Vera
I look up to find a man with a brown mask. I look at him and he asks "23?". I nod and he shows his own chit. It is also 23. I smile politely and before we can talk further the host asks the crowd to stand in pairs with our partners so we do.
I take another little glance at him while he's carefully listening to the host. I feel like I have seen him before but I can not remember where. He looks strangely familiar. "This should be easy" He says and I awkwardly look away pretending that I wasn't staring at him the whole time. "What should be easy?" I ask and he spares me a glance before turning his attention back towards the host. "So whoever finds them first gets a surprise gift" I hear the host say and I'm lost. I did not hear what the host said this whole time at all.
"What-what is he talking about?" I ask and he turns to me and gives me a strange look. He shows a hint of smile before starting to explain to me "There is a person between all these pairs who is an imposter planted by the host. The person carries small red circle shaped chits with them and they will start marking people with those chits and if any one person from a pair gets marked then both are out of the game but if someone can catch that person before they can eliminate everyone playing the game then that someone gets a surprise gift."
He explains and I'm not going to lie it sounds stimulating. "That doesn't sound so hard" I say but he smiles and leans in to my ear "it can even be your own partner. How do you know it's not me?" He asks and I turn my head to look at him. I could swear on my life I have seen those eyes before. "Well then I would be safe wouldn't I? Because why would you eliminate yourself?" I ask and he chuckles "maybe I would just for the funsies afterall if I am the imposter I lose nothing by getting eliminated"
I think about it for a while and he is right if he infact is the imposter he loses nothing but I'll get eliminated. I have to be careful around him. "Doesn't that mean it'll generate doubts between the pairs themselves. The pairs can't even trust each other" I say and he leans back "That is the point Miss, it's a test to see how easily people can turn against each other even for just a silly game" He says and I can notice that the pairs are looking at each other with distrustful eyes already.
"By the way who are you? Have we met before?" I finally ask him and he looks like he isn't paying much attention to what I'm saying but analysing everyone's behavior instead. "Now what would be the point of a masquerade ball if I told you who I am?" He says and it's a good point I do admit there is some mystery to this whole thing and it's extremely refreshing. So far this ball is the only one I haven't been bored at after awhile.
I am lost in thoughts when suddenly he grabs me and changes my position to his left and his hands are immediately gone from my torso "Apologies miss I suspected you were about to get eliminated" I look at him dumbfounded with almost my jaw half open "that was barbaric" I say and he nods "Extremely. we both almost got eliminated" He says giving me a quick glance and looks back around observing more people.
Does he not realise that what he just did was not a proper way to behave with a lady he just met? Obviously he doesn't. And here I thought I was the clueless one. Before I can confront him about his behavior I notice someone acting rather strange so I pull his sleeve to catch his attention "Look over there. He looks suspicious" I say and he takes a look at the person and observes him for a while and says "He's not the imposter, he just needs use the washroom" He says and I laugh at that. "What's so funny?" He asks and I stop giggling and shake my head "nothing" He looks at me strangely again but goes back to observing people.
I can hear disappointed groans of people who got eliminated already and thanks to him I'm not one of those people right now. "Miss follow me" he whispers slowly and this time I just follow him without any questions. Once we are behind a pillar he points towards a woman who is acting suspiciously and asks me "Miss can you go to her and make her open her purse" He says and I look at him like he's lost his mind. "Why would I do that? And what excuse would I use?" I say as he is intently looking at her purse. "I suspect she is carrying those red dots with her in that purse"
That makes sense "but what would I even say to her?" I ask and he looks at me like I'm an idiot. "Ask her for lady things or maybe lip paint or Just anything ladylike. Use any excuse to make her open her purse" He says and I can not believe he just mentioned that so casually. If I didn't want to win this I would have a whole argument with him right now. "What if she does have it?" I ask and he shows me a hand gesture making a circle with his index finger and thumb. "Show me this gesture subtly and steal the purse" He says and yet again I can not believe this guy but I do not argue more.
