ELORA
“Hey!” A chirpy voice I recognized called behind me as I twisted the key to lock the general access doors to the library, turning around to see Lucy smiling and waving wildly as she skipped towards me.
“Hello, there! The royal librarian herself.” She stood before me now, panting from her exercise, curtsying and smiling even more. “May I have a word, Ma’am?” She said with a feigned accent.
“Yes. How may I help you, Miss?” I asked, taking on the role that she had so bestowed on me. She made Royal librarian sound like it was nobility. I took that, raising my head and shoulders a bit.
“Ma’am, I’m here to get your butt home.” She laughed so hard that I couldn’t help but join in and we fell to the carpet clutching our stomachs at her antics. After we had exhausted ourselves from laughing as hard as we had, we lay there for a second until someone made a noise clearing their throat.
We immediately jumped to our feet, straightening our gowns. I half thought it was a nobleman that would punish our recklessness but it was Kano standing there smiling mischievously at us.
This time, it was his turn to laugh, and so he did; a bellowing sound with a slight cackle. Then he stopped and took off his cap, letting his shoulder-length lock of hair fall free.
“What are you doing lying down here?” He asked, laughing again.
“Surveying the floors,” I said, and Lucy nodded in agreement, smiling.
“Oh well!” Kano said. “I know you may have heard but I’m bringing you the invitation directly. Tonight’s the party.” He stated matter of factly.
“That’s what I was coming to tell you,” Lucy said smiling at me and throwing her arms around me. “Will you come? Please?”
“Well, I don’t know really…” I knew how most of these parties went. If this one was anything like the ones Ethan had thrown, then it would be quite an issue.
“Hey!” Lucy called pulling me out of my thoughts with a snap of her finger. “Come, on! You’ll love it.”
“And it’s a masked party,” Kano added, to strengthen her case. “You can be hidden all the while.”
“That sounds like it’ll be fun,” I said, thinking out loud.
“Everyone will be there. All the Castle staff would have the night off till tomorrow.” Kano said with his hands on his waist now, awaiting my decision.
He must have realized that getting me to come would make Lucy happy, and he needed Lucy to be happy.
Had she realized yet how far he was willing to go for her?
Or would I have to spell it to her again?
I made a mental note to tease her about it at a later time.
“Well, wouldn’t that be catastrophic?” I asked. “I mean, how would the Castle run when we’re off partying?”
“You don’t worry about that. The King is well aware of our plans to party the night away.” Lucy said smiling.
I found the idea of shutting down the Castle not only risky but weird. In the days that I had stayed at the Castle, I had realized that at every single minute something needed to be done by someone at the Castle at each hour.
“Fine!” I said. “I’ll come.”
“Yaaay!” Lucy exclaimed, doing a little dance. “I’ll come to pick you up by ten. It’s going to be a blast.”
I surely hope not.
•••••••••••••••••
Lucy didn’t wait till it was ten to show up dressed in a pretty slip of a dress she insisted everyone would be wearing, handing me one in a daring red that she had brought for me.
“But why?” I asked as we stepped out of the room.
She smiled mischievously and winked.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” She said. “Here, I’ve chosen a mask for you and me.”
She handed me a blood-red mask with peacock feathers attached on one side and an assortment of glass beads outlining it. It was a beautiful mask that matched my dress.
“Thank you!” I said putting it on as we walked along. “And yours?” I said, turning and stopping in awe.
Lucy’s mask was sterling silver with workings of tiny glass beads and lace hanging from it so that it covered her eyes and her mouth.
“Both masks are beautiful!”