Like every year, the Rovers family threw a big garden party. The house was lighted in such a way, the whole village at the bottom of the hill bathed in the light. As normal I was there too, considering I am their son's best friend. Tom and I had been mates ever since I snuck into their garden in attempt to run away from my own nanny bumping into his figure. He held a sword high to my throat that day, but the weapon of a six year old isn't up against meeting a new play friend. Since then we would hang out in his treehouse for hours, gathering secret meetings to find out ways to annoy Tom's little sister, Maud.
Everywhere we went, people would secretly stare at us, knowing exactly who we were, the sons of the two most wealthy families of the entire island. When we grew older, girls started to look at us differently, their gazes shimmering as they batted their lashes whenever we were near. Tom enjoyed all the attention and I did too, if I have to admit, but he was the one who also spoke first to those girls, in the mean time winking to the other side of the street in case those girls felt neglected.
The garden was beautifully decorated for the party with candles everywhere, giving of the scent of citrus. On the tables were small salads and all kinds of meat and fish displayed, ready to be served neatly on the white porcelain plates with colorful borders. The orchestra stood on one of the many terraces, practicing the last few songs before the party would commence. The garden was filled with small ponds where light pink waterlilies were drifting off caressed by a soft summer evening breeze.
As normal, Mrs. Rovers was directing the servants, who were dressed in light yellow, wavy dresses for the occasion. When she noticed me, Mrs. Rovers immediately send them away to do their chores. « Felix, you look extraordinary tonight! » she exclaimed and nodded almost unnoticed.
« Not as much as you do, madam. » I replied and kissed her hand, covered in a white lace glove. She winked and almost made a girly giggle. «You've done an incredible job once again. » I looked around at the garden which was now a fairytale scenery. She rolled her eyes. « Well, someone has to do it. Now, dear, would you mind checking on Tom? That would be nice. » Mrs. Rovers walked away straight towards one of the servants who had caught her eye.
I walked inside the mansion, straight towards Tom's room on the second floor. Without knocking I entered, we had lost those kind of manners long ago. His dark silhouette just rose from the kingsize bed in the center of the room. Dressed in a dark shirt and dark trousers, he fixed his matching black boots. Combined with his even darker hair, he almost seemed a shadow, escaped from a fairytale. He grinned when he noticed me, standing behind his reflection in the massive mirror. « Just in time. » Tom turned around fierce, his head held high. As he stepped away from the mirror I noticed my own features. Compared to Tom, my white shirt, deep red vest and trousers looked almost too extravagant. I quickly ran my hand through the messy blonde curls on top of my head that had decided to go all the way tonight.
« Let's go, before your mother gets a heart attack. The guests can arrive any moment. » I opened the door just as Maud walked by. She looked absolutely stunning that night. She was wearing a deep red dress, finished with lace sleeves and a lace corset. The simple golden necklace and earrings were shimmering in the candlelights. Her long dark hair was braided into a sophisticated knot made of tiny smaller braids. The whole construction must've taken hours.
« Hands off. » Tom mumbled behind me. « Not interested. » I replied out of habit. Tom had warned me about her so many times. But he didn't have to worry, I did not fancy her. Tom rolled his eyes, an act that was kind of a second nature to him « Sure. Come on. » He nudged me down the staircase just in time to welcome the first guests. We took our places next to the giant staircase, which was the center of the great hall to guide all the guests to the garden as we welcomed them and offered them to accept a drink presented by the servants as they made their way to the garden. A group of girls entered, all dressed to impress revealing their shoulders and neckline, their pale white skins from avoiding the sun. One of them approached us with a lot of confidence and placed her hand in Tom's extended hand. « Tom, Felix, it's so nice to see you two again. » She smiled, her blood red lips pressed together not to reveal her teeth. « The pleasure is ours, Ms. Ravens. » Tom replied before kissing her pale hand. The crowd of girls behind her giggled and sighed. One by one they just walked by, stealing glances every now and then.
« Charming, don't overdo yourself. » I said as I stopped a constantly winking Tom. « I'm just making sure they're having the time of their lives, Felix. You know how much I care about the well-beings of my parents' friends. » He chuckled once more and continued welcoming the guests.
At the last minute, a group of five men entered the now almost empty hallway. They were accompanied by a girl, who stood next to who seemed the leader of the men. Of course she sprung out, being the only female in that assembly. Unlike all the other girls I had seen that night, she seemed the most natural and normal one. She was wearing a very simple, deep green dress, from which the see through, big sleeves came back together at her wrists in bright golden bracelets. Her dark brown hair leaned against her shoulder to reveal one side of her tanned skin. A small curl escaped the braid but she didn't seem to notice. Slightly confused, Tom stalked towards them.
« Welcome to the Rovers Mansion, gentlemen. You'll have to excuse me, but I can't quite picture you. » He bowed and looked back up, eyeing all of the men individually. The leader of the group stepped to front and mumbled something to Tom, who frowned when the man held his elbow. He gave him a deathly stare and stepped towards his father who had come to see where we were staying. His father looked up as soon as he heard what his son said to him and scanned the great hall. When his eyes found the man, a smile broke through his otherwise stern face, revealing small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. « Dickens, old man! To what do I have the honor to welcome you in my home? » He said and the two men stepped through the doors and joined the other guests. The others followed casually and strolled towards the garden. Tom's eyes rested on the girl.
