Labyrinth II: Return to the Labyrinth (11)

Chapter eleven,

Dinner and a dance

Ray woke up herself that morning, she was eager to tell Bornia about he private invitation and she needed to take a bath. She quickly bathed and made herself and Bornia a breakfast of scrambled eggs.

Once they were fed, Ray and Bornia headed off to the shop. "Oh, Bornia," Ray started. They were about halfway there now. "Yes, dear?" Bornia asked, glancing backwards at Ray. Ray sped up to walk beside Bornia, she was getting better at keeping up. "I got a private invitation to a private dinner party after the ball." she said. Bornia looked at her, surprised. "Oh did you now? Thats interesting. Did it say why?" she asked. Ray nodded. "When the King took me to the outside of the Labyrinth, I challenged him to a race back to the castle. Just for fun. And when I finally go to the castle, no one was there. In the note it said that I was invited because I won the race." Ray said as they reached the shop.Bornia laughed. "Now that is something to dress up for." she said with a grin.

Gutaki and Capkea were already there working on their dresses. There had been a closed sign on the door, so that everyone could work on their dresses for the masquerade without having to worry someoneelse's. "Guess what, ladies?" Bornia said as she walked in with Ray and Alopa , who had just arrived as well, trailing behind her. "What?" the three goblins asked at once. "Ray got invited to a private dinner party with the King!" and then the gossiping started. Ray let them be, she need to work on her outfit.

Ray decided to go with the same outfit and mask she had planned the day before, just to make things easier and because she was very much attached to the look. Ray had decided to wear a bodice gown, much like the gowns in medieval movies that one saw the peasant girls wearing, without the sleeves, and with a butterfly mask to match.

Ray, to her delight, found a long light-cream colored skirt that twirled like no other skirt Ray at ever seen. She also found a light sky-blue halter-top dress that stopped near her knees. This also twirled to no end. It might have not been what she was planning, but it worked just as well.

Ray dug out a length of thin brown rope, to match her eyes, and wound it around under her bust and the rest of her lower torso, just like how the ribbon on her other dresscriss -crossed in the front. The only ting different was that Ray tied the rope off in the front. "Perfect." she said as she looked in the mirror. She didn't have to much sewing, she just had to sew the rope into place and then her dress would be done.

Ray then put her finished dress aside, Capeka needed held finding some feathers for hers and Alopa still wasn't sure what she should wear. Gutaki and Zari were busy finding and cutting out fabric for their dresses. Ray had learned over the week that they were sisters, Gutaki being the elder, and they were going to go to the ball in dresses that matched exactly, but would have slightly different masks. Ray thought it would be interesting to watch people guess which one was which and get it wrong.Gutaki and Zari sounded very much the same if you weren't looking them in the face. The masks would make much it harder to tell them apart.

With Capeka's feathers found, Ray turned her full attention to Aopla. Bornia was also helping her. "Oh, I just can't get the mask to match anything!" Alopa wailed. Bornia rubbed her back while Ray examined the mask. It was a crescent moon mask that was the strangest teal color with varying shades of purple to decorate.Alopa was looking for something they had already made, like Ray had, to make things simpler. Ray held the mash up. "Well, you were looking for a teal base. But I think that would be too much. Start with a purple base, maybe a deep violet or royal purple, and then stitch teal patterns onto that. It would contrast very nicely with the mask, and then you can wear those lovely teal heels you like to match." Ray said, with a smile. She had always loved drawing the outfits on all her drawings and took the colors seriously.

Alopa was quite pleased with this idea and went off to find a purple dress that fit her. "You would make a wonderful designer, Ray." Bornia said with a smile of praise. Ray thought on it. "I could try." she said with a shrug. "Do you need any help with your dress?" she askedBornia. Bornia shook her head. "I'm alright. How about you, did you find what you needed?" she asked. Ray nodded. "All I need now are shoes and a mask." she said excitedly. Ray had wanted to go to that mask shop ever sinceBornia mentioned it at Ray's first ball ever. Borina chuckled. "We can go to the mask shop tomorrow. Now go find those shoes, it can take forever to find a shoe your size in this place." she said, walking off to get materials for her own dress.

