Night settled upon Liall with a sky full of falling snow. It had been snowing long enough that it covered every nearby rooftop and ground below. Snow also covered the aura-infused street lamps which gave the snow gathering on top of them an orangish glow.
Amongst the crowd Kiran stood within, the men all wore nicely tailored black suits alongside women who wore warm fur coats over their dresses. Many of them including himself had a bit of snow on their shoulders as they all waited outside.
Many who were in attendance complained about the host of the Einsfeld mansion not granting everyone access to the inside quite yet. The host, it appeared, was eager for everyone to suffer out in the cold before being granted entry into their mansion.
“Why aren’t they letting anyone in yet?” a stranger muttered aloud.
“It’s ridiculous. I won’t be coming back next year if this is how he’s going to treat his guests.”
Juna gently bumped her elbow into his side. “Everyone sure is desperate to get inside aren’t they?”
“They sure are. Can’t blame them either.”
She looked beautiful tonight. She wore a white dress and wore an appropriate mask over her face just as everyone else did including himself.
As they interlocked their arms with one another, he could feel her shivering a bit. Although she wore a nice fur coat to keep her upper body warm, it was not enough nor the most ideal clothing to be wearing while standing outside at night with it snowing.
He couldn’t help but wonder why the host of the ball would keep hundreds of guests barred from entering their mansion. Who in their right mind would keep everyone waiting outside for this long? The host was a known sadist so it wasn’t that surprising after hearing that rumor.
As for what they were doing here amidst a crowd of wealthy people, they were to attend this annual ball to secretly break out a familiar who was being held at the mansion and tortured by Marthus Einfeld. They were the host of this decadent event that they held annually. It was one of the few good opportunities for them to get access to the mansion.
Managing to get himself and Juna inside however, was a bit difficult. It required a lot of finagling by the coalition and a clever cover story to grant them access to this special function in the first place. But they had managed it. They were there under aliases. He was John Bellmark and Juna was Mary Bellmark. Convincing Mr. Einfeld to have them as guests required them to give him something that he wanted. And one of the things he desired most in the world was money.
While he thought they might end up staying outside for another hour, the doors to the front of the mansion were finally opened allowing at last, for everyone to go indoors and free themselves from this overwhelming cold outside atmosphere.
People did not hesitate to rush inside. Numerous shoulders bumped into theirs showcasing how little these guests cared about each other. The masks probably helped in that regard. It was easier to treat others poorly or dismissively when the others had no idea who the person behind the mask was.
In time, they reached the entrance. Several well-fit butlers stood at both sides of the entrance and welcomed everyone inside.
The inside was far more preferable to the coldness of the outdoors. They walked into a giant open space where the ball appeared to primarily reside at.
Many of the doors leading to other places were being guarded by armed guards. They took precautions to prevent people from wandering beyond their specially selected spaces for this event.
While chatter amongst the rabble ensued, a man appeared from atop a staircase at the very back of the enlarged ornate room. They were an uncomfortably large man who had slim masked women on both of his sides wearing white dresses.
“Welcome my wonderful guests,” he proclaimed before them all. “It is my pleasure to host another winter ball this year. Now that you are all here, let our joyous annual occasion begin.”
Music began to play from a slew of performers off on a small stage. Their instruments were almost all comprised of violins.
“You there?” Lar replied within his mind.
“I hear you,” he replied telepathically.
“Good. I managed to make it inside without the guards noticing me and now I’m going to try and find where our dear friend is likely being kept at.”
“Keep me apprised.”
“I will.”
Juna gave him a peculiar look. “I take it our little furry friend made it in successfully?”
“Indeed.”
He led her a bit away from the crowd that filled the ballroom. He observed the other masked couples. It was hard to differentiate between the men and the women since practically everyone wore the same things. The only difference was that the men wore suits, and the women wore dresses. If he were to wander away from Juna, he figured there would be no way of ever differentiating her from the other women in the crowd.
They began to dance to fit in with the crowd. They did not belong with such a crowd considering their status within the city. They weren’t rich or in possession of the same status as the rest. They did look like them in this moment and would even speak like them, but they in fact were not within the same class. At least to the others, they had no way of immediately knowing that strangers were among them with intentions they would not approve of.
