It was obvious to anyone with the right information and knowledge that in the whole kingdom only the members of the royal family were allowed to wear masks on their face, and each member had a particular color of mask he or she wore or chose to wear and was known for.
Jasmine had been twiddling her fingers and staring at the ground anxiously waiting for the time when the queen would bless the young noblewomen that were coming of age into society when she suddenly saw the queen tilt her head to the side.
Seeing the Queen do such an action slightly alarmed Jasmine which made her turn her face halfway to the side, as she tried to discretely peek at her royal highness.
It had only been about a year since she got promoted to serve as one of the queen's servants through a recommendation from the department of work and hospitality and though it was hard at first, It didn't take very long for her to take down notes of her many habits.
Especially because whenever the queen sat down, she did it as if she was attaching herself temporarily to the chair, without moving any part of her body.
"What does she want,' thought Jasmine thinking about the various things the Queen might want and hoping to do it before she asks about it.
Various things were still running through her mind when she surprisingly saw the queen move a second time, but this time around, she saw her fold her hands together.
Jasmine immediately looked up to take a look around and try to see what could have made the Queen herself, move twice in her seat.
At first, she noticed nothing except that the hall seemed more serene than usual until she took a closer look and was quick to notice that the guests of the banquet and nobles in the platform below them kept glancing at a corner of the hall, while others despite having their moral etiquette drilled into them from a young age, still blatantly stared at that particular corner.
Trying to find who or what everyone was staring at while trying to retain the straight posture that was required of all royal servants, Jasmine turned her gaze to the part of the hall everyone was looking towards and was amazed to see the beautiful and young debutant she had chosen to use for the job she had been blackmailed to do,
but what shocked her the most was the masked man standing close to the young lady dressed in a red gown.
He was not too far away for her not to be able to tell that he had a red mask on his face and she knew from all the lessons she had gotten that only the royal family were allowed to wear masks in the whole kingdom.
Some scholars even speculated that it might be that they all developed an hereditary disease over time or had a bad scar on their faces which they didn't want anyone to know about.
However, for more than a century no one had been able to confirm or question the reason why the king's family all wore masks on their face.
"It's definitely one of the princes, but I wonder which one would cause the queen to have such multiple reactions upon seeing one of her own sons when she rarely showed emotions in whatever form," thought Jasmine silently within herself.
"Also why is the prince talking to that young lady in particular? Do they know each other? Should I still use her or should I choose another debutante wearing a beautiful red gown since all they want is a girl wearing a shade of red," Jasmine thought fast, as different questions kept on popping into her mind.
Slightly distracted, Jasmine almost missed the moment when the queen sharply raised her gloved right hand up, signaling to the trumpeters to pronounce the beginning of the new season.
The trumpets blew in varying degrees producing a symphonious sound and the ten young women of the day quickly lined up at the foot of the stairs in a straight line.
Only one of them was actually wearing a red gown but two others were wearing peach colors.
One by One, the women went up the stairs, bending their knees as low as possible in a deep courtesy in front of the queen, and since Jasmine had no idea of the kind of relationship between the girl wearing a flaming red gown and the prince she decided to pick any of the other girls wearing gowns with a close semblance with red.
It went on peacefully and one by one each of the girls went up to the queen as she blessed them making a sign of the eternal mother on their forehead in the form of a straight line.
By then, Jasmine's hands were already visibly shaking as she stood about two steps away in front of the queen, leading the debutante up the stairs towards her.
Jasmine was well aware that what she was about to commit was treachery against the crown and if she was caught they could behead her and do worse things to her but she couldn't stop because if she did, by tomorrow she wouldn't have a family to call her own.
Trying to calm her pounding heart, she allowed the first girl wearing the somewhat peach gown to go as she bowed to the queen after receiving her blessings.
Clenching her fist together, she beckoned on all the courage she had and waited patiently for the fifth person to leave followed by her new target.
The girl was short and had a round face that made her look small and childish but regardless, Jasmine waited until she was climbing up the stairs before she started whispering the magic words underneath her breath,
"Silent winds, Stormy seas, what is this I see, A beautiful girl in red, whose breath has been I pray you to take as a sacrifice to you," she whispered as she slowly watched the girl ascend the stairs.
"My lord, ruler of corruption and evil, he whom his true name must not be known, I do not ask but I beseech you," she said as she felt her body start to shake as cold air came out of her mouth and nose.
She tried her best to stand still and she succeeded long enough to see the girl she cursed slip and fall facedown on the stairs as servants and aides sprinted towards her to help her.
Jasmine watched this happen and she felt pity for the girl but she knew that it was something she had to do.
"I'm sorry but nothing is more important to me than my family," she whispered as she suddenly felt something drip down her nostrils.
Using her hand to wipe it off she was shocked to find dark red blood smeared on the back of her hand when she suddenly felt lightheaded and her vision toppled upside down.
Her legs felt weak and unable to keep standing, she falls, and barely anyone notices.