Ray spent almost half the day looking for a pair of shoes. She needed a pair of brown shoes that fit her and matched her dress. And after and hour of cleaning and sorting the shoes closet her shoes around her size, Ray found a wonderful pair of heeled sandals that matched. They were strap sandals, with a loop for her big toe and an X of brown over the top of her foot. Ray put them on and smiled, they fit great. She might even be able to wear these for a while they fit so good. The only thing Ray did not like about the shoes were that they were inch-tall heels. They weren't stilettos, in fact the heels were thick like boots, but Ray never had much luck with heels. She always ended up slipping or falling over. "Maybe if I wear them a lot, I'll get better at walking in them..." Ray said to herself, taking her red flats, that were now more of a brown-ish color, and putting them in Bornia's bag. She would only wear the sandals form now until after the ball.

Since she had nothing more to find in the little shop, Ray spent the rest of her time sewing beads, buttons, and other things to dress orders.Gutaki and Zari needed help sewing sequins onto their sparkling ocean-blue dresses, and Capeka needed help choosing wear to sew her feathers. When she was done with that, Ray put her dress on a mannequin and began to sew the rope into place.

The sun set and the streets became dark. Ray looked her dress up and down. It looked simple, but fancy as beautiful as well. The fact that it twirled as much at it did went a long way for making it look fancier. And the mask would help finish it off.

With happy good-byes, Bornia and Ray left the shop for home and dinner. Bornia was going to teach Ray how to make the soup she had given her when Ray arrived. "So what is in it?" Ray asked, opened to door forBornia. "A variety of things. Come, I'll show you."

It didn't take long to make the soup, it was really simple. But a few things were in it that made Ray think twice before she took her first sip. Chicken, snail, lizard, basil, rosemary, carrot, and some beans. What A strange soup. But it still tasted just as good.

As they sipped quietly at their soup, Ray spoke up, there was something she had been meaning to ask Bornia. "Bornia?" Ray asked. Bornia looked up form her soup. "Yes, dear?" Ray thought how she was going to say this. "I think I danced with the king that night.." she said, uncertain whatBornia's response would be. Bornia paused mid-sip. "Whats makes you think that?" she asked, not mad, in fact she sounded quite interested. "His eyes.." Ray said, leaning back in her little chair. "I've never seen eyes like his before and the man with the lunar moth mask had his eyes. I swear, it was him..." she said, almost dreamily, thinking back. Bornia leaned back in her chair as well. "I've never seen the King's eyes for myself, but I do know from what people tell me, they are quite stunning. So I would believe you on that maybe it was the King. But you never really know at balls like that. Some goblins use magic to change how they look, just for the fun of things, so it might not have been the King." she said, with a shrug. "But if is was the King, you are one lucky child." Bornia said, going back to her soup.

Ray, out of curiosity, checked her windowsill. There on the ruff wood, sat an envelope. "Cool." Ray said as she took the envelope and sat down at her little desk. Ray opened the envelope, took out a blank and empty envelope and a letter.
"Ray,
Your adventure was so different from mine! Shorter, and lonelier. But I'm glad you're having such a good time! The ball sounded like it was a lot of fun. But it also sounded a little weird. Are you sure it was him that you danced with? And the song, are you sure it was the same one? I dunno about you, but this sounds just a little scary too me. But maybethats because I had such a different experience with him.
And about that "private dinner party", seriously?! You won the race to the castle? You got there before him? That doesn't quite sound possible, but if you like him that much, I'll let you go your own way. But he's dangerous, Ray. Be careful, please. His signing his own name scares me. But everything about him scares me, so oh well.
What are you going to wear for the masquerade? I know you like masks and dressing up, I remember doing that with you when we were little. Are you going to wear the same dress you wore to the first ball? I'd love to see a picture orsomething.
~Sarah"
Ray read. She chuckled half-heartily. Sarah was really scared of the Goblin King. Why did Ray see him so differently? "Sarah's probably right. She had a different experience with him than I did. Maybethats it." she said, putting the letter back in the envelope. She would write back after the ball. Ray went to bed after that. She wanted to get up early so that she andBornia could go to the mask shop.

