Alice was walking a bit around in Baska Town, she was not completely aware of what she was doing but she was just mindless aiming to do something, so mindless that she almost bumped into one of the apprentices. "Oops sorry." But the apprentice looked rather glad to see her, and told her that he was looking for the higher ranks and he was super glad to see her because there was someone looking for a knight and a guild mage to help him protect his life. She raised her eyebrow and followed the apprentice to the office where he told her that someone else was scouting for a Guild mage.

She quickly sat down and looked at the knights here, apparently no one was informed about her condition and she was rather glad about that. She had no idea what else to do or say but now that she sat here, she was certain that she didn't belong and she didn't want to belong. She took the letter that the Marquis had send about his protection, someone was planning to take his place and steal his money, so called throne and heritage and he needed people to protect him. He organized a ball to have people invited, hoping the assassin wouldn't plan to strike him when there were more people, still not feeling safe he invited a knight and another mage, which the apprentice was looking for. She wondered who it would be and if she knew that person.

The other day, at lamp light, Snowflake received a letter and it wasn’t just any other letter. It was sealed with a scarlet stamp as the letter danced idly across the gloved hand of an unknown woman, and more so, it had an unfamiliar name scrawled across the front. The woman stared at it carefully as she flipped it between her fingers and let her eyes graze over the letters engraved on the brittle sheet of yellow paper.

Though it had been brief in reality, the journey towards the rendezvous with the apprentice who hired her seemed to have stretched on for eons to her, as if time was thinned out into a linear form that made her steps just a tad bit slower, if not from sheer uneasiness. She would have preferred to stay home with a warm cup of coffee, reading a book on a wintry day such as this day, albeit apparently, the apprentice required her assistance. The woman released a long sigh and began brushing the tangles out of her white, frothy strands of hair before bringing it up into a high ponytail.

Underneath the black leather jacket was a plain, white shirt tucked inside her pants of the matching colour as her jacket. Heels clacked against the wooden floorboards, fast and loud, as she rapped against the door with her knuckles before allowing herself inside the office. There was something about this woman; confidence oozed out of her body and she appeared as if she had no care in the world. Snowflake wasn’t even sure of the reason why she was here, and for all she cared, this so-called apprentice could have invited someone else to protect his precious life instead, but seeing how she had nothing else to do for the day, she willingly accepted the request.

”Hello.”

The woman greeted and strutted over to the vacant seat, until a glimpse of coral attracted her attention. There was only one among those whom she’d met, with such bright coloured hair. ”Alice?” The question came off more as a surprise, since the female had not expected to see her again. It had been so long since their last encounter, which was at the Magnolia’s bath house where they had to chase away some pervert lingering around to stalk girls. Snowflake doubted the girl would even remember her, due to her change in appearance. But, after running into a familiar face, she felt like she made the right decision coming her after all.

While she was reading the message about the job that they required her for, she wondered what she needed to dress like for a ball and if the knights wanted to have some orginazed formal wear or the man himself. She would first have to wait for another person to arrive, which was good that the person wasn't here yet so she had enough time to freak out. She heard a hello and noticed Hecate and Jupiter to look up immediately and she folded the letter to stand up as well, more polite.

She didn't recognize this person that said her own name in surprise. She sure wasn't losing her memory was she? So she tilted her head to the left, opened her mouth to answer the greeting but no name came in her mind. "Sorry I can't recall your name." She felt very embarrassed and the whole idea that this might be someone from a guild and that she was no friends and making no good impression for the Knights at all.

If the person would introduce herself Alice would sigh in relieve and ask her how she was doing. However they were fastly rushed to the door, "Lord Gaspard wants to see you two before the ball begins at the end of the afternoon." Which made her freak out about the outfit again and she simply nodded and asked Snow if she would walk with her, towards the castle near the church of Baska. "I wonder why he didn't hire any mercenaries. And I wonder.." she started to whisper, "Why the knights accepted this job." How much was this lord paying them to do this? She pulled her leather jacket closer around her body and simply crossed her arms in front of her chest and stomach to try and not put the attention to it. No one would be able to see the little baby bump but if she would have to wiggle herself in a dress, it might be a problem. Maybe she needed to tell Snow, maybe her friend could help her.

”I’m Snow. Do you remember?”

The female raised her eyebrows, in hope that she would at least recall the time that they had met before. It wasn’t until she realised that Snowflake had not even mention her name to the other girl, that she even felt slamming her head against a wall. Where were her manners? If she had introduced herself in their first counter, then she wouldn’t feel this horrible.

”Do you remember the fire at the church? And the one at the bath house?”

Snowflake wouldn’t be surprised if she was bewildered by her appearance since she looked very different compared to their last meeting. ”Apologies, I didn’t get to introduce myself before. I’m Snowflake. Pleasure to meet you, once again.” She repeated her name, and hopefully, the other female will remember her this time. It was just when she decided to take a seat, a man entered the room claiming that the lord requested their presence. The snow haired maiden simply nodded as they began to head towards their destination.

”So, I suppose all we have to do is to protect the lord?”

The woman asked, still unsure about the objective of the job as she absently smoothed the strands of her silver strands over one side of her shoulder. She wondered what kind of reward would they be getting from the request – that was all she cared about. ”I don’t honestly think we’re even necessary for this,” the female declared, pondering that the lord could have just been satisfied with some knights but no, he had to go all the way and ask assistance from the higher ranks.

What a crap load of work, she thought.

