Azure Rose [l.t]

3.

"Some day we will find what we are looking for. Or maybe we won't. Maybe we will find something much greater than that." - Anonymous

The annual Unite Ball occurs each year as a coming of age to the young Gods and Goddesses. This year, it was for all the Gods and Goddesses that were Zariah's age. Zariah walked into the dance hall with Zayn. He was supposed to be her date - it was arranged by her parents. Of course she had to oblige. Zariah had on a deep V-neck empire blue chiffon dress that went all the way to the floor, a train of silk behind her. Her dirt blonde hair was curled lightly and adorned with an azure rose, and a matching colored masquerade mask covered her face. Zayn of course, had made sure that he matched exactly with Zariah in two ways: his tie and his mask.

All the parents sat upon their high, golden thrones watching over their children. Aphrodite and Hephaestus watched with a small smile as their daughter made her way over to the main floor with Zayn. They only wanted what was best for her and they knew that was Zayn - as charming as he was.

Slow classical music was playing and Zariah couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she heard Zayn groan in frustration at the poor taste in music that the elders chose for this generation. He was practically joined at her hip once they reached her half brother, Niall. His perfectly golden hair was styled in a neat way, a gold mask over his face and he planted a soft kiss on his half sisters cheek.

"Can you recognize anyone dear sister?" He asked with a slight hint of amusement in his melodic voice. She shook her head. The only people she recognized was Niall and Zayn, and her parents. "Go find some people love." He urged her before he was whisked away by some unknown Goddess in a black mask.

Zariah turned back to Zayn and shrugged. "They really took the time to decorate." She mused as she looked up at the ceiling. Multicolored tapestries hung from the ceiling and diamond chandeliers gave off reflected light. There was a huge banquet table set up with delicacies by the pile. There was even wine.

"Yeah, well, they have to." Zayn mumbled. "They have to leave some kind of effect on us." He fixed his tie so it was straight and then ran a hand through his raven colored hair. His lips curled into the most dashing smile and he pulled her close. "The Unite Ball is where most love is found." He slyly winked.

As much as Zariah wanted to barf at that statement and at what Zayn was hinting at, she held it all in and gave a soft smile instead. A smile that would swoon the young God for almost the entire night.

As the night progressed, she danced a few slow songs with Zayn and conversed with her parents and sometimes Niall - whenever she could find him. She wasn't that much of a social butterfly. She had a goblet of wine in her hands as she walked up toward the balcony with Zayn. He led her with his hand on the small of her back, just making sure that she wouldn't swing and sway with the amount of wine that she'd had throughout the night. She was met with the cool air as soon as they stepped out onto the balcony. Her soft, plump, lips curled into a light smile and she took another sip from the goblet before placing it on the white stone railing of the balcony. She leaned over it, Zayn stood close by to make sure she wouldn't fall over. His heart was beating fast in his chest just thinking about what could happen if she did. It was extremely dark outside, the only sources of light were the bright stars and the outpour of light coming from the ball. She sighed in content as Zayn wrapped an arm around her waist. She was too tired to even tell him to move away.

+++++++++

Louis wandered around the Ball, the usual scowl on his face. His red mask was an agitation and he yearned to take it off. He didn't though. It was the rule and even though he liked to break the rules, he just let this one slide. He styled his hair in one swift motion, a fringe of some sort. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he walked around. He passed Liam and Harry [two of his closest friends] and didn't say a word to them. He just ignored their calls. He knew they eventually they would give up on him. Everyone always gave up on him, he was used to it, sadly. He grabbed a goblet full of red wine and brought it to his lips, sipping it slowly. Fighting the urge to just throw it back and take another one.

He didn't even know why he had to attend this stupid Ball. This Ball was just a way for all the young ignorant Gods and Goddesses to be tricked into thinking they had found their true love. It was all bullshit. You can't find the love of your immortal life by going to some Masquerade Ball and dancing. He didn't need a Ball to tell him what love was. He already knew what love was. He saw it all in his parents. They didn't find their love at the Unite Ball, oh no, no. His father practically split the ground his mother was walking on and dragged her down into the depths of the Underworld. Why couldn't he do the same?

He downed the last sip of wine and set the goblet down somewhere before walking off to explore. He didn't want to be anywhere close to the building if he had to.

Persephone watched over her son from the golden thrones, an empty throne beside her. She knew Hades wouldn't show, but hoped for the best. All the other elders were chatting away, Aphrodite with Hephaestus and Hermes and Athena. She sat silently by her mother, Demeter, deep in thought. She wondered what Louis was thinking as he gloomily sauntered around the Ball. He didn't dance with any Goddess, which she thought was peculiar and he didn't chat with his friends either. She wondered what was wrong with her boy. A frown was etched onto her face. She noticed him look up at her from down below and gave her the softest of smiles. She felt a tiny weight lift off her shoulders.

Louis noticed the banquet hall had two stories. He climbed up an unimaginable number of stairs until he reached the top. He took noticed of a tiny room door that was open and slowly walked inside, making sure no one would follow him. The room was covered with shelves and shelves of books from ceiling to floor. Curious, he started to look through. He grabbed a random one off the shelf titled, "The Sun and The Moon."

He narrowed his eyes, and blew the dust off the cover before slowly opening up the book. He read aloud to himself. '"And perhaps the very fact that the moon could never have the sun was the reason that she loved him so...even if their forbidden love would cause a catastrophic turn of events."' He rose an eyebrow. '"Every year during the Unite Ball a young God and Goddess fall into a forbidden love. They are usually on two ends of the spectrum and their love only caused others pain. They were a disaster put together...the star-crossed lovers usually end in a tragic death..."'

"Bullshit." He breathed, slamming the book shut and thrusting it back into its original spot on the shelf, before leaving the room and heading back down to the main level.

+++++++

Zayn caressed Zariah's face with his thumb. "It only makes sense my lovely," He told her very slowly, his dark chocolate eyes boring into her crystal clear blue ones. "Your beauty and my beauty..." His other hand on her waist. She stared into his eyes, unaware of the mischievous trick he was pulling on her. "We belong together. You belong to me." His voice was sultry sweet. It tended to happen whenever he manipulated anyone into doing something he wanted. A small smirked appeared on his lips as he realized that she was slowly falling into him, her plump lips getting closer to his. A loud crash from the hallway was enough to make her pull away. She blinked repeatedly before her face contorted with anger and disbelief. She pushed him back, realizing what he was doing. She was shocked

"How could you , Zayn?" She asked, her tone laced with anger. "You promised you would never use your power on me."

He moved close to her once again. "I didn't darling." He played it off as confused. "I have no reason to."

"You're full of it Zayn." She shouted, her voice cracking as she stormed away from the balcony and down to the main level, hastily pushing past masked figures on the dance floor. Her heart ached. Even though she had no feelings for Zayn, she thought of him as some sort of friend, and friends should never manipulate friends into loving one another. She was too busy staring the ground to realize where she was going and bumped into a hard, broad chest. She grunted. "I- I'm so sorry." She mumbled, trying to hold back her angry tears. She looked up at the masked God in front of her, bright blue eyes shining through his red mask.

Louis froze as he recognized the soft little voice of the girl that had hastily bumped into him. Zariah. Something along the lines of a flashing signal inside his head was going off repeatedly and felt his heart swell up in his chest. All he could see in front of him was beauty. Soft, dirty blond hair, lightly freckled cheeks that weren't all the way covered by her mask, and crystalline blue eyes. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and to save himself from thinking such horrid thoughts about 'love' and 'beauty,' he snarled angrily at her before side-stepping her and continuing on his way, leaving the poor Goddess to wallow in her unhappiness.