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When I got back to my room after calling in an early evening, I figured I still had quite a bit of time before Emet-Selch showed up, so I decided to take a moment and finally relax and revel in the quiet. I enjoyed his company, of course, but sometimes being alone was a need instead of a want.
And I must say, the hot water of my bath felt amazing on my aching muscles.
I had just stepped out of my bathtub, though, when the Ascian burst into the room with the force of a tidal wave. I nearly jumped out of my skin, his sudden entrance almost making me slip on the slick tile floor. I grabbed on to the side of the wooden tub to steady myself.
“What the hells-!”
He paused for a moment, realizing that I was not clothed, a puddle of water slowly forming under my feet. Immediately, he averted his eyes as I quickly reached for a towel to cover my body, my face growing hot. I was surprised he bothered.
“Have you finished, yet, hero? I feel like I have been waiting an eternity.”
Ah, there it was. The drama, the attitude.
“You could’ve knocked on the door, you know. You do know how to knock, don’t you?” I put my hands on my hips.
“Of course I know how to knock. I simply did not feel like it.”
“Yes, that seems to be a pattern, doesn’t it? You can look again, I’m covered.”
He turned back to me, visibly relieved. I raised an eyebrow and opened my mouth, but it was as if he had read the question on my lips.
“Think what you will, but I am still a gentleman.” He shrugged, then moved towards me. “We’re going out.”
“What? But-”
Before I could spit out my words, he lifted his hand and snapped. My towel was replaced with a long, glittering, purple gown that hugged my waist tightly, laced up in the back with a ribbon, my shoulders bare and sparkled with a shimmering dust. White, flimsy gloves made of silk slid over my arms, stopping above my elbows, and a pair of absolutely ridiculous heeled shoes on my feet. My dripping hair was instantly dry, swept up and pinned to my head.
I blinked, in total shock, frozen in place for a moment.
“Much better,” he said, his amber gaze looking me up and down.
“What-”
Another snap of his fingers and his usual robes changed, as well- a black suit with a purple vest that matched the color of the dress he’d just thrown me into. His jacket hugged his waist, snugly and the tails hung long behind him. My eyes widened even further, seeing him in these strange clothes. Loathe as I was to admit, they fit him extremely well. He smirked when he saw my face.
“Like what you see, my dear hero?” I stuttered a few words, unsure how to respond, before I regained control of my mind.
“Will you please tell me-”
He held up his finger, halting me again, then flattened his hand, palm up. A mask materialized, and he pushed it towards me.
“Put this on,” he ordered. When I didn’t react, he finally paused and watched me for a few moments as I stared at it. “Well?”
“Where are we going?” I asked, finally able to get a word in. I gently lifting the mask from his hand and examined it closer, resigning myself to his whims. “This is beautiful.”
“We’re going to a celebration,” he told me, ignoring my other remark. “I believe the inhabitants of this particular shard call it a Masquerade.”
“Shard?” I asked, looking up at him, quickly. He wrapped his arm around my waist and I heard the hum of his portal opening. “Wait-!” Before I could protest anymore, he shoved me through.
When I fell through the other side, tripping on the carpet, he gripped my arm to steady me. I could hear music and chatter in the room beyond where we landed, but at the present, we were alone in a hallway.
“Be a bit more careful, won’t you, hero?” He let go of my arm in favor of straightening his jacket, the snapped again. His own mask- his Ascian mask- appeared in his hand. He bent down close to me and I found myself pressed against the wall, his face close enough I could feel the warmth of his breath. When he spoke, his voice was low, intimate. “This Shard is without magic, so do try not to draw attention to yourself.” He lifted his mask to his face and nodded for me to do the same, then held his hand out to me.
“Without magic?” I asked, confused, and slid my gloved fingers into his. He gripped them gently, but firmly. “That’s-but-how do they do anything?” He stated leading me towards the main hall- where I assumed this masquerade was taking place.
“Just like you cook with your hands, so too do these people, although they make everything from scratch.”
The thought struck me as incredibly odd, but I suppose when you’d grown up in a world filled with all sorts of magic, it was hard to imagine life without it.
We stopped outside a tall double door, where two attendants waited at either side. They leaned forward and opened each side for us in unison.
The music filtered in- quick and bright, mostly comprised of some sort of string instrument. My eyes widened at the size of the room, the volume of people dancing about and the colors they were clad in. High above in the vaulted ceiling hung a large, crystal chandelier, sparkling, reflecting everything in the room. The breath left me.
“At a loss for words?” Emet-Selch inquired beside me. He tucked my hand into his arm and led me inside. As a waiter passed us, he dropped my arm and smoothly picked up two thin glasses. He held on out to me, but I looked at it, mildly suspicious.
“What is it?”