Alice looked at the pretty woman and wasn't entirely sure if they had met before but it was the only thing possible since she knew her name, but when she heard the name Snow there was a small tingling feeling that told her that they indeed met before but the Snow she had seen in Magnolia, looked completely different. "Oh Snow, of course I remember, sorry you look so different from what I remember. It is so nice to see you again, funny that we meet again at a job in a totally different town." Ah so her complete name was Snowflake, how interesting, she wasn't entirely sure if she could recall correctly that she had introduced herself in Magnolia, she vaguely remembered the name Snow so she believed so.

Alice still sat and smiled towards Snowflake, happy to see her again and perhaps get to know her better, that's when one of the apprentices came in, saluted and ordered them to follow to Lord Gaspard whose name she had heard vaguely and because she had just read the letter about the job. "It is basically that yeah, he believes someone is after his life and wants to attempt to be him, apparently he is a bit secretive so it should be easy. He wants us to attend the masquerade he is holding so we can keep an eye on things and find out who is the assassin before anything happens." Thank god she had just read the letter and she could tell Snow, she wasn't surprised that she didn't know. She assumed the apprentices didn't mingle with the job and only came to fetch them.

"I agree, my knights at least I'm sure they are capable enough but for the safety and well precaution we can never be entirely sure of course. We shall see I assume, anyway how are you since I have only seen you a long time ago in Magnolia." She said turning the conversation to the white haired beauty she barely knew, was it again that she felt jealous for how someone looked? She quickly tried to push it away, as still pushing away the thoughts of costumes, would it all fit?! She wasn't allowed to think about it!

Hecate was very interested in Snow as she was in most strangers while Jupiter absolutely didn't like that someone was walking beside Alice so he took the other side and kept a close eye on Snow while still giving off the idea it was only for protection.

It was uncommon for Snowflake to run into familiar faces albeit, it was of typical occurrence to find her with her particularly bright silver hair in the most austere locations at the most random of times, and that wasn’t entirely made up of her travel reasons. ”Ah, yes. I had some…necessary changes with my appearance,” She preferred keeping the reason behind her transformation a secret to most and not even her lover knew about the demon that resided within her – not yet. Snowflake wasn’t surprised by the other female’s reaction to her sudden change, it was to be expected; a mix of awe, confused and awkward stares, even from her own guild mates.

The white haired female would nod at certain times to display that she was indeed, listening to Alice’s words, instead of spacing out and being lost in her own thoughts, like how she normally would be. It wasn’t until a specific event was mentioned among one of the sentences causing her to abruptly halt in her steps, ”A masquerade?” How come she’d never heard of it? Was that possibly mentioned in the message that was delivered the night before? If Snowflake had actually read the letter thoroughly, she wouldn’t have made such a grief mistake. The demon gazed down at her own attire and pondered to herself whether her outfit was representable enough for the event.

As long as she looked good, nothing should be a bother – she thought.

”Of course, the apprentice’s safety should be the highest priority,” was what passed her lips, yet, little did anyone know that Snowflake didn’t give two cents about this man – the reward was the only thing that summoned her here. ”I’ve been doing partly horrible, and partly good,” Simplicity at its best; her words were short and straight-forward and it did technically described how she had been doing since their last rendezvous.

”What brings you to Baska?”

The woman asked, her question directed to the other beauty as her silvery optics involuntarily glided over to Jolteon and Glaceon, who remained on each side of their owner, providing a source of security to the coral haired female. ”Are those your companions?” Those were the uncommon kinds that the Fiore wizards wished to obtain, and the only one she knew who had more than one was her own beau; Chelvaric, although she was informed that one was murdered after an ambush. The man was in distraught after the tragic incident, although, she was glad that he quickly moved on afterwards and was even able to attain a new friend.

Alice only nodded, she wouldn't pry in people their business when it came to that. Ana had changed appearance, Konstantin looked different, or had she made that up in some weird attempt? She would shrug if she was alone but right now she simply made a shrug in her mind, she shouldn't think to much about it, for it was rude to think too much while there was a conversation going on. She always tried to avoid that. "You look good though," Alice said with a little chuckle to let Snow know that she didn't plan to ask her anything more about it.

She was explaining the job to Snow, walking on until she looked at her side and didn't see Snow, so she stopped and looked back, she had only taken about five steps before she had noticed. Compliments to herself being so quick, "Jupp, he apparently has clothing for us so don't worry about that, he even took care of the masks. Lords, I bet they throw money away for such nonsense things, I bet he even has choice for us," she said with a chuckle, she wondered still about what she should be able to wear, "Only thing is.. no offense, does he intend for us to dance with each other or with others?" She really meant no offensive but she wondered if it would be normal for more women to dance with each other, or if this guy was as old fashioned as possible. It would probably be a quick way to infiltrate but she rather had not that problem.

She turned the conversation after she agreed with the lord his safety, basically because they were paid for that. She asked how Snow was doing after their meeting in Magnolia and nodded again, Snow was straight to the point without telling anything more about it, totally opposite of Alice and she wondered if Snow find her annoying or if she was talking too much, "Oh, I came here because Kon, my boy- I mean fiance," she should definitely get used to the word.. husband in the future, "Had some business here and well because it was busy they could use some knights here." While she said that Snow asked her shortly another question about Jupiter and Hecate and she looked at the two companions that were walking closely next to her, "Ah yes, they found me and decided to stick with me. He is Jupiter," she pointed at the Jolteon, "and she is Hecate." and she pointed shortly at the Glaceon. Who looked up shortly and made a sound as if she was trying to say hello. Jupiter didn't even look up.

"I met a couple of more, three to be exact and they are very interesting and beautiful creatures."

”Thank you,” The female would reply, and to be honest, Snowflake didn’t quite know how she should respond upon receiving a compliment – as it wasn’t so often that it occurred to her. It seemed that Alice had taken notice of her worries, and she was quick to reassure her that the lord had clothing for them to prepare themselves for the masquerade. That caused the snow haired maiden to release a sigh of relief from her lips. ”I bet,” she agreed, for lords in this country were selfish creatures who mostly liked spending money only for themselves.