Ray again woke herself up. Bornia was already up and had breakfast ready. "So you want a butterfly mask, right?" Bornia asked. Ray nodded. "Something I can paint myself so it matches my dress."she said. Bornia nodded. "Alright then. Lets go."

The mask shop wasn't too far from the shop, so when they were done there, Ray and Bornia were going to go the the shop to work on the dresses some more. The mask shop was called Behind Plaster Eyes and the front windows were filled with all sorts of beautiful masks. A bell rang as Ray and Bornia walked in. A little goblin man with spectacles looked their way. "Looking for a mask to wear to the ball?" he asked. Ray nodded. "We would like to look at your blankpre-made masks first, please." Bornia said. The little man waved at them to follow.

The shop was very narrow and very long, with the blank pre-made masks at the very back. "Here we are." the little goblin man said. "These are the ones out here on display, but we have others and more sizes in the back." he said, looking to Ray who looked like a giant inside the store.Bornia nodded in thanks and looked to the masks.

All three walls in the back were filled with masks, and to Ray's delight, half of one wall was all butterfly masks. She looked trough all of them, reading the tags for their name and price. She found one the was particularly pretty. It was the shape of a normal swallowtail butterfly, in fact it was called "swallowtail butterfly mask", and the interesting thing about it was the mosaic pattern of the butterfly's wings was already on the mask. All the shapes were imprinted into the mask, making the lines that divided them stand out. "How much..." Ray said to herself, checking the tag again. "30 coins." it read. "Bornia, how much money can I spend here?" she asked. "One-hundred coins." Bornia said, still looking for a mask herself. Ray smiled, it looked like she had enough money to get this mask in a size that fit and to paint it herself.

Bornia found a mask not too soon after Ray found hers, and they both went up to the clerk. "I need a size down for this mask, and she needs a few sizes up for hers, please."Bornia said. The little clerk got out of his chair and waddled to the back. "Would you two like to pain those here?" he asked. "Yes please."Bornia answered. "I'll be right back then, may I take those masks, please? Thank you." and he disappeared behind a little door in the back.

He came back a few minutes later with the masks and a basket filled with paints. "This way," he said, showing Ray and Bornia to some tables that had dried paint on them. "Here you are. Try on the masks first, just in case." he said handing the masks to them. Ray put her mask to her face, it fit great.Bornia had the same luck with her mask. "Good, when you're done painting come get me." and he went back up to the counter.

Ray went to the larger table and put the mask down. "Now, where to put the colors.." she said, looking for the paints. she found a off-white that was close enough, a light brown and a light blue. She looked to the mask, trying to remember what a real swallowtail butterfly looked like. The edges of the wings were black, along with the tiger stripes that came down from the top. Then the spots on the edges of the wings and the rest of them were yellow. "We'll changes that." Ray said with a smile.

Ray was nearly done when Bornia came to check on her. "How are you doing, dear?" she asked. Ray carefully picked up her mask to show Bornia what she had done. "How do you like it?" she asked. The spots were brown, while the edges of the wings and the stripes were blue. Ray was just filling in the rest with cream. "Oh it's beautiful darling."Bornia said with a smile. "Hows yours?" Ray asked, peering over to Bornia's table. Bornia's mask was a fiery sunflower. "I just finished, do you like it?" she asked. Ray nodded. "It's very nice. I like how you blended the colors in the petals." she said, admiring the yellow-to-orange change. "Oh thank you. Now finish up so these can dry." she said.

The little goblin man took both masks one at a time and put them in the oven in the back to dry. "They'll be done in about an hour. You can stay here, or you can come back later to get them." he said as they walked to the front of the shop. "We'll come back."Bornia said, putting fifty coins on the counter. "I'll pay the rest when we get back." she said. The clerk nodded and Ray and Bornia left the little mask shop.