“Champagne. Alcohol.”
I pursed my lips, but lifted it from his hand. Once we had both taken a drink, he set his flute down on a nearby table and held his hand out to me again.
“Dance with me.” I bristled a little at his demand.
“I don’t-I don’t know how.” He huffed a laugh and forcibly reached for my hand.
“Hydaelyn’s great champion can’t dance. Unbelievable.” As he tugged me out on to the floor, amidst other couples, he snapped the fingers of his free hand. I felt a prickle in my skin, as if my limbs were threatening to fall asleep, but it was gone as soon as it had started.
“What did you just do?” I asked in a loud whisper. “You just warned me about using magic, you insufferable hypocrite.”
He positioned me in front of him and put one of my hands on the curve of his shoulder, then moved his down to my waist. The other he kept ahold of, holding them both out to the side.
“Lighten up, my dear hero. I just taught you how to dance. Let go for once in your miserably short existence and enjoy it.” With that, a new song started and so did we, the tingling of his magic tugging at me as we danced, showing me the steps.
Everything in me wanted to be stubborn. He’d forced me away from a night of calm relaxation- something I desperately needed.
But as I let him twirl me around the floor, feeling the skirt of my dress move about my body, flowing in the rhythm of our movement, I determined he was right. Maybe I didn’t need to relax. Maybe I just needed to live. So, I did as I was bid, leaning into him and letting his magic take control of me.
The Ascian tensed for a few moments, but I saw a hint of a smile on his lips.
We continued on, but when we were both out of breath, he led me outside on to an unoccupied balcony. I sat down on a wooden bench that sat against a delicate metal railing that overlooked a large landscape with a manicured lawn and well-curated flowers. I slid the mask off of my face and marvelled at the beauty before me as Emet-Selch went to get us something to drink.
In that moment, it felt as if a rock dropped into my stomach. This was another shard. They had no magic, no defenses. They were clueless. And he...
“Just water, this time, I’m afraid,” he said when he’d returned, holding a glass of clear liquid to me. I set the mask in my lap and accepted it, letting the cold liquid slide down my throat and refreshing my body. He leaned against the rail next to my seat. I looked down at the mask, the smile I’d had for most of the night drooping.
“What is it now?” he sighed, annoyance tinging the edges of his voice.
“This world will be rejoined if your plan comes to fruition.”
“Yes,” he said, simply.
“How could you give up…” I lost my words, trying not to tear up. I’d spent many nights with him, in his arms and the weight of his actions-what he wanted to do- had been pressing in on me ever since, threatening to suffocate me. Some nights it was easier to hold back the sobs, the anger at how unfair everything had turned out to be. But on nights like this...
“It isn’t about giving up, hero,” he said, turning and leaning on the railing with his arms. “The beauty of our world, our true world, was nothing compared to this. It isn’t about giving up. It’s about making things better again. If something was broken, wouldn’t you fix it?”
I was silent as I looked up at him. He took a deep breath. I would have given anything, in that moment, to not think the thoughts pounding on my skull. He looked down at the mask that still sat in my lap.
“That mask,” he started. I gently picked it up again. “Back when the world was whole, it belonged to a very dear friend of mine.”
“Why did you give it to me?”
“That is the question, isn’t it?” He looked back out towards the lawn, the smile on his face sad. Before long, he pushed himself off the railing and motioned to me, his defensive demeanor changing. “Come.”
I hesitated for a moment, but set the mask down on the bench and stood up. He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me, only to set my backside down on to the cold metal, then wedged himself between my legs.
“Let us put this morose topic to rest for now.”
I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind as I wrapped my arms loosely around him, telling myself that I’d absolutely be able to contain the light and things would be alright. He pressed his forehead against mine for a moment, then tilted his chin up so his mouth gently captured my pouting lips and breathed in my scent. I relaxed into him, desperately wanting to do nothing more.
Eventually, we went back to the dance floor.
When the party had started to die down, I sat in a chair at one of the many tables in the ballroom. I kicked off my shoes and slouched heavily against the back of the chair, the sparkling fabric of my gown crinkling as I did. I was exhausted- and once I’d been able to quell my thoughts, I’d done just as the Ascian had suggested and let loose.
He came over to me, kneeling next to my chair. “Are you ready to go?”
“No,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t want to go back.”
His eyes softened as he took me in. “I don’t, either.”
In one quick motion, he lifted me to his chest and disappeared. When we appeared again, we were on the roof. He set me down on the tiles, and sat beside me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I leaned into him, letting my head drop on to his collarbone, and looked up.
Thousands of stars were out.
He rested his chin on the top of my head.
“How about we just stay out here tonight?”
“Mm,” I hummed, eyes sweeping over the sky, taking everything in. “That sounds nice.”