« Who was that? » I finally sighed, glad the tensed feeling from earlier had left as soon as Mr. Rovers recognized the man. « Dickens, a friend of my father. They met when my father got ambushed by pirates. » He shrugged and walked back to the party, his mind now only focused on the number of girls desperately waiting to see a sign from him. I too, did shrug the entire incident off and joined the party whilst mixing with the guests. Soon I found myself at the edge of one of the terraces, holding some rose wine and overlooking the scenery of hundreds of guests wandering through the beautifully decorated garden.
A bit further away, the mysterious girl in the green dress was talking to one of the men. I realized the group was sticking together, everyone taking a drink every now and then of the wine. Her gaze followed the ranks of plants against the wall from the rooftop to the ground when she had to pass me on her way to the soil. She smiled when I caught her eye. I rose my glass towards her, and she returned the gesture before taking a large sip from the crystal glass. To see a girl drink was as unusual to me as to see her being fierce about her tanned skin. She had returned to the conversation not giving me any more attention. Just when I had decided to approach this Mystery Girl, a servant declared the dinner to have started and the crowd stumbled towards the walking dinner which made it impossible for me to reach her.
But somehow she had found her way to me. « Crab, salmon and tuna? A little fish eater are we? » a soft, unknown voice spoke from my left. Mystery Girl stood next to me, her face a few inches away from my shoulder. I looked down at her plate, which was filled with meat and vegetables. « Everyone their own taste. » I grinned. She complimented me on the party « You're parents did a great job with this party. It must've cost a fortune. » She said as we passed the walking dinner occasionally scooping some of the delicious food on our plates. « I'm not the son, I'm just a family friend. You aren't from the neighborhood, are you? » Whoever did not know who I was, or who the Rovers family was, must've been from almost the other side of the world. « No, we just arrived at the port today and rumors were spreading about this party. So when Dickens heard about who hosted it, he immediately wanted to come and see his old friend. » « How did they actually meet? » I wondered out loud, while guiding us to a less crowded space at the entrance of the garden. « One day, the trader's ship of Mr. Ravens was attacked by pirates. The governor, whose ship was in the closest harbor and able to see everything happening, didn't come to help him. That's when the Captain decided no man should be left to the mercy of those criminals and they helped them out with the grace of the Serena. It must've been pretty spectacular, but they made it out alive. » I listened to her as if I was enchanted. Her voice seemed to be a melodious sea with waves of sounds hitting my ears every now and then as she emphasized certain descriptions. « And how did you end up with them? » But Mystery Girl only frowned. « What do you mean? » She seemed attacked and distanced herself from me. « A young girl like you, you're pretty, why do you want to sail the wild waters with all these men? »
« Are you doubting my morals? » She asked, immediately shoving her plate on the nearest table. « Excuse me. » And with those final words, she left me astonished leaning against the terrace railing. Taking another drink of my glass, a soft hand was placed on my shoulder. Most of the guests were getting pretty intoxicated, but as soon as my eyes landed on the angelic features of Maud, I had already forgotten the unpleasant turn the conversation with Mystery Girl had taken. She hooked her arm into mine. « Let's go » she whispered and pulled me inside, up the stairs. She quickly ran to the first floor. « What are we going to do? » I dared to ask her, my heart beating a thud faster. She turned around and brought her pale finger to her fiery red lips « Shhh. » She was about to open a door but froze in the midst of her actions. « What's that? » She whispered, pointing at a small light coming from underneath her brother's bedroom door. I listened closely but heard nothing but vague movements. I pushed Maud beside me and gave her the same sign she only gave me seconds ago. « Shhh. »
Silently, I opened the door. I thought maybe it could have been one of Tom's romances getting a bit out of hand but when I noticed the familiar green dress near his desk, I knew that wasn't the case. In a small bag I saw some of his most precious belongings disappear. « Hey, what are you... » I started saying while walking up to her, ready to take a firm grip on her. Unfortunately, she thought different about it and I didn't see the bag, which was filled with heavy jewelry flinging at my head. Maud gasped in the entrance and ran downstairs. For a second I was dazed and I saw Mystery Girl coming up to me, quickly pushing me down and giving me a punch on my cheek. She took one of the curtain ropes and pulled it down. « Don't think you can handle me. » I thundered, ready to attack her. « But what if I do? » She frowned and smiled devilishly before giving me a deathly glare and running up to me. With one kick I was knocked down and laying on the cold woorden floor. I focused on the figure looming above me. Some of her hairs had escaped the nonchalant braid and with that slightly bewildered look she hovered above my face, binding my hands together with the rope. I couldn't deny she was pretty... pretty evil. I cursed while trying to escape the knot she made in the rope. « Good luck with that, handsome. » She said before taking off.
Downstairs I heard a lot of noise, but when I finally got there, the hall was filled with stunned guests and a wide open door. No sign of the men, Dickens or the Mystery Girl...