[ E D I T E D ]
♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 24//: The mysterious man in the mask♕✿~♕✿~
"No,no, no. I am not going to do this."
My hands clenched by my side, I stare at my maids apprehensively as they approach me with excited glints in their eyes.
"Miss," Tiffany starts.
"We know His Majesty has banned you from attending the ball," Lacy states.
"But we spent so much time making your dress for this event!" Sam says, her voice going into a wail at the end of the sentence.
I purse my lips and cross my arms. "I'm sorry, guys, but I think it be wise if I don't participate in your devious plan." The king's word from earlier comes into my mind: The next time she does something, I want her send back home immediately.
But my words are ignored as my maids press closer to me. In response, I back away from them as much as I can.
"Miss. You will go to this ball whether you like it or not. Our hard work will not be ignored by everyone!" Lacy exclaims.
I raise an eyebrow. "Are you ordering me?"
"Yes, I am. Miss." Lacy quickly adds the last part out of habit.
I pause. Then, I walk past them and jump onto my bed, face planting in it.
"Miss! I ordered you," Lacy whines like a small child. I find myself smile at her tone. I push myself around so that I am laying on my back, facing my maids.
"Well first, you're my maids and I'm pretty sure I'm the one who's supposed to order you. Second, I'm ignoring your order as a rebellious teen," I state before turning back around and planting my face in the plush pillows.
I've planted my face in a lot of pillows in this place, if you haven't noticed.
I hear a sigh, when I suddenly feel someone pull me. I yelp as I fall from the bed and land on my bum. Ow. That really hurt.
I glare at Sam, who pulled me, but we both break into laughter as we stare at each other.
"Why did you do that for, Sam," I say in a fake whining tone while smiling. Same smiles back at me.
"Miss. Please. We've just worked so hard to make this dress. The fabric is from Piedmont! Please." Sam's lips become pouted and she stares at me with puppy eyes.
"We just want people to see you in this dress. Is that a crime?" Tiffany whispers.
The mood suddenly becomes tense as Tiffany says this.
I sigh. "I would love to, but the king banned me from going, remember?" But my maids smile at this.
"Well, it is a masquerade ball," Lacy points out. I furrow my eyebrows, confused by what this means. Then I realize: I would wear my mask. No one would recognize me.
As I contemplate this, my maids grab a dress from inside my closet. When I see the dress my maids prepared for me, I'm ready to cry.
It is made out of bouncy, blue fabric. The sleeves are the type of sleeves that hang off of your shoulders. A silver mask with blue decorative curls is attached to the impossibly beautiful dress.
I slowly walk up to the dress. I reach out to touch it, and pull back when I do. I stare with my mouth agape at my maids, who stare back at me with small smiles.
"You guys..." I trail off. I throw my arms around them, pulling them in for a group hug. They let out squeals of surprise at the hug, but hesitantly hug me back.
I let go of them and look at each of them with a smile. They did this for...me. This beautiful dress that was made for me was just waiting, begging, for me to wear it.
The king warned me of what would happen if I disobeyed him again. I would have to leave Ahren, Rose, Addaline, Tara, the food. I would probably never see them again, having to watch Ahren on t.v., watch as he finds The Bride, watch as he and his wife grow old and have children. And I would never be able to talk to him again. This would happen if I disobeyed the king.
Screw him. I was going to use this dress for good.
Smiling mischievously, I grab the dress from my maids and they clap in happiness. They usher me into my bathroom, yelling at me to change.
~♚♡♚♡~
I look at myself in the bathroom mirror before taking a breath and opening the door to face my maids.
They all suck in a breath as they see me. I blush slightly as I do a little twirl to make the dress spin. The blue fabric swirled in a blur of color as I came to a stop.
The silence was broken by Lacy squealing happily. "Oh miss! You look stunning! I knew this color would fit you! Come on, we're going to do your hair and makeup!"
I don't have time to protest before they force me into a chair in front of the vanity located in the bedroom. They plug in a curler and start to curl my blonde hair. I stare in awe as each wave appears in my hair. Usually, it was just as flat as a wood, and I've always hated how it looked. But now it looked fancy, elegant, and lady-like.
Next, Tiffany applied some pink lipstick before I could push it away. I stared in exasperation at her as she shrugged. "What? It looks good on you."
Finally, my maids grab the silver and blue mask. Like I was having a crown put on my head, Sam carefully put the mask over my face and tied it in the back. Afterwards, she brought me to the full length mirror in my room and...
Oh my goodness. Was that me?
I looked completely transformed. The curls in my hair was reaching my shoulder blades, and the pink lipstick was a nice contrast against the blue of the ball gown. I realized with a start that the mask successfully hid half of my face.
"Miss." I turn to see a pair of blue heels in front of me. I gingerly put my feet in them. Luckily they weren't too high.
"You should go now to the ball, miss," Lacy tells me. I smile.
"I'm really late," I say as I glance at the clock. 9:26. The ball started about an hour ago.
"Fashionably late," Tiffany corrects me. Sam, Lacy, and I laugh at this.
My maids tell me to hurry on, and I do so as I hush them playfully. I stop by the door to turn back and look at them.
"Thank you guys. You're all amazing. I'm glad I met you all," I tell them genuinely. They smile shyly back at me.
"Thank you miss. Now, hurry along! We don't want you to miss the whole ball!" Sam tells me. I giggle at her as I turn back around and take a deep breath. Let's hope I wouldn't die tonight for doing this.
I open my door and walk outside of my room, walking elegantly down the hall to the ballroom.
Or I would have if I didn't see my annoyingly quiet guard doing his job.
Cursing slightly, I close the door behind me and it slams shut. My maids stare at me questioningly, and I open my mouth to answer them before a knock on my door makes me jump.
