9 The Masquerade Ball

THE DAYS PASSED by quickly for both the people in the palace and the rest of Gladiolum's citizens. With all the preparation for the ball and the hunt for the best outfits, the time for the ball had soon arrived.

On the day of the ball, the staff of the Ragan household tried to squeeze Alice into a hundred different dresses. There were every color and shade, some with frills, some with lace, others with ribbons. The three maids assigned to her fussed about her appearance, throwing dress after dress on her. Her corset was laced so tightly that she couldn't breathe, the necklace on her neck so heavy that she could barely even stand straight.

Alice couldn't understand why the people of Gladiolum needed to dress so extensively. In her opinion, the corset was an unnecessary torture device, along with the assortment of jewelry.

In the end, they settled on a pale periwinkle dress that showed off Alice's collarbones. It had a square neckline that had a lace trim, off-shoulder sleeves that were a translucent blue and reached her elbows before fanning out, and a very puffy skirt that dragged across the floor when she walked barefoot. With heels on, the dress still nearly skimmed the floor, barely an inch off.

The dress itself was made with different materials. While the main fabric was light and had a shine to it, the skirt had a translucent, shimmery layer that added volume to it. Upon closer inspection, flower detailing that was a shade darker could be seen on the main fabric of the dress, adding depth and dimension.

The whole look was finished with a dazzling diamond necklace Wyatt had forced upon her, along with a matching pair of earrings. Her hair was curled and framed her face, two thin strands pulled back and secured with a sapphire clip.

Alice felt like a walking time bomb. If she had worn such an outfit in the 21st century, she would be the victim of robbery cases without a doubt. Any piece of jewelry on her would probably provide her with a comfortable life for at least a decade. Yet, in the weird aristocratic world of Gladiolum, she was adorned from head to toe with jewels like they were worth no more than a cheap dollar.

"Simply dazzling," Wyatt smoothly complimented upon setting sights on her when she had descended the stairs of the mansion. He was dressed in an all-white suit, complemented with gold buttons and detailing. As usual, his hands were covered by white gloves. "What a magnificent sight to behold. Don't you agree, Charlie?"

On the other hand, the younger Ragan heir was dressed in a black suit. The first two buttons of his shirt were left open, showing a set of pale collarbones and fair skin. In his coat pocket was a violet handkerchief tucked in, matching his hair color. On his suit jacket was a thin silver chain, attached to his shoulder.

Alice realized not long after arriving in the Ragan household that the people of Gladiolum had a wide variety of natural hair and eye colors that were impossible in her original world. Wyatt's snow-white hair and Charlie's violet strands were their natural hair colors, taking after their mother and father respectively.

She had asked during her first few days in the Ragan household whether their natural hair colors were indeed such striking fashion shades. However, Charlie had laughed in her face and called her ridiculous for thinking otherwise. Apparently, they hadn't invented any permanent hair dye of any sort yet and it was impossible for them to change up their hair colors through means other than a wig. Ever since then, Alice tried her best to conceal her surprise whenever she encountered someone with an even more bizarre hair color.

Charlie, whose face was a brilliant scarlet, glanced at the floor, then to the ceiling, then to the main doors. He seemed determined to look anywhere but at his brother and Alice, fidgeting where he stood.

"Yes," he answered silently. His eyes betrayed him for a fraction of a second and darted to look at Alice, a look which she caught. When he noticed she was looking, he quickly glanced away.

Alice tried her best to suppress a chuckle. The young Ragan heir often acted younger than other boys his age that Alice knew back in her hometown. However, that didn't mean that he was any less lovable. He was a little immature, a little childish, but that also meant that he wasn't restrained by the burdens of adulthood like Alice often was, despite their one-year age gap.

In fact, Alice found out soon after she had arrived in this new world that the people here were all very different from the norm of her own world. It was no surprise since they lived by different societal rules and structures, resulting in vastly different mindsets. Perhaps it was because of all the stories she had read or the movies she had watched. All thanks to that, Alice didn't find it too hard to accept that she had been whisked into a new world after she got over her initial shock.

'I just have to find a way to go back home', she had always told herself to get through the days. 'But until then, why not enjoy something different for once? Life is finally not as bland as back in Riverside Creek. Reality is finally filled with spice, just like I had always wanted.''

"Thank you," Alice sincerely thanked, receiving the compliment with a graceful curtsey. She held her dress up a little, examining the skirt. "I've not worn anything so extravagant before. I can hardly even walk in this thing."

"That's only because you insist on wearing commoner rags during the daytime," Charlie rebutted. "The nobility often wears dresses like this every single day."

