Chapter 1: The Invitation

BEAUTY is found in every corner of an Englisian's home. The pastel curtains printed with small chamomile flowers opened, revealing the rosy morning outside the window. Orange hues of the dawn sunshine lingered upon the bed of Elizabeth. Anaj, the caretaker of the princess, went over the sleeping damsel to wake her up.

Elizabeth Corvinus has been living her whole life inside these walls. She was only allowed to stroll in the palace grounds but has never stepped foot beyond those gates. Yawning, Elizabeth stretched her arms with her graceful movements as she pushed herself to sit on the bed. Her eyes, then, followed her caretaker who was ransacking the wardrobe.

"Why too early, Anaj?" Elizabeth groaned.

"Oh, stop the sulking, Your Highness. We have a ball to attend tonight." Anaj winked at the princess who was giggling.

" I hope we will not be caught, Anaj, or the Queen will have our head on a plate." Elizabeth pushed the blankets off her legs before she got herself out of the bed.

"That is scary." Anaj laughed while throwing the red dress on the bed. Anaj continued,"Ah, no, red can flinch heads. Let's use hues that are not too... eye-catching. "

Her thoughts are now flooded with the possible colors to use without getting caught.

"I think I'm going to use red." Elizabeth flinched at Anaj who looked at her with playful gazes. She said," If I were to rebel once, then I must savor the moment."

Anaj sighed. She can't say no to the princess. For all she cares about nothing but the princess' happiness and freedom.

"What do you think?" Elizabeth playfully moved her eyebrows up and down, anticipating for her caretaker to approve her decision.

"Since when did I say no to you?"

As the princess and her caretaker giggled as they prepared for the grand evening, there was peace on the other side of the kingdom. Where crows can sing without the dead, and roses grow on mud. The rain stopped so as the thunder but the scolding of a father did not even calm. There, on the desk, facing fields outside the window, disappointments have erupted like a grenade without its pin.

GENERAL ALEKSANDER KIUS, known for his name and ruthlessness in the battleground, is being scolded by his own father. Sighing, he stared at the one who gave life to him. But those stares did not even radiate a single affection for the man who raised him.

"You have to get yourself a wife, boy. Man up!" Lord Aleksandrus, General Kius' father exclaimed.

"As of the moment, women do not interest me, Father." Aleksander sighed. " We're in the middle of a war and I don't think that a woman can help me with it."

" Ah, women are a big help, boy. Who will mend your home and take care of you when you're back from the war? Do you not fancy the idea of coming home to a wife and a child or children?" Lord Aleksandrus persuaded him.

General Kius closed his eyes, trying not to irritate himself over this pettiness, " Father, as much as I want to have my own family. I can't afford having a wife to die out of worry, knowing I am engaging in a bloodshed. For all I know, she'll die before I come home."

"Aleksander!" Lord Aleksandrus grasped his chest. "That is not how—"

The rants were silenced by his ears the moment he found a letter, scented with roses and designed with gold lines on its edges. His father's words seemed to have no place in his head as he read the letter.

An invitation? For a masquerade ball? He received a lot of this every year, during spring season. But he pay no attention to these kinds of letters since it will only create a distraction to his line of work. Speaking of distraction, this might be a good reason to escape his father's preaches.

Now that his father will stay in his shelter for this night, it could be a good reason to stay for a while. If he stays in this house for tonight, it will mean death to him. Aleksander knows that his father will not stop unless he is completely convinced.

"Fine." Aleksander sighed, " I will find a wife."

His father stared at him, weighing if his son was really convinced or he was just lying.

"There's a masquerade ball tonight in the palace. The Queen sent me an invitation," Lord Aleksandrus nodded at his son's statement.

Convinced, he persuaded more, "That's good! You will only become a man if you will have a woman in your home, Aleksander. I am zealous that you have finally decided to listen to my words. For now, I must rest. I can't die without seeing you with your wife and children. You're my only son and I demand you to have children, atleast a dozen."

