The first thing that I notice upon exiting the carriage is the ice sculpture, fountains, a multitude of sculptures depicting different Classes, and flowers everywhere. It is a beautiful sight. There are multicolored lights and garlands strung between them as well. It seems to me like perfectly organized chaos of decorations. To others, I think they may find it overflowing with lavish decorations.

I avert my eyes from it all and stare ahead, walking with my fan displayed in front of my face to hide any dumb expressions that may cross it. Mother sees me doing this and gives a small approving nod. Mother also splays her fan open and covers her expressions as well in solidarity with me. I glance over and see a smile playing over her lips at the decorations. Is she laughing at it all or smiling approvingly? Either way I appreciate it.

I walk alongside Mother and Father joins us, looping his arm with Mother’s. I feel sophisticated walking with them. Father is a High Noble and Mother is a Socialite. Mother has become masterful at her class and has become the hub of all important information and gossip, and my Father is simply well respected. I’m not fully sure what he does to be honest.

“They are going to announce our family as we walk in.” Father reminds me. “That is not the same announcement as when you get your Class. I nod to him in understanding.

I hear the family in front of us being announced and take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It was our turn now.

“Announcing the Snowfall family! Look at how lovely they all look. So classy, so sophisticated. Their lovely daughter shall be gaining her Class tonight. What a thing to look forward to!”

I blink slowly and smile at the words of the announcer. Honestly, he sounds like he is having a good time. I enjoy it when people enjoy their job. I’m not sure what his Class is to make his job announcer. Is it an announcer job? How curious. So many unique Classes.

The lights hit my eyes as I finish entering the main hall. I see people milling about, drinking flutes full of a bubbly golden liquid, and eating small snacks. The non-messy kind for now of course.

Before we interact with anyone else Father pulls me aside, Mother standing next to him still.

“Honey, let me take your bag up to the power room for you in a minute.” Mother says, taking my bag away from me. Upon feeling the weight of it she lifts an eyebrow at me in a silent question but says nothing.

“And this is for you.” Father says, handing me a small sling to wear. It fits well with my dress, which is very sweet. Inside the bag there is something incredibly precious. Everyone is given an egg at their debutante which will hatch into a life-long partner. The creature that hatches from the egg is supposed to help you with whatever Class you get. It’s interesting and mysterious as to how that occurs. No one seems to know. I know this because I have asked.

I put the sling in a comfortable position and Mother and Father bring us back into the large open area of the entrance hall.

“Wine miss?” a server says, quickly approaching me, most likely upon seeing my empty hands.

“Thank you, but no. Do you have any drinks that are non-alcoholic? I do not wish to have any fuzziness for these precious moments.” I say, smiling at him just slightly. He could only see my eyes. I realize this may be rude, so I carefully flick my fan closed.

“We will take some wine though please.” Mother asks, taking a drink for Father, and another for herself.

“I have some sparkling cider miss. Will this work for you?” he asks.

“That would be simply lovely.” I respond, and off he goes. I glance around the room, feeling nervous when he quickly returns to me.

“Thank you.” I say, taking a sip appreciatively of the drink. The carbonation hits my tongue. Absolutely delicious. Even if some of the decorations are not to my taste, it seems that refreshments are.

“You’re welcome miss, please enjoy.” He says, giving me a respectful bow before wandering off to find someone else needing a refreshment.

“Go and socialize!” Mother says, placing a gentle hand on the small of my back and giving me a gentle push towards a co-ed group milling about together. I am sure I must have met them before, but their names currently escape me.

“Good evening.” I say to the group, feeling a little shy. What if I end up married to one of these young men. I need to make sure I make a good impression. And these young women are to be the ones I am to gossip and rub elbows with.

I see them run their eyes over me quickly making judgements about me, simply based off my appearance. It seems they don’t find my appearance distasteful as they make a bit of room for me to join in their gathered group.

