The golden lotus insignia glowed under the lights, a quiet declaration of power.
Edric leaned back, hand rested on the table, as his gaze tracked the group. They moved with quiet confidence, their tailored suits blending with the halls color palate , they moved to the center.
Aeris had noticed it too. She set her glass down, finger tapping against the rim of the glass. A small subtle gesture- but one that means she’s thinking.
Kael passed by in his disguise , pretending to adjust the silverware. His voice was low. “Those aren't just merchants, they're the gilded lotus. They made this hall for the governor.”
That explained the reaction of the nobles.
Before Edric could respond, a hush swept through the hall. The music softened, the dances stopped and conversation turned to whispers.
One of them from the guests walked towards the center- he wore a navy blue suit and a mask resembling a mythic fox. He held an object in his hand to amplify sound like a mic.
“Welcome esteemed guests,” he said smoothly. “The governor will be preoccupied with other issues at the moment. Nevertheless , in his absence-” he gestured towards the gilded lotus. “Our patrons from the gilded lotus will handle the governor's duties in his stead.”
After he finished his speech, a quiet applause erupted. Some nobles were wary, some straightened their seats , othere exchanged wary glances. No one was surprised- just cautious.
Aeris exhaled quietly. “That explains something.”
“So this was part of their plan.” Edric kept his voice low.
“Of course, the governors here, just not in the open.”
Edric thought for a moment to make some sense of their scheme. Perhaps he truly was the source of the kidnappings , maybe he is the leader of the piece. Various thoughts surfaced in Edrics mind which just led to his heart beat increasing.
Kael passed by their table again, he took their plates on his tray. While he picked up the plates, he secretly passed a note towards Aeris seat. “Things got a lot more interesting. Be careful around them–” Kael got called from another table for which he promptly left.
Aeris pretending to adjust her dress reads the note . Edric noticed it too.
“What’s in it?” he whispered.
“Check it yourself,” she slides the note towards him.
Edric took the note, What's this… names? The note contained some names and their outfit. Edric recognised some from his intel gathering. There were some prompted business men listed.
The information could be useful later, he quietly tucked the note in his pocket.
He was about to speak but his attention shifted towards footsteps approaching them. He shifted his gaze towards the source.
He scoffs, it’s the woman in the soldier uniform.
“What’s with the look, I made some noise this time.” she grinned with a voice indicating she knows something.
She’s annoying me.
“What do you want?” Edric kept his voice low but firm. He checked in on Aeris in case she’s uncomfortable. Fotunanly she didn't show any outward reaction.
“Relax, pretty boy, just came to check. You guys stick out you know. Plus, it’s not everyday I get to see someone from the past.” she looks at Aeris who ignores her openly.
The woman grinned and turned towards Edric. “I don’t know why but your green eyes remind me of someone but I don’t know why.”
Edric didn’t know if she’s being sarcastic or threatening . “Who are you?” he asked this time more directly.
“Me, just a wandering soldier. You can call me Ronan.” she leaned at Aeris, this time more intimidating. “How long do you think you can run away from the past,”
“That's enough.” Edric pushed her away from Aeris lightly. Just enough to not draw attention. “Ma’am I think it would be best to talk another time.” He kept his tone polite.
“Fine, we will meet soon.” She leaves with her back held high and a glass of wine in her hand.
Edric sat down, exhaled slowly. “What was that?”
Stolen story; please report.
Aeris avoided meeting eye contact. “Nothing important.”
Liar
He wanted to press her— wanted to ask her why she reacted that way, if she’s in trouble maybe he could help her. But Edric could tell now wasn’t the time.
Does she not trust me?
Edric’s fingers drummed against the table. Ronan’s words, Aeris' reaction unsettled him. Aeris remained as calm as usual on the outside but Edric could find hints of anxiety from the way she twirled her hair. She never did that.
He looked at the dance floor, young couples danced freely and gracefully. Some more so than others. Then he decided-he got up and grabbed her hand.
“Let’s dance,” he ordered.
Aeris blinked, caught off guard. “You think now's the time for this,”
“We're supposed to blend in. I don’t think a couple not dancing counts as blending in. Also I need some exercise and I can’t dance by myself can I,”
“Can you even dance?”
“Trust me, I’m a natural.” he lied. The only dance he knows is from TV and dancing with a girl- unimaginable. Since his body can fight with muscle memory and the fact that noble men learn to dance as young boys. He hoped the body of his had some moves.
Before Aeris could argue further he grabbed her hand and started walking to the floor. Maneuvering between the movements of nobles, occasionally giving a slight nod to whoever observed them, he led her to the floor.
He led her to an empty spot, placed his hand over her waist and guided her into position. Her body felt stiff for a moment but eased up.
“If you step on my feet, you're dead.” She stated. The music changed songs, and she took a step.
Edric followed her movements with a set of his own, and just like that they danced for a moment. The tension loosened, the murmurs faded in the background. The only thing on their minds was the person in front, And also Edric trying his hardest to avoid her feet.
It was subtle but Aeris had a light smile on her face. Her stiffness was gone, her hair flowed freely. Despite being the first time, Edric enjoyed the dance. His body felt a lot more loose.