”None taken, but, I think I’d prefer dancing with you than those filthy men.”

The woman shook her head – the thought of herself dancing with old men who had no sense of fashion (she assumed) was almost unbearable to her. Besides, if she had known that she would be attending a masquerade, she wouldn’t even have accepted the invitation from the beginning, although, she did enjoy wearing fancy dresses and seeing herself dolled up by the artists; the only thing that she adored in these sorts of events.  

Snowflake was a woman with very little words and with very few expressions, whose attitude was mostly frowned upon by others. People, most of the time, considered her brutally honest and blunt personality as an offense and preferred not to approach her, but truth be told, she never purposely had any intentions behind her words. If she disliked someone, it wouldn’t take her long to tell them that she loathed their presence around them – as infrequent as it may be. Albeit, Alice was someone she enjoyed being with, and ever since she met her, Snowflake was aware that she was a gentle woman and that gorgeous hair of hers; it was her favourite. Bright coloured hair was something that she had always admired from a far, unlike hers, pale and colourless, though it had a certain attraction of its own.

”Oh, you have a fiancé?”

It almost came to her as a surprise, but then, she realised they haven’t seen each other for a very long time, a lot must have happened while they were away – it certainly did for her, at the very least. ”He must be a very lucky man.” A soft smile grew on her lips as she shifted her attention back towards Alice’s companions. ”I’ve seen slightly similar ones from a very close comrade of mine. Indeed, they are very interesting creatures.” She recalled how Chelvaric would bring Elisa everywhere with him, even on the quests that she was already starting to get used to her presence. It reminded her of her previous companion, a Snow Vulpix that she used to have, until it disappeared one day.

Snowflake wasn’t one to be emotional, nonetheless, there was a hint of sorrow over the features of her face. The vulpix was her first ever friend that she had obtained since she entered a world filled with mages and wizards and seeing her disappear so suddenly was heartbreaking for her. There was nothing she could do, other than to wish the best for Vysella, wherever she went. Not wanting to ruin the atmosphere, she immediately pushed her thoughts away.

”Shall we get ready for the masquerade then?”

Alice smiled back at Snow when she noticed that she breathe in relieve because of the idea that the lord would provide them with clothing, "I try to see it in the brightest way, it will probably be the most expensive outfit I would ever wear." She couldn't help but laugh when Snow exactly took the question as she meant it, "I would rather dance with you as well instead of indeed filthy men. I bet they are the lord Gaspard his best friends and I do not think I like types like that." She said with a chuckle and she smiled again at Snow before walking on towards the castle where they had to be right on time to be able to be properly dressed up for this masquerade.

Besides she rather had no strange people getting closer to her, she didn't dare to trust anyone tonight but Snow and the hand full of apprentices from her Rune Knight Squad that she had managed to get along, but they would be dare as waiters and she felt horrible for them, because it was basically her doing but you would never know what would happen tonight and a little back-up couldn't be harmfull. Besides she had more eyes and ears now, people like that tend to forget about the waiting party and thus she would know far more than if the two of them were alone. She only had to find a way to tell Snow without letting anyone else hear it, she would find the perfect time at some point.

She continued to walk towards the castle, it was huge and she wasn't sure how they would be able to figure out what was all going on with just the two of them, an assassin could be everywhere. Perhaps it would be nice to walk around the castle before, but she would see what happened, she talked a little more to Snow, about why she was in Baska and she had used the word fiance, definitely needed to get used to that. She couldn't help but blush and nod when she was asked it in a retorical question and especially blush when Snow said he must be a lucky man. "I hope he feels that way." She said trying to laugh it off a little.

The conversation turned to Hecate and Jupiter and she looked at Snow for a second again before turning her attention back to the two on either of her side as well, "I find them very interesting creatures, as I said before but I did not have been able to see all of their powers, oh perhaps I met this comrade of yours?" She mentioned curious because she wondered if she might meet more of these feline like creatures. For a second she believed there was a sad expression on Snow her face but it disappeared as soon as it came and Snow asked if they should get ready for the ball and that's when Alice noticed they were in front of the castle.

The door was opened by one of the people she recognized that worked for her in Orchidia before but she didn't say anything and he didn't look at her in a way, "The lord welcomes you to his humble castle." Humble, ridiculous but she gave a short nod and entered after he opened the door, the hallway was small it was an immediate stairwell that would guide them up to some sort hallway, it was dressed in gold and red and orange, she couldn't say she liked it, it was a bit too much extravaganza for her liking. She gave one short look to Snow and tried not to giggle. "Would the ladies please follow me to the changing rooms?" a girl said, one Alice didn't recognize so she wouldn't be a part of the Rune Knights, but Alice followed her.

The castle was magnificent; spacious and glammed with lights and decorations. Guards and knights walked patrolled the area, observing their surroundings for any suspicious intruders and as they passed by, they would deliver a quick glance in their direction before returning to their business. It wasn’t her first experience of being inside such a glamourous building – nor would it be her last, and she had seen far better mansions over the country, although, it didn’t mean that she wouldn’t be astonished by how much time and effort the architectures must have spent to establish the castle.

’Perhaps I met this comrade of yours?’

Her train of thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Alice’s words slowly registered into her mind. ”Oh, he’s my lover. Chelvaric is his name,” she absently spilled out the name, with not much hope that anyone would recognize him since Chelvaric was not one to interact with a lot of people and his social group was small, mostly consisting of herself and the Blue Pegasus members. But, what were the odds of Alice knowing him? Chelvaric was always out, wandering places, it was possible that he could have made some friends during his adventures, albeit, she never bothered to ask. Perhaps, it would be a good topic to bring into discussion when she returns home.

