Blaine was looking forward to seeing all the reactions from the nobles as he attended the ball. He knew curse-blooded people were generally hated by most people regardless of what species they were. The beauty of the situation was that there was nothing those stuck-up assholes could do about him being there. He was an honoured guest of the Jellybeans who were invited by the king's son. The hemomancer was going soak in all the disapproval happily because for once he could stand proudly out in the open.
He wore a basic gentleman's outfit. There was no need to get extra fancy like Fern or the ladies, and there was no need to stick out like Gene as Blaine was guaranteed to do that already. Plus, he didn't want to waste his precious gold on something as trivial as clothes he'd probably only wear once anyway.
The Jellybeans met Fern on the way to the castle, then continued as a group to the main gate. "Everything is fine," asked Gene.
"Yup, no problems at all," informed Fern.
At the gate, there were four guards, two of them wearing a red armband. "State the name of your group or your individual names if you are not together."
"We are the Jellybeans," stated Gene. "We brought a plus one as well."
The man scanned the list quickly, "Very well. You are all required to be checked for weapons and to carry this coin."
One of the guards with a red armband revealed a small coin with a dull purple centre. "As long as you have this coin you are welcome anywhere are the grounds or in the castle barring the few private rooms of the king. These rooms will be clearly marked and anyone who violates these rules will be punished harshly."
"Very well," sighed Gene. "We understand. Let's just get on with it."
Excitement started to rise within Blaine. The moment he got that coin he was going to hide it well on himself so that he couldn't lose it or have it stolen. He wasn't going to let anyone steal away the joy of terror he was about to give people. Maybe he would even try to get the king himself to react. A giant grin formed on his face as he daydreamed.
The men checked everyone and were a bit more thorough with Blain and most of the women. Meowlynn chuckled as they felt her up, Ciylia threatened to kill them, and Kira moaned before delivering a slap to the face that knocked one of the guards to the dirt. When they checked Blaine they even checked in his mouth and around his horns.
With the most humiliating part over, the curse-blooded man strolled happily into the castle with the others. They were directed into the dining hall where three long tables were placed out. The one in the middle was for the important people and guests of the royal family, it could fit about 20 or so people on each side. The other ones were a bit smaller and seemed to be for the regular nobles and other guests.
At the main table, the right side of it had 12 empty seats that had reserved signs on them closer to the king. As the Jellybeans walked in, a man who Blaine didn't know waved at them. The man was slender with electric blue eyes and had a very fierce face, strong jaw, and high cheekbones.
"Welcome," smiled the man. "I didn't know how many guests you were bringing so I reserved an extra seat in case each of you brought one."
Blaine noticed that Aliya blushed when she saw the man, women always seemed to want what they can never get. "Well we only have one," said Gene. "This is Blaine. He helped some of the members out when they were doing a task for the Erend Hunt which we are now members of."
The nobleman walked up to Blaine, "My name is Gerald Malorne, prince of Erend. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Something happened to Blaine that he didn't expect, he was the one who was shocked. This prince didn't even bat an eye when he met the curse-blooded man. He merely accepted him as a person and overlooked the hemomancer's skin. "Mine's Blaine, nice to meet you."
"Please sit down," insisted Gerald. "Do you mind if we fill in the other empty seats?"
"Not at all," replied Gene.
A few hand motions later, and the seats were filled quickly. Food was placed in front of everyone and people were asked for their choice of drink by maids. Like Gene, Blaine also enjoyed rum but prefer the fire-infused kind. It left a burning feeling in your throat that the curse-blooded man enjoyed, plus it helped get him to the right amount of tipsiness to cause mischief.
Maids were only slightly wary of Blaine, but they were probably paid to be. The other nobles in the room would steal glances at him and made no effort to hide that fact. Scowls and sneers only filled him with pride, though the irony of the matter was that he was trying to find a cure for the curse flowing through his veins. He wanted to help those who contracted this curse at birth and weren't strong enough to survive the ridicule.
Gene and Aliya spent their time talking to the king and his son and Fern was doing his best to impress the woman across from him. Fern's latest object of desire had jet black hair and had sharp sexy facial features. Her chest was the main draw to her though as her sleek black dress could barely contain them. The druid was straining not to stare at them too much. He bloomed a blueish-green flower in his hand and made the outside of the petals and the edges black. Blaine's best guess was that it represented the colour of her eyes and the dress she was wearing.