She kept her hands on his shoulders while his on her waist. They motioned along the smooth floor as many others did within this place dancing along to the lovely music being played aloud for those gathered within.
“You look quite dashing tonight just so you know,” she said.
“Do I?”
“Of course, you do! Don’t act like you don’t realize that already.”
“I fear I cannot make that determination.”
She gave him a tiny pout. “It’s quite different though, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“The surroundings and the people. It’s like we’re different people entirely when dressed like this.”
“That’s what they want you to think,” he said. “At the end of the day, whatever clothes we wear, we’re all just the same flesh and blood underneath.”
“How is Lar doing?” she asked changing the topic. “Have they found our captive familiar?”
“I’ll try asking her,” he said. He could sense his companion somewhere nearby. Pinpointing their exact direction or position was a tad bit difficult however. He could always get a general gist of their location but not anything concrete. “Have you found them yet?” he said towards Lar telepathically.
Lar didn’t respond.
“It appears she’s unavailable right now,” he said.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Hopefully everything is alright.” Lar was likely focused on their task to sneak around the mansion and couldn’t afford to respond yet due to that.
The first song the performers began playing finished. Everyone who had been dancing stopped and the room flooded with chatter. They avoided the large mass by standing near the outer perimeter where there were fewer bodies around. However, one particular man who held onto the arm of a woman approached them.
“My,” the man began to say with a warm gesture of their other free hand, “how are you two doing this wonderful night?”
“We’re quite swell sir,” Juna replied.
“Oh how wonderful. Say, I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve had my eyes on you two for a while now.”
“You have?”
Why would he admit to this? They had just met this man and he already came across as a real creep.
“Why of course. Have you not had your eyes on another couple this entire time?”
“No, not really. Should I have been?” Juna said.
The man blew air from his mouth and clicked his tongue. “Ah, I see then. You two must be new to these sorts of functions. My apologies for making any assumptions. I take it neither of you know fully of what goes on?”
“I thought I did but I guess not,” she said confused.
What the heck else do you do but eat, dance, and talk to people?
“How wonderful. Let’s just say, that everyone likes to have fun during this annual ball. And one of the benefits of us all not exactly knowing the person behind the mask is to, essentially, unburden ourselves from typical standard arrangements. I have taken a liking to you two for example and would offer ourselves as to service those desires that are frowned upon.”
“Frowned upon? Like what?”
So all these people gather here to satiate twisted desires and use their masks to hide behind. For someone such as Marthus Einfeld to host such an event was not at all surprising. But to see how many people would attend such an affair was quite illuminating.
To illuminate to his pretend wife, he whispered the reality of what this man was suggesting they would partake in later tonight. She noticeably swallowed as she became aware of the circumstances.
She laughed and even patted his arm rapidly as the other masked couple stared at them. “I understand now,” she said nervously laughing.
“My wife can be a bit dim at times, forgive me,” he said only for her to immediately jab her heel into his foot sneakily so the others wouldn’t notice.
He stifled a pained groan and maintained a plain face as best he could. “Forgive us but I believe we have our eyes on another couple. We are flattered however that you took an interest in us.”
“I understand,” the stranger behind the mask said with a slight bow. “May you find another appropriate couple to swap with and be granted all the nights many pleasures.”
While they motioned away she furrowed her brows at him. “Who are you calling dim you jerk!”
“Calm down. I was just joking.”
“You meant it.” She began to look at him disapprovingly as if he had actually hurt her feelings when he hadn’t intended to whatsoever.
“I did not. But that’s beside the point. We’re not here to argue.”
“We’re also here to, you know, not do whatever weird stuff they’re all getting into later.”
She was right. He wanted to get the move on before things got particularly weird. For that reason, he tried to contact Lar again and again and again only to receive nothing back in return.
Answer me already!
He heard a sigh behind him.
When he turned around, he spotted a masked woman with long white hair flowing down her shoulders and an incredibly revealing white dress that covered only the most necessary parts.