"Yes?" I call out in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Is everything alright?" My guard asks me. I raise an eyebrow, though he can't see it.
"Wow. How nice of you to care," I say, surprised.
I hear a snort from the other side of the door. "I could care less about what happened to you. I'm just forced to do my job. Though I think His Majesty wouldn't care if you died on my watch or not."
Ok, I take that back.
Come on, Madison, keep your mouth shut. Don't say anything back. Woops, too late.
"Well, I'm sorry there's a stick up your ass, guard, but I would appreciate it if you left me alone."
I hear an angry growl from the guard. Then, the pounding on my door. Or, well, I feel it.
"Open the door up! Oh, you are so dead once there isn't a door between us," the guard says threateningly. I feel myself smile.
"I'm sorry, but I'm busy at this moment, so I can't open the door up."
"Busy doing what?" The guard demands.
"Busy ignoring your jackass self," I retort.
Ok, I really should shut up. Maybe I would be dead by tonight.
There are more angry curses and threats and pounds on the door, but I hear a voice all of a sudden that stops the pounding and yelling.
"Excuse me, but you pounding on the door is disrupting my thinking."
The guard stops his pounding. "Sorry, my lord. It will not happen again, my lord."
I feel myself smirk in triumph. Haha! I won!
But my victory is short lived as I hear the man speak again. "Perhaps you need a break. Please, leave. I will deal with the lady for you."
Chills run up my spine as I hear this. How did he know I was here? Ok, maybe I was loud, but not loud enough to be heard I think. And how would he "deal with me"?
For a moment, there is only silence. I can imagine the guard hesitating, wanting a rest from my sassy attitude and obeying the king. Finally, I hear the shuffling of feet.
For a strange second, I feel betrayed. I mean, I know we didn't get along, but for him to leave me alone like that with a man I don't know is a bit crazy.
I feel a weight lean on the door from the other side and my breathing quickens. What would happen if this man got into my room. I didn't want to think about it.
I looked at my maids in alarm. They looked back at me with equally terrified eyes.
I jumped when suddenly the man on the other side spoke. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to escort you to the ball."
I purse my lips. How did he know that was my original goal?
"How do I know you're not a murderer. Or a...a..." I couldn't say the word. I didn't want to possibly put ideas in his head.
I heard a chuckle from the man. His voice was silky and rich. He sounded nice, but...
"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure the beautiful lady can get to the ball."
I still don't trust him. But Lacy walks up and, to my shock and horror, pushes me aside and opens the door.
Just as I'm about to cry for help, Lacy shuts the door close. "Why did you do that, Lacy!" I whisper-shout at her. She shrugs innocently.
"I just wanted to see if he looked trustworthy or not, miss. And if you wanted to know, he does," Lacy informs me. I sigh in exasperation.
"I don't care if he looks nice or not! Looks can be deceiving," I tell Lacy. I feel like a mother telling her child to never accept candies from a stranger.
The clearing of a throat stops me from continuing my rant. Slowly, I turn to look towards the door to see it open. A man stands in the doorway dressed in a simple suit with a striped green and black tie. He wears a green and black mask and his black hair hangs over it. His blue eyes shine from the depths of his mask.
I freeze, staring at the man. He must have come in when I was arguing with Lacy. Then the realization hits me: there was a man in my room.
I grab one of the shoes off of my feet and hold it in my hand as a weapon. I'm pretty sure getting stabbed in the face would knock the man over in agony long enough for me to escape.
But before I can initiate my plan, the man holds out an arm.
"Please, allow me to escort you to the ball. Lady..." He trails off, asking for my name.
I purse my lips. "Madison," I say tersely. Oh crap! Why did I tell him my real name?
While I was chastising myself in my head, the man waited for me. I slowly lean over, while keeping my eyes on the man, and put my shoe back on. Then, I hesitantly walk over to where the man is and loop my arm in his. I'm surprised at the warmth he emanates. He's lean and tall, and I gulp a bit at how I only come up to his shoulder barely. He could easily overpower me.
He leads me out into the hallway and I share one last glance with my maids before the man pulls me away from my room.
Like I had predicted, there were drunk lords and crazy partygoers here and there roaming the hallways. They stopped to stare at me and the man curiously, but I was pulled away before their stares could make me uncomfortable.
There was only silence while we walked. Moisture had left my mouth and my heart was all over the place. I hated that this man made me nervous. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence.
"So...What's your name?" I ask the man. He doesn't answer me, only smiles. I purse my lips in annoyance. Ok, ignore me then.
We reach the doors of the ballroom and I can hear the orchestral music from out here. I turn to look at the man again and cross my arms over my chest.
"Are you ever going to tell me your name, or do I have to figure it out myself?" I ask him in an annoyed tone. He again smiles that smile that I want to slap off of him.
"You'll know soon, Lady Madison. Soon," he says in a mysterious tone. I raise an eyebrow at this. "Now, I believe we have reached your destination. Enjoy the party, Lady Madison," he tells me.
I glance back at the doors of the ballroom, and turn back to ask the man if he's returning to the party.
But he's gone when I turn around.
♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~
This is probably the longest chapter I've written for this book. Hope you guys enjoyed it!
This chapter was originally supposed to be one huge chapter, but it would have been way too long. So I decided to split it into two separate chapters, so the next part of this chapter will come in the next update.
So I don't think I've mentioned this, but we reached 2k reads! How could I forget to mention that in the previous chapters? I don't know.
But now I will address it. I seriously can't believe so many people read The Choosing and that many have continued to read it. Like, whaaaaaaat. Thank you to everyone who has read it, voted on the chapters, and commented on this book. It really means a lot to me when you guys do any one of these things.
Hope you all have a great week! Luv you all
Glass_Sword