Fairlands?

"Please, Lady Kyara, call me Lord Fairlands when in unfamiliar presence," the man said, his voice deep from under his white mask. I couldn't see his face, since it was largely covered by a thin, white mask, simply decorated with some geometric black lines. The mask suited his all-black suit, the only decoration a line of white diamond shapes on his sleeves and collar. His shoes, however, were bright red.

For that moment, I was glad I was wearing my black lace mask as well, for I was unable to hide my flushed cheeks and curious eyes.

My eyes darted over this strange man's face, trying to find any resemblances or familiarities. I couldn't see his eyes, since they were hidden by his mask. His mouth was parted into a polite smile, a neatly trimmed beard on his cheeks, streaked with some grey. His hair colour was hard to determine, since it had been slicked back—I assumed it was mainly grey.

"Jonah Fairlands, glad to come your acquaintance," he said, bowing shortly. He swapped the cane he was leaning on to his other hand, stretching it out to me. The cane was made of wood, and had a clear crystal as knob on the end. It wasn't just a piece of decoration which complemented his outfit—he was heavily leaning on it whilst he stood. When he had walked up to us, I had also noticed a small limp in his step.

I laid my hand in his as he brought it to his forehead, a sign of mutual respect.

"Tenna Diyawood, likewise," I said. "Are you enjoying the ball, Lord Fairlands?"

He let my hand go, swapping it back to his cane. "Oh, yes I am. I hear the Darkloft Gardens are exquisite," he said, vaguely gesturing to the back of the hall. "They are true collectors of rare plants and blossoms."

He took a breath, "But, I assume you know all about that. I hear the Diyawoods have quite the collection themselves, back in the Wastelands."

I swallowed as I tried to conjure up an appropriate answer. My mind was blank. I knew Allie had told me about it—but I couldn't remember exactly what it had been. "Yes," I stuttered, hoping he'd buy my story, "They're beautiful." I ended up saying. Less of an answer is less chance for mistakes, right?

"Aha," he said, cocking his head slightly. "I'm afraid I'll have to leave you to it, Ladies. More guests to attend to. Lady Blackwater, Lady Diyawood."

He turned away to leave, but quickly turned back as if he had remembered something, "Lady Kyara, could we talk for a moment? I have an... issue we have to discuss."

The bubbly fifteen-year-old suddenly got a serious expression. Her smile faded. She nodded, "Naturally, Lord Fairlands," she said, dipping her chin.

Fairlands left, Kyara in his wake. Her short, white-striped blue dress wavered behind her as she stepped into pace with the Lord, her stride confident and her head held high.

"What for?" I asked the moment they were out of earshot.

Riven laughed, "You sure are a curious one," she said. "Kyara is the eldest of the Jadefire Family, and has been the head since her mother died. Her father is unfit, so she had to take over her mother's role."

I nodded slowly, "Women in charge, I like that."

"Why, is it so much different in the Wastelands?" Riven asked unbelievably, "Women know best how to take care of others, since they all have the mother instinct. They know best what's the right thing to do—other than men, who are ruled by their egos. Kyara is doing a wonderful job as head, she knows when to split business and pleasure."

I smiled, but still wondered, "There are some men in charge though, Lord Fairlands for example," I said. I was curious how the system worked, but yet I was also curious about Jonah Fairlands. I had to find a connection, somewhere, anywhere. I had to know more.

"We choose our heads carefully. If a man proves to be the better option, of course, why not choose them?" Riven said simply, closing the subject. "I would like to see those gardens. Care to join me?"

"Oh yes, please," I said. I still wanted to find out more, but I let it rest. Maybe later.

* * *

Upon arriving at the botanical garden known as the Darkloft Gardens, I had to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Where I had missed the dancefloor back downstairs, it appeared to be here, surrounded by the various plants and flowers growing in the glass-caged garden. The ceiling of the dancefloor was made up of hanging lilac flowers, yellow-ish light seeping through the countless strings. Soft music seemed to come out of nowhere, various couples dancing on the tile floor. There was an enormous tree in the middle of the floor, its branches reaching high up to the ceiling. Little lights were strung up in its branches, and it looked like the tree was glowing in the nightly garden.

