"It sure is a fancy looking place, rather intimidating actually." Leon said as he helped me out of the carriage.
"Not really, you should have seen Lord Widenger's estate. Nothing but dark colors, old paintings, and creepy statues everywhere!" I said with dramatical poses as I got a laugh out of Leon.
"In any case, shall we head in now?" I asked as he nodded.
Making our way to the entrance we based by a bush of oddly colored roses. The roses were black with grey stems and red thorns as though many people had pricked their fingers against said thorns.
The grass was also all a dull grayish color, but I thought nothing of it as winter had just started a few days ago so I assumed it to be frost.
The doorway was massive and loomed above us. Peering inside, it was at this point that I noticed something odd. There were no people here other than myself and of course the lord's younger sister.
"Welcome to the yearly masquerade. I hope you all have a wonderful time this year. Obviously we will be doing the usual activities along with a little something extra special!~"
A chill went down my spine as he looked at me saying the last part. But who was he talking to? I wondered to myself.
"Leon, I think we should lea-" Before I could even finish my sentence, the lights went out and the doors slammed shut while the windows closed. Candles lit themselves suddenly showing the glowing outlines of people floating about the room.
I held in a gasp as I realized what the meaning behind the Phantom Ball was. It was a ball for the dead.
"Now now, leaving so soon? We went out of our way to invite you you know. The least you could do is stay a while." The young lord said jumping off of the railing of the stairs landing right in front of us.
"I- I'm sorry, I was just caught off guard is all. You can imagine my surprise to find out that you're surrounded by ghosts." I said as politely as possible as to not offend the unnatural being before me.
"I can see why you would be rather surprised, yes. But as expected, you handled it differently than the others." He said as he placed a kiss on the back of my hand.
"So what exactly are those activities you mentioned before? It seems like no one is really dancing." I said nervously as my grip grew tighter on Leon's sleeve.
"Oh, you're right! You've never been here before!" He said with a sudden decrease in serious behavior.
I giggled lightly, a bit comforted by this sudden change.
"Well usually more people show up, but because of last year's events that can't happen anymore. So seeing as you're the only new guest here would you entertain me with a game of words?"
"A game of words?" I asked as I became slightly interested. I had always been competitive with anything like games or sports, even though it was seen as un-ladylike.
"Its rather easy, We both pick two people out of anyone in the room and they become our teammate then our servant makes the final member. We then get five minutes to come up with a argumentative speech based on a theme chosen by these dice." He said as he pulled out a single blue see through die.
"One team is arguing for, and the other against. Whoever gets the most votes wins." He explained, now back to his calm and more serious demeanor from before.
"Sounds like fun, count me in!" I said as I looked around the room and selected two random specters and then Leon as my final teammate.
The inhuman young nobleman then did the same, then calling out for someone by the name of "Ashe."
A dark green haired man in a ash-grey suit with pale skin stood up in the back of the crowd and walked towards us.
He had a blood-red gemstone embedded in a black choker he wore and had pointed ears just like the young lord's.
As he walked out of the crowd, his eyes traveled to me as they flashed magenta and he stopped in his tracks.
"Um... Hello. You must be Ashe? I'm Zahara von Venitź. " I said politely to the young man. He looked about my age, but judging by earlier events, I wouldn't be surprised if he were much older
"Let the game, begin!" He said as he rushed back to his side with his master.
"The theme is vampires. The other team is for them, so that means we have to come up with an argument against them." Leon said as he leaned over my shoulder.
The two ghosts nodded in understanding as I pulled a sheet of paper from the collection of items for use in this game.
"If we want to win, we need a counter argument for every possible point for them." Ghost 'A' said tapping their chin.
"I agree, so let's start with something hard for them to counter first." Said ghost 'B'
Writing down any good ideas given by my teammates, I occasionally added my own points and counters.
"One minute!" Ashe yelled over the chatter of the crowd around us.
"I have one more that may just win us this match." I said as I wrote down our final question and its corresponding comebacks, then placing down the pen just as Ashe yelled;
"Time!"
"Alright, let's begin the debate!" I said with enthusiasm as both teams stood and walked towards each other.
"I suppose I'll start then." Leon said as he went up to speak first, adjusting his gloves as he walked to the front of our group.
"What could you possibly gain from being a vampire in the positive aspects?" He stated, reading the first question off of the paper.
Lord Widenger then spoke.
"Being a vampire grants you abilities otherwise unthinkable to mankind. Immortality, flight, optional invisibility, as well as transformation between human and bat forms." He said smoothly, not missing a beat in his response.
"Sure, those things are great and all, but what of the days in the sun and the thrill of living?" Asked one of the ghosts on my team
The debate continued on like this, with it looking like lord Widenger would win. It was now however, the final statement and most importantly, my turn.
"What do you do when you fall in love? Surely your lifespan will be a problem. Not only that, but you can't just turn them without consent either." I said crossing my arms. This was our trump card, and in using it, we were hoping for a victory afterwards.
The young lord Widenger stuttered in embarrassment as he struggled to come up with a response, as he had yet to learn this information from the one who turned him into a vampire in the first place.
"I yield, you win lady Venitź." He said with a disappointed sigh.
"Well played lord Widenger, and I believe your teammates did well too." I said as I smiled over at Ashe and the two ghosts helping him.
The two ghosts smiled and waved back while Ashe simply watched my every movement.