As she continued to observe the castle, one of the apprentices greeted them inside with a warm welcome. Curious eyes wandered the place, almost like a restless child who wanted to learn how things work. The room sparkled in gold and it was as if she was in some kind of jewellery box. Did the lord spend all his money decorating his castle? The thought passed her mind. She believed he could have used the money for something else, mayhap, for the country and the poor. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing – the castle was beautiful, but it was too extravagant for her taste, and truth be told, it gave her a different view of the world after seeing how the wealthy lived in this country.

Upon the unknown maiden’s request, the demon simply nodded and followed her lead, in which they would be led up the stairs. Large, golden oaken doors flew open with a push and there it was; multiple rows of beautiful dresses and gowns that she had always wished to wear. Her lips slightly parted in surprise, it was as if her dreams have come true. Every girl’s desire was to own a large wardrobe, such as this, with numerous of fancy dresses, heels and accessories – at least for her, and seeing it with her own bare eyes, she couldn’t believe it. ”Wow.”

Alice was impressed by the looks of the castle, but her eyes quickly scanned to see how many faces she would quickly recognize, thank god she was good with faces and names because else this would be a far tougher job than she would understand. She didn't say anything, didn't nod but only scanned them and looked at the next part as if she was checking the building. She still talked to Snow while checking out the rest of the building, trying to find entrances and exits before the whole quest would start but she tried to stay casual while looking around. She turned to look at Snow again when she asked her question about the comrade, which was a surprising answer. "Chelvaric?" She had met him twice, once in Magnolia and once in Hargeon, "That's funny I met him twice or so, his Leafeon is beautiful. How sweet to know that you two are a couple." She didn't know Snow or Chelvaric well enough to think anything about it but sweet, it was always nice right, "Are you both Blue Pegasus members?"[/color] Because she heard that from Chelvaric and she couldn't remember very well if Snow had told her as well. She was just filling in gabs.

Now that they were inside the castle, she tried to check out a couple of things more but there wasn't much in the first room that would make her able to exit in a hurry apart from going down the huge stairway, also meant someone couldn't sneak in. It took a second before she noticed that the girl would talk to her but she soon enough caught the words and looked her up and down, making sure she wasn't a knight. But she followed her none the less, walking quickly after Snow with Hecate and Jupiter behind her. She looked surprised, her golden eyes scanning the amount of dresses, shoes and rows of jewelry on the side that would fit with any of the dresses. The pets stayed out of the door but the lady stayed to help them pick a dress. Which brought more stress upon Alice as she needed to find a dress that wouldn't put accent on her stomach. She heard Snow her awe and she nodded, it was definitely nice.

She walked a little closer to one of the dresses, apart from hiding something, it needed to be practical as well.

”You met him?” – was her first choice of words the moment Alice stated that they were acquaintances. ”How interesting,” She was thoughtful as she replied, nodding after her sentence. Somehow, she was glad that Chelvaric had his own friends in his social group, he wasn’t one to communicate a lot with other people after all, not that he had any trouble talking to people unlike her. It somewhat made her feel elated to know that Chelvaric and herself had a couple of mutual friends. ”Thank you,” she’d respond regarding to her compliment of the couple before adding, ”Yes, indeed. His Leafeon is quite adorable.”

As the two walked to their destination led by one of the employees of the mansion, they would briefly chat amongst themselves. It was fortunate that she had run into Alice this time, since they never got a chance to get to know each other well back at the incident in the church as well as the quest at the Magnolia bath house.

”Oh, yes. We’re both members of Blue Pegasus.”

It hasn’t been that long since she obtained the title of the guild master, although Snowflake was only starting to get used being one. The responsibility wasn’t as bad as she had expected, albeit, she knew that there was more to come during this journey and the burden would only increase further as time passes, but she was confident enough that she could easily pass through this, as long as her guild mates were there for her.

The room was glittering with jewels and gold, it was almost as if she was in a movie but she was aware that this fantasy would only last for a while. Nevertheless, she should still enjoy the even to its best, for the sake of all the beautiful clothing. The woman that led them into the room quickly disappeared to the back, only to return after a few minutes with some measuring tape and pins. ”Alright, ladies. I’m going to make some measurements to have the perfect fit for your dresses.” The snowy beauty simply nodded and took off her leather jacket and hung it over the hangers.

It wasn’t intentional; how her eyes idly glided over to Alice’s abdomen, however, something was off. There was a slight bump, not too noticeable but Snowflake was one to take note of every little detail if something caught her attention. Perhaps it was just her who was seeing things, but Snowflake decided not to bring it into discussion – not yet.

The red head turned to look at Snow because it almost sounded like she was surprised that she had met Chelvaric but she quickly waved it away in her mind. She nodded, which made Alice raise her eyebrow as if Snow was talking to herself, which was funny to see. She simply shook her head a little and walked on to their so called destination although she had no idea where it was. She nodded this time herself when Snow called the leafeon adorable, Jupiter could use some of that adorableness, he was most of the time grumpy anyway but she didn't want to say that now. That would be something between the three of them, considering Hecate knew all about that.

She didn't know that Snow was a Blue Pegasus member but she knew it about Chelvaric, that's why she asked, she actually liked to get Snow a little bit better, she wasn't sure if she was asking too much, since the last two times that she met Snow, the pretty woman didn't talk much to her.

