Heroes of Darkness

XIII

ELIZABETH

"Of course it's all staged, Luvdisc," Eli said to her Spirit Pokémon in her quarters as she slipped on the shimmering coral and blue dress the Empress had given her. "I mean, what's the point of a masquerade if everyone knows which one is me."

"Luvdisc, Luv!" the pink fish chirped from the little fountain in the corner of the room.

Elizabeth Tidall just smiled sarcastically. She put the mask over her eyes. Pink, and heart shaped, matching her Spirit Pokémon. "You have to hand it to Lady Specter," she confessed. "She had this whole 'love story' planned out from the start. What a cliché." She sighed. "Princess falls in love with a mystery man who turns out to be her prince." The Pokémon chirped up again. "If he trips over his own feet I'll catch him. The poor boy's been stumbling all over himself ever since we got here. Do you remember the dinner? Leo hardly made eye contact."

The timing was perfect. No sooner had she laced up the back of her ball gown than the rapping came at the chamber door. Without a second thought, it opened, and there was the captain of Lord Specter's guard, Franco, accompanied by his Ninetails.

"Don't you know you should ask whether or not you may enter a lady's chambers?" she asked. "Where is my mother?"

"Apologies, m'lady," he bowed. There was a mask resting on top of his head. "Your mother sent me to escort you to the ball room. She said it would be too obvious if you came together."

"Oh, how thoughtful," Eli said sarcastically as she put on the second of her Sapphire earrings. She looked down at the friendship bracelet Jessi had given her all those years ago. "We wouldn't want to be obvious."

Eli wasn't nervous about the inevitable dance with clumsy Leo. She had well prepared herself for that. Something felt wrong in the back of her mind. It had been two days since the Empress had left on an urgent matter to the South Hoenn Sea. No one would tell her what was happening. Not her mother, and most definitely not Lord Specter. It made her feel uneasy, and unsafe.

Franco must have noticed. "Don't worry," he said. "Security is of our utmost concern. Half of the men in the ball room report directly to me. I know who you are, and so do they. They won't let you out of their sight."

They walked the rest of the way down the torch-lit halls in silence. As they approached, Eli could hear the sounds of beautiful instruments being played. Her heart lifted with every note that echoed off of the stone walls.

They stopped before a pair of great stone doors. Light was filtering in from between the cracks. "M'lady, if you don't mind, I would ask that you hand Luvdisc to me. Your mother said it would spoil the reveal."

In this dress, everything is likely to be revealed, she thought. Eli felt nervous about giving up her Spirit Pokémon for a time. Yet the little pink heart-shaped fish chirped encouragingly at her. Go on, she seemed to say. Have fun! Eli smiled and kissed the little Pokémon on the beak, and handed her to Franco, who handed her to a nearby guard.

Then, he opened the doors. The music and the smell of food and wine overwhelmed Eli. She had never thought it could be so bright or so colorful in the heart of Mt. Pyre. To her shock, nobody paid her a second look. She turned and saw the captain of the guards with a dark mask on. He smiled. "Don't rush it," he consoled. "This party is for you. Have fun, and dance with lots of people. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a lady to find. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," she smiled, but he was already gone. All of a sudden, she felt alone with just her sheepish grin. She followed her nose at first, and made her way through a crowd of standing and chatting people. She felt a sigh of relief. It seemed that all the other men and women in here had fanciful clothes of their own. There were a few girls whose dresses were even frillier than her own.