Inna hovered beside of Aella, her fingers working quickly to straighten the folds of the elaborate dress. It was the same dress she had worn to the breakfast with the Founding Family and the signing ceremony, but the final pieces had been added. A long train with shining metal pieces crafted to look like bird feathers ran four feet down from the bottom of the skirt. From her arms, a sheer cape hung over the metal pieces for protection, dangling from elaborately designed arm cuffs. Tiny jewels and delicate embroidery gave the entire outfit a shimmering effect.

Inna smiled and snapped her fingers. Twinkling lights flashed into existence, and Aella's gasped as she looked down. Thousands of tiny lights sparkled from the swirling lines and shapes of the embroidery. The designs seemed to come alive, some blinking on and off in the bird's eyes, the rays of the sun rippling across the fabric.

Inna stepped back and smiled as she looked over the outfit, then up to Aella. "What do you think?"

Aella's looked up at her and smiled, nodding her head. "It's beautiful."

"You will never want for fine clothes as long as you live in the Capitol," she said. The Founder loves finery and he usually has each garment created to be a work of art in itself. Richard is renowned the world over, and the Founder gives him plenty of chances to go overboard. You are fortunate he was in town for the Unveiling Balland and could make your outfit for you."

Aella's reached up and lightly touched her hair, a small frown crossing her face. The hair extensions had been wrapped and braided and twisted in so many ways she had lost count, creating a waterfall of hair gently spilling from her skull.

"You aren't required to do much more than making an entrance and mingle with the Court," Inna said, noticing her expression. She stepped back and looked down at her pad, then back up at Aella. "I will be waiting for you so I can show you to your quarters and introduce you to the schedules and protocols of the Complex after that. You will be in the Game the majority of your time, but there will be state functions that you will be required to go to. Usually, they are scheduled for days when there are festivals in the Game, so players that are required to do attend or want to attend have the leisure to do so. "

"You won't be going to the Ball?" Aella asked, taking Inna's hand and stepping down off of the small platform. Her heels clicked on the marble floor in the small changing room they were in.

Inna laughed. "Its not my style. I usually hang out in the kitchens or staff areas and we usually have more fun down there. Most of the people who will be at the Ball are Quadrant heads, officials, and diplomats. The only variety is with their Apprentices or families. But I'm not into the whole pump music genre."

"That explains why there are lights on my dress," Aella said.

Inna nodded. "It will be a show, to be sure. Come on, we need to get you into the arrival hall so the guards can clear the way and perform their safety checks."

***

Aella gasped softly as she entered the stage of the ballroom in near darkness, guided by a few dim recessed lights on the floor. Pump music blared in the massive space beyond, the dance floor filled with swaying and twisting figures dressed in glowing lights. The techno beat switched and shifted between different keys in accordance to several figures on the walls, the computer-generated dancers jumping and moving through acrobatic steps as they moved from the far side of the room a hundred feet away to the front of the stage, stopping a few times and interacting with the audience.

The dancers were made up of shifting lights in hundreds of colors, the lines of their limbs moving back and forth as they danced, creating a swirling effect. It was mirrored in the audience, who danced along to the tempo of the song, their clothes illuminated in biolum ink or small lights. A few near the stage had swirling tattoos on their skin, made from the biolum ink, and they glowed in the darkness as they danced.

As the wall dancers came closer and closer to the stage, The guard led her down several small stairs to a small circular platform on the lower-left stage and helped her up the two small steps to its surface.

"There you go, Lady Aella," the man said, his voice loud enough to be heard over the beat. "Follow what we briefed you, and you will do well."

"Thank you," Aella said, nodding. The dancers leaped their way up and onto the stage, making their way behind her and to the back wall. She twisted to get a better view and saw them forming a pyramid, then gracefully tumbling down into a line and bowed before disappearing as the song ended.

The crowd cheered and screamed as the chandeliers slowly began to brighten, illuminating the center stage as the intro for the United Earth National Anthem began to play. The Founder and Queen Alana waved and smiled as they became visible, then lights illuminated Fox, Leon, and Seashell who were standing around them, the boys on the lower right stage, and Seashell a few feet away from Aella.

Even though she was still in darkness for the reveal later on, she followed the Founder's movements as she raised her fist to her heart, and the crowd quieted. The chandeliers high on the ceiling brightened the room, and nearly a thousand people came into view in their fine gowns and suits. A line of white-robed men and women lined the walls on the base of the sidewalls, their bodies moving slowly back and forth in a wave-like motion, following the beats of the anthem.

The bearers for the flag marched forward as the intro began to conclude. The choirs that were lined against the base of the walls began to sing, the melody soft and flowing as the orchestra began to accompany them, the drums, strings, and tinkling flutes playing the notes of the national anthem. She echoed the anthem after the Founder, the choirs and voices of the citizens joining in until the song echoed and filled the room. The walls began to grow see-through and the stars high above became visible, the Aurora high above glistening in the sky.

Aella sang louder, willing her voice to rise as high as the heavens above. The anthem ended with a roar as each person raised their fist to the sky and yelled. The silence that followed was comforting, and all turned to the stage and waited patiently as the Founder began to speak.

"My fellow citizens of this magnificent country," he said, raising his arms wide to the crowd. "We join here tonight to celebrate not only the beginning of a new year but the conclusion of yet another year serving the people of our great United Earth. We have stood firm and strong against the rebel nations who seek to destroy our peace and freedom, and have withstood the deception of the Trinity who still do not relent in their pursuit of destruction." The crowd roared in approval, raising their fists to the sky.

"And while we mourn our fallen, we look forward to the day when they might be avenged and all of Earth might be united under one rule and know what peace and mutual trust are."

Aella felt her chest tighten and her teeth clenched, her hands rolling to fists next to her. She nodded her head, looking down at her dress. She could not see the designs, but she let one of her hands trace over the patterns. She was of the Allianz, one of the Royal tribes of the mountain people. Who were her parents, and why were they in the Southern countries? Had they been part of the fight against the Trinity invaders, and been killed in the plague?

"This year will begin with two new chances, two new additions to the Complex."

Aella started to breathe quicker, straightening her shoulders and smiling as she looked down at the crowd. She paused as the Founder announced the beginning of the Beta Game, and she relaxed for a moment. She turned as the Founder raised his arm to the wall behind him and the lights began to dim.

She turned her head saw the black wall behind the center stage change with the scenes of jungles, oceans, mountains, ice-covered islands, and battles from the Alpha Game, then it faded to a silver icon on a black screen, rotating as the silvery words of the I.L.S. beta Game came into view. The strings played the theme song of the Game, a haunting melody that seemed to have a life of its own.

She bowed her head, taking deep breaths. Inna had coached her on how she should appear before the crowd. This would be her Grand Entrance, the first sight the Complex case of her, and the one they would remember the most.

The applause was deafening in the room.

"Exude confidence and superiority. Believe that they are glad to see you, and you absolutely adore them." Inna had smiled at her and shook her head, a sad smile on her face. "Fake it the best you can. You will be judged on your acting skills. Most assume that an ice-cold demeanor will earn them respect, and keep the wolves from seeing their hearts, but don't disguise what is in your heart. If you are angry, show anger. Weep when you are broken. Save the mask for when you don't know you feel."

Aella raised her head, smiling. She placed her hands on her hips and straightened her back.

"And now, it is with my greatest pleasure to introduce the newest member of my family--Apprentice to the Security Council, Lady Aella Rynnex."

She stepped forward down the few steps as the lights illuminated her, and she waved her hands.