Not much later the two of them entered a room that was as big as a ballroom to Alice who had lived basically from inn to inn and sometimes a bed & breakfast. Now Konstantin had a manor but she had not seen everything from it yet and he had admitted that not everything was cleaned up yet, there was a long time before someone had lived there and she wasn't according to him in a state to help him. So she let it be. The voice of the woman that guided them here, snapped her back to the reality and she turned her face to look at her, where her face turned pale. Meassure? She dropped the silk feeling from the dress that she was looking at and turned to look at the two in the room.

Her eyes followed Snowflake for a second when she took of her leather jacket, which was something that Alice should do as well, but.. well she took it off without much ado, if she would linger about these things it would only be more obvious, "I would rather have a pair of trousers.." She had to keep it practical and she looked around while the woman started on the Blue Pegasus mage, in which Alice found something that she needed, she waited for the woman to ask her if this outfit came with something like a cloak or jacket and the woman nodded, but she still had to have the right meassurement to get the right one and she swallowed with difficulty but nodded, "No problem."

Outfit:

Upon the woman’s request, the snow haired sculptress raised her arms and allowed the tailor to take measurements of her body; arms, breast, waist, the length of her legs and whatnot. During the process, her eyes would idly shift over to Alice, whom almost seem quite hesitant to take off her clothing and almost about the entire process. The young maiden observed the other female for a while, wondering what exactly could be going on. Was she insecured? – no, that was not possible for a beautiful woman like Alice or maybe she was just embarrassed to share something about herself. Perhaps, it was something related to the little bump on her stomach. Snowflake didn’t want to press on any further to her curiosities, nevertheless, she wanted her questions answered.

It wasn’t until Alice took off her clothing and her silvery optics would be immediately drawn towards her belly, in which she came to notice a more prominent bump. ”By any chance, are you pregnant?” She needed to confirm if her doubts were correct. It couldn’t be possible to have your stomach enlarged because of over-eating – maybe for herself, but probably not for any other person.

”Here you go.”

With that, the tailor handed her a beautiful piece of dress that suited much to her liking, after rummaging through stalls and numerous clothesline that filled the hall that was almost three times larger compared to an average dressing room. The dress was simple and elegant, and neither was it shabby. Snowflake never liked being the centre of the attention and thus, wearing a black dress accompanied by her icy looks should be a good pairing. The large split in the dress would bring a decent amount of attention to her slender legs, which she liked, and the gold jewellery and belt located around her waist accentuated her entire look.

”Pretty.”

Her eyes grazed over the dress as she held it in arm’s length and observed each and every detail of the outfit. She liked how the first layer of the skirt was see-through yet, the layer beneath was almost like silk and of the blackest colour. The tailor scuttled away to grab some heels and provided her with golden stilettos that was almost too high for her taste albeit, if these painful objects called heels were going to make her look stunning, she was willing to bite through the pain. Girls and beauty, she thought to herself and shook her head.

Dress:

She wasn't entirely sure how this would go but she would see. The idea was to keep everything hidden but that was a bit difficult. Especially if someone had keen eyes such as Snow.But she tried her very best to hide it while looking at other dresses but it was her turn and it was worse when she heard Snow and she spun around, while she should do the exact opposite. "Eh yea.. yea I am. But eh please don't tell anyone." She looked at the person that was taking their meassures, who was now working on finding Snow her dress, so perhaps she didn't hear but she gave Snow one look and walked a little closer to Snow, "I need to say something else." her eyes were on the person that was still trying to find the dress, "In case something goes wrong, some of the waiters are knights." That's when she walked away because the woman came closer and showed the black dress, "I bet that would look amazing on you." She walked around a bit but when the woman was done it was her turn and she made sure that it would be fine. But she felt horrible and looked up at the ceilings not seeing her sizes.

But the woman came with the outfit she asked, which would make her able to run easier without being able to fall over the skirt, something she definitely would do with a skirt and she had no idea how to go. Her hair would be pulled up in a ponytail and less jewelry, "I will take on the leading role for the dance,if you don't mind. But we better show you off if you know what I mean." But on one hand it wasn't the idea because they definitely didn't need to be showing off, they need to stay sort of hidden but they also probably have to hurry before the party would start.

She still needed the right shoes and she could work out on heels, so she got some boots that fit the same colour. She could edit a bit of her make up but they were soon done, "Are you actually ready for this party?"

”Oh,” the snowy beauty was honestly surprised by Alice’s answer, even though it was something she was expecting for. It wasn’t easy carrying a child and despite having no experience in that area, the civilians that she came across during her travels would often tell them about their stories of their children and the majority of them were very interesting to listen to – the wonders of a mother and her unconditional love. ”Congratulations,” the curve of her cupid bow lips finally drew into a small smile and somehow, she felt elated for her newly obtained acquaintance.

”I’m sure you’d be a lovely mother.”

She meant her words, despite how they’ve just started to get to know each other.

Shortly after, Alice scooted closer to her as if she had been wanting to mention something to her for a while and as she did so, Snowflake would inch out her head closer to the other female. It was something about the waiters being knights, which she had no idea but if something were to happen at the masquerade, there should be knights as well as the Fiorian mages to sort the problem and thus, she wasn’t too worried about the situation. ”Thank you,” she’d whisper, absently tucking a few loose strands of silver hair behind her ear.

Receiving compliments weren’t often for the frosty woman and if that were to happen months prior, Snowflake would respond awkwardly albeit now, she managed to don a relaxed disposition, delighted by the remark and her resolution to stay calm and collected never fled her mind as usual. The snow haired sculptress meandered over to the fitting rooms to change into her beautiful gown given to her by the tailor and it was almost love at first sight. Perhaps she was a materialistic – she wouldn’t lie, and her love for beauty was almost as immense as her yearning for power.

