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His head spins as his legs wobble, trying desperately to right himself. Stumbling slightly, he lifts his head. A mansion looms up in front of him, white walls and giant wooden doors giving him a sense of luxury. A large fountain lays in the courtyard, the water a soothing sound amidst all the confusion.
He makes his way up to the doors, almost immediately being greeted by a creaking noise as the doors swing open. In front of him stands a regal looking man, adorned in a sharp black suit with gold details. Accessorizing his face is a black and gold mask.
“Ahhh, welcome! You must be one of the guests I invited to my masquerade party!”
Play it cool. You can’t let him know you don’t belong here.
Straightening up, Karl clears his throat. Chuckling, he replies, “Took me quite a while to get here. You could’ve told me you live in the middle of nowhere.”
“My apologies. You see, this is one of my smaller estates. I originally intended to host the ball in one of my larger ones, but something came up. So, this one will have to do. Oh, do come in, wouldn’t want you catching a cold.”
The man ushered Karl inside, calling out for his butler who was quick to scuttle over. The butler wore a simple black and white suit, his face also accessorized with a mask, this one gold with two gems, a red one and a green one.
“The wine, please.”
Fumbling nervously, the butler pulling wine out from a cabinet, filling two glasses. Walking over to the pair, he handed one to each of them.
Regarding Karl, the man in the black and gold mask asked, “Pardon me, I don’t believe I ever asked your name?”
“Oh, it’s Karl! And yours?”
“Sir Bellium. Pleased to meet you.”
After a short while, more and more guests started arriving.
The third guest made Karl’s stomach do flips and his heart skip a beat. The man, James, was undeniably attractive, with fluffy dark hair, an open-chested shirt and suspenders. His shoulders were broad, and it was obvious he was built. His mask was pure white, and only covered half of his face. Karl found he couldn’t drag his eyes away from James when the time came to introduce himself to another guest.
Karl knew immediately that this man must be an ancestor of his current lover. Every time he traveled, he always found himself unreasonably attracted to someone who reminded him of his current boyfriend. Or perhaps his lover was a reincarnation of James. Either way, he knew one thing for sure. It was going to be a long night.
Shortly after getting into the festivities, the lights of the mansion flickered, and all the guests were plunged into darkness. Running around frantically as he called for everyone, he let out an ‘oomph!’ as he ran into something.
Reaching his hands out and expecting the texture of a wall, he was surprised when his hands met something soft and covered in cloth. He yelped and jumped back, his face flushing as he realized he had most likely just touched another person.
“Karl?”
James.
His face flushed even deeper. Of course, because why wouldn’t he get stuck in a dark area with a man he had the hots for? Thankfully, he knew James wouldn’t be able to see his embarrassment due to the darkness of the room.
Realizing he’d been silent for too long and probably left James wondering if he’d imagined the collision, he cringed as he responded and his voice cracked.
“J-James?”
“Oh thank god, I thought I was alone in here.”
Karl heard some shuffling, and then James’ hand was on his forearm, pulling him closer.
“Stay close. We should try to stick together so we don’t get hurt.”
Karl felt like his brain was malfunctioning. The two stayed together, James navigating the room with Karl’s wrist in his hand as he drug Karl behind him. As the lights flickered back on, James’ hand remained on his wrist, even as the other guests entered the room. Karl wrenched his hand away, face a bright red. He immediately regretted the action, though, as James looked over to him with a bittersweet smile.
“Sorry, you looked shaken up after what happened, and I thought a steady hand might ground you.”
Way to go, idiot. Now you look like an asshole.
“No, no, I’m sorry. It was just a knee jerk reaction. Thank you, for being concerned about me.” He flashed James a bright smile, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t notice the slight blush on James’ cheeks as the other man rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.
Although a bit shaken up, the guests decided to continue the ball, not wanting to ruin the nice environment they had previously created. There was one fewer guest, but Sir Bellium explained that the guest had to leave early.
When the lights went off the second time, all the guests had been sitting on the floor. Karl had accidentally sat a little too close to James for it to be deemed normal, but James didn’t seem to mind.
Karl leaned closer to James instinctively, and the other man was quick to lay a comforting hand on Karl’s thigh. Karl let out a breath of relief, the knowledge of his newfound romantic interest being so close oddly comforting.
They could hear people moving around them, but James’ hand lay heavy on his leg as Karl attempted to stand up. Apparently sensing the question about to spill from his lips, James murmured, “Stay down here, with me. As long as we know where the other is no one can accuse us of anything if, say, something gets stolen.”
“Stay down here, with me.”
Karl gulped, and could feel his face getting red. He slowly lowered himself back to the ground, face growing even redder as James’ hand never left his thigh.
When the lights came back on, a woman’s scream could be heard from one of the nearby rooms. The two men shared a worried glance before they were on their feet, racing towards the sound of the scream. Karl let out a scream of his own at the sight that met them.
Laying on the floor of one of the rooms, eyes permanently open, was one of the other male guests, swimming in a pool of their own blood. Karl felt himself swaying towards the floor, feeling lightheaded. He felt something catch him before he hit the ground, vaguely registering James’ yelling out his name.
“Stay with me Karl.”
The foggy haze clouding his mind cleared slowly as he steadied his breathing. He noticed he was on his back, staring up into the dark abyss of the night sky. He groaned as he sat up, placing a hand onto his head. A comforting hand laid itself on his back, rubbing in soothing circles.
“W-what happened?”
“You passed out. I got you out of there as soon as I could, told Sir Bellium we were leaving. No way am I letting you stay there. Too dangerous.”
Karl’s heart swelled, finding his protectiveness extremely endearing. His browns scrunched together, though, as he realized he had nowhere to go. Sensing his concern, James was quick to dispel his worries.
“I have a cabin near here, maybe a 45 minute walk. It’s not ideal, but I figured it’s better than a murder mansion.”
Karl’s laugh rung loudly throughout the forest. He glanced over at the man beside him, eyebrows raised suggestively as he said, “Jeez James, we just met today, at least take me to dinner first.”
His laugh resonated even louder as James sputtered, eyes wide and face a bright red. “I-I, that’s not- w-“
Karl giggled as he continued to stutter, eventually fixing James with a soft gaze. “I was just messing with you. Come on, help me up so you can show me to your cabin.”
James stood up hurriedly, offering a hand down to Karl, who took it gratefully. They both smiled softly as they walked off into the forest, following a small, overgrown trail to a small log cabin.
As the night droned on, Karl grew more and more tired. Yawning, he rested his head on James’ shoulder. The other man smiled down sweetly at him. Ever the gentlemen, James offered him the bed, and after much debate, he reluctantly took it.
As more stars crawled their way into the sky and the sound of the crickets outside slowly seceded, James’ eyes finally closed. Karl knew when he awoke, he’d be back to his current timeline. Back to political debates and blown up nations.
Looking over to James’ sleeping form, he softly whispered, “Thank you for everything. Hopefully I remember you.”
He felt himself be pulled back to his own timeline as he slowly drifted to sleep.