A Court of Ash and Fire (Being rewritten)

Chapter 4

We used hours to find the perfect dress, by Thesan's opinion. I was standing by the mirror, admiring the colour of it. The dress was going all the way to my ankles. The back of it was bare, giving my wings the space. The upper part of the front looked like feather turning inwards made of metal. The skirt wasn't skin-tight nor too much, it just like a light summer dress.

"You might even fool people to think that you are royalty," Thesan said as he brushed my hair over my shoulder.

He helped me with the necklace, it was a beautiful gold lace. I took a deep breath as I watched Thesan behind me in the mirror. He seemed proud of his work. His hands brushed my hair back against my back. In the reflection, I noticed the cloak folded on the edge of my bed, where it would be for the rest of the day.

"I told you that I would make you beautiful for the evening," he said and walked around me, adjusting the front of my skirt.

A knock on the door made us both stop in our tracks. We looked at each other before looking at the door. The man walking through the door was wearing a smile, his dark skin making his outfit shine even more. His light blue eyes softened as he took in the scene in front of us.

"Oh right! I completely forgot that Tarquin was the one matching your outfit for tonight, so I asked him to be your escort," Thesan said, walking out of the room in a hurry, possibly afraid I would yell at him for not telling me.

I shook my head and turned to Tarquin. He was wearing a blue and gold tunic. The blue representing the court he was the high lord of, and the gold to match my dress. His crown of sapphire and gold seemed to fit well with his outfit. His white hair was halfway up, braided from each side and back to the middle, possibly meeting and braided until they could no longer braid. I did wonder why he didn't go with his cousins.

"We're going to be late if we don't leave soon. But first, may I have the honour of putting on your mask for the masquerade, my lady?" he asked.

If I hadn't known my feelings for Azriel to be as true as they were, it would be a big chance that Tarquin would have won over my heart, even if he was still new to being a high lord.

I nodded and walked over the floor, my heels clicking softly against the floor. His hands were gently, he kept looking over my shoulder and into the mirror to see if the mask was sitting correctly before he gently tied it behind my head. Tarquin had made sure to hide the ribbon in-between the layers of my hairstyle. The mask itself was gorgeous, the way the feathers layered over each other, and small golden chains dangling underneath each eye, resting against my cheeks. Once he was done, he let his hands rest on my shoulders and sighed softly.

"I know I am not the one you were hoping to escort you to the masquerade, but I'll make sure you have an enjoyable time."

That hadn't gone through my mind. It had slipped my mind that people actually knew about my feelings for Azriel. Him bringing it up made my smile falter, and I was yet again, not that excited about the masquerade as I had been few moments ago. I glanced over at the cloak on the end of the bed and sighed. At least Tarquin knew I wasn't going to fake being interested in him during the event.

"Thank you, my lord. Shall we get going before everyone decides to start with the event?" I asked, turning around gently.

He nodded, holding out a hand for me to take. This was going to be a test to see if I could really bury these feelings deep inside. If I were to fail, the outcome would be complicated. If I were successful, everything would become so much easier.

†

By the time we had arrived, a lot of people had already arrived. To everyone's shocking surprise, it had been the autumn court that had hosted the masquerade for the entirety of Prythian. Eris was the host of the event as his father was away on a travel somewhere. It came as a shock for a lot of people, but there wasn't really anything any of us could do to change anything.