Victoria found herself shyly retreating to a corner, were she could see every one, but not every one was watching her. Her dress was so low cut in a way that made her uncomfortable, almost like every eye was on her. It did not help that the gown was scarlet red, so they knew she was of Pemberton noble blood, and the color did not blend in well with others. She held a smile that was seen by the fact that her butterfly mask revealed her nose and mouth nicely. Though, her green eyes concealed every thought, any one would be able to tell she was a bit bashful this evening. She wished she could just hide behind her veil of hair, which draped down her back, and she would have if she did not have a mask on. Every aspect of Victoria was accented, from the color of her hair and eyes by the red gems that made them appear darker, to the size of her form, by the tight low bodice, to the fair color of her skin by the color of the dress on her skin.


The music rang through her mind, as she hid in her corner. She closed her eyes, and could see herself gliding around the dance floor. Oh, she wanted to dance so much. It was a time when she truly felt she was worthy of her nobility; when she was graceful and beautiful. She could see a few men off to the side, and she was almost willing to go ask them to dance herself, but she was too shy and she knew her place. It was their job to come ask her. Victoria would have to wait. She swayed with the music, as her eyes were closed again. She all but had an imaginary partner, she would have had she not been her at the Ball held for the King. But, for now she would dream, until some man came up and made her dream a reality.

The ball was shaping up to be exactly what Alden had expected. No expense spared, and everyone flitting around like butterflies, their identities concealed behind masks. Indeed, it made the whole room seem to be full of butterflies, the masks were colored so. The atmosphere was infectious, the music making everybody want to whisk onto the floor and dance, whether by themselves, or with somebody else. It was a surprise that there we people still standing out to the sides though. One would expect everyone to be dancing and having a merry old time.


Alden himself was dressed in a pure, dazzling white. He was dressed according to his station, with the pure white, and gold embroidery everywhere. Indeed, within the design itself, were pieces of quartz encrusted. His mask was every bit as decorated. He felt like a white peacock, showing off his feathers as if he was the most attractive man in the room. But there were so many people, he doubted many recognized him as the duke. Sure, his white clcothing gave him away slightly, but mostly everyone was just having a good time. Nobody actually cared about stations tonight. The masks made people bolder than they normally would be.


Alden was no different. Indeed, he was feeling positively bold tonight. He had not yet stood out a dance, he had downed a glass of wine - the memory of the Pemberton ball was only too vivid in his mind. He had drak more wine than was his share, and had ended up drunk and no fun at all. Thank god tonight he was exercising some self control. It was with these thoughts that he sought out his next dance partner. His eyes immediately fell upon a young woman in crimson, dressed in a revealing dress, but not looking whoresque. Rather, she looked..classy and beautiful. Her green eyes shone.


Now why did she look familiar? Alden made his way over, making an exxagerated bow in front of her, a cheeky smile touching his lips. "Good evening my lady, would you grace me with a dance?" He extended his hand.

Victoria stopped her dreaming, when she saw the flash of white and gold she had been hoping to see. He was truly a picture that she could not get out of her mind, since they net at the tournament. She pretended not to notice it was him, because that is not what tonight was about. Tonight was about having fun, being daring, and dancing. And he asked her to dance! She would not be able to say 'no'. There was not even the slightest chance, even if she tried, to deny him. Her smile, from being asked at all, was too bright to be able to be taken seriously if she were to try to refuse.

She gave him a curtsy, and placed her hand in his. "I would be honored, to dance with your... you kind sir." She corrected herself, not wanting to use his formal title. Tonight titles were forgotten, and all that was left was equal fun. She let him lead her to the dance floor. She wondered if he recognized her, if he did than it was a good sign of things to come. If not, there was still a chance to change that. She had not given her favor to him and that tournament for no reason. He intrigued her, and the mystery that was all men seemed to pull her curiosity most to him more than most others. Well, no matter, Victoria was just currently pleased to get a chance to show that she was a great dancer, and have him hold her for a little while...

It seemed that the young woman in front of him was both grateful and excited for the chance to dance, as the smile grew on her face by each second. Her smile was quite infectious, and Alden felt the grin slip back on his face. He led her out to the dance floor, taking her hand within his own with a firm grasp. She was quite a stunning beauty, and even though her features were obscured, Alden could feel himself being sucked in simply by her eyes. "I can assure you, that the pleasure is all mine."