They walked to Five little gowns rather quickly, Zari said she was bringing lunch again. The smell of fresh-baked bread and brisket filled the shop. "Oh I love brisket!" Ray said, walking inside. Gutaki and Zari were serving Alopa and Capeka. "Oh, I'm so glad you two made it!" Gutaki said, filing two plates with mouth-watering brisket while Zari sliced them two healthy slices of bread. "I presume you two found masks?" Alopa asked, taking a bite. Ray nodded, her mouth full. "Yes, Ray found a beautiful butterfly mask and I got myself a new sunflower mask. The paint is drying now."Bornia said before she took a bite of buttered bread. "Wonderful! I can't wait." Capeka said.

After Ray and Bornia picked up and paid the rest for their masks, they went back to the shop. Ray helped Alopa stitch patterns of teal onto her deep purple gown. As she was stitching, Ray thought of something she could do to up her own costume. "I'll be back,Alopa." she said getting up and starting her hunt for materials.

Ray found a spool of wire and cloth that matched her dress. She measured the wire, then cut and shaped it into small butterfly wings with a long tail on the bottom wings. She then went to work making a case to put over the wire.

The sun was setting once again when Ray finished her wings. She had sewn the wings to look like her mask and then slipped them onto the wire frame, then she sewed them tight and onto the back of her dress, so that she now had a pair of butterfly wings coming out of the small of her back like a bow. "Nowthats good." Ray said, walking around her dress.

The rest of the week passed in a hurry. They were busy finding the things they needed, fixing mistakes and trying the dresses on the make sure they fit. The day of the ball came and Ray found herself getting terrible anxious. What if I'm not dressed up enough? she worried as she bathed. What if I slip up? all these "what if" questions ran through her head. "Oh I can't do this by myself..." she sighed. But she was going to have to do it by herself, she was the only one she knew of that was invited.

After dinner, Ray and Bornia headed to the shop. Ray had gotten much better at walking in her heels and she felt confident that she wouldn't fall. But doubts still tugged at the edge of her mind. She tried to breath deeply and tell herself that it was going to be okay, but waves of heat still washed over her body.

"Okay, you can look now." said either Gutaki or Zari, Ray didn't know which. The two of them stood in front of Ray, Bornia, Capeka and Alopa. "Oh wow!" Ray said, looking at the two of them. they wore sequin mermaid dress with almost the same seashells mask. "You two look wondrous!"Alopa said, clapping. "I really can't tell which one is which." Capeka said, Bornia agreed with her. Gutaki and Zari laughed. "Good." they said at once. "Your turn Alopa." they said. Alopa smiled and then went off to get her costume.

Alopa came out a minute later wearing her dress. "Beautiful!" Ray said with a smile. The others agreed. Cakepa later came out with her cat costume on, it was quite realistic. Bornia then dawned her fiery sunflower outfit. It was beautiful. "Your turn, Ray." Gutaki said. Or maybe it was Zari, Ray couldn't tell. "Alright.." she said, the pain in her chest coming back.

Just a moment later, Ray walked out with her dress on. "You look wonderful, darling." Bornia said, she knew about Ray's anxiety. Ray smiled. "Thanks." she said. Just then, the doorbell rung. "That must be the carriage." Capeka said, getting the door. Indeed it was the carriage and the night of the ball began.

It was strange, being announced to a large crowd of people as you came down the stairs. Everyone looked at you. Ray felt very self conscious for the first thirty minutes of the ball, but then, as she talked, she felt better about herself.

Ray didn't dance this time, mostly because no one asked her, but also she was sure that the Goblin King as cast some sort of magic that made her dance so well last time. She just sipped champagne and talked to the other goblin women who did not dance.

