Into the Shadows

II. Amari

The vast chandelier hanging from the ceiling cast a strong glow over the entirety of the ballroom, reflecting off of the stark marble floors.

The golden insignia of the house of Elanor had been painted in careful lettering in the middle of the ballroom where dancing couples revolved around, moving back and forth to the rhythm of the violin and cello music coming from the corner of the spacious room. Drinks were poured and shared, soft chatter echoed around the room, bouncing off the walls, and our hosts from the Elanor family moved around the room, sparking small talk with all of their guests; Laenia and her mother especially made an effort to talk to nearly everyone in the room.

After a quick moment of consideration, I decided I would wait at least an hour or so until I made my move. At a loss of things to do, I felt my hands instinctively come up towards my collarbone, where I knew the small amulet I wore rested comfortably, out of sight to all those who looked upon it except for me. In knowing it was there, I felt the tension in my stiff shoulders loosen, and took a deep breath- but not before I caught a glimpse of the bar from my peripheral vision.

I planned to begin as soon as the clock struck midnight; Hell if I didn't get a drink now.

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Four shots of something weak later, making sure to minimize my contact with others and use my alias whenever asked for my name, "Lady Korinne''- one of the few nobles in a small merchant town located not too far east of the Allorah Forest, branching off of port Aermys-the time was 11:53. Despite the alcohol I had consumed, my mind was sharp and, if anything, I felt far more awake than I had just minutes ago.

In my life, liquor had never had much of an effect on me, never clouding my head but instead, waking me up a bit, sharpening and preparing my mind for what was to come as it burned down my throat, leaving me feeling refreshed with a quenched thirst.

I twirled an empty crystal goblet in a fully-gloved left hand, allowing it to catch the light from all different angles and frowned down at my arm, silently displeased at my outfit choice, though I hadn't had much of a say in the matter. Though most of my tattoos were cloaked by heavy illusory magic (as was this outfit I couldn't breathe in), I thought, subconsciously reaching for a strand of steel-gray hair and instead coming up with a thick, overly curled blonde lock that fell from my tight braid crown, it put too much of a strain on my mental and physical energy to use it in covering little things that I could instead do with clothes- scars, ink, heavily calloused hands- with dainty little gloves, layered skirts, and stiff-as-hell hell makeup.

11:56. Time was passing slower and slower every time I looked, I swear. I tapped my foot impatiently, a strained sigh escaping my mouth. 11:57...11:57...11:58..For fucks sake, It had to be the alcohol that made everything feel as though time was slowing down. My patience was already tried from earlier that day, so at 11:59 I began making my way to the meeting point. The exchange itself would happen at 12:30; Though I had been here long enough already, I thought with a small scoff. Four hours. Four fucking hours. I have an extremely low tolerance to patience, and while I was always told that I must have the self-discipline and correct mental state in order to be patient...eh, I forgot the rest of her monologue, anyways. When my mentor thought years of practice would slap me into shape, it instead lowered even more my usual level of patience. Midnight now. Josef would be making his way as well, my calm and collected partner in crime for the night. Well, not necessarily crime- yet.

I began to pick up my pace, not yet taking it at a light jog but if anyone caught a glimpse of me, certainly not in a ladylike fashion. 12:02. I should've left at 11:55 in order to weave my way through the endless stream of guests here earlier, should have planned ahead in a way that would be more beneficial to me. My lack of foresight in this situation annoyed me, but I mentally waved it off. I moved smoothly, apologizing to those I was getting in the way of with a shy, charming smile that was often returned likewise but with a few met with piercing glares for interrupting whatever the hell they were doing. My ticket out of this place lay just a few paces away- The Ladies retiring room, a land in which no man would dare to step close to and, hidden in a nook close to it, one of the many entryways to the pathways that lead to the garden.