General Kius sighed, "Rest now, Father." He called one of his maidens and said, "Maj, do send my father to his chamber. Thank you."

His eyes settled on the letter of invitation. It took him a short while to finally decide. Aleksander took his coat that was hanging behind his chair and stood from his seat. Oh, and the things he does for him and his father's peace of mind. Even if it means going to a boring ball, he will go as long as it will stop his father from preaching about cork wives.

THE SUN FINALLY lost its glam on the sky. Lamps have now lit the Englisian streets. Ladies wore their finest gowns and silks as they rode in their carriages to attend the masquerade ball. Men took their dates and boasted their titles. The gates of the palace were now open for guests. For the masquerade is now finally open for all.

"Is everything ready now, Anaj?" Elizabeth's voice echoed as she stepped in front of a tall mirror.

Anaj almost teared up upon seeing how elegant the princess was. Elizabeth's eyes widened when she saw herself in the mirror. Her hair fell behind her like expensive strings of charcoal. It complimented the red dress that she wore. Her chest are more defined, lines curved under those collar bones in perfection. Even her body looked like it was sculpted into fine curves.

"The world is amazed by your beauty, Elizabeth. You may not be blonde like her but...you are beautiful." Elizabeth saw Anaj through the mirror, smiling at her.

"Are you only saying that because you pity me, Anaj?" Anaj laughed at Elizabeth's retort.

"You guess." Winking as she took the couple of invitation cards and faced the princess, "We'll sneak out on the back. The carriage is already prepared. Everything will go well."

Elizabeth turned around to face her caretaker, "Let's go!"

The two ran through the hallways in silence, not waiting for any royal guards to catch them sneaking out of the palace. As they were able to push the old wooden backdoor open, Elizabeth parted her lips as she witnessed a black carriage in front of them.

It doesn't look elegant as the other carriages they had in the palace.Yet it looks like what she has wanted the most. It looks exactly like freedom. It's just one night. One to rebel and experience the things she has never done before.

THE SOUND OF WHEELS and the hoofs of horses crushing the asphalt of the road stopped everyone.

"General Kius is here," a woman whispered to her companion.

"Really?" another woman gasped at the news.

"Here he is!" and the ladies swooned over the silver carriage that stopped in front of the palace entrance.

The carriage door opened. General Aleksander Kius stepped out of it, creating murmurs and faint gasps from the ladies that were waiting for his presence. Of all the men in the area, he was one of the most awaited guests to attend. Not because he was that important to the kingdom, but because this was his first.

"General, you're here?" A woman took off her mask, revealing who she was and put it back again.

Penelophe Von Wroblewritz, an Englisian Duchess who was once betrothed to the General. Her blonde hair was braided and rose up to her head, like an elegant bun covered in small roses. Her blue-themed dress matched those glistening blue eyes.

She made a curtsy in front of the General, her knees terribly wobbling at the presence of this cold man. But despite how the General shrugs her off, Penelophe is still blushing in red.

"How embarrassing…" the other women murmured when the General did not even give a second glance at the poor duchess.

General Kius caught a glimpse of himself as he walked past a mirror. His black suit is just the right color for this evening. Though other men have fancy lighter hues, he wanted everything to be as dark as possible. His long, black hair climbed its way down to his waist and tied in the cleanest way.

As he roamed his eyes around the ball, he recognized someone. Without another word, he decided to go closer and meet the old friend. It would be better to have a companion at times like this than to sulk alone in the corners.

"Arthur," his deep voice stopped the man from talking to the women.

Arthur Vecce, a Lord of one of the Englisian's lands in the south, turned around to meet the General towering from behind. General Kius sighed upon seeing the old friend's gape in his presence.

"You're here?" Arthur blinked, and even tried to take the mask off of the General to really confirm if it was him.

The General stopped him by raising his hand and that's when Arthur recognized him.