“My name is Rosellia.” Says a girl in a pink dress, one that resembles a rose. I am sure that she must have done that on purpose. It would be difficult to forget her name. The egg sling that she is wearing also has a rose pattern on it. I wonder if others dressed in a manner to make it easy to remember their names. Oh dear, if that is the case as I am not wearing a pin of a Lyre or anything. Oh well, I did want to stand out. Even standing out in a negative way is memorable.

“My name is Lunar.” Says a young man. He is dressed in a dark blue tux, white undershirt, gold cummerbund and a pin of a moon on his breast. Upon his egg sling there are patterns of the different phases of the moon.

“My name is Cheeselle.” Says a cute demi-mouse. She is wearing a short and fluffy gold dress with yellow flowers in her hair. Is she meaning to resemble a sort of cheese? I see. Upon her egg sling is a large decorative cheese. Well, these names will be difficult to forget.

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“My name is Clouden.” Says another young man, in a powder blue tux with white accents. Upon his egg sling is a cloud pattern.

“And finally, my name is Drago.” Says a young man with red scales around his eyes. He looks fierce in a black tux with red accents. His egg sling is colored in reds, oranges and yellows. I am also surprised that there is not a dragon on the sling.

“It is lovely to meet all of you. My name is Lyra.”

“What a lovely name!” Says Cheeselle. “Are you wearing anything to help others remember your name?” she asks me.

“I didn’t know that was a requirement” I say, a bit sheepishly.

“It isn’t a requirement of course. And if you aren’t close to specific groups of people, such as ourselves, no one would have told you. Are you close to anyone here?” Lunar asks me. I glance between the five and see that the other four were paired off, and Lunar seemed to be the odd person out.

“I have tried to make some friends.” I say. I do have friends; it isn’t that I don’t. It is simply that they are either a few years older than me, or one or two years younger. Annoyingly, I somehow did not befriend the people in this Classing group. Ah well, I am also seen as too… upper for many people to want to spend time with. They want to “befriend” me simply for the boost to status. If they go to one of the garden parties that Mother throws, and speak to me even once, people will pretend that makes us close. I strongly dislike assumed familiarity.

“What do you mean by tried?” he asks. I flick my fan open and say, “tried means tried.” I say it coyly, hoping that it comes across as mysterious and not… pathetic.

“You seem interesting. Would you like to spend your time with us until it is time for our names to be called? It is a ball, so there should be some dancing before and after the announcements.”

“Yes! Please spend time with us!” Cheeselle says excitedly. I look at the other two and they nod, trying to appear non-committal in their responses. Well, at least now I don’t have to be a wall flower.

We chat about inane things for a while before lively music begins to play. I finish my drink and set down the flute to be collected. I see a collection of empty ones and place my cup there. It appears it will make it easier on the cleaning crew when they clean the place later.

“Let’s go to where they are playing the music.” Drago states. Is he the leader of these five? It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.

“Oh, of course.” Clouden says. Rosellia places her arm in Clouden’s and Cheeselle places her arm in Drago’s. Interesting pairings. I wonder if they were matched made from mutual affection, or if they were paired off by their families.

“May I take your arm?” Lunar asks me. I nod and let him take my arm and guide me into the ballroom.

I look around and see a large clear floor, and an orchestra playing. I feel the rhythm in my feet, and it takes all my effort to keep from dancing myself.

“Everyone, please take your place in the group dance!” I hear someone shout. Is that the announcer from earlier? Does this mean that all the families have arrived?

I take my place across from Lunar. He grins at me, and I smile back. The dance begins and we dance flawlessly together before the partner switch. Everyone ends up laughing together and cheering at the right places. It feels like this is a commoner dance that has been changed to fit nobles’ particular tastes.

I love the way that my feet hit the floor, the rhythm of everyone moving in tandem. The way that the dresses twirl around the young ladies, and the confident leading of the young men. I find myself truly having a marvelous time.