Snowflake strode out of the room, her slicked hair sashaying behind her as her golden heels clacked against the marbled floor. While Alice was busy, her eyes would involuntarily wander over the jewellery set laid over the makeup table. Sparkles and glitters, the jewellery almost blinded her eyes but she found herself instantly drawn towards a pair of dangling sapphire earrings from the section. Assuming that they were laid out for the girls to try them on, Snowflake quickly slipped the most favoured jewellery onto her ears and admired her own reflection in the mirror. People enjoyed collecting stamps and whatnot – something that Snowflake found very unimportant and for herself, it was replaced by beautiful ornaments and jewellery.

When Alice came out dressed up, she let her eyes observe the stunning appearance of her fellow comrade. ”As I’d expected, you look gorgeous.” She clasped her hands behind her and prepared herself to get ready for the event. A rather nervous sigh escaped her lips and to be honest, she had never been to these kind of extravagant parties – as much as she wanted to, but nevertheless, it was heart-wrecking. ”And to you,” replied the frosty maiden and she took Alice’s hand with the intention to appear as the two most beautiful women in the room.

"Are you actually ready for this party?"

Large groups of people were something she felt uncomfortable around and she could only see herself being restless throughout the entire event, but hopefully, she wouldn’t mess anything up, as clumsy as she is. Snowflake inhaled a large intake of breath and readied herself for the long and eventful day ahead.

”…I think so.”

She wasn't sure how her reaction would be taken. For it seemed as if it was something she was keeping a secret because she didn't like it at all. Well that's how it had started, she was getting used to the idea and since Kon had not taken it in a bad way she was actually more assured about the idea and that there could be far more things worse than this little peach. She looked up back at Snow when she caught the word her.. well friend, right? said. "Thanks," she muttered with the same little smile on her lips and she looked at her own small baby bump. Her cheeks turned red and her golden eyes flew up and looked at Snow. She had never really thought anything about it, she had definitely not believed in that idea but for someone else to say it, "T-t-thanks again." Which made her happy even more and this time she beamed a bit of that happiness while she would take the clothing from the lady and get dressed herself.

When she returned she made sure to stand in front of the mirror and turn this way and that to make sure no one would see the difference in her figure, "Thanks," she kept repeating that word a lot but now absentmindly, "I'm glad they had this, a dress would show too much." She extended her hand to guide Snow with her to the ballroom, the party was about to start. Some people had already arrived and just as Snow, Alice had never been to such a theater play as well. That's how she saw it, people were only acting. She stood at the top of the stairs that would lead to the lower part of the ballroom, it was like there was a sort of balcony all around it, where people were talking and staring at the people that were dancing. On top of the stairs on the other side was the Lord Gaspard, apparently no part of the dancing festivities, she looked at Snow and nodded towards him.

She herself had made sure not to comment on her own question if she was ready. There was a man coming towards them, "I need to introduce you two to the lord. Go on." And he ushered them to the stairs, where she slowly walked down, her eyes on the lord, she could hear the announcement about her and she felt eyes on her but ignored it. She would blush way too heavy and be too much embarassed;

"Miss Alice Baskerville, Lieutenant of the Rune Knights, known as the Red Whirlwind." this was ridiculous, thank god he didn't say much more about her and turned to Snow.

Glamorous – there was only one word to describe the two, after having spent at least an hour dressing up and undoubtedly, she wasn’t disappointed by the result. Snowflake took Alice’s hand in hers, fingers gently wrapped around them, as the other female extended it out towards her, and was escorted out into the ballroom. Not having been at the lord’s castle, she certainly did not know the ways around the building, unlike Alice and she was glad to have her by her side, otherwise, she might have ended up somewhere else, considering how horrible her sense of direction was.

As they entered the ginormous room, they would be greeted by the majestic sight of a large theatre stage, with a couple of royals and lords seated around the arena. Silver optics glanced around the vicinity and she was sure that the area could at least fit in a hundred of people – if she wasn’t wrong. Never had she ever been at a theatre so large before, Snowflake was honestly astonished by how grand the entire place was. But, what was there to be expected? – it was a castle, after all.

While Snowflake was distracted observing the arena, a man walked up to them, claiming that he was required to introduce the two females to the lord. A booming voice spoke through the speakers and for a moment, everyone remained silent, listening to the announcement. As they passed by the stairs, she could see people turning around to take a glance at the two beautiful women, specifically Alice. The frosty maiden's face was a new and foreign one in here, and people whispered among themselves as she continued to walk with confidence, despite how uncomfortable she felt. But, they did not stir from fear, rather, people liked to stare at odd, shiny things from afar, and the Fiore-bound wizards were no different.

The Red Whirlwind?

It was a nice title for the coral-haired woman, she thought.

”I’m Snow,” she spoke, feeling that a small introduction should do for the lord, and after she noticed the lord raised an eyebrow at her, she’d add, ”From Blue Pegasus.” She didn’t feel the need to mention her title and present herself as the master of the guild, as she thought it was unnecessary and she preferred if people didn’t treat her differently simply because she was a guild master. With a bow, she ended her greeting and waited for the lord’s reply – that is, if he had any.

Alice had got a description of the palace with her own spies at hand and looked at Snow, she was not entirely sure what was going to happen; she still had no idea who the assassin was. She didn't come from a high noble family and thus had no idea who everyone was. That made it a little difficult, if she had been raised in a noble family, she might recognize people this included that she wouldn't have amnesia as well. She let her eyes glide over everyone as they entered the ballroom. Some faces she recognized as the waiters were knights but that was about it. It was good that she was holding hands with Snow though, it felt a litle secure now that she knew where her ally at this point was.