As they reached the dance floor, Alden placed a hand around the middle of her back, closer to lower than higher, as the dance required, his other hand bringing hers to almost above their stomachs, but not quite. With a wink that was see through the mask, he started leading them through the dance, which was rather slow. It left plenty of room for chatting, and Alden wanted to start talking. No matter how the mask covered her face, he was almost sure that he had seen her somewhere else. But he couldn't place her quite yet. He allowed the confusion to show on his face, before leaning down - he was quite a bit taller than her, and saying quietly in her ear, "Have we met before my lady? You seem so familiar, but my foolish mind has forgotten." Here he paused, second guessing himself. There must be a chance that they hadn't met yet.


He unbent, keeping in time with the music with an easy grace, the dance coming naturally to him. He calmly twirled her, his hand light upon hers, before they were once again close. If he moved just a bit closer, there would be a pinky's width between their bodies. He felt his breath take a hitch, before it resumed it's regular pace.

Victoria was glad that her mask covered her cheeks, for she was blushing greatly. The mere thought of Alden seeking out her attention, caused this feeling in her that she tried to ignore. At the start of the dance, Victoria placed the hand that matched up with the one he placed around her waist on his shoulder. She returned a smile for his wink, as she very easily followed him through the start of the slow paced dance. She had not even had enough time to tell herself this was NOT a dream, when he started talking to her. The words in her ear brought a playful smile to her face. She got a great idea; this was suppose to be a masquerade, right? Where was the fun in flat out telling him who she was? She would not be doing that, she would see how well he could figure it out.

"My Lord, if you are who I think you are," she added to the pretending she did not know who he was either. "Then, we have met, previously." She gave him a wink through the red butterfly. "With all this costume, I look much different, so your mind is not foolish. I would not be able to tell my own father from the next man." She giggled knowing that might not have been true. Were her father still alive to attend, she was sure that unless he had a mask that covered all of his face she would know him in a split second. She enjoyed playing with the Duke, to see how far he could handle things. Tonight was all about fun, and she would see to it that they both had at least a little.

As she came back to the position after being twirled, and looked up at him. Her heart skipped a beat, and it took her a second to catch her breath again. She was close enough to see the green bands around his brown eyes, and she was truly lost. She had to blink a few times to remember where she was. She needed to get her mind on something specific; she went back to him trying to figure out who she was. "Figure out who I am yet? Any guesses?" She laughed again, knowing that he probably had no idea. She would play this up as long as she could hold his attention. Her playful side was happy, and her shy side was hidden like the rest of her face.

She seemed to know whom he was, which only reinforced Alden's idea that they had met before. Her next statement confirmed it. He wished that he could remember where he had heard her lovely voice before. He wanted to know whom she was, but obviously, she wasn't going to give it away just yet. He was stymied for the moment. Who could she possibly be? He would've remembered her, and her youthful exuberance.


As the smile came to her face, Alden felt a smile come to his own face. It was playful and beauiful, and suceeded in giving him a slight idea as who she was. "Where have I seen that beautiful smile before?" he whispered in her ear, hoping for some sort of reaction that would give her away. Who could she be? He hadn't even began to think of the possibilities. But he had immediately ran through the list of brunettes he had met. He had it almost narrowed down, when she spoke again. He was immediately lost again, as he met her eyes. "Not quite yet." he replied, a dazzling smile on his face. "Who do you think I am?" he asked quietly, as they spun around.


Alden was only too aware of the people watching him and this young woman dancing. They were both young and beautiful, with dazzling dress, and smiles on their faces. He knew that people were going to watch them and watch every move they made. Right now they were probably wondering who they were - if they had not figured it out yet. It was in these moments, that Alden took the time to actually look at the woman in front of him. He looked closely at her for the first time. He came to two conclusions. One, he saw that she was young, like she had just had come of age, and second, she was clearly shy of him. Either she was shy, or she just didn't talk to much people very often.


So she had just come of age, so what was she? Fourteen? Fifteen? Here Alden faltered. She was ten years younger than him. He was already slightly taken with her, and she was like his sister? For a moment, he felt quite appalled with himself. She was younger than his late sister! How..? What? He was confused. But as confused as he was, he didn't want this dance to end yet.