"Oh, it's really you. No doubt about it." Arthur laughed as he roamed his eyes around. "What made you come here, Alek?"

Aleksander sighed, "Same as the reason why there are nights that I stayed in your home before."

Arthur shook his head, laughing at how unfortunate his friend was, "Uh-huh! Looks like I just had the perfect solution for that. Penelophe's here—"

"Not her." Aleksander sighed.

"Well, there are still a bunch of beautiful ladies around us. You have the looks. It will be so easy for you to end the night in a bed with the woman of your taste," Arthur's eyes followed a woman who smiled at them. "I'm afraid I have to leave you alone for a while, General."

"Go on, then." Aleksander nodded softly.

"There are wines over there. Loosen up, man."

As the host of the evening began to talk about something that General Kius wasn't listening to, Elizabeth entered the palace entrance and caught everyone's eyes on her. The red dress made her the apple of their stares.

"Who is she?" There were murmurs but it was drowned by the loud instruments of the performers.

Everyone's eyes were now back to the center of the ballroom. But General Kius' eyes remained on the woman hiding under that red mask. Anaj whispered in her ear before leaving her giggling.

Elizabeth wandered her eyes all over the place. Without any knowledge of who or where she should be, she stood beside General Kius who was already staring at her.

AS THE CROWD began to get wilder, someone in front of them took a step back, and accidentally pushed Elizabeth from her heels. She lost her balance and almost lost her faith too.

But as fortunate as she could ever be, a hand snaked around her waist and stopped her from falling down the floor. Behind the busy crowd, two people found their way to each other. Elizabeth brought her eyes up to the man who caught her. He caught her but she was already falling deep into those green eyes.

"T-Thank you…" Elizabeth pushed herself up and created a gap between him and the man. "The heels are really killing me like the corset. I had no idea why I have to torment my life like this just to enjoy this night." She giggled awkwardly.

General Kius pocketed his lips to stop himself from smiling.

"How about you? Did you somehow torment your life just to come here?" Elizabeth asked him, her eyes focusing on the face as she tried so hard to guess who this person was.

General Kius cleared his throat, " I have."

"Oh, I recognize that sword. Y-You're a General? In one of the wars?" Elizabeth asked.

General Kius heaved up a soft breath, " Yes."

"I am intrigued. Did you just left your camp just to attend this ball?"

General Kius' lips parted at Elizabeth's question, " No."

"Oh, that's good. What a relief. Then what are you doing here? I don't mean to sound rude but you should be leading the war, am I right?"

General Kius smirked, " You seem interested in my responsibilities, Miss. It is none of your business."

" Oh, I am interested in everything right now, General. You see, it is my first time attending this kind of event. My mother never allowed me to step outside my bedroom without her orders. But not tonight. Will you arrest me for being rebellious?"

General Kius shook his head, "Your rebellion to your mother is none of my business."

" Oh, right. It shouldn't be your business at all. So, what's your name?"

GENERAL KIUS was about to answer when Elizabeth cut him off, " Ah, no, don't give me your name. This is a masquerade ball for a reason. So, I will guess."

This is the only woman he met who entertained him a lot. General Kius anticipated and shook his head to every wrong guess that Elizabeth utter.

"John?"

"Pierre?"

"I give up."

Elizabeth was too stunned to speak again when he saw this cold man's shoulder shivered as he laughed. General Kius cleared his throat, looked away before towering over her small figure.

"It's Aleksander."

Elizabeth bit her lower lip and smiled, "Elizabeth."

He took her hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of her palm. Elizabeth almost gasped when his lips met her skin.

He stared at her, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth coldly stated, "It should be."

He was confused at her sudden change of mood. Upon seeing Aleksander's puzzled look, Elizabeth erupted into laughter.

"I was just acting. Did I fooled you?" She giggled.

General Kius smirked. He never felt this amused to a woman before.

"You can fool me in any way you want, Elizabeth."