Short Stories

Masquerade

The dark hallways are lit with thousands of candles as my dress drags across the red carpet beneath me, Its silk shines underneath the candlelight. At the end of the hallway is a man, wearing a dark red suit with matching pants. His black hair falls in front of his feathered mask, the curls almost covering his raven eyes. His leather boots tap against the floor as his hand rakes through his hair nervously. His nervous movements still as his gaze meets mine. 

I looked down to my feet and smiled to myself. When I rise my head to glimpse at his shining raven eyes, he is no longer far away. The gap between us has closed. He dips his head into a bow presenting his hand towards me. I pull on my pearl rimmed gloves and place my hand in his.

His arm intertwines with mine as we walk towards the stairs. Below the stairs are thousands of women and men wearing their best gowns, clothing and jewels. Their faces hidden by prestigious masks made from all different materials. Pearls, silk, feathers and even diamond. 

I let out a breath I never knew I was holding and proceeded down the stairs, my arm still linked in his. My gown leaves a small trail of glitter down the marbled stairs, leaving a mark of my presence.

When we reach the bottom of the stairs, a waiter wearing a white button up shirt and bowtie offers us a glass of champagne. His body is frail, probably from all the servant work around the castle. We both thank him politely and take two of the glasses, one for each of us. The bubbles rise to the top of the glass as I take a light sip of the liquid. We walk up to a small table covered in white cloth and place our drinks down.

After chatting with Christopher, my husband, for some time, a man wearing a dark green blazer, shirt and pants approaches me. "Good evening my lady. I feel very wretched that I have intruded your conversation. But when I saw your exquisite features! I just had to invite you to dance with me." He dipped his head as Christopher had done previously and let out his hand for me to take. I giggled a waved off Christopher, leaving him and his champagne alone. 

The man stopped us in the middle of the ball, and placed his hand on the small of my back. I could tell his face was chiseled, by the shape of his jaw. It was sharp and defined. His white mask hid most of his face, besides his lips. My eyes immediately locked with them, as an instinct. We swayed to the soft music, my eyes still at his lips. His hand pressed on my back, pushing my closer to his chest. His eyes were golden brown and his lips the colour of pink sweets.

His tongue licked his lips, making them wet. His eyes never left mine as we danced across the ballroom floor. We were now inches away from each other. I couldn't figure him out. Who was he? A man this gorgeous could never exist. 

"Take off your mask." He said. His voice low but calming.

 "Only if you take off yours." I smiled. 

We lifted off our masks in unison and dropped them to the ground. My mouth parted at who was in front of me. His hand arm was around my waist, my hands on his shoulders. How could I be this stupid, to dance with my mortal enemy.

He took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. "Madeline." He said breathlessly. He looked me up and down in shock. How did we not notice each other! This was bad. I can't believe I danced with him. 

"You look... different." I rolled my eyes at him and stepped closer. 

"Thanks I guess." I shrugged my shoulders. 

His eyes still hadn't left mine from when we were dancing. He shook his head and chuckled. "I didn't mean like that. You look, you look beautiful." My eyes widen at his response. He walks towards me and tucks a stand of hair behind my ear. "How did I never see you like this." I looked up at him and whispered. "Because you were too busy hating me to even realize who you were hating." His hand slipped from my hand to my cheek. His touch was soft, relaxing. I felt... safe. Convenient since he was the one who slapped me across the face yesterday.

 "Look, maybe we should just go-" He interrupted me by slamming his lips onto mine. His hand slid to my back pulling me towards him. I closed my eyes and swung my arms around his neck. I kissed him back multiple times before we broke apart, our breaths slow. I looked around the room for Christopher, I couldn't see him anywhere. Looking back to my enemy: Alec, my eyes widened in realization. I had just kissed another man.

Worse, the older brother of whom I was supposed to marry.

Alec grabs my wrist and pulls me to the large doors of the ballroom. He kicks open the doors and throws me outside. I stumble but manage to keep my balance. His eyes "Why would kiss me!?" He snapped. A burning feeling in chest throbs between heart beats. Obviously, he had realized too. I rake my hands thru my hair in frustration and throw them down next to me. "I don't know! Maybe it was a mistake?" I yell back to him. Anger rising inside of me, I grab my knife, hidden in the lace of my dress and throw it to the wall. 

The knife moves past Alec's face, creating a small cut on his cheek. He slowly rises his hand to his face, wiping the small line of blood dripping down. He looks to the blood on his sleeve, the green fabric now turning into a chocolate brown colour. His golden-brown eyes meet mine. Behind them is not just anger, but lust. "If it was a mistake, why do I want to do it again?" He pondered. I surveyed his lips as he walked towards me.

"Alec, we can't do... this." My voice is shaky as I gesture between us. His chest is now in contact with mine. He bends down to my ear and whispers. "No one has to know." He moves behind me, his breath now on my neck. Its warm, filled with lust. I spin around to face him, my hand landing on his chest. Before I can take my hand away from his chest, he grabs my wrist and places it on his shoulder. He does the same for the other. 

"You know, I never noticed before, but you are ravishing." 

His lips come in contact with my neck, softly kissing down. I slowly move my head forward to rest on his shoulder. I grip his neck and throw my hands into his golden hair. I open my eyes to the silver band on my finger. 'Why am I doing this.' I say more to myself than Alec. His hand reaches to the lace on my corset, pulling the nicely tied bow undone. It falls to the grass beneath us along with my dress.

Alec's hands graze my thighs as he kisses down my stomach. "Jump." He demanded. He walked me towards the stone wall behind me. My back pressed against the cold stone as he caressed my thighs. My legs wrapped around his waist as he kissed me between my breasts.