The Masquerade

Chapter 12 - The Passageway

"It's a long story."

I opened my mouth to explain, but my father cut me off again. "And unfortunately we do not have the time for it right now. Perhaps we can find time later."

I only sighed. Seems Britain hadn't forgotten about our 'discussion' either.

There was another awkward break in discussion, and everyone just sat in silence, looking at each other.

"I think holding another ball sounds like a magnifique ideé!" Mother smiled, trying to bring the conversation back. "After all, Amérique is turning eighteen."

All eyes turned to me, looking for my say in the matter.

"You can do it if you want." I muttered, and instantly Australia and New Zealand's faces brightened.

Pushing my chair back, I stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to leave this conversation. See you all tomorrow."

I turned to leave the room. I heard someone, most likely my father, calling me to sit back at the table, but I ignored them. I wasn't in the mood for this.

It was only after I'd left the table that I realized I hadn't even finished my meal.

I knew that as soon as dinner was finished, Britain would come looking for me, and I really didn't want to see him, so I needed to hide.

My room was not an option. That was the first place they'd look. The garden, while tempting, wasn't good enough either. I felt too frustrated, too upset, and I didn't want to tamper with the delicate atmosphere the garden always held for me.

There was only one place where I could hide and no one would find me for a while.

The passageways.

I hadn't been through them in a long time, two years to be exact, but I still knew them all by heart.

And somehow I found myself wandering back in the same dark hallway I'd been two years ago, when I'd made the worst mistake of my life.

The bottle, while still on the ground, was empty. Good. No one deserved to have it, when it was the sole cause of my life going downhill.

But all in all, it was a pretty decent hiding place. No one knew about it, and even if they did they wouldn't bother looking for me in here.

I sat on the dusty ground in silence, thinking about the meal.

I really didn't want to go to another ball. The one we just had was traumatizing enough, and I didn't want to go through all that again.

But on the other hand, I did kind of want to see the mystery man again. I hadn't gotten any more information about him, mostly because he'd been pushed away to the back of my mind with everything else going on.

However, there was still something about him, and I really did want to see him again.

And there was always the chance that by following the directions I'd be able to make my way back onto my father's good side.

I weighed the two options in my mind, trying to decide which one to go with.

In the end, there was only one clear choice.

But that didn't mean I wanted to go through with it right away. I wanted to hang out in the gloomy darkness of the passageways just a little longer, for the sake of making up lost time.

At some point I heard footsteps heading my direction, and I quickly pressed myself up against the wall, trying to avoid detection.

I'd heard these passageways were only used by servants, and even though the use of them had declined, every now and then an old maid would remember them and go back down to check. Check what, we were never sure, it was either the condition of them or if they were even there at all.

If it was indeed a servant, I would probably be in big trouble, and my father would be even more dissapointed in me, ruining my chance to make things better.

However, luck seemed to be on my side as I heard the soft whisper of Canada's voice calling out my name. But I still didn't want to talk, so I stayed against the wall and remained as silent as I could be.

"Guess he's not here..." Canada muttered to himself, before I heard the gentle footsteps retreating into another part of the passsgeways.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Canada definitely didn't know the passageways as well as I did, and even still he wasn't there two years ago so he had no idea what had gone down in the same spot he had been standing.

I knew I'd still have sanctuary for a few more minutes, but fooling Canada had also probably made everyone even more worried, at least a little concerned that I might have run away.

I'd thought about it before but never had I actually gotten the courage to do it, and I certainly wasn't going to do it now.

So I knew my short time in these hallways was coming to an end.

Slowly, I made my way back through the dark hallways towards an exit. I made sure not to head back the way I had come from, while also not going the same way I had seen Canada heading a few moments earlier.

I just really didn't want to get caught.

After a while, I reached one of the entrances, and after looking around, I snuck out of the passageway.

I really wanted to just instantly go back to hiding in my room, but I knew that wouldn't fly. So slowly I made my way around nearby corridors, hoping to run into someone.

And run into someone I did. Or more, they ran imto me.

Australia was chasing New Zealand down the corridor with a scorpion, and New Zealand, nor paying attention as he was being chased by a crazy man with a scorpion, ran straight into me.

"Oop, sorry mate." New Zealand apologized, before looking up to see it was me, and his face instantly brightened. "Ame!"

"Oi, Ame, good to see you're still alive! The way Dad was acting after you left I thought you were a goner!" Australia commented with a smile, coming up behind us.

"Honestly, so did I." I gave my little brothers a sheepish smile. "But all in all I think I'm alright."

Australia gave me a wicked smile. "You might wanna avoid Dad for the time being, he's still mighty pissed at you."

I chuckled. "I bet." Then I started to walk back towards my room. "I think I'm just gonna go sleep for a little, I'm pretty tired. If you see Mother, let her know I'm alright and I didn't run away, alright?"

"Okay!" New Zealand chirped.

"...What about Dad?" Australia asked, with a line of hesitation in his voice.

I just pretended I hadn't heard the question.