"..."
Ruby paused and found herself lost in the hallway of the theater. Three paths divided in front of her and she couldn't figure out which way would lead her back. The hall she's in is unfamiliar, making her wonder if she's really even facing the right direction.
As far as she knows she's a few levels away from the auditorium since she had to look for another toilet because someone locked the toilet near the show hall and she heard odd noises emitting from the other side of the door so she didn't bother any staff to open it for her. After relieving herself she suddenly met a man who probably pathetically got drunk with the free wine and champagne aiming to harass her. They were all alone, no staff or guard was nearby so she couldn't ask for any help. She punched him hard on his gut and then ran the other direction without carefully navigating her path bringing her to her current dilemma.
Since she's not a frequent patron of the establishment she's completely unfamiliar with its structure and the hall she's in is suspiciously vacant. She hadn't seen any staff passing by for what felt like hours. She's really missing a great deal of the show she paid so much for. It was disappointing since she was quite interested in the play.
She sighed for the nth time and turned around the corner with her head bowed in defeat. A terrified yelp suddenly escaped her lips when a cockroach unexpectedly crawled in front of her making her jump and run away in panic. She suddenly collided with someone. She wobbled on her golden stilettos and nearly fell on the floor if the person hadn't caught her just in time.
"It's fascinating how you can face a large dangerous monster and smile fearlessly while you scream in fear after seeing a small insect." chuckled her 'savior'.
"Aurelius?" she said in astonishment. The male produced an alluring smile on his lips before helping her back on her feet.
"Why are you here?" she asked in confusion.
"I clearly went here to see the play. I suppose you do too though I wonder why you're too far away from the cinema room. You've been heading that way when the show is this way." he said gesturing to the path where he came from. Ruby blushed in embarrassment and lowered her eyes to her golden heels.
"I'm, well... los- What do you even care?" she asked snobbishly.
"Why the sudden sourness? Did you perhaps run out of all your sweetness in the woods? It's not like I did something bad to you, did I?" he voiced with faked sadness. Ruby, being the soft-hearted princess that she is, blushed in guilt of her poor attitude towards the male.
"Forgive me. I'm sorry for being too cranky. I guess, getting... lost just made me... kind of annoyed and it was not fair of me to take my anger out on you. I'm sorry." she apologized after taking a deep breath.
"It's okay. Your angry face is cute as well. Shall I lead you back to play?" he offered, putting his arm out for her to take.
"Yes please." She smiled weakly ignoring his first statement and locking her arms with his as he led her through the hall.
"What are you doing here anyway? Isn't the restroom quite distant from here as well?" Ruby questioned with a straight face to hide her skepticism.
"I was looking for you." Ruby was astounded by his plain honesty. She thought he's going to tiptoe about the subject which really surprised her that he didn't make something up instead.
"Why?"
"I saw you earlier when you were entering the lobby. You certainly are a head turner and I wanted to thank you for saving me and helping me get home so when I saw you exit I followed along as well though I missed you a few times. Luckily I found you just in time to prevent you from straying farther from the auditorium." Ruby couldn't detect any falsehood in his word so she satisfied herself with his answer.
"You're welcome and thank you for helping me out." she replied awkwardly. It was silent after that as they both walked through the quiet yet somehow creepy hallways.
"So you like plays too?" Ruby started, trying to lighten the awkward atmosphere.
"Hmmm... Not really. I only came because my sister wanted me to accompany her. The story was interesting though, so I chose to stay anyway." Lie. Ruby can detect that that's not really the case but she didn't probe the subject further.
"I see. Are you enjoying it so far?"
"Quite but not so much. What about you?"
"I find the music very excellent and the plot is okay however I'm not very fond of Christine because she's too much of the perfect-girl character. She's kind, pure-hearted, and compassionate yet ultimately, a pushover. She's depicted as society's standard on how a woman should act: meek, mild, and submissive. She didn't question who the voice was guiding her and stupidly thought that it was 'An Angel of Music' without considering otherwise. It's a bad influence on women. She just went with the flow and didn't strategize on how to save herself. Oh, I'm a bit curious about your opinion regarding Erik. What do you think of him?"
"So far I'm quite interested in the deep obsession of Erik to Christine and his enigmatic persona. He is a genius but shunned and misunderstood by society because of his appearance. I sympathize with why he chose to be so dark. I think that it's a means to get away from the garbage that is human prejudice. I'm certainly not a fan of Romantic heroes so I quite like that the main character is depicted as a Byronic hero." Aurelius answered, leading her to a right turn.
"That is a very interesting perspective and I quite agree. Even though I was away from the other people I can deduce that they are hating Erik and favoring Raoul more because of his good looks and cliche knight in shining armor vibe."
"People tend to accept those that are familiar and coinciding with what they dub as morally acceptable. That's why it's very easy to reject new perspectives that are quite diverted from what they believe in. They seem to be liking Christine Daae however I find her character quite annoying. I haven't seen the full story yet since... we're together but I think I've seen enough to compose my opinion."
"Then what do you think a woman should be?" Ruby asked in curiosity. His opinions had greatly captured her interest making her curious about his perspective regarding women. Of course, it's very common for the men of this era to consider women as lower species and favor them as subservient yet Ruby had found those men who respect women as equals especially in Cadmure her birthplace.
Aurelius thought for a while darting his gaze to the ceiling in deep contemplation of his reply as he guided her through the twist and turns of their path. When he had finally gauged his answer he looked back at her and met her alluring emerald eyes that seemed to turn blue once a certain light hits it.
"My idea of a woman is you." he divulged. "And my sister." he soon added.
"Me?" Ruby questioned in disbelief.
"Clearly you are from nobility. You could have chosen to be a sit-still-look-pretty kind of lady but you didn't. Instead, you chose to learn the arts of war and combat. You didn't let society's standards deter you from taking up arms and learning how to fight for yourself. You're intelligent and you know how to wait. You pick your fights and win them, like how we retreated to lure the Chimera to a trap you kept us running even though the Chimera was highly sedated because you didn't want to risk my life. We attacked when you saw it fit and we won. Honestly speaking I couldn't have pulled it off all by myself because I would most likely brute force it all but your guidance, knowledge, and strength had helped me achieve victory. You are without a doubt a very admirable woman, Ruby Pendragon."
Ruby couldn't help but blush due to his compliment but more so on the sincerity and passion with which he voiced his opinion of her. It's almost as if he really knew her for a long time now even though they've only known each other for a day and ten minutes.
"How did you know my surname?" she asked in wariness.
"You're a Pendragon. You basically own nearly half of the northern portion of the empire. Cadmure is the most peaceful territory, except for the monster parts, and second only to the capital when it comes to prosperity. There's barely anyone who doesn't know you."
"Fair enough. Ohh, we're near the theater already. I recognize the hallway. We should be--"
"Isn't that Prince Aurelius?" Ruby and the said man turned their attention to a group of females that had noticed their presence.
"Yes, it is." answered the girl's companions
"He's the one that rejected me and called me a flat-nosed chimpanzee! He's so mean!" another one added.
"He put a spider on Lady Clara's hair and she was the nicest!"
"He threw a fake snake at me and I nearly fainted while he laughed profusely! Let's get him and teach him a lesson!" rallied a curly-haired brat.
"Yeaaahhh!!" her companions agreed and Aurelius gulped in fear.
"Get hiiiiiiim!!"