The Ball

It was only apparent that whenever someone as high up the ladder as Queen Valeria held a ball, security would always be at its tightest. Tonight however, it was on a different scale than anything Yerenica had ever seen or heard of before.

The ballroom located in one of the many grand rooms in the Eastern Palace and the magnificent garden surrounding the majestic building as well the palace's main gates and three miles stretching around it were guarded by none other than the king's elite squad.

Yerenica rarely ever saw His Majesty's elite squad out in public. While normal knights donned silver armor, the elite squad stood out in their gold armor with the Sirius Family's crest imprinted on their breast plates. They were men whom Cain had personally handpicked to serve under him, and considered to be the strongest warriors in the kingdom.

Today was the first time Yerenica was seeing so many of them. Everywhere she looked from the open window of her carriage, she could see the knights in gold armor patrolling the ground, swords at their belt. It made a menacing picture, and Yerenica grimaced as she leaned back against her seat, drawing the window shut.

"There are a lot more knights than usual." Yerenica said as their carriage passed through the garden and neared the Eastern Palace, "Does this have anything to do with the Duke of Wisteria?"

"It is a security measure." Kirin, who was seated in front of her confirmed with a nod.

"A security measure? Implemented by whom, His Majesty?"

"Yes, my lady."

[Instead of the usual guards, he ordered his elite squad to patrol the grounds because the duke will be attending the ball? Well, it makes sense, I suppose, considering the history they have…] Still, Yerenica felt that it was a little too excessive.

"Will the duke not take offense? Clearly, such an act implies hostility and distrust."

"It cannot be helped." Kirin replied, "I received word that a few nobles attending the ball questioned their safety once they heard that the Duke of Wisteria accepted Her Majesty's invitation. The king did this to ease their minds."

"Such unnecessary worries." Yerenica shook her head, "All guests are checked at the main gates for any sort of weapons. No one can carry them except for His Majesty's knights, and the duke is no exception to this. I don't see a reason to worry."

"I agree, my lady."

The carriage pulled to a stop in front of the glass doors of the ballroom located in the Eastern Palace. Yerenica took Kirin's hand and stepped out of the carriage, shivering as the cold air brushed her exposed back. He noticed her trembling and leaned down.

"Should I fetch a shawl for you, my lady?"

"No need." Yerenica whispered back as she took his arm and walked in through the glass doors leading to the ballroom.

"Ah…" Yerenica stopped at the entrance of the room, mouth slightly agape as she took in the lavish decorations.

Ivy twirled around pillars and stretched up to the plafond. A gold chandelier hung on the ceiling, it's light bouncing off the marble floor. The two statues on either side of the entrance depicted a maiden holding roses, which went hand in hand with the mural drawn on the ceiling, illustrating the key figures of the Sirius Family.

"It seems that they went all out for tonight." Yerenica murmured to herself, glancing around. Everywhere she looked, she saw nobles dressed in sophisticated outfits, holding glasses of wine in one hand as they moved around the floor, greeting and conversing with one another with smiles fixed on their faces, some less genuine than others.

The familiar feeling of discomfort rose as Yerenica realized how starkly out of place she was in here. She was standing with the very crowd that had been the loudest in expressing their disgust towards Minerva.

She supposed she would be alone as none of her usual acquaintances were present. But that was fine. She had Kirin with her, and besides, she would rather rip off her clothes in public than play friends with the people whose favorite word to describe her sister was 'whore'.

"I don't see the king and queen anywhere. Are they not here yet?" Yerenica asked as she made her way towards a pillar near one corner of the room, hoping she would stand out less if she made her presence as small as possible.

"No, my lady. Neither is the duke."

"I see." She looked around the room and cursed inwardly to herself as her eyes met a woman standing a few feet away. Her expression turned sour in recognition as she swept a critical gaze over Yerenica, and she turned to whisper something to the group of women she was with.

Yerenica felt the beginning of a headache coming in as all their eyes turned towards her, surprise written on their faces. She could hear the question they were all thinking. What was an Achernar out of all people doing here?

[Believe me, I am just as curious as to why I was asked to attend as you all are.] Yerenica thought, looking away.

"Kirin, we will leave once I greet the king and queen."

"Of course, my lady." Kirin nodded and glanced at the group of women before adding, "Should I get you a glass of wine?"

"Yes, please."

Yerenica leaned against the pillar as Kirin walked away. The cold stone on her back almost felt refreshing as she observed the guests from a distance. Feeling eyes watching her, she tilted her head to the left to see a man staring at her blatantly. He did not as much as flinch when he got caught. Rather, a smirk lit up his face. A face, Yerenica realized with looming dread, was unfortunately all too familiar.

[Letting Kirin leave my side was a mistake.] Yerenica thought, swallowing back a groan as the man made his way towards her, beady black eyes never once leaving her figure. He stopped in front of her, shamelessly admiring her face.

Yerenica plastered a graceful smile on her face – one that she had been practicing solely for situations like these. She held up a hand, feeling uncomfortable with his overbearing familiarity towards her. He leaned down and planted a wet kiss on her hand. She tried not to flinch in disgust, unease creeping all over her body.

"Lady Achernar, how lovely to see you here." He said, still holding on to her hand tightly, "My evening has been made much more wonderful after a creature as beautiful as you have now made an appearance."

"You flatter me, Count Willow." Yerenica pulled back her hand and shot him a sweet smile, ignoring his frown, "I did not expect to see you here tonight, my lord. I thought you would be attending your eldest son's wedding banquet. I hear it is held tonight?"

"What is a mere banquet compared to the queen's ball?" He snorted, then lowered his voice as he stepped closer to Yerenica, "Actually, I only came here because I heard the irresistible Lady Achernar would be making an appearance."