His eyes darted towards the audience, he scanned the floors for anything odd. Thankfully no one paid attention to them. Then he eyed the fourth floor.
The man with the navy blue suit stood there, with his hand relaxing on the rails as he watched the dance floor. He didn’t look to be paying attention to anyone specific though. Then a familiar face sparked a conversion with him, it was Ronan.
Edirc turned immediately to look at Aeris, her eyes locked onto them. Seems she noticed.
“You said she isn't important,” he asked her.
“She isn’t , at least right now.”
“Right now? That means she might be a threat in the future.”
“That's my problem, After this is over we might not even see each other.”
“Tha-” Edric wanted to refute but couldn’t. He hadn’t thought about it yet. But if today's objective is completed they will have to part ways.
“They're observing ,” she said.
“W-what, Us?” Edric asked, she changed the topic again.
“Not us, just observing the floor.”
“Do we stand out?”
“No, we blend in quite well actually.” She added
“Let's keep it that way,” he smiled, deciding it would be best to keep his mind at the present instead of worrying about the uncertain future.
The song came to a close, and Edric slowed his steps. Aeris followed his lead, stepping back with a controlled breath as the music shifted.
“You didn’t step on my feet.”
“Amazing, right? I told you I was a natural.” He smirked, releasing her waist.
Together they walked back to their table. They noticed a slight shift in mood as midnight drew closer.
One-by-one nobles and couples exited through the front door, though not everybody left through the front door. Edric noticed a few groups disappearing without notice.
Aeris had noticed this as well and found it odd. Eventually the music came to and end, the dancing couples left through the front door, the musicians packed their instruments and made their way out.
It’s midnight, the ball is too close but several still remain. Edric noticed servants with masks escorting various people through a door. A woman placed her wine on the table, a servant greets her and escorts her through a door.
This is it, it’s time for the main event.
More and more guests left through unspecified areas escorted by servants. Meanwhile Edric and Aeris simply waited for their turn.
“When will our guy come,” Edric murmured.
“Calm down, they probably go from high priority to low priority guests.”
But they didn’t have to wait too long. A servant approached them, bowing his head down he said. “Dear guests, please follow me to the main events.”
They glanced at each other before following him. Edric had noticed that they were the last couple of guests to be escorted. The lights in the hall were being shut on one by one until it was dark.
They made their way through a door, inside the door there was a large hall. Which for Edric didn’t make sense as it was simply too long. The walls were lined with dim lights, the wallpapers were dark and they could barely see anything except the white coat of the servant.
Near the end of the hall they past the door, the world went dark for a moment before becoming bright again.
“We have arrived,” the servant said, hands over a brochure, bows and leaves the way they came in.
“What the hell?” Edric murmured. The room now had 5 doors to the sides and several nobles in the hall talking in whispers.
Edric recognized a few from the ball. “Looks like this is where the main event is.”
Aeris reads through the brochure, Edric gives a curious gaze. “It notes the halls and the items: Magic artifacts, potions and… livestock.”
“Livestock, then that's our destination. Which hall is it?” He said.
“It’s in hall 5 and 2 but there's a problem.” she said.
“What now?”
“According to the invite we have authority to access hall 1-3.” she points at the hall number. Their halls are underlined and on top it is written : Voyce.
“Crap, so hall 2s our only option.” he rubs his temples. “Where’s Kael, do you think he can do something?”
“We don’t have time for that.”
“Your right,” seeing as there’s no option left, he said. “Let’s go to hall 2 and hope for the best.”
Aeris nodded in agreement, the approached the door with their hall number. Two guards were stationed at each door, they took a quick glance of the brochure and then opened the door.
The inside reminded Edric of a theater— there’s a stage with red curtains in the far end. Seats from the top row to the bottom semicircled it. But instead of your typical recliner seats, there were small cubicles with velvet seats inside.
For a moment Edric debated on where to seat. The brochure didn’t specify whether the seats were reserved. In case they weren’t reserved , he pondered on the best seat to blend it— the front , the back or middle.
Aeris didn’t wait for Edric to finish his thought, as she started walking to a seat. Edric followed along , together they sat in one of the middle cubicles.
Inside, other than their seats there was a plate with sweets and snacks placed on a tea table in the center. And a paddle with a number placed on the seats.
That’s probably how we bid. But how much is a bid worth anyway or do we have to call out our number. Well, Aeris probably knows more than me. He left it at that and sat down with Aeris.
He noticed a few familiar outfits joining their hall, as to whether they're here for weapons or people is yet to be seen.
“Do we just need to raise the paddle?” he asked.
“The presenter will say the denominator or we can shout out the number using that stone.”
Stone? What Stone? He looks at the object she was pointing at. Near the snacks lies a purple stone the size of a palm. It’s encased in metal in the shape of a makeup box. Edric guessed it to be some sort of communication device. Well, there’s no need to test it now.
They waited patiently for the hall to get full , fortunately the wait wasn’t too long . The curtains on the stage revealed itself.
“Greetings, ladies and gentlemen.” The presenter, wearing a green suit spoke with great enthusiasm. “Hope your wait wasn't too long. Now without wasting time let's start the auction.”
