Stranger on the balcony

Elaina stepped out of the main hall where the ball was ongoing. Having not caught a glimpse of her brother inside she decided to check outside. There were three ways she could go, straight, left or right. The paintings of the left hallway called her and so she decided to go there.

There was only one feeling as she stared at the diverse paintings, a feeling of nostalgia. It was odd, she had never been to the castle before.

A painting of an iceberg called out to her and as she stared at it, she didn't know when she touched it. The tip of the iceberg shone in the dark sea with a pristine shade of white while below the shoreline was a much greater ice surrounded by the deep, dark, and freezing waters.

A well-depicted painting with a hidden story that she could decipher. A strange feeling of deja-vu hit her and a memory of a tiny hand on the same spot where her hand was flashed in her head.

The giggles and the enthusiastic voice of a little child echoed in her mind. She tore her gaze away from the painting and stared into the hallway. Letting the feeling overtake her, Elaina walked deeper into the castle.

...

When her senses returned to her, Elaina stood on a balcony with a magnificent view of the castle grounds. Her hair flowed in the direction of the cool and gentle midnight breeze and she had her eyes closed as she enjoyed the cool breeze.

The feeling of being one with the wind while staring at the view below was a feeling her body couldn't forget.

And that brought questions to her mind. As far as she knew, the status of her family would be considered middle class, so there was no way they could have access to the castle. She knew that her father had an important job but she didn't know if it was important enough to have connections to the king.

Elaina looked at some guests who were just arriving as they got out of their cars and went up the stairs and some others who were scattered around the castle grounds.

A stronger gust of wind blew past her, causing her to shiver. It was time for her to return inside. She turned around ready to head back inside when she bumped into someone.

"Ah, I'm sorry," she quickly apologized and looked up to see a man wearing a full mask of two shades, black and silver. His face was covered but she could tell that he was handsome.

Their eyes met and sparks ran through her body. It was an instant attraction, a pull she couldn't deny. Her face heated up and butterflies filled her stomach. The feeling got her wondering if love, at first sight felt similar to how she was feeling. She was in a trance, she couldn't look away from his blue and green eyes.

The upper half of his iris was a beautiful shade of ocean blue while towards the middle, it slowly transitioned into a fresh and pristine shade of green that flowed till it reached the other middle then transitioned into blue again. It was like a cycle, she could stare into them all day and not get tired.

The man moved closer to her and placed his hands on opposite sides of her, trapping her in his arms.

"W-Who are you?" Elaina asked and the man's eyes narrowed. He leaned in closer to her face which made her lean backward on reflex while placing her hands on the railings to support herself.

The man's eyes narrowed even further, not only was she forgetful but she was running too.

"Elaina," he called but at the same time, they both heard a light flapping sound, causing them to look downwards and his lips curled into a smirk. The side of her slitted dress had parted because of the way her legs were bent leaving her right leg fully exposed to his view.

His eyes traveled up her smooth never-ending leg until it disappeared under her dress, to her waist, and then up her chest and stopped at her neck. He leaned in closer and took a deep breath, inhaling her sweet Jasmine-vanilla scent, letting it fill his lungs.

"Mine," came his deep and seductive voice that sent sparks through her body, curling her toes in pleasure.

His lips were so close to her neck that Elaina felt them move. Butterflies danced around in her stomach and a blush crept up her neck to her face.

"All mine," he claimed as he took in her scent again. He raised his head back up and noticed how red her face was. He smiled in amusement, at least her body still remembered him, her reactions hadn't changed a bit.

His eyes moved to her hair which had ruffled due to the breeze. "Your hair is scattered," he stated before placing his hand on her head to smoothen it out and Elaina found herself leaning into his touch.

The man stared into her light brown eyes that held confusion and questions that she couldn't bring out of her mouth. He slightly cocked his head to the side as he tried to understand her eye color which was different from what he remembered.

On further notice, he saw that one was brighter than the other and he figured that there was some kind of mechanism that changed her eye color. It was similar to the way the night creatures could change their eye colors. The humans in this era sure have gotten smarter, Marl thought in his head.

***

A brown-haired man walked through the corridor with a frown on his face. He got to an intersection of corridors and looked left and right before taking the straight route. How could Mael have disappeared when they still had a lot of work to do?!

He sighed in frustration, they were far behind schedule. He took a glance at an open entrance that led to a balcony and saw a man standing there.

The man's back looked oddly familiar, he thought in his head and was about to walk past the balcony when his eyes widened in realization.

He took two steps backward and walked into the balcony, "Your majesty! What are you doing here? And why did you sever our link?!" he demanded.

"Do you know how long it took to find you? At this rate, the ball would end before you make an appearance!"

Elaina's eyes traveled between the two men. It seemed it was time for him to leave because he stood straight but she still didn't know who he was.

"Y-you still haven't told me who you are," came her unexpectedly shy voice.

"Don't ignore me, Mael!" Xacier exclaimed and a nerve popped on Mael's forehead,

'I'll kill you, Xacier' he said in his mind.

"Why?" Xacier suddenly asked but got no answer.

Mael moved his hand from her hair and moved it downwards towards the parted side of her dress. He picked the part of the dress that was in between her legs with his long fingers and covered her exposed leg. His fingers lightly grazed her skin in the process and Elaina felt a jolt of electricity run through her body.

"Let's meet again, Elaina," he stated with a look of longing which went unnoticed. They met again after so many years but this wasn't the right time again. The thought annoyed him and his grip on the railings tightened.

Fighting the urge to claim and mark her right there, he took a step back and turned around, walking away from her and out of the balcony with a confused Xacier trailing behind him.

Elaina felt sad as the distance between them grew and when he looked at her one last time before he disappeared behind the wall, she could tell that the feeling was mutual.

She leaned on the railings and took a deep breath which she released with a sigh. "What an odd night," she said and the breeze carried her words into the night.

-

Elaina got to the last stairs and stopped. There were three choices available to her. Left, right, and straight ahead. The problem was, she didn't even know how she got to the balcony in the first place. Her eyes traveled through the dark corridors as she tried to remember any mark she could have seen on her way here but there was nothing.

A nervous gulp went down her throat, she was doomed.