A Thousand Shining Stars ♥ Night of the Masquerade

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Everything happened so quickly, Ambrose scarcely had a chance to act. For a moment, he watched the girl stumble over her own name and the next, things were dark and she had pulled away. Angered a little at what he deemed her idiocy in stumbling through the dark, he swore under his breath and attempted to follow after her by sensing the disturbances. Unwittingly, however, he tumbled instead toward Cecilia. Grumpily, assuming the woman was the girl he had been conversing with, he grabbed at her and unintentionally kept her from stabbing Sybyl.

"Dammit, why'd you run off like that? It isn't safe for you to go galavanting through the dark, are you daft? Do you have some hidden death wish, you fool?" he chastised Cecilia - still clearly unaware that he had captured the arm of the wrong woman. The dark was so absolute, he couldn't make out his nose on his face and had instead sought motion - he had found motion all right.


Christoph's first instinct was to recoil, watch her from a safe distance, but the second, more powerful emotion within him allowed empathy to overwhelm instead. The result of this was him pulling her to his chest with more force than he had intended, questioning whether or not he would end up impaled through the heart. Christoph debated with himself for a moment over whether or not this was a fair doubt, but ended up sighing and patting her hair instead.

"I can only offer you limited protection, here of all places especially. In my kingdom, you would be safer but even then, without bearing the name of the royal lineage in the area, well, there's only so much I could do for you" he said finally, stroking her hair in an absent-minded fashion. He was thinking, rapid and harried thoughts. It would be safe for her in his kingdom if she were wed to the heir apparent. However, as rosy as this option seemed, he had known her for precisely one night and in this time frame, he had been informed that her real purpose in attending the ball was to murder someone. Not exactly a situation to bring home to mommy and daddy.

"I'll protect you as best I can here. We'll talk long term later, when I know you better. I'm sorry, princess, but I have my kingdom to watch out for also. Here, however, you will be under my diligent protection - if you so choose to accept it, that is" he shot her a questioning glance downward, still letting her tendrils of hair flow over his hands like a cascade.
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Calliope returned Ferius’s glare, colder than she expected it to. As her mother was busy comforting her friend, she took the time to excuse herself from the hallway. Anger was building up in her mind and it was better for everyone present, if she would leave.

"Mother, I shall be in my room..." She said, her cold glare still aimed at Ferius. Prudence gave her daughter a hug, and wiped a few strands of hair from her face. "My dear, we are going to stay until the funeral, please be prepared for further orders." Calliope managed to break away her glare to give her mother a loving kiss on the cheek, before she disappeared to her room.

Moments later, Calliope managed to get to her room; closing the door after her and falling to the floor behind it. Her massive claymore clanked with her as she buried her face in her hands. Tears seemed to flow like rain, yet she made little to no sound.

For some reason, she was reminded of her training.

"Calliope...There is no time for tears. You are a warrior, act like one."

Her father’s voice rang through her thoughts and reminded her of being weak like she had been when she was little. Strangely enough, she lifted her head and managed to glance at a seperate case, holding her violin. It was next to her suitcase and the second her maroon eyes came into contact with it, the tears stopped.

"Music can be the best way to describe your pain. Only let it out on your instrument..."

Standing, she wiped away the tears and went straight to her violin. Not only had she failed at her mission, she couldn’t help the feeling that she had failed at something else. Eyes turned blank, she changed her clothes and sat at the foot of her bed. Instrument finally in her arms, she sighed and began to play softly.
 
[Emeline with Prince Christoph in the guards room.]

"Oh, of course," Emeline said, "I do not wish you to compromise your own position - I am not asking for loyalty or... or..." She began to relax in his embrace, with his soothing motions through her soft locks doing much to ease her tension. Suddenly, a though occured to her and she stepped back in his arms somewhat, not breaking away, but creating distance.

She had included him in this for her own selfish reasons - she had known his man less than a day and already she had put him in more danger than he could know.

To have someone to understand her, and not push her away when he heard of her cruel intentions was something she did not wish to appear to take for granted. And now she had unintentionally put him at risk - how had she missed this? Where was her forethought? Her consideration?

But she could not ignore her own predicament and his generosity did not fall on deaf ears. She looked up to him, meeting his eyes through her mask and sighing.

"I would gladly accept anything you feel safe to offer. But I don't know yet what I am to do with myself. And depending on what happens, I may not end up with anything to give you in return." A scary thought indeed. She paused before adding, "You may leave now, if you wish, and I will ensure you are not implicated in this mess..."
 
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Christoph allowed the corners of his mouth to turn up wryly. "You do not seem to be in any position to ensure anything, princess" he chuckled, tugging her closer to him. It was against his nature to worry heavily about much, things would work out eventually no matter what anyone did. A tense situation could only last so long, after all. Christoph laughed into her hair.