"Though of course, not as excessive. And the styles of the dresses also depend on the weather and season," Wyatt added. "But enough of the capital's fashion. The carriage is already here and ready to bring us to the palace. We mustn't keep the royal family waiting."

It seemed like a page ripped out of the fairytale storybooks Alice binged on in her childhood. The horse-drawn carriage that waited for them in front of the steps of the mansion was a glittering white under the setting sun. When the golden sunlight hit, it cast a yellowish glow to the white wood, creating a tint of gold that sparkled like jewels under intense light. The two horses that pulled the carriage in front were both strong, strapping white stallions. An attendant held the carriage door open, helping them into the vehicle one by one.

When seated inside, the first thing Alice couldn't help but notice was how unbearably warm it was. She was too used to blasting the air-conditioner at full power during the hotter summer days but that wasn't an option any longer. She had stepped into an ancient era that resembled the Victorian era, maybe even further back to the 1600s. All Alice could do at this point was to draw the curtains open before rapidly fanning herself with a small handheld fan.

Slowly, once everyone was seated on the plush velvet cushions, the carriage started to rock. The scenery blurred past them outside the window and the leisurely pace soon quickened to a steady gallop.

"Are we in a rush?" Charlie asked, from Alice's right. Wyatt sat on the opposite side, facing them both with a smile, his back towards the driver, separated by a curtain for privacy.

Wyatt raised a hand, checking the little pocket watch he held in his palm. "I might've promised Prince Hartley that I'll be a little early to help him prepare for the ball. So yes, we're running a little behind time."

As the brothers conversed, Alice found it hard to pay attention to the words exchanged. Her gloved fingers tightly fisted the fabric of her dress, almost to the point of crumpling the material. She had experienced many new things ever since she had woke up in that open field near the forest, things that would've only been possible in dreams if she had been in her original world. However, she was about to attend a ball at the royal palace to celebrate a prince's birthday. Things seemed to only be getting more and more outrageous with each day she spent in Gladiolum.

She hadn't even noticed that her breath was getting ragged, taking in inconsistent breaths that were deep but failed to fill her lungs sufficiently. It wasn't until she felt a hand over her own did she look away from the window and the tumbling scenery outside. A single white glove was placed over the back of her hand, warm, affectionate, and reassuring. It seemed to hold the effect of calming down her thunderous heart instantly.

"Are you nervous?" Wyatt asked, a soft smile shaping his lips, as usual. However, there was no sinister plots and unspoken malicious intentions hidden behind that smile. That made it feel different from his usual, standard expression. This smile was kinder.

She grinned sheepishly. "Can't help it. I've never been to a ball before, after all. I'm not sure what's the standard etiquette or how to behave in certain situations. I don't want to embarrass your family."

"There's only one thing you need to know about balls, to be very frank."

"Just one?" Alice echoed.

Leaning back, Wyatt pulled back his hand, folding his arms over his chest as he crossed one leg over the other. That kind smile turned cold immediately, a layer of frost gathering.

"Yes. Always wear a fake smile. Even if you are brought any offense, laugh it off, wear a smile while you argue with words that sound pretty but cuts deep. There's nothing noble about the nobility and no one is truly your friend in the world of the rich and powerful."

"That sounds just about right." She lowered her head, puffing out a breath of air at her hair. "That goes for my hometown as well. In fact, I think it's universal."

"Well, what differs us from your hometown will be that you will have to be especially careful of the royal family of Gladiolum, especially the queen."

"But brother," Charlie cut in, "Don't you work for Prince Hartley? That's his birth mother. It's not as though you work for—"

"Charlie."

The younger boy immediately pressed his lips shut at his brother's warning tone. He chewed on his bottom lip, looking as though he desperately wanted to voice his thoughts but would no doubt be reprimanded the second he spoke words.

"You have to understand that each member of the royal family operates on their own. I work for the crown prince, not the queen." Then, he turned his attention back to Alice. " And one more thing, Alice. Be very careful not to make the same mistake as my brother did. Do not, under any circumstances, gossip so frivolously about the royal family."

Wyatt's words of warning echoed in Alice's ears even after Miles, who had been riding a horse outside the carriage the entire time, knocked on the window to inform them that the palace was now in view. It continued to ring even after they had been assisted out of the carriage and towards the grand staircases that led to the ballroom beyond. After all, those words Wyatt had spoken in caution seemed more like a death threat than any other thing she had heard within her short stay in this new world.

"One wrong word, one wrong step," Wyatt had said, "And it might be off with your head."