Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Masquerade - The Palace | December of the Second Year

Terran recognized no one, and the sea of masked patrons all with silver-blond hair moved to the music like a wave that swept the hall. Only when a man with hair the color of desert clay, red like a stain, entered did Terran know who had arrived. Talbot had said to invite anyone, so Terran invited The King. Tonight, Lexus posed as Rune Guildenhart's cousin, Ruben, though he did not blend in at all. He was dressed in the brightest colors of all the dancers, splashes of red and green mixed in among the blue and white of the Embassy. He stuck out like a sore thumb. Terran realized he did not fare much better. His own robes had a much bolder blue on them than the normal Embassy colors. Luckily, no one had said anything. People seemed to think it... eccentric.

Terran's eyes followed The King's hair for a while, taking in every detail of The King's jester costume and mask, until a voice caught his attention.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Talbot asked.

"Yes, it is. This sea of white and blue is entrancing. The masks make it very difficult to identify faces in the crowd."

"That's half the fun."

Then Terran remembered where he sat, and his fingers glided across the silky marble on the seat he occupied. He had been invited by Lord Talbot himself to sit in the seat of honor, at the head of the party on a throne. He could only envision his father sitting there and was not sure if his nose played tricks on him or not, but he swore he smelled the cactus blossom of the cologne his father used to wear.

Every moment Terran spent around Talbot made his stomach ache, and his hands shook in high-pressure situations like this. He clenched the arms of the throne to steady himself and he smiled at Talbot in false delight, squinting only his eyes. His fear remained hidden behind the mask that concealed nearly his entire face.

Kingly robes draped over Talbot's body, and a thin, simple, silver mask lined half of his face. His white hair and lavish robe made him instantaneously recognizable, which Terran believed was the point. Terran adjusted the silver Bauta mask that covered his own face, a strong, masculine mask that turned his face into a stone edifice, and huffed a sigh. Now that another redhead swept the floor, he suspected a lot of the Naa'a guests were bound to mistake "Ruben" for Rune. "It's amazing how much of a person's face you need to see to recognize them," Terran mused. "Are you sure we are all safe? What if The King and his men get into the party?"

"Don't worry yourself, Rune," Talbot replied. "The only way in is through the front, and that is heavily guarded, unless, of course, The King managed to get himself an invitation, but that is... very unlikely. Besides, we have Perseus and Parisa scattered in with the crowd, and every entrance and exit is covered by an Elite Guard. You must have confidence in me, my lad. We are impenetrable."

Terran chuckled to himself, invisible under his mask, and glanced around again.

"See there?" Talbot continued and pointed at a head in the crowd. "There is Councilman Wolff."

Terran followed Talbot's finger to a man in the crowd in a coyote mask, furry and gray, and the pelt trailed down his back. Dancing with him was a woman in a pelt as well, thought it was an albino fox upon her face instead. He held her wrist and hissed something into her ear. Terran's heart sank as he watched Vena dance miserably with her husband, and her body language said nothing of love.

"Stop," a guard near the throne said, pulling Terran from his daze. "You don't have permission to be up he—"

"I just need a moment of the Sovereign's time! Please, let me speak with him."

Terran turned his head to see where the ruckus came from and met eyes with someone he had only seen on street corners in passing. Her silver hair trailed down her back, and though the ivory told her age, her face was nearly devoid of wrinkles. Red dye, redder than any clay Terran had ever seen, was smeared across her face, staining her skin. A dagger swung at her hip and her red robes fell from her body in a puddle. Among all the white, she looked like a blood stain.