Victoria giggled as he whispered in her ear, "Would not you like to know?" She replied to him, playfully. Those eyes of his, she felt that she could melt into them, and live happily ever after. His smile made her knees weak; she was surprised that she was even able to keep dancing. He asked her a question, much like the one she had given him. She grinned at him, before she was able to answer. "Glorious as you are, I must admit, you are not quite the master of disguises." she started off playfully. She did know who she was, but his reactions to her playful side would help her establish a fuller opinion about him. She was testing him, and so far he was passing.

Victoria could not help but hold that smile, as Alden looked at her. He really seemed to be trying to figure out who she was. It was quite amusing. She liked how he seemed to set his mind to it, and would not let it pass, until he figured her out. Victoria liked being mysterious, so she would toy with him as long as she could. She still had yet to answer his question, she knew, but she would get to that eventually. She had an idea, "What does it matter who I actually am, any way?" She gave him a wink, and then came to whisper in his ear. "Duke Brighton, right now, I can be any one you want me to be." She brought her face back, to look at him, to take in his reactions.

She knew that he was 10 years older than her, she already knew. But for some reason that did not scare her, like it had with other men. She had always told herself that she would be like her mother and father, find love, and would not have to marry just for money. Her parents had been lucy, they both found love that was close in age, and that had money. Her father had often told her that she was her mother reborn again, so she would have the same luck, right? Maybe hers would be better. To find love, with a Duke, and to be of enough nobility to some day actually be able to marry him. That would truly be a wondrous thing. She tossed the idea from her mind. Alden would never even think of marrying her. They had only met once before, any way, so why were her thoughts even drifting to the idea? It was very childish of her, so she refused to think about it any more. She would wait to see how Alden was responding to her fun, before she would think any more about him.

Alden heard her giggle, and he tried to place it, but once again, he found his mind silent, and just digesting her giggle. He knew that from that moment on, he would associate her giggle with this night, no matter who she was, no matter how this night turned out, he would always remember her laughter. She seemed to enjoy teasing him, and Alden was about to make a light comment, a teasing comment about her secrecy, but she opened her mouth, and every other thought was thrust to the back of his mind as he attempted to digest her words. His eyes were focused on her lips as they moved, and he found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss lips like those. He shook that thought out of his head with difficulty.


"You wound me deeply, my lady." Alden leaned forward a bit, to say in her ear, above all the other noises. He leaned back, and lifted his hands from his body, to pretend to wrench an arrow from his heart, before taking up her hands once again, and moving in time with the music with the grace and poise of a gazelle. She liked to toy with him, and Alden enjoyed that. Many women would not respond to his teasing, and would carry tales of him to their friends, which would in turn spread throughout his duchy, if not Adesia. He knew he was attracting attention - he was like a bloody peacock amoung all the birds, his finery glaring into the eyes of those around him.


Of the people watching them, Alden knew that only few would be watching if he had not been duke. Had he not been duke, he would not have been dressed in such finery, he would have not had the courage to ask this woman to dance. Alden was a quiet soul by nature, and it was only circumstances that forced him to become more extroverted. It would not do for his duchy to have a hermit leader. "How else will I ask you to come visit my duchy later on?" he felt a shiver run through his spine at her warm breath by his ear, but he did not react other than to hold back the goofy smile on his face. He got much attention from women, but it was rare a time when he felt such an attraction as he felt right now towards this young woman. In a way - he felt like a young stable boy who had just realized that women existed in his world.


His own parents had been one of the lucky pairs, who had an arranged marriage, but had loved each other deeply. But his father - he had done some horrible things to Alden's mother, including having a love child with another woman. Alden had never met his half brother - had found out through rumors and his own aunt who had told him his father had been less than faithful. Alden was determined not to be one of those men who had a woman on the side, though they pretended to love their wife. No matter how much he would detest his arranged marriage - he was absolutely sure his advisors would push harder once he hit his 25th birthday - he would stay faithful to that woman. Three weeks and counting, and he would be twenty five. Wryly, he thought of the kind of present his advisors would undoubtably have. 'Happy birthday your grace, meet your fiancee' It was a countdown till his birthday, a countdown till the end of his fantasy of love.