Ignoring the sexual tension between those two, Blaine redirected his attention to the turkey in front of him. He ate as much as he could because he didn't know when his next chance to eat a meal this good would be.
After dinner, everyone was brought to an enormous dance hall. Fern's fling went up to the balcony with the king and a few other guests but the druid was forced to stay with the rest of the Jellybeans until after the king's announcement. Even though it upset his aroused heart, the half-elf had no choice but to follow orders.
"It's only an hour or so," laughed Blaine.
"But I want to spend time with her now," protested Fern.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have a chance to play." Laughing at his own joke, Blaine drew scared expressions from other people around them. Some people ran away from him, one person tripped and wet himself, and others just gave him a wide berth. This pleased him a lot.
In the ballroom, there were several musicians playing in a large circle, moving from place to place. People would give tips to the ones they liked as well as sing and dance to the tunes.
"Look over there." Meowlynned pointed to a violinist that was not doing so well. A male elf from a sub-group that Blaine didn't recognize was gathering more attention than the poor human violinist.
"Yeah, what about him?" The curse-blooded male had no idea why Meowlynn cared about that random guy.
"Want to make it a night he'll never forget?"
Extremely confused, Blaine replied, "I'm not looking for a threesome if that's what you are asking."
The high-born elf burst into almost hysterical laughter, "No, let's go fuck with the guy. Make it so he'll never play again."
This was the kind of thing the hemomancer was hoping to do, so how could he refuse?
The mischief duo went around asking for people to borrow from. The first person they asked was the male elf that was amazing everyone. "Hey there," cooed Meowlynn. "Would we be able to borrow your violin for 20 gold?" The wizard even asked with her arms folded so she could push up her breasts.
"I'm sorry miss," he said in an extremely foreign voice. The accent was light but the voice was deep and quick. Blaine never heard this kind of tone before. Maybe this was a person from Wildorne, a savage land that no one ever goes to. "I don't trust you, strangers, to not hurt my prized possession and I'm not interested in women." The other elf was a tan colour with orange hair done up in cornrows. He slicked them back as he grinned.
The man paused and looked at Blaine, "You are the other hand are quite handsome and exotic. I'd love to give you a go."
Meowlynn's jaw had dropped and her eyes bulging. Clearly, she had never encountered a man who could resist her charms or a homosexual, one of the two, maybe both. "Thanks," said Blaine surprised. "But, ah... I'll pass."
"Can I ask what kind of elf you are?" Meowlynn was still a bit breathless but anyone could see some form of anger growing within her.
"I am what you would call an Elf of Seasons," said the man. "My mood depends on the weather, seasons and alike. My skin tone and hair also change depending on it as well."
"Where are you from," blurted out Blaine.
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"I am from a place far away that I don't wish to disclose," replied the man curtly. "Now if you excuse me, I have some money to make."
The pair walked away from him, "I bet he is from Wildorne." Blaine was very confident about that.
"Who knows and who cares? Let's get me a violin," whispered Meowlynn. "Then, I'll tell you about phase two of my plan."
They continued asking about until they found a musician that was going to take a break. Sadly, they had to part with 40 gold to borrow it but it was going to be worth it.
Meowlynn stood next to the poor musician and started using the violin to create magic. As the bow met with the string a pleasant melody starting going but then an eerie magical undertone became present. An image of a will-o-wisp started to hover over the violin as she played.
It didn't take long for Blaine to join in on the action. He used his own magic to make whispers come from the violin as well, these whispers insulted the man. Blaine then altered the appearance of his eyes to make it appear as dark flames were erupting from his sockets. Finally, he made the lanterns in the area around them flicker.
The pair made sure that only the young man noticed most of the magical effects as they danced around him. The young man tried to play as if to offer a challenge but whenever the man started getting into a rhythm, Blaine would could a bad note to come from the man's instrument and would cause that note to echo so everyone noticed.
Before anyone involved in this little drama noticed, a crowd was beginning to form around them cheering. It didn't take long for the man to give up, slamming his violin and bowstring to the ground, and run out humiliated.
"That was fun," laughed Blaine.
"Yes, it was," smile Meowlynn picking up the boy's instrument. "Do mind returning this one to its owner. I think I'll keep playing and earning some coin." She looked down at the small pile of gold by her feet that people had placed there while Blaine and Meowlynn were tormenting the poor man. Neither of them had noticed until the prank had ended.