Riven and I stepped onto a path leading deeper into the gardens. The sounds of music muffled somewhat, and I could now hear the dripping of water, rustling of leaves and the mumbles of hushed conversation. The gravel of the path circling around the dancefloor crunched under my flats, a leaf brushing past my arm. Droplets of water rolled down the stems of the many plants, giving the dry air moisture.

I looked around, and noticed something. Smart, I thought. It looked like the Darklofts had many different plants, but in fact, it were only a handful, maybe a few more. They didn't necessarily have many plants, just lots of them, all in different stages of blooming. I supposed it was hard enough to try to grow a plant in a dark glass cage, without any knowledge of them. I wondered where they had gotten the seeds or saplings. I guessed it would be remains of the old world, plants which miraculously had survived 200 years—without ever experiencing the new world outside. They probably wouldn't survive for a day out there.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Riven asked, turning her gaze away from a delicate blue flower. "I always forget the name..." she said, "Oh, I remember now, a forget-me-not!" She laughed, "How ironic."

"Yes, very ironic," I mumbled, looking around the area. Uppers were strolling over the paths, talking, gossiping, doing business... some were just dancing on the dancefloor, which I could only see partially through the plants. I had this strange feeling, a feeling someone was watching me, or that there was something important going on that I didn't know of. The warm air I breathed seemed to be packed with a sort of tension, like the moments before an impact.

"Tenna, are you even listening to me?"

I was ripped out of my wonderings, blinking and turning back to Riven who was standing with her arms folded next to me. She laughed, "Good morning my Lady, care for a cup of tea?" she said, deliberately thickening her voice with an accent—she was imitating a regg servant. For some reason I hadn't expected this from her.

I pressed my eyes shut. Sorry, I thought, not letting the dangerous promise slip, "I was out of it for a second, my bad. What were you saying?"

Riven cocked her head in the slightest way, taking a breath to repeat what she had said. "There was a Lord staring our way, just on the other side of the pavilion. He was handsome," she whispered, a grin appearing on her face as she leaned in. All had long been forgiven. "Don't look!" she hissed, jerking me back by my arm when I wanted to turn around and look. "He's walked away anyways."

I laughed, splaying my hand across my chest in faked shock. "Oh, dear Five, my Lady Blackwater, have you gotten an admirer? You sure are a popular lady these days," I said. I didn't know if this was an appropriate response, but I didn't really care. Riven, who could be the biggest bookworm I had ever encountered, who was always stuck with her nose in a book when she wasn't around important presence (including me, she didn't even care if I saw her reading anymore) could be as giggly as a teen who had just gotten their first kiss. The studious girl could actually be a real girl. Yet, she was still different from the other Ladies. It seemed more natural and spontaneous with Riven, which I liked about her.

"Shut up," Riven said, turning her head away. She couldn't hide the smile creeping up her lips, and when she turned around we both had an enormous grin on our faces. I bit my lip not to burst out laughing, but Riven failed miserably. She burst out, clasping her hands in front of her mouth, which didn't really help the sounds. For what I could hear, she only made it worse.

We both suddenly became completely still when an upper couple walked past us, pressing our lips together and struggling to keep our faces straight.

"Ladies," the pink-haired woman said, nodding at the both of us. Riven only nodded back, hands clasped behind her back and tears forming in her eyes. I managed a "Lady," my voice wavering and tight. They seemed to walk at an agonisingly slow pace, as Riven clasped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

The moment the couple was out of earshot we both burst out laughing, unable to hold it much longer. Riven made no sound, but just made the biggest grin humanly possible, while crossing her arms over her chest and almost folding herself together while gasping for breath. It looked rather uncomfortable, to be honest, but she seemed to have the time of her life. When the first sound she made was a snort, I couldn't handle it anymore either. We both laughed, for some stupid reason, about absolutely nothing.