He was standing too close to be deemed as appropriate right now. Yerenica wished she could push past him as he eyed her chest with ill-concealed lust.

"Is that so?" Yerenica replied, tightening up with discomfort.

"Yes, how I can pass the opportunity to see such a beautiful woman so close, and perhaps even have a couple of dances with her?"

"I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not a very good dancer." Yerenica couldn't help but bring up a hand to clasp over her chest.

"That's not a problem, Lady Achernar. I can teach you."

"Please do not trouble yourself with such a trivial task."

"A dance with a woman such as yourself is anything but trivial." Count Willow said, his gaze meeting hers and making her look away as she tried her best to keep her serene demeanor intact. "And I think you owe it to me, do you not agree?" He added.

"Forgive me for asking, but why do I owe it to you, my lord? I do not remember doing anything to be in your debt."

"You insult me, Lady Achernar." He faked a hurt voice. She could clearly hear the sneer in his words as he spoke. "Do you not recall rejecting my marriage proposal? You truly hurt my pride – more than you can imagine. What other man can treat you as well as I can? If you had accepted it, you would be living an easy life full of riches you cannot even begin to dream of by now."

[What a pitiful man. Harassing me because his ego could not take being turned down.]

Yerenica could still remember getting his proposal like it was yesterday. How could she forget? It was one of the first ones to be delivered to her place after she had made her social debut. Yerenica had been horrified when she received it, and had politely but firmly rejected him immediately.

Count Willow was a portly old man in his late fifties who owned a string of jewelry shops in the kingdom. He was a wealthy man who was famous for his high quality jewelry, which won the favor of many women from the rich nobles to the queen herself who donned his pieces every now and then.

He was also famous for having nine wives, with the youngest of them being barely twelve when he married her. He had a reputation for being shameless around women, openly groping and making brazen comments about the ones he knew couldn't talk back to a man of his position. If that wasn't enough for Yerenica to throw his letter into the fireplace in disgust, the rumors spreading around about him did the trick.

His youngest daughter was only five when she died. Whispers that emerged from the coroner who examined her body and told his wife about how she had been brutally assaulted until the final moments leading to her death, spread like wildfire amongst the high society.

There was no doubt in everyone's minds that Count Willow was responsible for such an act. After all, he had already been banned from countless brothels after Madams had found him abusing their underage prostitutes.

Count Willow had denied the rumors and threatened to cut off the tongue of anyone who dared to spread such ghastly tales around. He insisted that he treated his wives and children with nothing but love, but the expressions of utmost disgust on his wives faces whenever they were with him, as well as the bruises scattered on their bodies like tattoos spoke for itself.

Even with the obvious evidence of his wrongdoings displayed to the public, nobody dared to speak up against such a powerful man. Especially not one that had won the favor of the queen herself through his trade. Everyone treated him with respect when he was in front of them, and pitied his miserable wives in hushed voices when he was gone.

After she had heard the rumors about him, Yerenica had contemplated cutting off Count Willow as a client, and would have done so if it hadn't been for Kirin convincing her that it would be a bad idea for her to cross a powerful man, especially considering the position she was in. So in the end, no matter how much she despised him, he still remained a customer to her.

Yerenica couldn't even begin to imagine how much of a living hell her life would have turned into if she had accepted the proposal to marry such a sick man. Even after she had denied him the first time, he still insisted on sending her proposals at least twice a month. It had gotten to the point where Yerenica had ordered Kirin not to bother bringing it to her and burn it himself. Such persistence coming from a man as dangerous and disgusting as Count Willow scared her, and she did her best to avoid running into him at all times.

[Today is not my day.]

Here she was, her back pressed against a pillar while he stood unpleasantly close to her, warm breath that smelled like hard liquor brushing against her neck as he took in her figure brashly. She desperately wanted to kick him where it hurt the most and make her escape, but that was completely out of the question.

"I appreciate your sentiment, my lord, but I am living a life full of riches even without your help." Yerenica said coldly, not caring that he might take insult in her words, "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to find my butler."

"Not until you dance with me." He did not as much as budge, and Yerenica felt fear claw into her heart. Surely, he wouldn't try to do anything to her in public, would he?

"I'm afraid I have to decline." Yerenica said firmly, wishing that Kirin would hurry and come back with her drink.

As soon as the words left her lips, his pleasant façade fell apart. Snarling, he grabbed her forearm in a painful grip and brought her down to meet his face.

"Who do you think you are, acting like a cocky bitch? You should be honored that I am asking to dance with you." His breath smelled disgusting, and Yerenica turned her face away, heart pounding in fear and anger. His other hand grabbed her chin and shoved it back to meet his face.

"Do you think you can act spoilt and say no to me just because your father is a Count? That useless bastard is on his death bed and your sister is whoring herself to the king." He continued harshly, "You have nothing to act to so proud about. You should have fallen to my feet and kissed it the moment I greeted you."

His grip on her face tightened and Yerenica winced from the pain. She tried to pull her head back, but he was far stronger than her despite being much older.

"Let's get one thing right, shall we? If it wasn't for that pretty little face, you would be nothing. Your family is a joke, and so are you. Why don't you already do your job and spread your filthy legs for me instead of playing hard to get?"

Yerenica's face reddened in anger. She wanted to spit at him and claw that conceited look off his face. Who did he think he was? He had no right to speak to her like she was trash, not when he got off from raping children.

Mustering her all her strength, Yerenica shoved his had away from her face. She glared at him coldly and opened her mouth to rebuke him, but got cut off when the royal announcer's voice rang out loudly through the ballroom.

"I present to you, His Majesty Cain Sirius IV, and his wife Valeria Cassia Sirius. Bow now to greet the king and queen of this country."