"I'm glad you could make it!" Said Moria as she led the elvish girl into the living room.
"I'm just glad you invited me!" Mairey smiled as she sat down on the couch.
The walls were all white while the floor was made from white marble tile. All the chairs and couches were made from a cream colored fabric while the wood was gilded. The ceiling was painted with images of vines that contained pink and red flowers. The room had two tall, rectangular windows that started at the floor and almost reached the ceiling. The velvet curtains were a light golden color while the large coffee table at the center of the room was made from mahogany. The two women were the only people currently in the room.
"Nice living room," said Mairey, "Reminds me of my grandfather's home back in Bombay."
"Thank you," Moria smiled, "Would you like anything to drink?"
"Some chai would be nice. But if you don't have any, then earl grey will do just fine."
"Alright." Moria left for the kitchen.
A couple minutes later, Moria returned with a white metal tray. The tray contained a porcelain teapot, two tea cups with saucers, a tiny pitcher of milk, a folded pile of white napkins, a teaspoon, and a tiny container of sugar. She set it down on the table before sitting down next to Mairey. The lass then poured some tea into her friend's cup.
"Thank you, lass." Said Mairey.
"No problem." Moria said as she poured some tea into her own cup.
Mairey started pouring some milk and adding sugar to her tea while Moria drank hers without anything else.
"So where are the other guests?" Asked Mairey as she began to stir her tea with the teaspoon.
"Sir McRoy is on his way. Other than him, you're the only person I invited who showed up."
"Oh really?" Mairey said, surprised, "What about your classmates?"
Moria looked down and sighed, "All my friends from school couldn't make it since they were either busy with other plans or simply didn't want to go to a female friend's party because their parents think it's 'inappropriate'."
"Oh dear," Mairey frowned. She put her hand on Moria's shoulder, "I'm sorry about that, lass."
Moria shook her head, "It's alright, Mairey. I wasn't close friends with any of them anyways." She looked at Mairey and smiled, "I'm just glad you showed up. I don't care about the others."
Mairey smiled, "That's so sweet, lass." She hugged her, "I'm glad to hear that."
Moria hugged her back, "You're my best friend, Mairey. I don't know how I'd be able to get through this without you."
"And you're my best friend, Moria." Mairey held onto her for a second longer and whispered, "You and Jero are the only ones who really understand me. Better than my own family." She sniffled a bit as she attempted to hold back tears.
Moria looked over and slowly pulled away, "Oh let me get you a napkin." She grabbed one of the napkins from the tray and handed it to Mairey.
"Thank you, lass," said the elvish girl as she used it to wipe away her tears.
DING DONG! The doorbell rang.
"That must be my father and my knight," said Moria as she stood up, "I'll get that!" She said as she left the living room.
Lemar stood in front of the door, wearing a grey and white tuxedo with a pale blue ascot tie around his neck. He was holding a bouquet of red roses in one hand and a bottle of spiced apple cider in the other. His cherry blonde hair was parted in the middle of his head and slicked to the sides. His pale ivory skin looked whiter since he had applied white foundation to his face prior to arriving at Moria's home. She will be delighted to see me like this! Thought Lemar as he admired his reflection in one of the windows right next to the door.
Moria approached the door and opened it.
"I'm glad you're here-" The lass paused when she realized that her father was not at the door.
Before either of them said anything else, Lemar was shocked to see Moria's attire. The lass wore a pair of high-waisted brown trousers with ankle-high boots. She wore a ruffled dark red button down shirt and a matching brown vest on top. She wasn't wearing a tie and the top button on her shirt was open, revealing her prominent collarbone. Her sleeves were folded up to her elbows, revealing her toned forearms.
What the hell is she wearing?! He thought, That's a man's attire. It looks very inappropriate on her! Why isn't she wearing a dress or something more ladylike?
"Lemar," said Moria, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here for your party," said Lemar as he struggled to keep his eyes off of her exposed collarbone, "Remember?"
Moria looked at him for a moment before responding, "I don't remember inviting you."
"Oh um…" Lemar darted his eyes around for a split second as he tried to think of an excuse.
"He's with me." Said another lad when he walked up to the doorway. The lad was a couple of inches taller than Lemar. His slicked back hair was black and his skin was limestone beige. His complexion wasn't as pale as Lemar's nor as dark as Moria's. The lad was wearing light grey trousers, a long blue coat, a white button down shirt, black ankle-high boots, a black top hat, and a black bow tie. The lass looked at him and immediately recognized him.
