup would've been guarded by the masks, anyway.

Soon enough, it was Saturday evening, which meant it was nearing time to leave. Reminiscent of each of their proms, Adela gathered her two eldest children and Alyssa, making them stand on the spiral staircase for a picture. The girls had on their ball gowns, while Anthony was clad in an all-black suit. One picture was taken without the masks, and the next was taken with them on. Adela had agreed to miss out on the ball, claiming that she genuinely only wanted to be home with Eridanus for the night.

"Have fun, Poe," Eridanus' small voice rang. Poetry smiled while kneeling down to hug her younger brother. Finally, all three of them were leaving the house. It took a bit of effort to cram the girls' dresses into the car, especially while being mindful of wrinkles or mishaps. The car arrived in front of Taneyhill soon enough. Poetry exited the backseat, her eyes landing on Anthony as he assisted Alyssa out of the car.

Anthony was about to link arms with Alyssa, until Poetry beat him to it. All three of them quickly put their masks on. "Remember, no one is allowed to say their names, or remove their masks, got it?" Poetry reminded them. A sigh left Anthony. "Yes, Poe, you've only told us twenty times by now," he exaggerated. "You have a tendency to abandon your brain cells, Anthony. I have to remind you so often." The party of three entered the large home; it seemed like most of the guests were already there, despite a large amount of them having not even arrived yet.

Poetry's gaze fixated on Anthony. "What?" He asked annoyedly, upon noticing. "Leave," Poetry said, shooing him with her hands as she and Alyssa left Anthony behind. Their ballgowns brushed against each other, as well as a few of the other guests. "What are we even supposed to do at a masquerade ball?" Alyssa questioned in a quiet tone, only earning a shrug from Poetry. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Poetry wasn't solely there for entertainment purposes; she'd mainly attended to get a feel for the Camerons' personalities.

She wanted to know if they really were the evil people that her father had described; she wanted to know exactly what made their gears turn; Poetry wanted to discover if there were any mysteries within the walls of Taneyhill, and if there were any, she wanted to unravel them. "Poe," Alyssa called, dragging her out of her thoughts. "That man over there is ushering you over," she added, pointing to the man in question.

Poetry and Alyssa made their way over in his direction. The man gave an earnest smile, clasping his hand around Alyssa's glove-clad palm and giving a light shake in greeting. He then moved onto Poetry, the cold rings around her fingers slightly digging into his own skin as she gave a firm handshake, a gesture her father taught her to always follow through with. The man seemed shocked at the slight passive-aggressiveness, though he laughed it off. "What a grip," he said jokingly.