Everyone engages in a few more group dances before the music slows down. I see the young men approaching the young women and asking them for a dance. I enjoy watching the smiles and blushes spread over people’s faces. It might seem like a strange hobby, but I enjoy watching people’s expressions. Joy is my favorite expression to see on people, and it is a difficult emotion to hide.

Before I get fully caught up with people watching I see Lunar approach me and he holds out his hand.

“Lyra, may I have this dance?” he asks. I accept his hand, and he leads me out onto the dance floor.

“You are a flawless dancer.” He says to me, close to my ear because of the frame we are holding. “Do you dance often?” he asks me.

“I do not. But I have been practicing often to make sure I do not make a fool of myself or others.” I say.

“Who have you been practicing with?” he asks me. There is something in his voice, but I cannot recognize it. Was it jealousy? Possessiveness? Nervousness being expressed poorly?

“My father and our steward.” I tell him. I feel him breathe out.

“You are also a wonderful dancer. Do you dance often?” I ask him.

“Not too often. I am a frequenter of balls, but there was never anyone that I truly was compelled to dance with.” He tells me.

“Well, I suppose I should be flattered then?” I ask.

“Oh, of course you should. I haven’t seen anyone as striking in appearance as you.”

“What a charmer.” I say, laughing a bit, which causes him to laugh as well.

We stop talking and he leads me through some elegant steps. I think some people clear away from around us, simply to watch. After the music stops some people clap. I feel my face going red, so I flip open my fan and hide my face behind it.

“What a lovely dance that was. Wasn’t that lovely everyone?” the announcer says, drawing our attention. “And with that, everyone please go upstairs and wait for your name to be called. We shall begin announcing your Classes.”

I nervously make my way up the stairs. I see that Mother has placed my bag in the powder room. After checking to see where it was placed I listen to the names being called. A lot of names are called before the group that I was spending time with.

“Rosellia Flowers!”

I see Rosellia take her place upon the top of the stairs. I watch as the System display on the wall blinks a few times before “Noble Gardener” flashes up on the screen. Rosellia takes her egg out and holds it towards the System. Her egg shakes a few times before a cute bubble bee comes out of it and rubs itself against her face. People clap for her energetically. I mean, with a name like that, it would be strange for her to have a different Class.

“Cheeselle Green!”

I watch the same sequence happen before “Socialite” pops up. Cheeselle’s egg hatches into a rather diminutive dog. The people cheer again. Another good Class. Our small group seems to be feeling happy for one another.

“Drago Burns!”

I watch the screen. “Monster Tamer.” I don’t know if that is a noble Class, but people are cheering. Many Monster Tamers become Heros in their own right or join a hero’s adventuring party. Before I even have time to wonder what sort of creature would emerge for a Monster Tamer, his egg cracks open. A small wolf pup comes out of the egg. Is that because wolves are hunters? Don’t they also scavenge? I shake my head clear. Who am I to question the System?

“Clouden Skies!”

The same sequence. “Noble Bird Trainer.” Well, that is neat. From his egg hatches a baby falcon that is barely able to fly. It circles Clouden’s head before appearing to get tired and landing on his shoulder. It seems that he will be training messenger birds for high nobles. Clouden beams from ear to ear as he walks down to the cheering people, being clapped on the back and celebrated. Same as all those that came before him.

“Lunar Shadowers!”

“Wish me luck.” He says before heading out.

“Good luck.” I whisper to him.

I watch the sequence again, but it flashes once more than the others. “Royal Knight.” It says. What a wonderful Class for him to have! It means that he must have a brave and courageous heart. From his egg hatches a small baby horse. From here I can’t tell if it is a colt or a foul. Most people think that they should buy horses from a breeder, but the royal knights are different, all of their horses hatch from their eggs. I look around me and see that I am the last person to be called. Everyone tonight has gotten a good Class. Maybe we are just a good group?

“Lyra Snowfall!”