"Hello there, Kreed!" Moria smiled.
"Good evening, Moria!" Kreed smiled as he raised his hat.
What!? How did Kreed get invited but not me? Lemar wondered.
"Lemar is my plus one," said Kreed as he lowered his hat back onto his head, "I hope you're alright with that."
"I guess that should be fine," said Moria, "Come in." She led the boys into her house. The two lads followed and were a few feet behind her, out of earshot.
"What are you doing here?" Lemar angrily whispered to Kreed.
"I was invited." Kreed smirked.
"How come you were invited but not me?"
"I asked her if I could come and she said yes." Kreed said calmly.
"What?!" Lemar said quietly, "All you had to do was ask?"
Kreed nodded, "Of course."
"Here's the living room," said Moria as she walked into the room, "This is where the party will be held."
The two boys walked in and noticed Mairey sitting on the couch.
"Is she an elf?" Asked Kreed, staring at her in astonishment.
Moria nodded, "Yes she is."
"I never knew General DiMero owned elvish slaves." Said Lemar.
"Slaves?" Said Moria.
"Excuse me, lad? I'm not a slave!" Said Mairey in an angry tone.
Lemar almost jumped when she snapped at him, "Moria, please keep her under control."
Moria looked at him, "You need to apologize to her."
"For what?" Said Lemar.
"For calling her a slave."
"But isn't she your slave or at least your servant, Moria?" Asked Lemar.
"Oi!" Mairey yelled, "I serve nobody but me!"
"You need to apologize Lemar or else I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."
Lemar sighed, "Alright, alright," he looked at Mairey, "I'm sorry, elf girl."
"Mairey," said the elf, "I have a name and it's Mairey."
"Alright. I'm sorry, Mairey. I apologize for calling you a slave."
The elf girl smiled, "Much better."
"Moria, dear!" Called Jero from the kitchen, "Can you please come here and help me with something?"
"Alright, dad!" Moria responded. She then looked at Mairey and the two boys, "I need to leave for a moment so remember to play nice." She then left the room.
Lemar set his bottle of cider and roses on the coffee table before the two boys took a seat in the living room. Kreed sat next to Mairey on the couch and Lemar sat on the couch adjacent to them. Kreed looked at her in awe while Lemar glared at her in disgust.
"So what brings an exotic maiden such as yourself here?" Asked Kreed, admiring her dark skin and pointy ears. Mairey was wearing a hot pink sari that had golden lace on the edges of her shawl, skirt and top. Her long, pink hair was styled into a braid with small white flowers on top. Her slender waist wasn't covered by her attire and her belly button piercing was exposed. Her piercing was made from gold and the smooth gem stone was a pink sapphire.
"Exotic?" Said Mairey, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well you don't seem to be from around here." said Kreed.
"What makes you think that? Is it because of my ears?" She raised an eyebrow.
Kreed shook his head, "No, my dear. I'm talking about your skin."
"Excuse me?"
"Well the people here have very fair skin and you, m'lady, are very dark. Not that there's anything wrong with that," he assured her, "I've never been with a dark elf before, however, I'm always willing to try new things." Kreed winked at her.
What the actual bollocks was that? He cannot be serious. Mairey thought as she stared at him in dismay.
In her lifetime, Mairey had come across many unsavory people who have treated her like an oddity due to her race and ethnicity. She would always bite back and refused to back down when one made distasteful comments towards her. However, she did not want to cause a scene at her best friend's party.
"Well that was … Something," she began, "But I am much too old for you, lad."
Kreed shook his head, "Don't worry about that, m'lady. Age is but a number."
Mairey put her palm on her face and sighed.
Kreed frowned, "What's wrong, my cocoa colored maiden?"
"Don't call me that!" Mairey yelled at him. She was visibly furious.
"B-but m'lady," Kreed stuttered, "It was just a compliment."
"That's it!" Mairey then backhanded Kreed across his face. She then got up and stormed out of the room.
Kreed rubbed his cheek in confusion, "What did I say?" He asked himself.
Lemar just rolled his eyes, Why is Kreed so interested in dating this knife-eared hag? Not only is she dark, she's also a bloody Scott and she dresses so indecently. What kind of woman would wear such a revealing outfit to a nobleman's party? Having her stomach exposed like that is very unladylike. He looked down, More importantly, why would a respectable, fair maiden like Moria invite an improper, elvish bitch to her party?