I wouldn’t say the day got any more normal, but it did settle into its own once we got out of the car and into the boutique. Dress shopping is an odd thing that doesn’t compare to when we go out for regular clothing. It has its own kind of stress, anxiety, and excitement.

It was a strange addition to be shopping with Lawrence, a man that I knew barely deeper than acquaintance level- and at a budget, I had never pretended to have.

The day flew- and before I realized how much time had passed, I was home again and unlocking my front door. As the door closed behind me, I heard the car leaving the driveway, gaining speed as the sound died away.

I set my stuff down at first chance, and moved into my bedroom, hanging the black garment bag in my closet. Inside was the slickest black dress I had ever owned. A moment of truth: I was a little bit excited to put it on again.

The girlish butterflies rushed into my stomach at the thought. They were a strange sensation, and I was glad that no one was around to watch me stand there and stare at my closet.

Forcing myself away from the gown, I went into the kitchen to get around to moving on with my night.

I had a few more days of my life before I had to meet the council.

Whatever the hell that meant.

----------------------------------------

The path to the Initiation Gala branched off a highway and down several small roads. Eventually, we drove off a double lane private road and parked on the plain black pavement next to a stunning Mansion.

There were several rows of cars parked in front of ours, showing that we were hardly the first guests to arrive.

Lawrence turned the car off and leaned against the driver's seat. “I gotta admit- its been a very long time since I came to one of these.”

“Attendance isn’t mandatory?” I asked, eyes scanning the line of cars ahead of us. I could see a tree line peeking through the small spaces in-between them.

He let out a long and heavy laugh before responding. “No. Well- Once. You are required to attend your own initiation. It was strongly recommended that I come to this one as well.”

“How long?” I turned toward him, unable to discern the expression on his face.

“Uh,” he voiced. The sound seemed to catch in his throat for a moment before he went silent again.

I couldn't tell if he was trying to calculate, or coming with an acceptable truth. Or even somewhere in between. As I opened my lips to prod again he turned his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. His blue eyes catching the lamps behind scattered around the property. “A long time.”

The sound of another cars door shutting caused him to turn his head away from me. It jarred me out of my thoughts as well- reminding me that we were sitting inside his car in a parking lot. We weren’t just sitting at the coffee shop having a chat.

We were expected to get out and make an appearance.

“Come on then. Careful with those heels. Last time I was here it was loose gravel.” Lawrence glanced back, raising an eyebrow at my feet before he opened his door. Without another word, he slid himself out of the car and shut the door behind him.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I looked out his tinted windows, my body freezing up for a second. I took a deep breath and listened as another car door shut. I turned my head so that instead of looking where I went, I could see where I was going. My fingers wrapped around the handle to the door, and as I let the air in my lungs, I pulled the latch and swung the door open.

Stepping out, I carefully set my feet on the ground. I shut the door behind me as I shimmied out of the way, testing my balance and the material underneath me. It didn’t feel like gravel, but the heels I wore were tall.

Being careful wasn’t bad advice.

With the door shut, I pulled my shoulders back and moved around the back of the long car. Going the short way would have meant skirting between the lines of cars, and I just didn’t feel like putting myself through the extra effort it would have taken. A few extra steps would mean a more straight forward gait, and the night was likely to be hard enough as it was.

As I stepped past the end of the trunk, Lawrence took the step and a half so that he stood nearly by my side, and lifted his arm dramatically. “Shall we?”

Despite myself, I smiled and felt enough air across my face to know that it was a broad smile. I couldn’t do anything about it as I stood there, so I slid my hand around his bicep and stepped in line. With the motion, we walked forward.

Our feet smacked against the blacktop underneath us, and as we neared the building I could hear soft voices and laughter. A single car pulled through the driveway as we moved away from the parking lot, and before I knew it we were standing in front of the stairs up to the door. My heels now tapped on the gray sidewalk, a long slab of perfect cement.

In front of me was half a dozen steps that led up to a set of tall wooden doors. Even from my position, I could tell that they were heavy, and likely very old even though they looked to be in impeccable condition. It was an odd train of thought, I realized. My brain was avoiding the actual event by looking at the craftsmanship of everything around me.

“They throw a great party,” Lawrence said, startling me. His voice was serious; more serious than I had ever heard him speak before. “But make no mistake, you are here tonight to meet the council. You are here to be presented to them.” His eyes stayed on the door as he spoke.

“Like cattle?” I asked. The words escaped my mouth before I had thought them through, and they were followed by a chuckle that I didn’t try to stop.

Lawrence turned his head to look at me and raised an eyebrow. Without another word, he turned and began to move toward the steps. With my hand still on his arm, and no inclination to be alone in front of the intimidating building I followed suit.

We moved up the steps one at a time, my free hand scrunching the front of my dress so it didn’t catch on my feet. Without missing a single beat, we walked through the propped open door and into the foyer of the mansion.

The difference in lighting hit me straight away, causing me to squint my eyes. My hand dropped the fold of my gown and went up to my brow to shield myself into I adjusted to the brightness. It made it difficult to focus as we moved forward and I was thankful I had a guide to help me move. What I did know even through the blinding light bulbs was that there was a lot of people moving around us.

As we walked away from the door I could see the other gowns of women, and the suits of all the men. I was glad as we entered that I had let my escort help me pick out the dress, or I would have ended up wildly underdressed. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on what was around me.

Every guest was in a pair- everyone had a date that seemed to stay close to their sides. There were multiple doors out of the main room we stood in, and a set of dramatic stairs toward the back. The lights were bright as far as I could spot, and through one door I could spot what looked like some sort of stage.

To say I felt out of place was an understatement.

Even tough beside me Lawrence had gone stone silent, there was a dull roar of noise that heightened to full chaos at moments. Finding a free spot by a wall we stopped, and he turned to me. He opened his mouth as if to say something- some sort of instruction or warning was my guess. Before a noise came out, a set of intercom speakers I hadn’t notice came to life with a second of static and then the silky feminine voice of a woman none of us could see.

“15 minutes until presentation and assignments.”