I approach her and make a small talk while finally making an excuse for her to open her purse and my eyes widen at what I see. The red chits are actually inside her purse. When she realises her mistake she pulls her purse aside and I immediately pretend that I was looking her jewellery the whole time. "Your jewellery is magnificent. I would love to know where you got it from" I divert the conversation so she doesn't suspect a thing and it works. I make that hand gesture towards him and he smiles.
Now all I have to do is steal the purse and get it to him. The next few minutes I keep trying to get her to leave her purse alone but it doesn't work until I'm hit with an idea. "Madam is that a peice of your jewellery lying around there? You must have dropped it accidentally" I say and she immediately starts checking her jwelleries and that's when she puts her purse on the nearby table and I slyly take the opportunity.
By the time she is done checking her jwellery I am already with my partner. I show him the purse proudly and he smiles. He puts out his hand for me to take and I gladly do so as we walk to the centre of the hall very proudly and we announce that we have caught the person while Showing the red chits I pull out from the purse. After everyone acknowledged that we have infact caught the person, The lady who owns the purse comes to the centre and takes her purse.
She laughs and admits that she is infact the imposter implanted by the host and the host asks everyone to give us an applause. We both bow respectfully towards the crowd.
The lady comes to me and says "you are indeed very sly my dear. Others were busy getting worried about elimination or doubting their own partners but you two did rather well" I smile humbly and return her purse. "You can check nothing else is gone from it. I only took out the red chits" I say so she doesn't get worried. "Oh don't worry there is not much of worth inside it anyway" She says and we are interrupted by another announcement of the host.
"Now before we can present pair no. 23 their surprise gift we would like them to give us tonight's first dance" The host says and the crowd bursts to cheers and applauses. I turn to look at him to see what his thought is on this and- "Miss would you honor me with a dance?" He asks very politely and I say yes. Afterall we couldn't have done it without each other.
As the music starts and our eyes meet I get that strange feeling again like I have looked in these exact eyes before. I just can not put my finger on it. When we start dancing I also feel this strange sense of familiarity with him. We have definitely met before and for some reason I think he can sense it too. We dance and sync perfectly with each other which is a good thing because I wouldn't want to make a fool of ourselves after winning a game.
Once the dance is done and we bow I think I hear him say something but before I can ask him what he said I am immediately pulled aside by Cecelia being bombarded with questions. I didn't even get to thank him properly but I suppose there will be many chances since there is still time before the ball ends.
I mostly give Cecelia vague answers because my eyes are searching for Mr. 23 but I can't find him and Cecelia doesn't look like she will stop anytime soon . Where is Lord Henry when you need him?I wish he would come and occupy Cecelia. I think to myself while still vaguely answering her questions.
Thanks heavens I can see Lord Henry approaching us "Ms Vera you really don't waste anytime huh?" Lord Henry says and I don't understand what he means at all. "Lord Henry Whatever do you mean?" I ask and he chuckles "now don't play innocent Ms Vera" He says and I am still lost. "With all due respect Lord Henry I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about" I say and he realises I'm not pretending.
"So you didn't know that was Lord Vulcan?" He asks and I feel like a ceiling has collapsed on me "you're joking" I say and he doesn't change his expression at all "No I am not. That was indeed Lord Vulcan, I chose that mask for him myself and that man is wearing the same suit as him." I am still processing what he just said "Not to mention the way he solved something like this so fast. That was indeed him" I waste no more time there and immediately go to look for him but unfortunately I have no luck even after 20 minutes. I can not find him anywhere.
"I don't think you will find him here anymore. He must have left already. He had the fun and he got the food so he must have left" Lord Henry says appearing behind me and I am in disbelief "but we haven't even received the price yet" I say and he chuckles "he doesn't care for such mundane things. I'm sure he only did it for the thrill of it" Somehow I find him even more fascinating now.