And it felt really good.

There, hidden between the plants of the Darkloft Gardens, I forgot for brief moment where I was. I forgot why I was there and especially by whom I was surrounded. It felt like I was back home again, having the giggles with Jaedie for the most ridiculous reasons. The slightest of glances between us would result in another fit of laughter, both of us unable to stop until we were separated from each other. I yearned back to those times; I had missed them.

As our laughter dried up, Riven wiped away her tears and I hoisted back up my dress—the strapless thing was a pain to wear—Riven hooked her arm into mine as we continued our way through the gardens.

"I don't believe I have ever laughed that much in my life," she said, turning her head and smiling at me. "Thank you for that, Tenna." There was still some gold smudged under her eye.

"Your thanks is my pleasure, my Lady," I said, giving the politically correct answer as I dipped my chin. I winked, "Don't mention it."

We continued our way through the gardens, circling around the dancefloor while only ever being able to see the tree in the middle, filled with lights and white blossom. Once in a while a couple danced past it, but that was the only part we could see of the floor.

We made another turn, and this time, we ended up in front of the dancefloor. The music became louder, chatter filling the space as well. A new song had just begun. Lords and ladies were walking off or walking onto the dancefloor, often accompanied by a partner. More than often, these would wear matching clothes—those were the ones promised to each other.

Riven dramatically sighed next to me, "Oh, what a pity, I can't dance! My partner is not here," she said, slowly shaking her head. She made a disappointed huff, turning around and walking to one of the regg walking around carrying trays with drinks. She grabbed a clear drink with pink bubbles, sipping on the liquid. She shrugged when she saw me looking at her, my eyebrows raised and a smirk on my face.

"Because that also really bothers you, doesn't it?" I said. Riven hated dancing. Well, except if Ayden asked her to. But, sadly enough, Ayden wasn't her partner—the Vulture was.

To my surprise, I had learned that actually quite enjoyed dancing. I turned around, back to face the dancefloor. My eyes scanned over the people, just looking at what they were doing. The new song had begun, and I didn't noticed I was standing so close to the edge of the dancefloor.

Before I could register what was happening, I was pulled into a dance by an upper at random, to be swirled around to a new one before I could see who had been the one to drag me in. I landed in the arms of a somewhat older man, who just smiled under his yellow mask and said: "Youth nowadays," before handing me over to the next upper.

I knew the steps of this dance, I had done it before. My feet moved automatically, but my mind couldn't keep up. The sudden swirling around, the vibrant colours of the uppers and the new faces everywhere overwhelmed me. All came by in a blur, only sometimes interrupted by the new face of an upper in front of me. Sometimes I saw some who I had danced or talked with before, and sometimes even some Ladies. But I couldn't stay in their arms long enough to start a conversation.

The music slowed down somewhat, and now I was able to breathe. I switched a couple of times more, dancing with every partner no more than a handful of moments.

I looked around. Riven wasn't standing near the path anymore. My eyes kept scanning across the people, trying to find my dark-skinned friend who could maybe pull me out of this commotion. In my concentration I didn't notice I had been given to another Lord, who scraped his throat to grab my attention. I turned my head back as he started to speak: "Greetings, my La..." he started, but he trailed off.

A dark blue mask and matching suit. Under his mask was a clean-shaven face, high cheekbones and a set of full lips. They seemed familiar. My eyes flicked up to his eyes, to warm, brown eyes which I had seen so many times, and it was like I was looking back at a memory. A memory of flames, ice, and a kiss.

I was ripped out of his arms, pulled over to the next upper, but I jerked myself loose, staggering to the edge of the dancefloor. I gasped for breath, my mind spinning at a million miles per hour, but in circles.

I looked around, frantically searching if I hadn't imagined him. But I was searching for ghosts.

"Kael?" I managed finally, my voice hoarse and only a mere whisper.

But he was long gone.