Ghost in the Roses

“Are those things...snails?” I stare at a plate of tiny shells that the waiter placed in front of me.

“Yes, they are,” Kai half laughs at the expression on my face.

“What do you do with them?”

“You eat them, fool,” my friend proves himself to be much more daring than I.

In horror, I watch him pick the slimy creature out of the shell with his fork.

“Are you sure? Maybe we’re supposed to have a snail race as an ice breaker,” it's bewildering to think who would make such a choice for the menu item.

“It’s a delicacy,” with all the grace in the world, Nina places a napkin on the lap of her dress.

Unlike our appetizers, she looks much more appealing. Her pride in her Domain continued to show in her choice of the gown of blue velvet with red roses embroidered on the sheer long sleeves. Next to hers, our attire looks much less creative. In respect to tradition, the male cadets have to wear formal knight’s uniform to a ball.

“But still, with all the money that the Academy gets from paying cadets’ tuition, this is what they come up with?” still reluctant, I dare to poke at one.

The other tables are digging in, so I decided to give it a try. With anticipation, my friends watch me stick my fork inside the shell and I begin to try to pry it out. My snail makes an escape and somehow, I do manage to turn this into a snail race after all. With a shooting speed, the cooked goo makes a go for it. Nina turns out to be the finishing line.

“I’m so sorry,” I'm horrified.

Even when dead, the slime ball has no shame and went right into her halter.

“It’s alright, it was an accident,” she giggles while trying to fish it out. I keep apologizing and pass my napkin for her to use. Along with her, Kai keeps on laughing.

The rest of the dinner goes by much smoother and as we are finishing our refreshing dessert, the cadets leave their dining spots with a selected partner from their table and begin to waltz.

“Would you like to dance with me?” Kai extends his hand to Nina.

“I would be delighted to,” she pets her lips with a napkin and places hers into the palm of his black glove. Just like that, I’m left alone without a clue about what to do. I get up but have no idea where I would even be going. A tap on the shoulder rescues me from my social awkwardness. I turn around and there she stands, smiling slyly.

“Your ribbon suits you, it even matches your eyes," this beautiful stranger actually complements me.

"Thanks," that's all my dumb ass thinks of to say, forgetting to return the favor.

"Dance with me?”

“I’m not much of a dancer,” whatever self-esteem I had for this party withers in her magnificent presence.

“I won’t judge, because neither am I,” her head tilts slightly.

But, I have a hard time believing that. That confidence and that red dress were designed by the gods of dance. How can I refuse?

“Alright, let’s dance,” I smile.

Throughout the waltz, she follows my lead. Yet, I feel like I’m the one who would follow her anywhere and her green almond eyes would be my compass.

“What’s your name, cadet?” her ruby lips command me to speak.

“Adrien Rivers. I’m selected to serve The Violet House, but you already noticed that.”

“Is this your first ball?”

“Yes,” I’m embarrassed and hope that I don't disappoint her.

“This is my fifth time. I’m not a cadet here though. My father is the commanding knight of The Green Domain and he attends every ball looking for potential. He brings me along to these things every year to mix with good society and practice good manners.”

“So, you are what they call a military brat,” I dare tease this goddess.

“Yes, I am. I’m a military brat.”

“Is it true what they say? That military brats are trouble?”

“Sometimes. It gets dull without a little bit of mischief, don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t know. I could never afford to think like that.”

“So only good boys and girls have what it takes to become a knight?”

“I guess I’m going to find out.”

“Tell me about your family.”

“My father is a knight. A captain. My mother used to be one. She left when she was just a lieutenant,” I’m starting to babble.

“Why?”

“She was a new bride who then became pregnant with me. She feared for my safety.”

“She sounds like a very noble person who values family.”

“Thank you, but that’s enough about me. Tell me more about yourself. What’s your name?”

“Anita Gable,” she gives me the biggest smile.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Anita,” I smile at this discovery.

It always has been my suspicion that heaven had a name but never imagined it would come with such a bewitching face. The music stops for a moment to commence the end of the melody and then the band began to play a different dance.

“I’m bored,” Anita says.

“What do you have in mind?” I’m almost too afraid to ask.

“Let’s get out of here,” she finds an escape.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I begin to wonder if she’s the type that uses her family ties and charming ways to seduce cadets into trouble. Her sport could get me expelled.

“Don’t be silly. I’m not going to get you in trouble. I just want to show you something.”

For some reason, that doesn't make me feel any better about her intentions.

She sneaks me deep into the gardens. When a view of a pond began to make itself clear, the knight’s daughter lets go of my hand and hunched over.

“Get down,” her whispers tell me to do the same, “and be very quiet.”

Very strategically, she leads me to a boulder right on the edge of the water. Anita carefully crawls on top and peaks over, like a huntress she spies on something.

“They’re here. Come on,” she gets excited.

I look over the rough edge and see ram-like creatures with a fishtail for back legs playing in the cool water. The water slides over their shiny coats and their scales catch the sparkle of the full moon’s light.

“Capricorns,” her lips tingle my ear. “They come here on every night of a full moon.”

“They are beautiful.”

“They are, aren’t they? We just have to remain undetected. If they spot us watching them bathe...”

The herd stops their kicking and splashing. Their necks stretch with tension and their heads turn. With the help of their teamwork of ear twitching, a breach in their secrecy is detected and they look right at us. Their hot nostrils puff with fury and their wild pupils dilate.

“Shit,” Anita trembles.

“What is it?” I worry.

“Um...run,” she pounces off the stone and takes off. I jump off the rock as the herd of star signs charges at us. Anita and I run for our lives. I have no idea what things like that could do, and I definitely don't want to find out.

Anita begins to lag behind. That dress is designed by the dance gods for certain but unfortunately isn't built for avoiding being trampled over. My arm grabs hers to help her run faster.

My boots aren’t any better for the athleticism of running away. Anita and I lose our footing as we flee down a hill and begin our rolling descent.

As the Capricorns reach the edge of the hill, they change their minds and no longer want to chase us in our tumbleweed-like roll. Instead, the starry creatures kick themselves off the ground and become airborne. As we finally reach the bottom of the hill, we see the star signs gallop into the sky. What a relief!

“Are you alright?” I groan in pain.

“Yes. I’m fine,” this is still fun for her. “Are you?”

“My back,” but I don't share her idea of a good time.

“Aw, what’s the matter grandpa? A tough knight like you can’t hang?”

“I can hang,” I walk over to lay down closer to her, “I can hang right here, on the ground, right next to you, and rest my back at the same time.”

With this new and exciting person, I lay still and study the sky. They are much farther away, but we still see the Capricorns. Offended by our presence, these creatures took the game way up high above us. In silence, Anita and I watch these celestial creatures bounce off the cotton candy clouds.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. How do you know where they like to hang out?”

“They come here all the time,” she looks a bit disappointed and sad at me. “And it's not just the Capricorns, other signs come down to visit all over the kingdom. Some come down to play like the Capricorns, The Geminis like to sing, the Leos keep watch in the dark alleys.”

She wants to keep going but doesn’t.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it.”

“No, this is the first time you actually paid attention to your surroundings. The star signs, the constellations, and angels are always around and always speaking to us, but it’s up to us to choose to see them and hear them. We can come up with the most perfect plans and meet every expectation, but it can all crash and mean nothing if we don’t listen to the ones who can foresee the outcome of our doings.”

I smile. Her intelligence amazes me. She knows so much and I don’t think she realizes how much she opened my eyes. This girl just explained to me the meaning of that ceiling in the West Lobby.