"Perhaps we can disguise you. This was a masked ball, no one here but myself has really seen your face... so we will disguise you as a princess from a kingdom I once traveled to and made friends with her family. We often travel to the castles of one another for special feasts... but what I'm getting at, she is getting married soon and so she was unable to attend this ball. However, she was invited and if you pretend to be her... what do you think?" he looked at her intently, open for suggestions.

He would be a better man than his instincts instructed, he would not run away from her and would instead show support, and protection. Though this idea, he realized with a small grimace, would mean that he could not attempt to woo her at all in public. If people talked, it would tarnish the reputation of the real lady...

"Hmm... maybe not..."
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[Scarlette stepping outside in to the castle garden courtyard with the REAL Prince Ferius.]

Scarlette and the real Prince Ferius had just stepped outside in to the ground gardens when all of the lights went out in the castle. The entire castle was dropped in to darkness, and was so noticeable, even the people outside could see.

Still with her hands at Ferius' arm, Scarlette was looking back at the stone structure with confusion and concern. The death of the King and now this. Tonight was crazy. "Something is happening inside."

She shook her head slowly, giving him a concerned look when they stopped on a stone pathway. Whatever was going on, the Prince shouldn't be out there alone with her. He should be with his mother, or... something!

"Ferius..." she had started to say that they shouldn't get married again. But he looked so beaten down, that she didn't have the heart to do it. "...I wish I knew what to say."
 
Ferius didn't react he had had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and too many horrible thing had happened tonight. The ball seemed to be cursed. He really wished he knew the girl's name so he could whisper to her. Even as he looked at her face lit only by the moon breaking through the dark clouds he knew he didn't love her, though she was there for him. "I loved him." he said looking at the ground. "I never told him, I made him think I hated him." with a lot of the weight off his chest and a new wetness in his eyes he looked at the dark castle, he wasn't going to lose anyone else. "Come now Darling we shouldn't be out alone. Perhaps its time you met my mother." He pulled her closer wanking quickly around the outside through the garden towards the royal wing. The most secure place in the kingdom.
 
"Your mother...?" she said meekly, keeping up with his steps. ...she had to, he was holding her fairly close! It was strange like this. For some reason, it didn't quite feel the same as before. Though, before the man hadn't been told his father was dead.

As they entered the castle in the royal wing, it was still pitch black. Kind of eerie with how dark it was. Scarlette was used to there at least being candles or something. She never thought she was the type to be afraid of the dark, but this felt unsettling. Maybe she was starting to get hysterical with the night's events.

"Um... do you think this is the best time?" she whispered in a soft voice, not wanting to make too much noise in the odd silence of the castle.
 
Ferius knew the passages like the back of his hand in even in the pitch dark found the staircase with no trouble, then went up one flight and headed down the gilded unlit passage. "I wouldn't want you anywhere but my side with everything thats happening. Somethings not right and after my father my mother, my fiancee and I are the next targets. We have more than a dozen guards outside her room. We'll be safe there. I'm so sorry for making you a target but I won't let anything happen to you." It was no small comfort that he still had the long knife at his side. It was almost pitch black here and he had to slow down to almost a crawling pace, feeling his way along the wall. It was in the dark that he was able to see himself the clearest and the full gravity of his father's death hit him, perhaps it was a good thing Scarlet couldn't see his face though she could certainly feel his shuddering breaths.
 
[Scarlette alone with Real Ferius in the royal wing & chambers.]

Great. She was engaged to a Prince and now a target for assassination AND could be potentially thrown in prison or beheaded if her secret was found out. She was going to be roasted on an open spit no matter what happened.

Still, Scarlette felt bad for the man. No one should have to lose their father like that, and he was taking it so hard. She just didn't know what to do. How do you make a stranger feel better about something no one has any real control over?

Once they stepped in to a room, empty and still dark, Scarlette couldn't help but wrap her arms around Ferius and give him a tight hug.

"It'll be okay..? I'm sure your father knew how much you loved him. He certainly knows now..."
 
The room they were in had once been a solar before renovations to the wing had robbed it of its sunlight, now it was simply a sitting room for meeting with guests of lesser importance. Even if she couldn't have know the king her words brought comfort, even if they weren't true. With the king gone the same politicians and machinations that had almost robbed him of his health and sanity would fall on his heir. Though Ferius was ably to force all that out of his mind and simply returned Scarlet's embrace. "Thank you." he whispered, alone in the dark with her he felt better, her presence brought strength. "Thank you for being with me, now, you have brought me nothing but comfort since we met. But I want you to tell me what I said when we became engaged. Its a strange request I know, but want to hear you say it."
 
[Emeline and Prince Chrisoph]

Despite his hesitation, Emeline gave the idea of a disguise some thought.

"There is one who knows me - my bodyguard - you met her earlier. And if she thinks I'm going to betray father or deviate, she will..." Emeline paused. "Let me just say her loyalties are with my father, not myself," she added. His continual ministrations with her hair were incredibly relaxing, and she sighed.

