It was that time of year again; music playing in dulcet tones from instruments so delicate that their lilting was as though from angel's fingertips. The Queen spared no expense in her efforts, the Masquerade ball was always better than last year; always more grand and extravagant than the previous. Every year, people would be heard to say that 'this was the best masquerade thus far. Never would there be one more decadent, more spectacular!' And every year she did better by far. One spectacle more epic, one more event more entertaining than the last. She spent every coffer dry, wrung every ounce of life out of every little bit of gold the people possessed. And why not? It was their party! Well... they would be in attendance, at the very least.
In all due reality, this was the Queen's party; Queen Maesha's celebration of all that was great and wonderful: Herself. She ruled this land with a will of iron, and a fist just as strong. She brought it from the squalling pallid figure it had been, and shaped it into the thriving morsel it was today. She had come into this untamed land and made it her own; and this was to celebrate it's birthday. Perhaps not the exact day... but that was hardly of consequence, now was it? Aah, semantics.
Regardless of any rhyme or reason, the Masquerade was divine, simply divine. There surely wasn't any in attendance who could deny it. Be they poor or rich, old or the young, friend or foe; anyone invited to this event would have to simply give up their reservations and admit that the Queen knew how to throw a party.
Guests would find themselves wandering up a delicately lit stone walk, each pebble perfectly selected to be just the right shape, color complimenting the others in a quartz-like shine, smooth to the touch as they walked upon them, lines on either side by lanterns of a soft peach colored light; as though wandering one's way to heaven. The music from the orchestra would slowly build as they wandered the path toward the large ornate doors; the white wood splitting up the middle in what was a sudden wash of glorious light; blinding at first of course; but they could always adjust. Aah and that was the effect she had been going for- those first few glimpses of the ballroom beyond like speckles of a dream.
Cream, crystal, white, light, it was like walking into a crystal ball lined with fine silks; candlelight donning every corner, rightfully chasing away any hint of a shadow as they shone beside draped finery; silk, satin, gauze; the room was decorated in only the finest of cloths her tailors had to offer. Free of course, for their Lady of Mercy. The Queen need not trifle with things such as payment; these were her right to own- and so they were her's. There upon tables beyond the gracefully endowed walkway stood crystal sculptures the likes nobody had seen in a millennium; artistic forms thrown into graceful dance; the most majestic of beasts captured flawlessly as though in mid bound; frozen in flight or swim as they wove their way through the decor. People wandered in with arms slung across eyes to dim the glare of the light- only to throw their arms to their mouths in mute awe as they took it all in. The ceiling was lost in a rumpled mass of flowing fabric, lit beyond by Gods knew what, a hazy mist of light shining through it only to accentuate the so flickering lights below. It must have taken a hundred servants a thousand days to lay out such a deviously intricate scheme!
And only when the room began to fill with people, their whispers of reverent awe at the sheer magnificence of the whole thing, did the Queen's delicately clothed form see fit to glide onto the far landing. Draped in the finest of red fabrics; silver and gold jewelry dripping from her every joint in a tastefully arranged manner. She gazed out over the crowd as one by one they noticed her and fell to silence, faced upturned- and she saw fit to smile at them as though they were but children who could only understand a portion of the ball's significance. She waited a few minutes longer, until every ear in the room had turned to her, straining if but to hear her confident breathing as she placed a single ring covered hand on the banister; her hair brilliantly glinting in the artfully arranged light.
Finally, as if after hours of simply letting them breathe in her glory, she took a breath, hand going to the air as though she needed to silence them. All eyes were on her, and nothing else.
"Welcome, Welcome my dear guests. I trust you are all enjoying yourselves..?" She began, her voice a thick and pleased low, as though a cat delighting in the attention of others. Her lips curled into an almost devious smirk, hand going back to the banister to caress it, as though rewarding it for doing precisely what it was expected to do.
"This Masquerade Ball celebrated yet another successful year of my rule. I have done everything that is necessary to preserve this great kingdom and we have all prospered because of it. In my infinite wisdom I grant you a week of celebration, merriment, and reward. Enjoy the work I have put into this grand Empire! Relax, celebrate, and let all the tension go. I have made this possible for you; so delight in everything I have offered you." The voice she finished with hung heavy with demand, but most of all pride. She was proud beyond reckoning with her accomplishments. And as she tipped her head up slightly, looking down her nose at them all; it almost seemed as though they were all but little things to entertain herself with.
Giving the room one last inspection and a small amused smile, she turned; descending back beyond the balcony, gracefully taking her time as though she had all of creation to get to her throne and sit- silence reigning until she finally placed herself in the highest seat; higher than all those heads still standing- and waved to the orchestra to continue on. And with that, the crowd seemed to shudder as one, and put on their masks- their Masquerade masks as well as their cheerfully smiling faces; and began their excited chatter anew.
This year was going to be the most interesting year yet. Definitely.