As we ride the carriage back home Cecelia was still having a hard time believing that I am not interested in Lord Vulcan in that way at all and that I just find his work fascinating. I told her not to breathe a word of this to Mother because then Mother will not leave me alone at all. Cecelia promised she won't but I have hard time believing her.
After arriving home, I leave Cecelia to answer Mother's queries about tonight's events while I write a few more pages. This Novel just keeps getting more and more interesting as I write further.
I find myself in the ballroom again. I must have drifted off while writing. I look at the decorations and it never ceases to amaze me how magnificent these halls look. While admiring the decorations I find myself wanting to dance so I do.
I pretend that I am dancing with someone and it's freeing to just move along the music and feel my body come alive. I am dancing alone and feeling the most free I have felt in a while. I spend several moments just like that until I'm not alone anymore.
I feel him join me in between my dance and we both don't say anything and just move along with the tune while looking at each other. He looks like he wants to say something but he doesn't say it. Neither of us say anything until the dance is done. Once the music stops and we are finally free to talk, the first words come out of his mouths are "you are sensational M'lady" He says letting out his breath while having a strange look on his face.
I smile in response and we both make our way to a nearby table grabbing some snacks and drinks. They're not real of course but they feel so. "You will not believe what happened today" I say with enthusiasm and he smiles "tell me about it" He says with no hesitation. "I met Lord Vulcan today" His expression changes for a brief moment "Well What did you think of him?" I find his question rather weird because I thought he would ask about his work instead of what I thought of him but I don't mind answering that. "He is a brilliant person just like I thought. we were in a masquerade ball and we got paired together for a game. can you believe that? What are the chances?
However I didn't know that he was Lord Vulcan. I found him really strange at first but it turns out he is brilliant and extremely observant. We won the game because of him. Although He didn't know it was me and neither did I know that it was him but we worked as a team pretty well even as strangers.
It was only after I finished having a dance with him that I found out he was infact Lord Vulcan" I say and he listens to me intently with a hint of smile on his face. "But it was too late until I realized who he was and before I could find him again, he was gone." I say the last part with a hint of disappointment. "It's okay M'lady you'll have many chances of meeting him again in the future" He says and I nod. "Is someone finally showing an interest in a potential male suitor?" He says teasing me and I roll my eyes.
"Just because I adore someone's brilliance and work does not mean I have romantic interest in them" For some reason he looks disappointed with my answer.
"That's disappointing" So He admits he feels disappointed. "Why so?" I ask and he looks like he's thinking carefully of what to say next. "No reason I just thought I might tease you about it if you did actually have an interest in him" He says but I feel like he isn't saying the complete truth about his opinion but I don't push.
"I shall never have a romantic interest in my lifetime" I say fiercely and he doesn't say anything just smies. "Whatever makes you happy M'lady" He says with a gentle smile but I feel like there is something sad about his smile.
"Most of time people would start lecturing me about how that is unrealistic and that I will end up alone and society wouldn't accept me but you have a rather calm reaction. These are the times I remember you really are my mind's perfect creation" I say while looking at him while not being sure what expression I have on my face .
"M'lady you shouldn't listen to people. Always follow your heart. You don't have to find the perfect man if you don't want to. You don't have to get married if you don't want to. No one can force you into doing anything unless you let them" He says and takes a step close to me. "Never let them control you M'lady. Always stay true to yourself" He almost brings one of his hand to caress my cheek but stops as soon as he's about to touch it. If he wasn't my mind's creation I would think he was actually feeling something right now. I smile in response but he moves his hand away and turns around. "You're acting strange today" I say but he doesn't say anything.
"It's a all in your head M'lady. Figuratively and quite literally" He says attempting to lighten the mood and I don't push further. "My Novel is coming off great so far except sometimes I think my characters would hate me if they were real" I say and he immediately asks "why would you think that?" and my response is......