It was more fun this time. Ray didn't quite know who everyone was, and the masks didn't really help, but she knew the topics they were talking about and could slide politely into a conversation. "So,darlin'," a women dressed as a human girl said to Ray. Ray looked up to show she was listening. "Where do you get your dresses? I love the subtlety of yours. It's so simple, but it's got a lot of fancy to it, y'know what I mean?" she said. She had sort of a rich-girl city accent. Ray smiled. "I got it at Five little gowns. I work there and designed my costume myself." she said. The goblins surrounding her looked surprised. "Oh really, now? Five little gowns, y'said, right?" the goblin asked her. Ray nodded. "You designed your own dress? Darlin' you got talent!"" said another goblin. Ray blushed. 'Thanks.."She said shyly. The conversation went on over to dresses and sewing after that.

The ball ended and Ray said goodbye to her friends. "We'll tell the carriage to come back here in a few hours to pick you up." Capeka said.
"Thanks"
"Have fun dear." said Bornia.
"Yes, enjoy yourself, everything will be fine." said Zari, they had taken off their masks.
"I will. And thank you again." Ray said, waving good-bye.

Ray slowly walked up into the throne room. She was the first to arrive. As she waited for the other guests, Ray thought about why she had chosen a butterfly mask. It was a sort of message to the King. "I know it was you" was what Ray wanted to get across. She had no idea if it would work, but she hoped it would.

The other guests came in one by one. Ray didn't recognize any of them. And there goes the last shred of my courage... Ray thought, feeling her face grow hot under her mask. A guide came into the room and directed the Ray and the other guests to the dinning hall. So glad I ate a small dinner. Ray thought as she was shown her seat. If she had eaten any more food, she wouldn't be able to put one thing in her mouth here.

There was a minutes of silence after all the guests were seated. The goblin that showed them in cleared his throat. "His majesty, the Goblin King." he announce as the King walked in. Ray had to hold back a gasp. He was wearing a pale-blue lunar moth mask. The same one he had worn before! I was right. she thought. He walked to the table, and Ray noticed with a burning sensation that she was sitting right next to him.

The King sat down, and with one swift and graceful movement, moved his owl-feather cloak out of the way. Ray did her best not to stare at him, trying to fit in with the crowd around her. Only moments later, the food arrived. A plate of steaming brisket was placed in front of everybody, along with the needed silverware. How convenient... Ray thought, stealing a glance at the King. He was leaning back in his chair, looking at her. Ray quickly returned her gazed to her food.

Wine was brought in right after that and everyone dug into their meal. Not much of a party. Ray thought as she tried a slice of brisket. The brisket was okay, but not as good as Zari's. Ray leaned back in her chair as she chewed and glanced about the table. Everyone looked like they were waiting for something to happen.

After a few minutes of silence, the King spoke. "How was he ball?" he asked casually. When no one answered, Ray spoke up. "It was very nice, your highness. Did you enjoy it?" she asked. Looking his way. The flame in her chest still hurt and the butterflies in her stomach would not calm down. Everyone looked at Ray like she had committed some sort of taboo. The King smiled. "I enjoyed it very much. Masquerades are my favorite." he said sipping his wine. Everyone still stared at Ray and she suddenly became very self-conscious. Is there something in my teeth? she asked herself, discreetly running her tongue over her teeth. Nope. So why is everybody looking at me like that?! Ray was starting to panic. Then it hit her. I'm looking at the King. Thats what caught them off guard. she thought, turning back to her brisket and taking another bite.

Conversation slowly arose between the other guests, there were eight of them, but no one ever addressed the King unless he spoke to them first. Ray mostly kept quiet, enjoying her dinner and trying not to overheat. "You've a very interesting mask." the King said to Ray. Ray looked up. He had barely touched his food and was leaning back in his chair. "Thank you, your majesty. You have a very interesting mask as well. Familiar in a way..." Ray turned back to her food to glance at the King sideways when she spoke the last sentence. That caught his attention. "Oh? Familiar in what way?" he asked in a cool voice. Ray pretended to think. "I could have sworn I saw a man with that same mask at the that ball you kindly invited me to." she said, testing to see if she was right, watching his face. But his expression didn't change at all. "Hm." he said, and that was the end of that conversation.

