Masquerade

Chapter One

He adjusted the mask in the mirror, making sure he could see through it as best as it would allow. He started to quadruple check how well he could flick and maneuver his tail and if he had the right bottles, tucked securely into the leather pouch strapped to his thigh. He covered his leg with his skirt, the most breathable and easy-access article of "fancy" clothing he owned. He made sure his shirt didn't get any stains from the makeup, checking the one loose button, and readjusted the sleeves and several floral decorations on his belt and wrists. Even the flowers on the platform heels matched. Lastly, he draped his cape over his shoulders, buttoning the flowers around his neck and making sure it concealed the rest of him nicely. He turned his head to the sound of the door opening. There was a pause.
     "Oh.." His father stared, seemingly struggling to find the words to either compliment him or insult him.
     "What? Is it too much?" He asked, nervous.
     He shook his head, but still stared and remained awkwardly silent. Matthew opened his cape a bit more to help reveal some of what he couldn't see.
     "It's nice. For where you're going. And uh, I like that you incorporated some of your own physical attributes like the horns...and.." he looked down at the heels, "and that you still think you need to be taller."
     Matthew ignored the last bit, checking again on the poisons. He was satisfied with the result of a week of planning.
     "Ah, right," he remembered, "the cards. Can I have those now?"
     He was handed the cards as he reached for the invitation. Two plain white cards with two small pictures. Two skeletons. Both dark-boned and straight-faced. Both looking identical to their father, Nightmare.
     "If you'd like, you can stay longer than you need to."
     He looked up at his own father and nodded. He looked as if there were other things he wanted to say, but ultimately decided not to and left. He put the invitation and both cards into his clutch with his phone and a few mints. He sighed, teleporting to the desired destination.

~~~~~

     He was waiting in a line for some time. It was an assortment of monsters and humans, all absolutely terrified out of their minds. He heard one of them talking to another, wondering if they'd ever see their family again after tonight. The other worried the same. He looked at the monster in front of him, shorter and older than he was. She was dressed up, but surprisingly not enough to stand out. She wore darker clothing and a dog-like mask that complimented her nicely. Then she caught him staring.
     "My apologies," he said immediately, "you do look very lovely, though."
     "No, you're alright, dear! I don't mind it one bit. The only person who will is the king, but he's only noticed me once or twice."
     He stepped forward with the line.
     "So you've been to one of his parties more than once?" He asked.
     "Mhm! All you need to do is show him respect, make sure you don't dress too much or he might think you are making it about you, and try to regulate your emotions. If you're too positive, he finds a reason to make everyone upset again. He absolutely thrives on the negativity from all of his guests. He knows they're terrified," she explained.
     He nodded to every word. Memorizing everything she had said.
     "Thank you," he smiled, but immediately hid his gratitude.
     He watched as she handed her invitation to the guard, likely one of Nightmare's most trusted servants, and headed inside. He handed his forged invitation to the guard as well, nodding to him and entering.
     There were so many guests inside, talking and dancing and drinking. He felt out of place, suddenly. He was too young to drink and most of the clothes and masks the other guests wore were plain. He shook his head, taking the photos out of his clutch and looking them over again. Then his soul sank.
     What was the point in knowing their faces if they are covered up?
     He panicked, hiding the pictures and ducking into the crowd. He would have to work around it. It was his task, he needed to complete it. He couldn't face failure.
     There was the sound of a wine glass, ringing out to the whole room. He looked around, quickly looking the direction everyone else faced. There was a tall stand on one side of the room. On top stood Nightmare as he held a glass and a fork, eying the crowd. He smiled.
     "Welcome," he chimed, "now, how has everyone's night been so far?"
     There was a silence from the crowd. His smile turned wicked.
     "Good."
     The mood of the room was pure fear.
     "And I'm sure everyone knows the rules?"
     The crowd started nodding. He nodded as well, thanks to that "dog" monster. Nightmare's smile was soft again, but he paused. He looked around for a moment, then used his tentacles to drop safely from the stand. He disappeared into the crowd.
     He allowed himself to panic, but didn't let it control his actions. He continued through the crowd, finding a wall and following it. Eventually, he found a door with the universal sign for "bathroom" on it. He pushed open the door, staring.
     It looked like a bedazzled public restroom straight out of a fucking middle school.
     He shook his head, ignored it, and entered. He looked at the stalls, opening an empty one, and sat down on the fur-covered toilet seat.
     Usually, he likes to know what his target looked like before equipping any poisons to make sure he didn't accidentally hurt someone.  He lifted the tip of his tail into his lap, putting his gloves on and spreading the poison over the tip of his tail. It was one of his strongest, and he was thankful it wouldn't effect him as long as it didn't enter an open wound. He disposed of the gloves as soon as he was done, putting the vial back and leaving the restroom. As soon as the door closed behind him, he had someone up in his face.