Blaine took the borrowed violin and stepped back. With her purple dress that had a black fairytale-like tree on it, Meowlynn adjusted her pointed hat, positioned herself in a way that most men would find appealing, and began playing music that sounded like fairies dancing around an enchanted tree. The wizard even made imagery with illusions for others to see her story.
Feeling that the fun had died down, the hemomancer return the instrument and went to find the other trouble-maker, Ciylia. The forest elf in question was collecting a large number of apples from one of the tables that had fruits and hors d'oeuvres on it.
"What are you going to do with them," asked Blaine as he pointed at the apples. "Going to stuff them down your top to help make you look more full?"
Startled that she had been noticed, Ciylia dropped on the apples. "I'm trying to get some gems hanging from the chandelier over them."
The thief slinked back into the crowd in her ballroom green dress. Blaine decided he was going to watch from the sidelines, it wasn't his idea of fun but thought it would be assuming to see if she could do it. While he waited for what was sure to be a display of embarrassment, the curse-blooded male glanced around the room to see what the others were doing.
Gene was dancing with what appeared to be a very drunk Kira. His eyes were focused on the king and not so much on his dance partner, while Kira was smiling and focused on moving her feet. The only time she looked up, she ended up looking up at Gene's crotch, and then she's just put her head back down. Fern was standing by the ballroom entrance waiting for his chance to sneak out the door though it didn't stop him from flirting with other women. Finally, Aliya was hovering close to the druid but as far away from other people as possible. She probably wanted that stupid black box with gods know what was in it.
Suddenly, an apple when flying through the air. Blaine snapped hs head to that direction to see what was happening. Another apple flew up into the sky but was coming quite short of the chandelier. A man yelled after the third apple failed to hit its target. "What are you doing you little wench?"
Rushing over to help, the curse-blooded man saw the angry person grab Ciylia by the arm. "Look at what you've down to my suit! I'll take you to the guards and have you thrown out!"
Before the man could take a step, Ciylia scream at the top of her lungs, "Help! This man is trying to force himself on me!" Everyone in the room including the royalty looked towards to commotion. "He called me a little elven slut!"
The guards rushed over to the scene, "Sir, you are going to have to come with us."
"I will not!" Confusion and rage boiled over and caused the man to yell while tightening his grip on Ciylia's arm. "I will not be made a fool of because of this witch."
"You're hurting me," whimpered the thief. Blaine could tell it was all an act though.
"Unhand the lady and come with us," demanded one of the three guards. "We don't want this to get violent."
"Violent? But she... I never..." He looked down and saw he was still holding onto Ciylia and released his grip immediately. Some women who were watching rushed to help her and as they helped her the hemomancer watched the thief thank the women's kindness by lightening their pockets.
The man then started running and the guards began chasing after him.
"I'm sorry for the that unpleasantness," boomed a voice. Eyes scanned the room for its source and then they fell onto the king.
"I'm happy to have all of you here today in the first ball we've had in ten years. My health had been failing me but doctors and clerics have helped me get better." King Malorne was looking spritely as he delivered his speech.
"I only hope that this can continue into the future," he cleared his throat. "In the future I will be making changes to this city to help make it more prosperous but I will disclose those details at another time. Tonight we have special guests, a group called the Jellybeans."
The king pointed out each and everyone of them but passed by Blaine, "They nosy few have helped our city get back on its feet. Be sure to thank them to the best of your abilities."
A round of applause encompassed the room and Gene pushed his way back to the table where Blaine stood. "Did you notice that his voice sounded a bit stale? As if he was a puppet reading the lines he was given for a play?"
"I didn't," replied Blaine. "Then again, I don't know the man nor the way he talks."
"Neither do I," said Gene. "But I know people and I can tell you that was a strange way to talk, especially for a king and the father of the well-spoken Gerald Malorne."
"Not only that," continued the monk. "But, he certainly didn't talk that way during dinner."
"If I notice anything weird I'll be sure to tell you," stated Blaine.
"Thanks. I need to go find the others." The leader of the Jellybeans hurried off leaving Blaine alone to enjoy the rest of the party. The first thing Blaine noticed was Fern had left the ballroom through the main door and left it slightly ajar.
~~~~~~~~~~
Fern was very excited that the king's speech was over because he could now meet that stunning lady he met at dinner. They had quietly agreed to meet in the garden behind the castle. The druid sneaked out of the ballroom and made his way to the kitchen.
