[center][@Mae][/center]

It felt as if hundreds of eyes were fastened on the trio, even though the dance continued around them, seemingly oblivious to the confrontation, faltering only slightly at the disturbance. 
Skylar would have almost preferred that her dance partner didn't even give the man the time of day, for she felt unexplicably vulnerable as soon as he stepped away to face the blustering offender. A cool draft seeped from the panes of the windows, flirting briefly with the coy flames of hundreds of candles before winding its way through swirling gowns and polished shoes, rippling gently against the young woman's skirt and breathing an uncomfortable chill down her neck. 
Wrapping an arm about herself Skylar resisted the urge to glance behind her, not wanting to know how many eyes truly were fixated on them. Nor if there would be a flash of recognition behind any of the masked revelers, for the feeling was familiar and a sudden clenching in the pit of her stomach warned her to be on guard.

Yet there was nothing there. Nothing to be afraid of.
Light, laughter, and music swelled to fill the opulent space, chasing away any shadows that dared lurk in the corners, abandoning dreary thoughts to skulk outdoors in the darkness until an end would finally arrive and the party goers must return the way they had come, inevitably claiming their particular sort of dreariness once more. 
Even so, in the midst of such gaiety, a place where there should be no room for anything other than lightheartedness and good intentions, there was something lurking still. 
Perhaps just the shortcomings of man in general, too fixed in their ways and problems to be able to fully enjoy a trouble free evening. 

[i]"My apologies, milady."[/i]

The forced words were enough to distract from an onslaught of unreasonable paranoia, and Skylar silently dipped her head in acceptance, wondering vaguely at the sudden change of demeanor that had come over the man. 
His blustering quite suddenly replaced by an intensely uncomfortable expression that overflowed until even his appearance became altered. Though not the tallest man he managed to become shorter still, body curling inward in an uncomfortable, clenched manner. Beads of sweat clung to his whiskers, a pallid shade replaced the flush of anger and alcohol, and bloodshot eyes darted everywhere but toward the tall man that directed him. 
His mannerisms echoed that of a petulant child, repentant against his will, yet at the same moment a cornered animal terrified by what blocked any possible route of escape.

Truth be told the entire situation was somewhat puzzling. Any men she knew wouldn't have gone to the trouble of forcing a rather public apology. In fact, they were more likely to toss heated words of their own until someone threw a physical blow, thereupon blowing everything into even greater proportions until no one knew what had started the brawl in the first place.  
Not that she was typically in the presence of upstanding gentleman, that is. Perhaps this was how true gentry went about settling things. 

Yet, as she observed her dance partner watch the man scurry away, she wasn't quite so sure. The feeling of before ghosted past once more, that he strangely belonged in this setting far more than any other person in the room, yet he didn't quite belong [i]here[/i] in this time. His entire air was so very different of anyone she had met. 
It went beyond the event. 

Beyond the mask.

Beyond his mysterious eyes. 


When she realized she had been staring, and he had returned his attention toward her, Skylar's fingers brushed against her mask in a slight motion, as though she had simply been readjusting it and hadn't just spent the last few moments studying him. 
A bubble of laughter escaped the young woman at the gentleman's statement. Not because anyone else would think it was amusing, but because it was, in a sad twist of fact, the [i]exact[/i] sort of environment she was used to. 
Realizing she was coming dangerously close to ruining the contrived guise of elegance that had been donned for the evening, Skylar stuck with the ruse, brushing away the comment with a delicate flip of her hand and giving a gentle shake of her head. 

"Ah, but is that not one of the perks to being part of a privileged social class? So that one may act as brusque and uncouth as they like and not be held responsible for it?"  She shrugged slightly, biting the corner of her lip as she became momentarily lost in thought.
"At least . . . that is what many apparently seem to believe." Her eyes followed the path the other man had taken, a look of pity flowing across her features for the space of a mere second. 
"But then there are those who are simply too lost to realize their behavior is less than exemplary. Not everyone knows how to cope with the results of the life they have made for themselves. Not that it excuses them from such tasteless displays, but I try not to judge too harshly, there are so many things that could cause such behavior."  
She had seen so many examples of such erratic behavior, as well as some of the stories behind them that Skylar had learned, for the most part, it wasn't fair to pass judgment before one knew the whole story.  Besides, she was the last person that should be passing judgment on anyone for making bad decisions. She'd made her fair share of them, and one day she might turn around and find herself in the self same position. 

"But it has passed, and now we may return to the evening as it ought to be," Returning to the present she slid a gloved hand through the crook of his elbow and turned attentions back toward the gaiety of their surroundings.  

The current waltz had ended and a change was taking place upon the floor.  Waterfalls of thinnest gold silk poured from the middle circle of the ceiling, rippling softly to hang just above the floor, every breath of air catching it up for the briefest of seconds. 
Lights dimmed slowly until the sole source of light came from the enchanting mixture of golden candlelight and pale, silvery moonlight. Hushed tones of cellos began to hum a haunting melody, joined by the liquid tones of a single harp as the silken ropes stirred once more. 
They began to spin and float through the air as a slender figure descended from above, twirling and gliding effortlessly in a dance above the floor. 

A story unfolded as the music faded into the background, the aerial dancer drawing every eye in her breathtaking performance. It took several moments, for the movements were subtle, but with a glimmer of light and a dramatic flair to the haunting tone, the audience finally noticed that a second figure had joined the first. 
He danced beneath her with an equal amount of grace and dexterity, but every time his hands reached to grasp the slender ropes a twitch of her hand would carry it beyond his reach. So they danced, in perfect sync and rhythm, but yet separate. 

So captivated by the performance Skylar almost missed it; the flutter of a white napkin.
The moment was not frozen in time and space,  and not everyone was held in awe, servers gliding silently behind the scenes and efficiently carrying out preparations for the supper that was to follow shortly. 
A twinge of disappointment tainted the beauty of the dance, and Skylar was no longer able to lose herself in the moment, for she knew it was all coming to a swift end.
The evening would, no doubt, carry on far into the night. But she wouldn't be here to see just how long.

They had solemnly agreed to specific terms.
If they were going to sneak into such an important event both Skylar and Belinda knew it would be vital to leave just as covertly, lest they be found out and discover just what unpleasant consequences might come of their rash plan. 
Once the schedule of events had been discovered it had been poured over until every detail had been thoroughly examined. If they had managed to get in and not observed, their evening would only last until just before the call to dine.
Even if they managed to escape detection it would do them no good at supper, for every single setting was labelled with meticulously lettered place cards.

Not a single one that happened to bear their names, that was a certainty. 

Still pretending to enjoy the performance Skylar began to scan the crowd in her peripheral vision, searching for a dusty blue lace mask and a mischievous smirk.