100 Advancement Ball

I've been absentminded.

Perhaps so much that it was enough to pick up the wrong outfit right after taking a long bath in my brother's room. The beautiful gown pooled down to the floor of my bedroom, glittering from the sunset's light. I only had a few hours left until the Advancement Ball, but being a "boy", I hardly needed so much time to prepare.

So, putting on the suit (and this time, not the gown) was easy enough.

A few hours ago, however, I learned that my brother had placed a new article of fashion into the package with the gown. It was a red and white mask. It was elegant in its simplicity, and it was so simple that it could suit a woman or a man easily.

I grinned when I realized the message it had.

My brother basically just offered me a choice: choose the first mask, which was made entirely masculine in shape and design, or choose the more ambiguously crafted mask .

Feeling rebellious, I decided to appease my brother, even though he won't even be there to see me wear it.

'The red and white mask it is then,' I decided as I picked it up, twiddling with the silk-lined ribbons.

Besides, I didn't like how simple a boy's suit is. I mean, a ball is supposed to be a moment of lavish fashions and bursts of color, right? So I felt it a waste to attend it in such dull colors.

Laughingly, I realized with a start that I didn't entirely despise the wretched balls for which I had been the center of attraction in my past life, if only for its superficial glamor and beauty.

"Perhaps my brother knows me better than I do...'

But then I shook my head. He probably just assumed I would like balls in general, like most girls do. After all, those are the few events where the "temptresses" could wear less conservative gowns and enjoy brief hours of music and soft laughter. Balls were the only times when we would be treated with relative respect.

Sighing, I began to think of sad and curious things. In my mind, I recalled the way I was greeted during the countless balls I graced. The men would bow towards me before they offered their hands to me for a dance. When the dance ended, the man would thank the lady, and not the other way around.

'The Kingdom has such customs, like having these courtesies which show an almost reverent respect for the women, but why would we even have such traditions if we are so normally hated?' I thought. '... Is it simply a show to portray a fake gratitude to the well-dressed and pampered female attractions because they please the male eyes? Or is it just because these courtesies might have been foreign customs adapted from other cultures?'

No matter, I knew I had no time to wonder about such cultural and anthropological questions. I had already finished dressing myself, so I only had to place the invitation inside my jacket and secure the red mask in place.

After a second of mental preparation, I headed off towards the venue.

Although there wasn't any mention of a venue in the invitation card, I already heard from my brother how it will be held in a lone castle at the edge of the Forests of Elara. Besides, it was practically an open secret how the Ball was always held in that old castle.

My feet moved almost mechanically, leading me to the castle while my mind turned to mush from overthinking.

'Will I even be allowed entrance?'

'Will they ask for my name? Surely, they will.'

'What if they kick me out and call me pompous for trying to enter despite not having passed the Test?'

Unknowingly, I was already walking down the path of a familiar-looking garden. Above me and hovering at the edges of the forest line was the moon. Around me were beds of flowers and more useful plants. But when a breeze passed by me, I caught a whiff of a sweet scent.

Sweet Alyssum.

'Ah,' I realized. 'This is the garden where I found the prince.'

Well, more accurately, this was where he had pummeled straight at me. Before I could even realize what I was doing, I was giggling. At the same time, I felt movement from a few paces away from me.

Then, I looked over at the source of movement. He was standing right atop my favorite flowers.

Maybe it was fate. Or maybe it was just coincidence. No matter, our gazes met despite my masked face. His own face was bare, and I stared at how his brown eyes squinted at my direction, his full lips opening, as though to ask a question.

'He doesn't recognize me,' I thought.

So, I began to walk away, not even giving him a chance to call out for me. I don't even know why I did it. Suddenly, I just didn't want to be with him in such an event. Balls... always made people so conscious about the opposite sex, and I didn't want any of this childish thoughts to haunt me; not now when I could be thrusted into a dangerous situation.

This wasn't a time to be absentminded.

~~

Music poured out from the gaps of the doors. It was inviting, yet intimidating as well. It made one feel like a servant maid waiting outside of the ball areas, free to enjoy the lovely sounds but without the permission to actually enter and join in the festivities.

Maybe it was because of the doors, closed and seemingly locked.

'Well, it is an exclusive party, after all,' I thought. 'Only those who advanced into higher mares could receive an invitation.'

I ignored my inner thoughts, which were going, 'But why were you given an invitation?', and proceeded to use the huge door knocker, crafted with heavy metals and shaped as a woman's face with a... mane-like hood? Regardless, the answer to my knocking came so fast that I didn't have time to really observe the intricate knocker.

Behind the opened door stood a tall and lanky older man with white hair brushed to the side. He wore a black suit that succeeded to make him look taller than he already was. There was a brief moment when he didn't even realize that I was there, albeit just well below his line of sight.

"Forgive me, I didn't see you there," he said in a melancholic and steady voice. "May I see proof of invitation?"

Finally, the moment of truth...