Is that who I think it is? Why the heck are they here? They’re supposed to be searching through this place.
“Surprised to see me here?” At first, he wasn’t completely sure that it was in fact Lar, but once she spoke he was assured. “I couldn’t allow you two to be the only ones to have fun out here tonight.”
“We’re not here to have fun,” he said motioning them closer to their companion who had many eyes on them. “Aren’t you supposed to be finding the whereabouts of Laphy?”
“I believe I already have.”
“Then why didn’t you say so sooner.”
“I was busy. You try communicating telepathically while there are guards and staff running all around. I also might’ve been spotted by someone for a brief moment so I had to be extra cautious. Fortunately, I don’t think I alerted them ultimately to my presence.”
“You don’t think so at least?” Lar was quite skilled in many areas but they weren’t perfect at all that they did. And now they’ve chosen to join them in the ballroom for some reason. “Now that I think of it, where’d you find these clothes you’re wearing?”
“I stole them of course. This outfit looks good on me don’t you think?”
“I think it looks amazing,” Juna said happily. “You didn’t happen to steal another for me did you?”
“If I had someplace to put it I would’ve. There in fact was a closet full of them.”
“We’re not supposed to be thieves,” he said. They both looked at him as if he had said something silly. “Whatever the case, did you find Laphy?”
“Well, I didn’t find them but I found where they’re most likely at or the entrance to it at least. I also know a route we can take to attempt to reach them unseen.”
“Alright then,” he said, “what’s our plan of action now that you think you know where they are? I’d prefer we not linger here for much longer since things are going to get weird later.”
“What, you’re not interested in having random sex with strangers who you don’t even know? Lar spoke frankly about the affair and almost looked as if they were interested. He imagined behind the mask covering her face that she possessed an evil smirk.
“I’m really not,” he said truthfully. He was not willing to just sleep around with random strangers especially when he was in a relationship with Della.
“Alright fine,” Lar said. They looked around the ballroom and studied it with those eyes of theirs being hidden from their mask. “You see that entrance over there with that guard?”
He looked towards the southeastern corner of the ballroom. One man stood with a sheathed sword and a somewhat military-styled uniform.
“The hall past that guard will lead you to the eastern hall. From there you will keep heading that direction until the path splits to the north and south. You’ll go north from there, make a left when it splits into three more paths, and then go up the stairs to the second floor. By this point you will need to keep heading south until—”
“Um Lar, uh, I’m getting a bit lost with your directions,” Juna muttered aloud.
“Where are you getting lost?”
“I don’t know. Can you start from the beginning?”
Lar began from the beginning repeating the exact instructions. During all this period they were going to return to their cat form and distract potential guards or staff that might wander near them as they head down the numerous hallways. Unfortunately, Juna was struggling a lot with remembering the directions. She tried to cement it into her brain by muttering the directions with her lips. Lar ended up sighing in frustration.
“I will repeat it again if I must,” Lar said disapprovingly
“I’ve remembered it for you Juna,” Kiran said. “Don’t worry. We’re not planning on splitting up anyways so it should be fine.”
“You’re a real lifesaver,” she said.
“Alright then, shall we begin?” Lar asked.
They nodded their heads and thus, their attempt to rescue Laphy and the other potentially captive familiars officially began.
While the crowds chatted with each other and some chose to dance to the music playing, he and Juna began to work their way through the crowd to go near the southeastern door being actively guarded.
Lar wandered away to act solo in their manner of assisting them. For now, they merely had to wait until they took the appropriate action to distract the guard.
As they waited, Marthus gained the attention of the masses in the ballroom. It quietened down and everyone was eager to hear what he had to pronounce.
But he was not interested whatsoever in what he might have to say. While he began to speak to inform them to ensure they all had chosen to swap partners, his eyes were instead focused towards the guard who had begun to turn around and open the door.
Whatever Lar was doing was working. The guard went into the hall and took a left leaving it open. With everyone’s attention going towards Marthus’s speech, they made their way to the southeastern entrance and strode through it. The guard had their back turned to them as they were distracted by whatever Lar was doing allowing them to head down the eastern hall unnoticed.