The Step Sister vs. Cinderella

Chapter 13

             Axton frowned at Darren, hand reaching up to touch his half mask for the twelfth time. “I do not understand. I have never required a mask before.”

            The king smiled, the expression only visible due to the faint light of the streetlamp several feet away . “That’s because tonight’s a bit different. You’ve been really good about not getting any closer than I’ve said and you haven’t tried anything that would have gotten both of us caught. So, because of my well-placed sources, I’ve decided to reward you. Sort of.”

            The knight’s hand fell to his side, his lips still pulled down as a light breeze ruffled his hair. “I still do not understand.”

            Darren sighed, wishing, and not for the first time, that Axton wasn’t so serious. The only time he ever saw him smile was when they snuck away to spy on Paige. If ever there was someone who deserved their nickname, it was that boy. “Tonight’s Halloween. It’s a holiday here where people dress up as other things. Kind of like a masque ball. I know for a fact that Paige is going to the Halloween dance at her school so I thought we could sneak in. You’ll be able to get closer to her tonight but you still can’t talk to her. She’s not really good at hiding things and the last thing we want is for her sister to find out now.”

            “Why would they wish to have a holiday where people go in costume? What is the purpose?”

            He opened his mouth then closed it. “You know, I have no idea. It’s just one of those things that you’ll have to accept about this place. I lived here for a year and I am still confused about it.”

            Axton nodded. “That such a place exists…I would not have believed it were I not here, seeing it with my own eyes.”

            Darren lips quirked up into a half-smile. “You get used to it. Now, let’s go. It’s getting a bit cold out here.”

            The knight followed, down the almost familiar path to Paige’s school. Seven times before he’d been to this world, to see her. Five of those times had taken him down this very route. He could still remember the first time, how good it was to see her, smiling as her eyes chased everything. She was the same, even in a place so strange. He was grateful for the king’s help, both in being here and with explaining the odd things he’d seen since his first visit in early summer.

            Streetlamps sent down circles of orange light and the moon was only a sliver, while overhead the bare branches of trees scraped together in the gentle wind. They walked down a street filled with children in the strangest costumes, some things Axton recognized. Most he did not. He heard them endlessly shouting the same phrase while holding open bags. He peeked in one as they passed and saw brightly coloured packages piled high inside. He filed that away as another question to ask the king when they returned.

            It was only a few minutes later that they arrived at Paige’s school, the large brick building’s western side blazing with light and exploding with music. Cars, one of the things that still confused him the most, filled the parking lot while small groups of people stood and chatted. They too were disguised in weird clothing, one man even having the gall to dress as a pirate. Axton shook his head. He wondered, as he so often did, if this place would ever make sense to him.

            Darren led him to the door, where a huge man, who would make an excellent knight he thought, was accepting bits of orange paper from people walking in. He wore a pointed hat and robes covered in stars. Axton wondered what his costume was as the king walked up to him, grinning. “Ethan,” he said. “How are you?”

            The man smiled back. “Darren. It’s been too long! Not with your fire-eater today?”

            He laughed as he moved to the side to let the others pass, Axton sticking close to him. “No, not today. How’s Mia?”

            Ethan’s deep chuckle sounded like the rumble of thunder. “She said she wouldn’t be caught dead at a high school dance ever again.”

            Darren’s grin was wide. “So where’s she hiding?”

            “Near the canteen the last I saw of her. As soon as my relief arrives I was going to head over there. You want to come with me?” Ethan replied, barely glancing at the tickets he was accepting.

            “Sounds great,” he said, catching Axton’s eye and jerking his head towards the open double doors of the gym.

            The knight nodded and slipped in with the rest of the crowd, following them into the flashing darkness of the gymnasium. Immediately, he could feel the heavy bass thudding in his chest as smoke billowed around his ankles. The sudden blazes o light occasionally illuminated the orange and black streamers that hung overhead and on the walls with fake white webbing.

The centre of the wood floor was a tight square of writhing dancers that made Axton grateful for the darkness. What he could see of their movements was already making him blush. He walked carefully along the wall, dodging the clusters of people chatting, some holding round metallic cylinders. The way they brought them to their mouths made him think they must be drinks of some form. More interesting were the people who were hiding bottles and looking around before drinking from them, almost like whatever it was was forbidden.

He scanned the people along the wall, moving closer every time he saw a girl with hair the right length. His wandering path took him all the way to the other side of the room before he saw her.

She looked the same as the last time he’d spoken to her, not like the times he’d watched her from afar. She was wearing the same style of loose-sleeved, wide-skirted dress she’d worn during their palace explorations, this one purple. Her hair was pulled up, as he’d never seen it, ribbons braided into an elaborate bun that pulled her brown hair up. A particularly bright flash lit her up enough that he could see her green eyes and the smile that always demanded an answering one from him.

His lips curved up almost immediately. Her cheeks were pink but whether from the combined body heat of everyone in the room or from dancing, he didn’t know. He fervently hoped it was the former. She was laughing now, head turned towards one of her companions. He felt a surge of relief as he noticed they were all girls but it was short-lived. There were far too many men looking at her. None appeared to have the courage to approach but he wouldn’t bet that they would stay in the shadows for long.

That was the excuse he told himself, even knowing that as soon as he’d seen that smile of hers within reach he’d made a decision. He’d sworn an oath to his king not to speak a word to her. An oath he intended to keep. But he couldn’t stand being this close and just leaving, without having her eyes on him, if only for a few minutes.

               He took a deep breath and walked forward.