Taking the piece of cardboard out of my jacket, I tried to keep my hand unshaking as I offered it up to the tall man. He received it with both hands, his fingers long in its white gloves. I too had covered my hands tonight, and although I didn't appreciate how I had to wear gloves again, I was grateful for them since the cloth covered up the sweat that now lined my palms.

For a long moment, he only stared at the cardboard in his hands, turning it around and around. I was left to gulp in anxiety. To make things worse, I heard the crunch of grass behind me. Charles was probably already making his way towards us, and if I wasn't allowed entry now, I would probably have to greet him.

'Well, it's not like I wasn't going to greet him at all, since he's probably the only one I know here, but...' I sighed, frustrated at my conflicting thoughts.

Thankfully, the man let me in before the boy could ask about me. I entered the castle as though I was being chased. Alas, I was stopped in my tracks by the tall man, mere moments after I had enjoyed the peace of solitude.

He bowed towards me, promptly making me halt my steps. He said, "This one will guide you to your designated area in a moment. Kindly wait for my arrival in the main hall."

That surprised me, but I suppose maybe everyone was grouped into different areas? While I was thinking, I had chanced upon the prince, who had apparently arrived right outside the doorway and was waiting for the man, his hand twirling his own invitation in an almost bored manner. His eyes, though, were trained on me almost intensely.

'Did he finally realize it's me?' I thought in mild apprehension.

However, he only kept staring, so I decided to act normally. I bowed my head at him before heading on towards the main hall. Well, the reception area of the castle only ever led to one door, so it wasn't hard to know where I had to go.

Once I had stepped through the pair of oak doors, the music immediately turned louder and the lights grew warmer-toned. All around me were students and servers, in the midst of frolicking and working. The sounds came from a corner where a band of musicians twiddled with fiddles and flutes. Unlike a normal scene in most balls, however, there were hardly any noticeable colors. Soon, I realized why.

There weren't nearly enough girls in the hall.

'No wonder,' I realized. 'There is a far smaller number of girls in the Academy anyway, and the higher the mare, the tinier the number is.'

I realized how conspicuous my originally "simple" red mask was in a room filled with whites, blacks, and grays. However... that wasn't the problem at all. People were staring. Their gazes cut through towards me, and I knew the reason why.

In a room filled with countless students, I alone was wearing a mask.

~~

I almost jumped in surprise as a soft cough came from behind me. It was the tall man who acted like the butler, and behind him was Charles, who kept staring at me with deep curiosity.

"Greetings again, and I apologize for making you wait," he said with another short bow.

I shook my head. "I barely had any time to wait, as you came in no time."

He patronized me by giving a polite chuckle and a brief mention of gratitude. Anyway, it was somewhat true. I was only probably waiting for a few minutes, but because of the stares that came my way, every second was painful. In those few minutes, I had deliberated more than just once whether I should simply remove the mask or not, but... I felt like I would be losing if I did so.

Besides, the invitation clearly mentioned this ball being a masquerade, so why are they all dressed so simply and barefaced?

The next second, though, the butler said something unexpected, "You did well to wait. Now, please follow me."

I blinked up at the man in bafflement. 'What does he mean by that?'

Regardless, I only had to follow after him. I gave a passing glance towards Charles, who had already found a group of people to talk to, but was still glaring towards me. I looked away, only to find that as I followed after the butler, the students only continued to stare at me. This time, they didn't even bother to mask their curiosity and simply observed me openly.

'Why are they all acting like that?' I screamed in my mind, thanking Solus that my panicked face was hidden behind the mask. 'Perhaps... do they already know I didn't pass the Test of Waning?'

Fortunately, the butler had brought me across the hall and out of it, away from the countless stares. Not able to stop it, I sighed loudly after the doors had closed behind us.

The butler chuckled again, saying, "You don't seem to be the type to enjoy attention."

I laughed hollowly, feeling it odd how calming the butler's aura was. I enjoyed a short, comfortable moment of silence as we walked through a brightly lit and empty corridor. Then, I admitted, "Yes, I hardly need any more attention than I have on me now."

The butler looked down at me with a thinly raised brow. "You are quite famous then, if you say so?"

I snorted with a tiny bit of embarrassment. Then, I muttered, "I think? I've done a lot of... noticeable things since I stepped into the Academy."

"Humm..." The man strode on while looking deep in thought. "Well, most of our kind do attract attention, just as much as we attract trouble."

I stopped at that. 'Our kind?'

But he kept walking, so I had to resume walking. After a few more turns, he finally stopped in front of an ordinary-looking door.

"What's in there?" I asked.

He smiled at me encouragingly. "The young sir will know upon entering."

I pursed my lips, but couldn't give a counter. So, I could only give up and turn the knob, pushing against the door until it slid open. Frankly, the view that greeted me inside made me so surprised that the door kept going without me stopping it, the edge banging against the wall with a small sound.

People, dressed in the most exaggerated colors and clothes, stood and sat around the smaller-sized hall, heads turned almost grotesquely towards me, faces hidden behind a messy assortment of masks and broad-brimmed hats.

I gasped, and then music blared from invisible instruments.

Now this. This is a masquerade.