"There are a number of women I could impersonate of the Faisen court, though Sybyl knows they are not here," she muttered, thinking aloud, before something caught her eye over his shoulder. They were in one of the guard barracks, and as such it was filled with chests of casual clothing. The thought didn't sit well with her - she loved her finery and didn't relish the thought of taking it off for rags. "I could always... attempt dressing down."

Emeline bit her lip behind her mask. "I can't believe I'm considering this.
 
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"Of course..." the situation was tricky and Christoph's mind was firing with ideas, leading his mind through such turns that he could hardly trace the path. "If we dressed you up as a lesser lady from my kingdom... the king and queen are very familiar with my mother and father as well... it would not be so strange to see two representatives from our court... you wouldn't get to be a princess, though" he said apologetically, smiling at her.

"Come now, I'm sure that I can secret you some clothing from the wash. We'll hide you in my room for a brief bit and I'll go on along while everyone is distracted and look for some gowns that are less luxurious" he winked at her, taking her by the hand to lead her away. A quick check outside the door confirmed that no one had spotted them and the chaos in the ball room was still dominating everyone's attention.

"All right, we have to hurry.."
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[Emeline and Prince Christoph]

Emeline allowed herself to be led, wondering how it would feel to shed her finery. It was an idle thought, but it was better than thinking obsessively about what she was doing. Practically, she was on a fools errand. Her father's spies and assassins were everywhere - loyal only to him. With any luck, with the chaos, she might be able to make it out.

She did not know what she planned to do after she did get out, however. It would be more difficult than simply setting up elsewhere with a new name. And what of her siblings? She had no desire to desert them. In fact, she actually understood Tybalt for once, and felt closer to him than she ever had.

As they darted down the corridors, she hurried in step to whisper in his ear, "How far is your room?"
 
When Cecilia whispered her name in his ear, the blue-haired youth felt a shiver of delight move down his spine as their proximity to each other felt so intimate. Every second with her felt so intoxicating he could hardly think of anything but the blond princess. It felt as though he could do anything she asked of him just to please her. What if he could ever get to kiss her? Or hold her in his arms more than when they had danced? But that was only a fanciful fantasy on his part. . . since his claim to royalty would only last for the night. Should the truth ever come out he would never get to be with Cecilia on top of the fact she would likely reject him. Royalty would never want to mix with the common folk even if they could inexplicably use magic.

Cecilia's eyes locked onto his and made his heart swell with passion for her. Jonathan could hardly believe himself how deeply he felt that he had fallen in love with her. It certainly felt like love with that logic defeating intensity of emotion. The whole thing certainly kept him ignorant to the anger pointed at Prince Tybalt just a few minutes ago. Noticing that might have brought up questions as to why she would glare at someone on a night that was supposed to be so happy. Then again the King had just passed away less than an hour so it wasn't exactly a happy night anymore. Perhaps that was why he had not reacted to Sybyl right away or even her question for that matter.

Then the lights went out.

Felicia's voice shouted out his name, breaking through the well of emotion drowning Jonathan just in time to witness a couple surprising things. One of them being he could actually see in the dark and the other that Cecilia had tried to stab Sybyl. But why?! She didn't seem the violent type at all! He was confused and wanted to ask her questions but panic had consumed the ballroom. More than understanding the blond's actions he wanted to protect Felicia. No love had yet found a way to conquer the place in his heart held by that little sister figure in his life.

Something compelled him to stay by Cecilia's side but the urge to protect Felicia over-powered it as he peeled away from the two quarreling women. Unfortunately he did not think enough in the heat of the moment to pretend that he could not see in the dark. Anyone who also possessed magical skill would see him heading straight for Felicia while dodging around the panicking royalty and their servants. Everything could be seen by those blue eyes even if it was in a strangely faded way.

Grabbing her firmly but gently by the wrist, Jonathan led Felicia toward an exit with the least guards.
 
"Oh, for heaven's sake. I don't want to deal with all this horse and feathers right now." Tybalt thought to himself. It was a well known fact that the prince was passive aggressive. So far, this ball had been one seemingly chaotic event after another with no end in sight. To add further stress was the princess and this new would be assassin.

"Heralda. I'm going in." He told the fairy. Guide Summer and who ever else you can out of this ball room. He then forced his way into the crowd of confused and somewhat dazed peoples. "Darkness, is my element. You know that Pretty One." Tybalt continued moving forward, deciding to don off his cloak and reveal his fancy concealed front jacket and straight legged pants with high boots. Next to him was a blade that only a high ranking noble, such as he, could have afforded. Not much of a fighting blade but it was good for stage duels. His cup of tea. But of course, you know this. However, I'm in the mood to see just how strong you've become over the decades. I've been trailing you for at least 200 years now. Always events like these, always the same story. So, a little game amongst chaos is good for the soul."

He then tapped Cecilia on the shoulder.