章 1: Prologue
"Sky high, dyed in purple, shining skies, bursting bubbles, oh what a wonderful night."
As the rest of the words were a blur in my memory, I hummed it. A powdery shade of moonlight filtered through the small space in the carriage, the sounds of hooves moving on cobblestones echoed through the night. The bustling noise of the night market faded until we could only hear our own sounds. Above the other sounds, the sound of my heartbeat resounded in my ears.
"Sky high."
The carriage pulled to a stop, jerking my body forward. I barely had the time to gather my wits when the door was pulled open and the footman stretched his hands to disembark me from the carriage. Once my foot touched the ground, I was reminded of why I was here.
The day of my debut, a day I had dreaded for so long. Despite being covered in bright lights, the mansion of the lord that had graciously offered to be our host towered over my head like a monster in an old tale, threatening to devour me at any moment.
Removing my hands from his, I walked closer to the entrance. From their dresses and tailcoats, you could tell they were all nobility. Many of them came in with partners, ironically in a party that was a debut for courtesans. I adjusted the black lace mask Andrella, my master, was so courteous to provide for me. The dress too.
It was a long, low cut purple dress with bows and frills that exposed most of my bust. It was of course thanks to a suffocating corset that was sure to put me six feet under if my master didn't do it first.
My master, Andrella, owned one of the biggest courtesan houses in the kingdom. She was strict and through but only to her courtesans. Outside, to her high end cliente, she was most charming and talented in all the arts, earning an excellent review from all of them. All the courtesans she had trained also earned this status.
Especially one, who on the day of her debut, got a king to be besotted with her. Noelle, someone I always looked up to, got the attention of the king of Permias. She was also Andrella's pride and joy, whereas I was, well, a huge pain in her rear.
"Elayne!" a cheery high pitched voice called out to me. I turned around and suddenly found a weight in my arms.
"Amelia" I greeted, hugging her. She wore a green dress with jewelry that shimmered with the reflection of the sun and a green mask that covered only her eyes. The jewelry was no doubt expensive and most likely the work of the man that had accompanied her here. Amelia was beautiful and popular, it was no surprise she had such a rich cliente.
"You look spectacular. I was sure you weren't going to make it."
"Ah….it took us a while. I'm so glad you're here."
"Of course. How could I miss your debut?!"
"Haha, yes….." I awkwardly laughed, the churning feeling in my stomach returning. While I was glad to see a familiar face, it didn't erase the fact that I was going to become a glorified prostitute and my master would kill me for being late.
"Go in, I'm sure the mistress is waiting."
"See you later" I waved. A tall man came to stand beside her and her face lit up in a bright smile. It was a practiced professional smiles, one of her very best traits. The man in the tophat bent to kiss her and she giggled loudly. Overcome by a nauseous feeling, I walked into the mansion.
As expected of an Earl, the ballroom music was exceptional. The rising and falling of the tunes that invoked the feeling to dance in every guest, the atmosphere was saturated with excitement. I remembered I was supposed to find a guest to dance with. But….how?
I looked around, accessing many guests with my eyes. They were too tall, too short, too fat, too thin, scummy, off putting…...a bad mix.
"You know, a courtesan should never pick her clients."
"L- Lady Andrella!"
"I know that look you were giving. On top of being late, you want to pick your clients? What do you think you are?"
"I'm sorry mistress" I bowed deeply.
"Raise your head child. Don't show such weakness on the day of your debut" she put her fan under my chin.
"Yes mistress"
"Now, let me introduce you. Unlike you, the rest of the cohort has been properly introduced. Seriously, treating me like your mother ..."
Apologizing more would only make her mad so I kept quiet as we swept across the ballroom. I kept my presence small as she introduced me to the nobles. Aged men trying to maintain the air of youth raked their eyes all over my body, their gazes lingering on my bust. Despite the ballroom being so warm, a chill made the hair at the back of my neck rise.
A loud giggle distracted our conversation. We looked over to see a tall man wearing a silver suit and a silver mask surrounded by many women, nobles and courtesans alike. I have never seen such a crowd gather around one man before. They were all smiles up front but their eyes distributed daggers. Seeing the man, Andrella clicked her tongue. I wondered if she knew who he was.
"Ah gentlemen, it has been nice discussing with you. We would move this along now as I have many guests to greet" Andrella just had to blink her eyes a few times and they let her go. She covered her face with a fan and pulled me along, making me almost stumble. I looked back to see if I could catch a glimpse of the man but he was no longer there. It was strange as it felt like he was looking at me.
"Lady Andrella, what a wonderful surprise. I didn't know you would be here," the words rolled off his tongue smoothly but his quivering mouth said otherwise. Those stormy grey eyes flickered with amusement.
"Your highness. It's also a surprise you're here." Andrella's mouth was covered with the fan but I could see she was struggling to be polite.
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