The Magic of Aurelian

Eleonor

Solara and I walked into the ballroom arm-in-arm. I was scared to alert Aria to my presence, but luckily there was no herald to announce our arrival as it was a masquerade.

Aunt Jacinta went off to find Uncle Callum, leaving me and Solara on our own. We stood at the balcony looking out at the crowd.

“Wow,” Solara’s eyes widened as she realized that a majority of the young women were dressed in red…as red roses to be exact. “I guess everyone got the memo about the red.”

I laughed out at the sea of red, “It’s good the dress got ruined then.”

“Come on, let’s see what they have to eat.” We walked down the stairs, not minding anyone else.

“Watch where you’re going!” I immediately recognized the shriek. Aria was at it again. I looked over and examined her dress. I had to say, it was cute but unfortunately nothing special. Probably because half the girls here were wearing something similar.

A girl in a pink dress, who I assumed was Sylvie, was standing next to her. Aria turned to her and nearly yelled, “You’ll be sorry if I find out you had anything to do with this.”

“Of course not, I didn’t tell anyone about the red roses. I swear, Aria.”

“That’s Lady Aria to you, we might not use titles at school, but never forget to do so in public.”

“Yes, Lady Aria.” She bowed her head.

We walked by them, and I whispered to Solara, “Those two are my roommates.”

“They’re certainly something. We should go introduce ourselves.” Even with the mask, I could see her eyes light up with mischief.

“Solara, no!” I tried to pull her back, but it was too late.

“Excuse me,” She walked right up to Aria, “But I just had to come over and say that I love your dress. There are so many roses here tonight, but you really stand out.”

“Oh…” Aria put her hand on her chest and feigned modesty. “Thank you, I had hoped to be the only one in red tonight, but it seems everyone heard Prince Kiran likes red.”

“You really pull off the look.” Aria didn’t seem to notice, but I caught the sarcasm in Solara’s voice.

“You’re one of the visiting Air Fairies, right?”

“Yes, my father is the Duke of Breezewood. We’re one of the most prosperous families in Zephyria.” I didn’t think it was possible for her to straighten her shoulders any further, but she somehow managed to do so.

“Oh, there’s Prince Kiran!” Sylvie looked at the man dressed as an oak tree that was strolling our way. I wouldn’t have recognized him as Kiran if not for Sylvie, but now that I knew it was him, there was no mistaking his eyes.

“Prince Kiran,” Aria tucked her arm into his and pulled him into our circle. “Ladies,” He bowed politely to each of us.

“It’s so lovely to see you again. You’ll be sure to save a dance or two for me.”

“I’m sure there’s time to dance with each of you.” He said politely, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable with Aria’s forced proximity. She didn’t seem to notice or care as she continued to hold onto his arm.

“I’m so sorry, Miss, but my mother is expecting me.” He attempted to pull his arm from Aria’s grasp.

“Miss? It’s Lady, actually. Don’t you recognize me?”

He raked his eyes over her face without an ounce of recognition.

“It’s me, Lady Aria.”

“Oh, of course, I see it now. I didn’t recognize you with the mask.” He looked even less thrilled about her upon finding out who she was. “As I said, I should be on my way. It was nice seeing you, Lady Aria, Lady Sylvie.” He bowed to them each in turn before turning to me.

He paused and gave me a once over, looking confused. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met.” I was about to open my mouth and reveal my identity when I realized Aria was still standing right next to me. My tongue suddenly stopped working as I thought of how to introduce myself without Aria finding out it was me. Kiran smiled warmly at me, and for a moment, I got lost in his eyes.

“Hello, Your Highness, I’m Lady…Lady...” I wracked my brain for what to say when Solara beat me to it. “Lady Ella, Your Highness, and I am Lady Stellara. He looked at each of us in turn. “You’re both Light Fairies?”

“Yes, we are from…Glimmerlore.” Solara gave me a look indicating for me to play along.

“Glimmerlore? I didn’t realize anyone from Glimmerlore had accepted our invitation for the ball.”

“It was just the two of us who came.” At that moment, I wanted the Earth to open up and swallow me as Solara kept digging the lie deeper.

Kiran turned back my way, smiling gently, “I really do have to go now, but please do save a dance for me, Lady Ella. He picked up my right hand and kissed the back of it before he left.”

“We should be on our way as well, it was lovely to meet you.” Solara gave the other girls a quick wave before heading to the food table.

“What was that about?” I whispered to her. "You lied about who we are."

"You don't want Aria finding out who you are, do you?"

"No, but now Prince Kiran thinks I'm someone else. What will happen when he goes looking for me...the real me?"

“I don't know, I panicked and told him we weren't from here. You can always tell him the truth later. I'm sure he'll understand when you tell him about Aria. Also, don’t tell me you didn’t notice he was flirting with you?”

“He was not,” I grabbed a plate and started piling fruit on it.

“Please, you were the only one whose hand he kissed. Lady Aria was throwing daggers at you with her eyes.”

“That’s just how she always looks,” I brushed off Solara’s claims, but a part of me felt a spark of excitement at Kiran finding me interesting.