"the way I have written their lives they would not say thank you if they ever met me" I say and it's quite infact true. "What about you M'lady?" I look at him questionably. "Huh?" I ask with a look of confusion. "What if someone was writing your story? What would say to them? Hypothetically of course" He asks and that's a refreshing question.
"If someone was indeed writing my story I would tell them to stop writing at all and that they are doing a terrible job at it because there is nothing thrilling about my life right now. I'd suggest them to use more of their imagination and maybe even save me from my own mind" I say the last part in a low tone.
"If there were any readers reading my story I'd tell them that reading my story is quite pointless specially if they're hoping for some romance. " I also add "And If the author is writing this story from my point of view then god bless the reader's poor soul" I end up wrapping my answer. "That was an extremely detailed response for a hypothetical question M'lady" He says and I nod "what can I say I'm just an extremely thorough person" He smiles and slowly nods.
We spend a few more minutes chatting away but I just feel like there is something different about him. He isn't acting like his usual self tonight but I can't really do anything about it so I let it go.
Few weeks later
I find myself in an awkward position between Lord Henry and Cecelia. It appears they were about to kiss and I have interrupted them. They're both awkwardly looking around here and there whereas I don't know how to react
"Lord Henry it is splendid to meet you again" I say extremely awkwardly in an attempt to not to make this anymore awkward than it already is. "Y-Yes Ms. Vera likewise" He also responds very hesitatingly. A few more moments of awkwardness pass between us until he asks me "So how is your approach to Lord Vulcan going? Have you got any chance to meet him Ms. Vera?"
He asks trying to divert the topic and honestly it isn't really a good diversion. "Not yet. But I suppose I'll have to let the fate decide whether I get to meet him again or not" I say and it sounded much more dramatic than I intended it to. "Well I can fix a meeting with him if you like Ms. Vera. Not to mention I was already planning to officially introdce my lovely Cecelia as my fiance to him soon" He says and yes he finally proposed her and she said yes. Mother has been over the moon since it happened.
As for his offer about setting up a meeting with Lord Vulcan, I'm grateful for it but hesitatant at the same time. I don't want to look like a stalker or some obsessive journalist to him.
"Lord Henry I appreciate the offer but I don't think I should-" I get interrupted by Cecelia "don't be silly Vera, I'm sure Lord Vulcan wouldn't mind if he really is as much of a gentle soul as Lord Henry claims him to be" Lord Henry agrees and I suddenly have no choice left but to agree with them.
I feel suspicious of both of them because they definitely seem like they are conspiring something together but I can not understand what. "On one condition though" I say and they both nod immediately. "You won't tell him that I'm his partner from the masquerade ball" I ask and they both are hesitant for a moment but comply to my demand. I find both of them suspicious but don't say anything since I am also benefitting from this.
It was decided that we will be meeting him next week after Lord Henry asked Lord Vulcan about his schedule. I would be lying if I said I'm not least bit excited about it. I am. The reason I asked them to not to tell him that I am his partner from the masquerade ball is because I want to see how good he is. Can he use his detective skills and psychological knowledge to figure out that it's me or not? It may Sound childish but I find it fun.
I haven't met the dunderhead in my dream in a long time. Although I am used to it by now. He suddenly disappears for days and suddenly appears again acting all normal.
I can not complain about it to anyone since he isn't a real person and his presence in my dreams completely depends on my own mind and that's what frustrates me even more. I want to tell someone about the fact that I'm meeting Lord Vulcan.
Amelia has been busy with her potential suitor and has rarely time for me and quite frankly I do not blame her for it. She doesn't owe me anything. I just wish she spent a little bit of more time with me. Perhaps I'm just being greedy. Now some would say I'm feeling lonely but I prefer calling it a 'tool for gathering emotions for my Novel' because I express my own feelings through my character and I genuinely believe readers would feel it from my work. I want my readers to know how I feel. I want them to see me through my characters.