While the speaker introduced Alice, she felt ridiculous for the show of name. Lieutenant, Red Whirlwind. But she kept her face neutral, no smile or what so ever, her golden eyes simply looked around, she thought she recognized a few people from over the country which she had met during her job as a lieutenant or because of jobs she had done but she didn't show them any interest and bowed slightly in front of the Lord as it was her task. Their eyes met and she gave him a short nod to acknowledge why she was here. Her golden eyes turned to Snow and let go of the cold stare and showed her friend a small smile.

Snow gave her own introduction which sure was bold but Alice didn't mind, she wasn't going to force Snow into doing something that she wouldn't want to do, after all they needed to work together as well. The Lord also gave her a small nod and Alice softly pulled Snow towards her so they could leave on the other side of the room on the other set of stairs. She needed to mingle with the people and keep an eye on them, "Let's dance." she said because there were already people dancing even though there were still nobles arriving and she could still hear the speaker but she simply ignored it. There must be someone interested in the lord and either that person would mingle or stand in the far back. She had to figure out how she would know who it would be.

Snowflake was glad the lord only responded with a quick nod; the less they questioned her, the better – not that she had anything to hide, but she simply didn’t like engaging into conversations with anyone, apart from those whom she could tolerate. Once their introduction was done, the snow haired maiden would be guided by Alice once again towards the dancing floor. The area was filled with a few couples swaying their bodies along with the rhythmic beat of the melodies played by the musicians on the stage before them. As stormy eyes swept over the vicinity, a sudden realisation struck her: they were dancing waltz, something that she was very horrible at.

The snowy sculptress had never danced in her life before and if she had known she was to attend a masquerade party, she would have taken some practice lessons. The woman faced Alice and rested her hands around her waist, copying the movements of those around her. ”I don’t know how to dance, do you?” she whispered to the other female whilst she studied around her. Thankfully, Snowflake was a quick learner and thus, it wasn’t that difficult to cope with the new dance moves that she had just learnt.

Her dancing to waltz was the least of her worries – after all, they were hired to protect the lord, weren’t they? If she had read the letter correctly, there was someone in the room who was planning an attack on the lord and thus, they were required to search him before the lord would be harmed. Silver optics scanned the room while she made sure not to step onto the toes of Alice due to her horrible dancing.

It would have been helpful it they had a picture of the criminal, which would made their job a lot easier, but since they didn’t have any kind of information, all they have to do was to wait for the moment. ”Do you have any kind of information of this person that we’re searching for?” Clueless, the woman attempted to obtain any kind of details that she might be able to get their lead ahead. Not wanting to look suspicious to those around them, the woman kept a neutral face as they kept dancing along to the music.

”Here’s the turn,” she informed, slightly hoisting up her hand upwards to allow Alice to make a small twirl. It was part of the waltz, isn’t it?

Alice guided Snow towards the dance floor, she kept her eyes on the people there, more looking like she was simply interested to see them dance than anything hostile. But she had to know what was going on and that brought a lot of questions with her, she looked a little more around to the stands and turned a look over her shoulder towards the Lord and simply turned to look at Snow as she turned so that they were facing each other on the dance floor, "Strangely said; I think I do." The flashback shouldn't come right now and she tried to push it away and corrected Snow her stance, "Let me guide you." she said, she wasn't sure if she would be able to remember the Waltz, she would check it later in her memory but she would just try.

Alice made sure to look neutral as they were talking, no one would hear them though with the music and the dancing people around them, who were all chitchatting as well, "All we know is that he is a close acquintance of the lord. Well this whole room is filled with people that fit that description." she turned to focus the dance moves for a second before she spoke more, "The thing is that the culprit wants to have the lord overtrown and find a way to all the money. My bet is on a family member, a distant one perhaps because the lord has some siblings but no heir. But I'm not sure if this person would either strike him or herself or if he or she hired an assassin." Which made her golden hues turn towards Snow, asking her without really asking if she had any guesses. She did the twirl as Snow suggested and noticed one of her own spies looking, "Let's catch a refreshment, I believe a message is waiting." She whispered, because they certainly shouldn't be overheard right now.

While she guided Snow again over the floor towards the other side where one of her knights was standing as a waiter, she simply made a small chitchat about wanting some water, as soon as the guests passed that were close by, they could quickly talk in hush whispered, "I heard the servants whisper that someone broke into the private quarters from the lord to find something. Perhaps we could find more clues there?" Well they got the ability to check everything, if the Lord wanted them to protect him, he simply should, "Let's go." she said turning to Snow.

”Oh, thank god,” she remarked, a sigh escaping her lips out of relief that at least the Rune Knight knew the moves to a waltz dance. Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of all these people that surrounded them, Snowflake would quickly correct herself.

You learn something new everyday.

Just like the saying goes, the masquerade was indeed slightly useful for the Ice wizard. Perhaps her lesson might be beneficial for the future dates she would have with her lover. It was quite a disappointment that none of the two knew anything about their target and without any information, how could they possibly catch one? Shaking her head, the snow haired woman was resolved to enjoy the night instead – making sure that no one suspicious approaches the lord at the same time.

The cause that drove people mad and insane – the action done only for monetary gain, for wealth beyond what is needed – is greed. Certainly, everyone is greedy for their own reason and for the majority of the people, it was possibly either wealth, shelter or food. For her, it was power: only for the sake to better herself and protect those whom she loved. None of those would harm anyone, albeit, some could be blinded so much by their own desire that they couldn’t possibly see anything around them, such as the person who wished to overthrow the lord.

”Tsk, such a shame.”

The woman clicked the tongue against the roof of her mouth and release an exasperated sigh. Snowflake only found those with similar evil ambitions useless in life. In a world that one could be so much more, why would a person degrade themselves for the sake of things that they desired for momentarily? Her eyes wandered the area involuntarily and even if she locked her gaze onto a particular person, she probably wouldn’t be able to tell what kind of a person they could be behind their masks called faces, since appearances are highly deceptive. Besides, she never excelled at reading people. It was likely that the so-called assassin would dress themselves up so as to fit in with the rest of the crowd and easily adapt to the surroundings, which only made it harder for the mages to accomplish their task.