A benefit to having studied and planned his way into the castle to drop off all the equipment was that he got to learn the layout of the place. On the far side of the kitchen was a backdoor that led to the garden where they were meant to meet up. He slipped into the kitchen, most of the staff were enjoying their own meals. The druid politely waved at them and carried on.
The night air was slightly chilly which was perfect, he'd be able to offer the lady his scarf. He touched it and felt the dumb box inside of it. Having to hold the thing in his hand was a small price to pay for getting an in with the woman.
Light from the full moon illuminated the small garden beautifully. Flowers allowed their fragrances to dance in the wind making the mood perfect for romance. A small bench was near a tree, so he sat down on it to wait.
About an hour later, the woman finally appeared. Under the light of the moon, the scent of the flowers, and the quiet of the night made her seem very alluring. Her exposed shoulders glistened and made her look even more tantalizing. The closer she moved towards Fern, the more aroused he got.
Finally, she made her way to him and sat down next to him. "It's a little cold, maybe this was a bad idea."
"It's okay," whispered Fern in her ear. "You can borrow my scarf." He took off his scarf and placed it on her shoulders. Fern also placed the black box beside him on the bench.
"What a lovely box," commented the woman.
"Thanks, I guess," said Fern. "I'm just holding it for a friend."
"Where did you get it? I've been looking for a box just like."
"I don't know where my friend got it," admitted Fern.
"That's okay Fern," cooed the woman as she ran her hand up Fern's leg. "It's what's inside that is important."
"Uh, sure." The half-elf paused, "Hey, how do you know my name?"
The woman's hand lifted Fern's gaze to meet her own. When their eyes met, Fern excitement and confusion disappeared and replaced by fear. Staring at him was Candice Bruntworth and she was laughing manically.
Weird magic penetrated his mind and Candice took him by the hand. The enchantress bent down to pick up the box. "Follow me," she commanded
A weird turquoise door with a black frame appeared before them and they walked through it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Meowlynn finished playing her music and waited outside the castle gate as Gene had instructed. The Jellybeans were among the last to leave the party.
A while later Gene came with two guards or knights carrying everyone’s equipment.
“I explain our situation to Gerald and he understood my we smuggled in our stuff,” explained Gene. “He told me next time to warn him ahead of time and he could accommodate us.”
The rest of the Jellybeans rejoined at the gate within 20 minutes except for Fern.
“Where is Fern,” cried Aliya. “The box wasn’t with our things. He probably still has it with him!”
“Probably got lucky with that woman,” laughed Blaine.
“Whoo! Good for him,” cheered a very drunk Kira.
“Fern told me you had a way of seeing things from far away,” said Gene to Meowlynn. “Would you be able to look for him?”
“I can when we get back to the inn,” sighed Meowlynn. “The stuff I need is there.”
“Thank you. Alright everyone, let’s head back,” instructed Gene. “The fun is over, time to get some rest and we’ll plan our next move tomorrow.”
They all walked back to the Leaky Tap, with Aliya shouldering her drunk friend. One time Kira vomited and Meowlynn used her magic to clean it from her walking path.
Once the Jellybeans arrived at the Leaky Tap they all went to their own rooms, except Gene who followed Meowlynn to hers. Meowlynn quickly opened her door with some magic and welcomed Gene inside.
She was glad that Gene was a respectable man so she didn’t have to worry about him trying to take advantage of her.
Meowlynn grabbed her ivory mirror and held it in her lap and spoke elvish,
“Mirror, Mirror, please do this chore
Where is Fern and his whore?”
It took a while for it to home in on him, probably because she didn’t have something that was his. His image finally appeared in the mirror. He was laying down topless with a female figure hovering over him.
“Are you peeping Meowlynn?” Without looking up the woman pointed at the spot where Meowlynn was watching from.
The mysterious woman then placed an extremely black item on the druid’s chest. The object was the shape of a crow or raven’s wing on top of a hollow circle.
“I see the pendant from Shield,” relayed Meowlynn to Gene. “There is a woman there and she knows I’m watching.”
“Who is she Meowlynn,” demanded Gene.
“I don’t know yet,” replied the wizard.
Her focus returned to the woman in the mirror. That woman was whispering something into Fern’s ear and then gave him a kiss, all of this without revealing her face.
“Still here?” The woman slowly lifted her head revealing the face of Candice Bruntworth. “Well, I need some alone time. You won’t watch to watch this part.” Candice winked and the image in the mirror faded away.
“It’s Candice Bruntworth,” whispered in shock. “She has Fern and the pendant.”