The Grand Ball

raven,

let’s go back home

She halted in her path and sighed. With one foot placed down the first step and the other placed back, the Sabertooth guild master hesitated at the top of the stairs leading to their dance floor for a little before making her presence known. That night wasn’t just any ordinary night for the violet haired woman. Its planning stage began almost months ago and then organizing, funding, building and efforts were all made to wrap that night in one outstanding package fit for everyone’s tastes. The idea had struck her when she was going through a book. Being the romantic she was, Raven felt that she should bring everyone together and what could have been a better idea than a ball?

Of course, she was aware that not everyone would be fond of a formal gathering but she believed that there would be at least a few that would take advantage of this night to make some amends and build new bridges. Besides, it wasn’t easy for Raven to breathe life into the big structure of the dance floor. No, she had not spent a single penny on it. Instead, it was herself and her helpful aces and guild members that pitched in and helped with the painting, cleaning, setting and whatnots. But of course, they broke a few things here and there like usual and even got hit by Raven a few times, but in the end, they combined their efforts and gave wings to what others saw there that night. Whether it came off as rich or fancy, well, that was the fruit of their union.

Gripping the sides on her floor length dress, Raven sighed again. The nineteen year old girl in her was tremendously nervous about the whole occasion. Despite being a royal and despite being used to attention, she had never attended anything like it back in her world nor had she ever even thought about it until recently.

The dance floor looked welcoming, the room was well lit and anything that anyone would want was placed neatly around the big hall. They had a bar, and to the side, a table was completely dedicated to food. She made sure that there would be no shortage of anything and had got Kiersa to check everything again and again till they were both satisfied with the results.

And after taking a huge breath to fill her lungs with courage, the Guild Master of Sabertooth took slow, elegant yet powerful steps down to the last step. Most others could probably guess that she was of no ordinary upbringing. It was written down in each and every move she made. There were no unnecessary sway to her posture, no steps looked wasted and her head was held high without even a tiny bit of slouch on her shoulders. She gazed at everyone with a delicate but radiant smile. It warmed her gentle soul to know that the other legal guilds had accepted her invitation.

There were not many familiar faces but she did spot three people she already knew well; Ardere, Kiersa and Deniel. When she sent the wandering sword master an invitation, Raven had not expect him to show up but, nonetheless, was glad he did. Raven desired to make him their ally, to tell him he can consider Sabertooth as family when he needed one. And then there were several more people she was expecting -probably running late- she wanted to meet the guild masters of all legal guilds. It was the primary aim for the ball.

The wandering thoughts of the girl suddenly changed its course to her own image when Raven felt eyes land vividly on her lithe figure. Deciding her appearance for the not so usual ball was a difficult task. Being the hostess, she felt it was an obligation to discard her usual plain shirts and jeans for a better, graceful dress fit for a leady holding her position. The search finally came to conclusion when she found a simple yet beautiful dress that touched the floor. It would become a lie if she ever said it wasn’t uncomfortable. No matter how “at home” Raven seemed, she was still not used to the fancy dresses though loved it since her mind preferred conjuring up romantic images of the ball and of herself.

She applied little to no makeup, letting the natural redness of her cheeks to spread and rose to paint her lips. Hey eyes, however, were done to make it stand out. The sparkling violet orbs drew attention, even from far away. To complete the puzzle she saw in herself, Raven, for the first time in her life, allowed “things” to go through her hair.

As opposed to her usual style, the silky strands of her untamed hair, for the night, were softly curled to give it a wavy effect and like water, it flowed down her back, bouncing every time she took another step down the stairs. Her bangs were no longer hiding her forehead. Instead, they were pulled back to reveal her heart shaped face.

“Everyone,” she began, letting her crystal voice ring out and reach every being present. Prior to being a guild master, Raven did, after all, serve a few years as an idol and to that day, her voice had not lost even a tiny bit of its charm. “

Welcome to Sabertooth Grand Ball. I’m your humble hostess, Raven, Sabertooth’s Guild Master,” she stopped to bow at her audience. “Tonight, I hope to build new bridges between Fiore’s legal guilds. I’m more than happy to know that all of you have accepted my invitation. Please, don’t let me stop the fun. I hope we would have no complaints or ill feelings tonight.”

With that, she curtsied again and finally stepped down the last one. She smiled and greeted everyone she found, saw some beautiful girls in their youthful glow and men looking equally handsome. Raven was glad that the night was going well so far.

raven,

let’s go back home

So far, the Sabertooth Grand Ball was a success, putting Raven in a better mood that the nervous one she was going through before. Some were off at the table keeping all food and some were at the bar while most of them danced and brought partners with them. Everyone looked so stunning in their outfits too. She spotted Riley and was about to go greet her when her birds’ view ability picked something big falling from the roof right above her. Wait? What would ever drop down from the roof? A roof that’s so high to say no less. Was it a bird? A plane? A jet? What was it? She wondered but didn’t look up, just kept smiling at everyone on the floor.

Then this heavy object fell right in front of her and Raven almost recoiled from the brightness he brought with him. This man, in his suit, with his black hair and striking eyes, was kneeling down in front of her, Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus guild symbols pulling up behind him. If she had not seen his face, she probably would have questioned the sanity of this man. More importantly, she would have been very angry. But everyone was already whispering about it behind her. He was none other than Zack Rose, Blue Pegasus legend and now….wait…did he say new Blue Pegasus Guild Master? Raven was aware that BP and ST had a strained relationship and she wasn’t expecting to find many BP members in the ball either. But here he was, the new Guild Master, with the news of his new achievement. To say Raven was surprised would have been an understatement for she was staring at Zack as if he had turned into a girl right in front of her eyes.

By the time she snapped out of her reverie, there were more chatter going on around her. This time, the source of it all came rather quickly, pulling her attention back to the man. This one…she knew him..this was…Heero? Oh dear…was she in the middle of two legends? On a dance floor? Well, for one, Raven knew well that if it was some other girl in her shoes, they would have fainted already. However, Raven simply smiled at the both of them and bowed to show her gratitude. Calm, Raven! Stay calm! You can’t make any of your funny jokes here! Let’s try to get out of this predicament first.

“I’m pleased to see you two attending this humble gathering,” she started, looking from Zack to Heero and vice versa. “I’m also very pleased to have two gentlemen such as yourselves ask me for my first dance. However, I’m afraid I cannot dance with both of you at the same time…I cannot choose between the two of you either. So perhaps, we should come to a decision somehow? Maybe you two could figure it out among yourselves? I’m afraid I can’t decide between two handsome and powerful men myself?” she faked a sad expression and hung her head down for a moment.

With that said, she would send invisible SOS signals to Riley, almost telepathically to come and save her somehow. Why was she stuck in middle of two men she can’t possibly say no to? T ~ T Or well, if those two could come to a decision, she could dance with them too.