“How unfortunate for her, but I'm quite certain she was jealous, now let’s go find some chocolate.”

We spent the next few minutes sampling the desserts. My brother, Orion, showed up and offered me a dance. I wanted to decline, but he looked like he could use a break from dancing with the noble ladies.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” He asked.

“It’s a ball, you know I’ve never been fond of them. Mother insisted, though.”

“That she did…I myself feel out of my element. I’m not sure I’m cut out for all of these fancy ladies. I really hope Prince Kiran doesn’t choose any of them as his bride as I’ll eventually work for them.

“They’re not all bad, but it would be a nightmare if you got stuck working with some of them.” I laughed, thinking specifically of Aria.

Kiran

“An oak tree? I looked at myself in the mirror, wondering how I let my mother talk me into this.

“Yes, oak trees are strong and majestic.” My mother, who was dressed as Mother Earth, came over and adjusted one of my leaves. “Also, the green and brown bring out your eyes.”

“Everyone’s already going to know it’s me anyway.” I made my way down to the ballroom, ready to get this night over with.

As usual, I spent most of my time greeting guests. Once the dancing started, I would be expected to be out on the dance floor, so I tried to step away for a few minutes but was stopped by none other than Aria.

She was dressed like a red rose like so many of the other young women in attendance, and I didn’t recognize her until she revealed her identity. Her line of questioning the other day at school made sense now. I told her I like roses, and here she is dressed as a rose. I’ll have a good laugh next week when she shows up dressed as a mouse.

There were three blondes with Aria, one of whom I was certain was Sylvie. The other two, I wasn’t sure about, but the one dressed in yellow caught my eye. She was a breath of fresh air in the sea of red and pink, and there was something about her smile that drew me to her.

I planned to find her again but had lost her in the crowd of people. I finally spotted her from across the room at one of the dessert tables. I started to make my way to her, but I was stopped by several roses along the way. My mother begged me not to be rude, so I ended up dancing with several of them before I was able to spot her again. Lady Ella, she had said her name was.

I watched as she danced with another man. She smiled and laughed at something he said, which made me feel all kinds of things I had never before felt. Mainly jealousy...I wanted to be the one who made her laugh and who caught her eye. As soon as the current song ended, I parted with the young woman I was dancing with and made my way through the crowd.

“Excuse me, but may I have the next dance?” I held out my hand for Lady Ella, and she gave me a soft nod as she placed her hand in mine. A slow melody started up, and I held her close as we swayed to the music.

“Lady Ella from Glimmerlore, right?” She swallowed loudly before nodding her head.

“Yes…you have a good memory.”

“Not always,” I chuckled, “I suppose you just caught my attention. Are you friends with Lady Aria?”

“No, I wouldn’t call her a friend. I met her just a few minutes before I met you.” I was relieved to hear that she wasn’t a friend of Arias, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle that.

“Have you ever been to Fairmist before?”

“Ni, it’s my first time here.”

“And what have you thought of it so far?”

“It’s lovely here, much warmer than back home.”

“Could you see yourself living here?” The question left my mouth before I could think it through, why did I even ask that? I groaned internally.

“Yes, I believe I could see myself living here. There’s so much to experience here in Fairmist.” She looked up at me with her green eyes, and for a moment I was lost in her soft vanilla scent. She smelled like cookies and fresh bread.

“Would you go for a walk with me?” I asked as the song came to an end.

“Now?”

“Yes, now. The garden is just outside, and it should still be warm outside. I think you’ll like it there.”

“Let’s go then.”

I weaved through the partygoers, and led her outside. This was a smaller private garden we had, as I didn’t want to run into anyone else.

“It’s beautiful here.” She gazed at all of the flowers around us. The moon gave off just enough light to see, and her eyes twinkled as she smiled. The light reflecting off her mask made her look even more radiant.

I reached back to untie my mask.

“I thought we weren’t allowed to take off our masks tonight.”

“We’re not, but you already know who I am, so I figured it doesn’t matter.” I shrugged as I finished pulling off my mask and walked to stand in front of her.

“I’m keeping my mask on.” She giggled as she tapped her mask, “You’ll just have to wonder what I look like.”

“Well, I already know you’re beautiful, even with the mask.” I gave her my best smile before picking up her hand and lacing our arms together as we walked. We continued to talk as we walked through the paths of the garden. I enjoyed her joyful personality, and I liked how she made me feel happy. Time went by quickly, and before I realized it, the city clock struck midnight.

Lady Ella looked shocked. “I completely lost track of time. I have to go now, my family will be expecting me.”

She lifted her skirt as if to run off, but I grabbed her arm to stop her. “Wait, will you be here next week? Can I see you again?”

“Yes, but I must go now.” With that, she rushed inside and left me alone in the garden. I slowly made my way back inside only to realize that I had asked Eleanor to come. My time with Lady Ella had completely distracted me. Eleonor must think I’m the worst friend. I should look for her now. If I can even find her with all of these masks. I’ll have to make it up to her the next time I see her.