Banquet Mystique

Act I : Once Upon a Dream

In the hills of Melbourne, a luxurious manor resides, tempting passerby's eyes. This particular night, the manor had seemed to be even more lively than usual, why? you may ask. Well tonight the annual dinner banquet, meant for only the elite, was set to be held at this particular location. Although many of the guests were quite unfamiliar with the place, they thought nothing of it after seeing how elegant the interior was. As guest started to arrive in their luxury vehicles, the clock struck 8 and the doors to the manor began to open...

???: "Oh my! i've never seen such a beautiful house before in my life!"

???: "haha yes..these are the type of house the elites are used to seeing."

???: "well i'll be it!! the drive here was way too tiring though ain't it!?"

???: "Alice...while i do admire your accent, try not to use it around the other guests..i've already managed to convince them to let you in, saying that you won't draw too much attention.

Alice: "oh..! uhm..y-yeah sorry..! I just got a little bit excited, i mean, this IS my first time coming to such a big party."

???: "it's not a "party" Alice, these type of events help you raise your social status, which is precisely why i brought you here. so you must act accordingly, it's the only way we'll be allowed to marry each other.."

Alice: "Yes, I know. I'd like to thank you again Eric for even giving me the chance to come here.."

Eric: "Now that's the type of attitude i'm looking for."

*Alice POV:*

      Me and Eric met while he was on a vacation trip to my hometown. I've always admired him and how city like he was, he seemed to be exactly like those boys in the magazines i always read. One day, he came into my family's diner and as I was serving his food he asked me for my number! unfortunately though I didn't have a phone at the time, so he would always come to the diner just to see me. I thought it was really romantic. Soon after that we started "dating". I had thought our time together was gonna be short, so I made sure to make the most memorable memories with him. Surprisingly though, he extended his stay and even asked me to come with him to a "bankwet" !! I said yes and we got permission from my parents to fly to Melbourne for the party! when we got there, I realized that all the other girls there were dressed so amazingly and were so formal!! Of course, Eric also made sure that I got dressed up too. Honestly, this is the best i've looked in my whole life!

Third person POV:

Although Alice came from the countryside, her get up made her look very presentable, she blended right in with the other women of the banquet.

Eric: "Let's make our way to the entrance Alice."

Alice: "Alright!"

The two walked up the magnificent flight of marbled stairs, Eric holding Alice's left hand all the way up as she held her skirt with her other hand. After showing their identification cards, they walked in.

*Alice POV:*

It was like a dream. As soon as me and Eric entered the room my gaze immediately shifted to the stunning champagne chandelier that brightly dimmed the ballroom.

Third Person POV:

???: "Come on!! Come all!! Tonight I've come to announce that we make a toast!"

A loud voice echoed through the halls of the building, this was unusual, as the many banquets before never had such "announcers".

The nobles in their masks and gowns turned to the sound of the voice, A man stood at the top of the grand stairs, holding a glass of champagne. His suit was a maroon red color while his pants black. The aura he was admitting was very similar to that of which he was promoting something.

???: "Thousands of you gather this time of year to celebrate new beginnings, this is also a time for us nobles to wear a mask to discard our daily facades and enjoy a night to ourselves without the fear of being criticized!"

This was unexpected. There had never been such a speech conducted before at the previous banquets? so why must they do one for this event specifically? Many questions racked the thousands of nobles. But, such questions began to dissipate as they soon realized what the words of the announcer meant. "to wear a mask to discard our daily facades...a night to ourselves without fear of being criticized..." Oh how relieving this sounded to the nobles. A chance to do things of their own will without having to face public backlash? It was like a new world had been opened to them..dreams they never knew they had..