Snowflake nodded as they took a break from their dance to retrieve some refreshments. Unfamiliar with the dancing routine, her legs were already growing tired – as infrequent as it was – for someone who wore high heels on a daily basis. ”Can I have some champagne?” she whispered to the nearest waiter and just as she was about to grab a glass from the serving plate, Alice had already proceeded onto the next task.

”Oh – oh, alright.”

Quickly, she grabbed the glass from the waiter and followed Alice’s lead towards the private quarters. Hopefully, there will be some clues for them at the very least.

She wonder how she would remember a dance like the waltz. Why would she know? Would the orphanage teach her because clearly not her mother, there would be no need for that. She probably would have to figure out a couple of things, but she definitely didn't feel the need for that lately. There were obvious other things to worry about than her past, which didn't define her. She became a person who she really was, albeit she changed little bits from time to time but that came with the current change of everything, her being a Phantom Lord mage, her being a Rune Knight and now the Lieutenant. Things really did change.

She guided Snow through the waltz while they discussed their plan more or less, she couldn't help but let out a giggle because of the clicking of her tongue, she turned her golden eyes to look at Snow, "I bet we will figure it out." She made sure that she kept an eye on Snow as well as the people around, trying to figure something out. Which soon would lead to a message from one of her knights and she would suggest to get a refreshment.

She would stay away from alcohol with the pretty good reason that she was on duty as well was expecting a baby, she got the water, but it was mostly to talk to the knight disguided as a waiter. She quickly talked while Snow ordered her champagne. She had taken the route from her colleague and quickly made sure that Snow would walk along. The boots were easier to walk on than heels especially for Alice. "Let's hope we can find something." she muttered as they passed the people and simply headed upstairs to the lord's chambers. She opened the door and let Snowflake enter first. She closed the door softly behind her and let her eyes adjust to the darkness. She lifted up her hand to make sure there was enough light to search around.

The room was a mess, every piece of paper, piece of fabric was torn apart and spread through the room, "Clearly someone was looking around."

Heels clacked against the marble floor; so transparent that one could even see their own reflection on the ground. The pillars rose high off from the ground, only to connect with the ceiling meters above her. Lifting her dress slightly, the woman sauntered to their destination whilst holding onto the champagne glass firmly in her hands. Unsure where she was heading, the Ice wizard simply followed the Rune Knight’s lead as she directed her into the lord’s humble abode, if one could take note of her sarcasm. Her eyes swept across the massive room in an observing glance, taking in everything in her sight.

It was twice as large as the dressing room that they were in previously and somehow, she wondered if all the royals were spoiled too much that they’ve eventually failed to notice the worth of gold. Whatever it was, Snowflake pushed her thoughts aside and studied the room. Her hands wandered over the walls of the room blindly, in search for the light switch until it finally flickered above her head. In front of her eyes was something she did not expect to see; the entire place was in chaos, chairs tumbled over, paperwork tossed all over the room and it apparently showed that an intruder had been to this place just a while ago.

What the person had been searching for – that she did not know about.

”We were too late.”

The Blue Pegasus guild master rested both of her hands on her waist and breathed out a long sigh. If only the message was delivered to them faster, they might have possibly made it on time, and not knowing any of the criminal’s information only made their task a lot harder. The silver haired maiden began to rummage around the room – it was already messy, there was no point in keeping the room tidy anymore. The lord was bound to get furious once he discovered of this mess, but if they catch the villain before anything happened, they shouldn’t be accused of anything, right? She was dubious of her own statement, yet, it wasn’t the important matter in this situation.

The first location was the desk as Snowflake randomly flipped over the paperwork, in hope that she would find a clue to the criminal's lead at the very least – a piece of fabric, a strand of hair – anything would work in this case.

Alice her eyes were trying to see more of the room but that didn't happen until Snow found the light switch and the whole disaster of the state of the room was clear. She had no idea where they had to search but something must be in the room. She let her eyes go over the ravage. "We are indeed but perhaps we can find something that the person was searching for?" She tried to keep a positive light on the situation, but it was a bit difficult to find. She took a deep breath, the thing was that they looked rather fancy.

While she walked a bit through the room, she noticed it was mostly papers that were dropped or ripped but not completely ripped in half but corners or crumbled, apparently the culprit was looking for something specific and she stood up again and dropped a paper that she had just picked up. It was nothing specific. But that's when her hearing caught something, it was a small pop and crackling noise and she noticed a doorway and she heard another pop and crackle. Finally she realized what it might be and she jumped over one of the chairs albeit not as smooth as normal but it worked and hurried into the small study room that was an annex to the bedroom.

When she came into the room, she immediately spotted the fire in the fireplace to her left, there was a book in there and a paper that was almost already completely destroyed. Without thinking Alice pushed her hand into the fire to get both out. She cursed but at least saved both pieces and quickly hit the little fires that were still clinging to the paper. Her hand did hurt but she checked the paper for as much as she could see it, it seemed to be a will or something and a name was removed from it. Not very neatly but it was and she couldn't make out whose name it was. The other was a diary, "Snow, I think I got the answer." She held her wounded right hand, "Someone destroyed the lord his will, if the person is a family member but not on his will, he or she won't get any. Destroy the will, his diary and the lord and no one can prove that this person wasn't in the will. Perhaps he forged a fake one." She looked in the study, "He or she must have it on a spot that makes sense for someone to find the will." But who could it be, because she had no idea over family members.