     "Was my brother in there? He's really socially awkward and doesn't like parties. I haven't seen him- like- all night and I don't know where he is hiding. He's about the same height as me and we're both matching. Snow owls, to be exact."
     Matthew stared at him for a long moment.
     "Oh, right, I'm Jinx," he immediately cringed, "oops- I mean- uhhhh...just call me...I dunno, Owl? Hoot? I didn't think of any creative masque name beforehand, sorry."
     There was more silence.
     "You won't tell my dad I broke a rule, right?" He whispered.
     And that confirmed it.
     "Oh, no, of course not!" He replied, "and no, I haven't seen your brother, sorry."
     He frowned. Then just stared at him for a bit.
     "What's your Masque name?" He asked.
     Shit.
     "WAIT! Let me guess..." he continued, "is it something like Sheep? Flowering Sheep? Flower? Sheep flower?"
     "Uhh..it's..Blooming Ram," he said quickly, "I'm The Blooming Ram."
     Jinx stared at him still. He took the moment of distraction and flicked his tail, unnoticeably cutting his ankle, transferring the poison.
     "Well, that makes sense. I guess both of them do," he looked around him, "HEY! I SEE YOU! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"
     He shoved past Matthew and ran after someone. He was gone almost instantly. He saw small drops of blood on the ground, trailing the way he went. Success.
     He'd die soon, but he still had one more target. He ducked back into the bathroom. He knew he was looking for a Snow Owl now, and he'd keep his eyes open for one. He went over to the sink, running water over the bloody tip of his tail as he got another pair of disposable gloves and set the poison on the counter to reapply. He was only able to open the bottle before the door swung open and slammed immediately after. He heard the click of a lock.
     He hid the opened poison behind him, looking over to the person. Monster.
     Snow owl.
     The night couldn't have been more perfect. He'd be in and out like nothing had happened. Both would be dead and he would be praised, likely rewarded.
     "Sorry!" He said immediately, turning to unlock the door again.
     "No, it's alright!," he turned off the faucet, slipping the poison into the pouch, hiding under his cape.
     The owl froze, turning around to face him again. Only one of his eyes was visible, the other eye of his mask dripping an inky black substance. He was visibly afraid.
     "I was just cleaning my tail, it got stepped on."
     He formed the lie quick.
     "Is it ok?" He asked.
     Matthew nodded.
     "I'm The Blooming Ram," he introduced himself, "and you?"
     "Ah, I'm The Feathered Prince. If that makes sense. Because owls have feathers. Yeah."
     He shuffled his feet, messing with the fingertips of his gloves.
     "Your brother said you weren't very social," he commented.
     He looked up, immediately frowning.
     "He didn't say anything else, did he?" He asked, worried.
     "Only described your height and you were matching."
     "The Feathered Prince" sighed. He leaned against the door, sliding down it and groaning.
     "I'd leave if it weren't for the fact my dad says I have to be here," he muttered, "I hate these stupid parties. He only threw this one because he was bored and hungry."
He paused.
"If I start talking shit, my dad would probably find out and kill you," he groaned.
"Oh."
He stood awkwardly.
"Also, be careful. Theres a monster who's already drunk and they tried to offer me liquor. I'm pretty sure they were a cheetah," he cringed.
"I thought Nightmare let you drink, aren't you old enough?"
"No, I'm only fifteen," he shook his head.
He was surprised. The youngest person he'd ever had to assassinate was twenty seven. And from what he knew, his father's unfinished business with the princes started years ago. He didn't know how long ago, but long enough to say he was a child when this started. Not a teen, a child. Too young to make major decisions. Too young to trade away his soul.
"He'd probably let me if it was poisoned," he muttered.
"Why would he do that? From what I know, he takes care of you both."
There was a pause.
"He didn't introduce us today. He usually does at the start of every party, but he didn't for some reason," he replied, "and it's usually just to make sure people are nice to us."
He was avoiding the question.
There was a gentle knock on the door. They both looked up and Hex went to unlock the door, freezing up. Matthew looked down at his ankle, flicking his tail and cutting into it, similarly to how he cut Jinx. He didn't notice, slowly unlocking the door and opening it. There was a small tremble in his hands as he did. Matthew stepped out of the way so he could open the door fully.
     Nightmare was standing there, tentacles twitching behind him. He stared down at the prince.
"Go with Dust," he ordered.
He nodded, pushing past him to meet another masked skeleton, who quickly led him elsewhere, whispering.
"You."
Matthew looked up. He was looking down at him, eying him with curiosity and suspicion.
"Come with me."
He nodded, following beside him. As they weaved through the crowd he watched Nightmare's expression closely. He was very focused on something, but watched his surroundings closely. He led him to a large door, where another guard was stationed. The door closed quickly behind them, the hall only lit by the dim candles on the walls.
"Take your mask and cape off."
He unbuttoned the flower clasp hesitantly, undoing the ribbons around his horns and letting the mask fall. He let the guard take them, watching him carefully fold the cape and drape it over his arm while holding the mask delicately. For a bigger, tougher looking guy he was surprised. He watched his eye shift from behind his wolf-like mask as he stared at him for a bit, nodding to Nightmare.
     "Walk with me."

~~~~~
ANYWAYS THATS DONE-
ILL WORK ON THE NEXT CHAPTER I PROMISE.
~*2081 Words*~