The lady in the black mask did not respond, but decide to get straight to business by revealing her identity. Once her mask was off, I took a good survey of her. Her brown eyes are almond shaped, her small lips painted dark blue 'till it was almost black, unnaturally smooth, light olive skin, high cheekbones and a tumble of long dark hair pinned up in with a raven feather clasp.
I squint my eyes in distrust, not knowing what her business is here with me. "I shall ask again, Who are you?"
The mysterious lady rolls her eyes as she mysteriously answers, "I go by a moniker, but you can call me Dahlia." Her voice creeps.
I straighten up as she steps closer towards me. "I'm sorry for your dear sister. She seemed like a great woman. I heard tales of her endeavors, scouring the lands in a sense of justice."
By the mention of Delaney, I bite on my lip, out of nostalgia...and a sharp sense of doubt. This lady seems to honor her.
Merely wanting to test my suspicions, I ask as I meet her eyes once more "Dahlia, is it? How did you get such a pretty name?"
She grins a small smile, a fake one. "Well, my mother happened to see a black dahlia in full bloom perched by my nursery windowsill. She said it looked mysterious, beautiful and enchanting. That's how I got my name."
Those would be the exact words Delaney would use to describe her favorite flower. A specific type too. I narrow my eyes. "Who is your mother? Are you a commoner?"
'Dahlia' seemingly saddens at the mention of talking about her mother, and shifts foot to foot as she drops the sadden act, "I'm far from a commoner. My mother is a duchess, one of your many nobles in this land."
"Will I know of her?"
She scoffs, "No, she is not that important or well-known to be notified by the queen of Avalem." She throws the title around like she is talking about someone else yet I am fully aware she knows who she is talking to.
"Is she? Is she here, attending the ball?"
"Oh no. Sadly, she is on a journey across the realms to seek a vacation after working hard for a year. I'm currently looked after by a nanny." Oddly specific, but something still reeks wrong from her words. Something is definitely not right.
"Alright. But what about you?"
"Hmm." She hums, "I came here to enjoy the festivities like everyone else, though I didn't expect to bump into our Queen here." She smiles.
Liar. Alright, I shall play your little game. I clear my throat, "Is that so? How have you been enjoying it?"
She give a small chortle, "It's good, traditions are still ongoing, the Ball is still fun. Though I feel-" She plays with the feathers on her mask, "- that we are forgetting something, aren't we?" She turns away from me, placing her hands on her hips, sighing mockingly.
"Like what?" It's strange enough she drops words mysteriously, but how to play with an not-so-innocent motive?
"Oh, I don't really know." She turns around to face me, "How do you personally celebrate the Crystal Cloud Ball?"
"What?"
"Any old traditions, beliefs you uphold in this time of year? For me, I always pull out my favorite flower and twist them into a flower crown for my sister and I to wear. She would do the same for me. She usually uses lilies thought they are harder to weave with, since they are so big but every year she always does it to the best of her abilities, and they always look good. Sometimes I wonder how she does it."
Just like I would with Delaney. The trick is to nick parts of the stem horizontally so the lilies can slide in place, and use strips of banana leaves to tie them together. By now though I can use magic to stitch them together.
"Are you and your sister close?"
"Yes, like any other sibling would be with theirs. Always protective, wanting to see the best for their own blood." She looks at me in the eyes. I see a young face, but her eyes screaming age and wisdom...and a dark hold of something incredibly twisted.
I hum back to her, "Yes, yes we would."
I look away to face the moon. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see her smiling happily, though I'm unsure of her intention to. To her, I hope it looks like I'm devastated, reminded by my twin, but instead I'm hoping I'm actually buying time for myself to think.
What does she want with me? Why pry open cured wounds?
Then it hit me. Her descriptions are identical to my childhood. She wants something.
I ready my right hand, hidden from her view and concealed in the swirls of my dress, and I curl my hand to produce a magical fireball-one that grows as soon as I turn around to face her.
"What do you want?" I ask carefully, turning my head over my shoulder to look at her.
"Excuse me?" She asks.
I sigh, "I said, what do you want?" I spin around to direct the fireball at her- which seems to caught her by surprise to my delight- but she easily recovers and catches it in her palm, the golden fire turning into a sickly purple. She laughs an equally sinister laugh as she watches my face crumble at the sight of her magic, her fingers stroking the fire.
"How? How do you have magic?" I speak through my teeth. No-one in this realm uses magic, unless they are fae, born with magic or cursed by it. Some can be lucky to be able to teach themselves to do magic but it requires the immense strength and belief of light or dark, and it's rare to see them happen anymore.
She laughs again, "Why, I was born with it, like you." She blew out the fire like to was nothing.
My confusion gives her even more the reason to laugh at my demise. "What? Are you scared, Your Majesty? Honestly, I never understood why you never display them at your events. You would be a ruler that draws attention. But then again, your people doesn't often see magic around in these parts, though the mystery and mystical nature of Avalem and it's natural vicinity draws travelers far and wide. Your people trust you enough." She states, striding back and forth.
"Why are you doing this?" I ask, preparing myself to lunge at her, silently magicking the windows to hide any onlookers from inside the ballroom to see us out here.
"To see if you truly have what it takes to be queen. After all, be careful with who you trust or your walls shall go down."
I freeze. No one- not even Trevor- knows the exact words inside those letters the Omissionary sent me, and something tells me she didn't say those words exactly.
"Dahlia, 'Dahlia' isn't your true name is it?" I circle around her, and she picks up the move too.
"Of course it isn't. I knew you would know that. Your sister have taught you well."
"Do you know her?"
She pauses before answering, "Of course I did: after all I was the one to kill her."
No, no no no.
"No..."
"Yes. I did."
Fury raged inside me as I produce a fireball larger than my last and I lunge at her with my hand ready to slam it down on her head, who grabs my wrist and mutters an incantation to snuff it out.
My jaw must have dropped as I stand bewildered by her show of magic, she who notices my reaction gives out a quick cackle, "How?"
"Why, Deidra, you should know by now I'm not someone to be reckoned with."
I grit my teeth as I steel myself with my answer although something seems familiar with the way she said my name, "How dare you address me by name, as if you were my familiar. Don't you know respect?"
"Like what you're doing to me now? I bet you didn't care if your General Trevor call you by name. He does it often does he?"
Now my mind is screeching in frustration, "How do you know his name?"
She laughs at a mocking tone, "My dear, I know everything."
I try to release myself from her grip but it's too strong as realization dawns on me, "No."
She grins a Cheshire smile, confirming my fears, "Yes."
I shake my head, now even more eager to get away from this maniac, "That moniker of yours. You're the-"
"-Omissionary. Yes, that's right. I'm the Omissionary."