When everyone was done with dinner, the plates were taken away and everyone was shown to a large balcony that overlooked the city. The other guests huddled together and chattered about whatever while Ray leaned up on the railing, looking out over the city. "Such a beautiful place." she said with a sigh. "Oh, Sarah, why did you leave? You could have had anything. Anything in the world..." she said shaking her head. "She left because of her brother." a smooth voice came form behind her. Ray whirled around to face the King. His white and pale-blue costume glowing in the moonlight. His cape wafted gently on an unseen breeze. "Toby?" Ray asked, watching the King as he came to sand just two feet away. He nodded. "She could not bear the thought of him becoming a goblin. But you, Ray," he said, turning to look her in the eyes. Ray almost forgot to breath. "You are very different. You crave this sort of life. You wished for it and didn't wish it away when you got it." he stepped closer. Ray forgot to breath altogether. "I like that." he said, an irresistible smile on his lips.

It took Ray a moment to recover, but when she did, she smiled back. "You like that?" she asked, looking down. He didn't say anything, just looked at her. Ray chuckled and looked back out to the city. "Well,thats a good thing. Right?" she asked again. He chuckled. It sent shivers up and down Ray's spine. "Yes, yes it is." he said softly.

They stood in silence for a long while and Ray could feel someone drilling holes in the back of her head. Or maybe it was everybody on the other side of the balcony. "They don't like me." Ray said. The king glanced over to her. "They envy you." he said, confirming Ray's statement. "Why?" she asked still looking out over the city. It was easier to breath when she wasn't looking at him. "You can look me in the eye. Many people have a hard time just looking at me in general. Usually they're looking at something behind me, keeping me in the corner of their eye." he said. "Why? Did you have a bad reputation for sweeping young girls off their feet when they look you in the eye?" she asked. He looked at her. "I sweep you off your feet do I?" he asked. Ray instantly regretted saying what she did and didn't respond. He chuckled, quite amused, but left it alone.

Ray stared out over the city for a long time, just looking at the lights twinkle like stars. She could see the Goblin King out of the corner of her left eye and she noticed they were painfully close. She also noticed the drilling to the back of her head stopped. Ray turned around to find that all the other guests had gone. "Where-?" she asked, looking around. "They were shown down to the gates about thirty minutes ago." the King said simply. Ray looked up at him. He had a smug smile on his face. "I found you figured out it was me you danced with during dinner. I thought you might like to dance again." he said, holding out his hand. As he did, music began to play. It wasn't the same tune as before. In fact it was very different. It had a sort of lift, like Ray was on a new adventure. Slowly, she took his hand and he swept her off her feet.

They danced for a long time, the music never seeming to end. Ray savored ever second. He likes me. Like, really likes me. Oh my, I never thought something like this would happen. Never thought I'd live in the world of my dreams. But here I am, living in a world beyond the one I was born into, and, best of all, I'm dancing with the most handsome and charming man I've ever met! If only it could go on forever. she thought as they swayed to the music. Then a thought came to Ray's mind that made her giggle. "What is it?" the King asked, in the same silk voice he always had. Ray looked up to him. "I feel like Cinderella." she said. Ray did feel like Cinderella. She had come from a simple little household, to the castle and was now dancing alone with the King. But she was going to have to go home soon, just like Cinderella. The King chuckled. "What?" Ray asked, he had an amused look on his face. "Nothing you need to worry about now." he said with a sly smile. Ray pouted but left it alone.

It ended all too soon. The music finally stopped and the King showed Ray down to the gates where a carriage waited for her. She hesitated on the steps. "Your highness?" she turned to look at him once more. He raised and eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"It depends. What is it?"
"Can I call you by your name? At least when we are alone?"
There was silence. Ray bit her lip.
"........Yes." and then she was ushered into the carriage.
Yes. she thought, smiling to herself.