"Muuuuumm!"
"Huh?" a woman named Mya rushed out of the kitchen after hearing her daughter's voice from far away. She was a stunning woman with waist-length black hair and icy blue eyes, soft features, and a model-like figure, she was in her early forties, yet age was unknown to her.
"The midnight ball! The midnight ball!!!!" Elaina's voice came from outside before she kicked the door open.
"Mum, look! It's the midnight ball!" she announced as she ran towards her visibly confused mother while flashing a white envelope in her hands. Her long black hair followed her trail,
"What are you on about, Elaina? You need to close the door and keep your shoes properly!" her mother scolded. Her eyes were on her daughter's shoes which had been flung in different directions when she ran in.
"That's not important. Look! it's an invitation to the midnight ball!" Elaina squealed.
"That's impossible. Let me see," Mya took the invitation from her hand. She opened it and read the contents of the letter in it. "You're right, it is an invitation," she stated in awe. It had the seal of the upper echelon on both the envelope and the invitation, which verified its authenticity.
"This is amazing,"
"Right?"
The mother-daughter duo expressed their excitement over their invite while forgetting other things, like their front door which was left wide open.
Meanwhile, Alexander entered the home, he closed the front door behind him then picked up Elaina's shoes and placed them on a rack. After that, he went and sat on a couch. Watching his family squeak and giggle like little children.
"Who does it say the host is?" he heard Elaina, his sister, ask.
"The host for this year's ball is the vampire king, Nicholas Quinn, and the theme is Midnight and Masquerade," Mya read out the contents of the letter.
"Which means we're going to the castle!!" Elaina twirled in happiness but after her twirl, a realization hit her.
"Wait, is it safe for us to attend a vampire's ball?" she asked her mother.
"Of course, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we can't miss out on this," Mya brushed it off as nothing.
"Yes!" Elaina pumped her fist in the air. Finally, this was a chance to act entitled while sipping expensive wine.
The midnight ball was a fairly new tradition started by the upper echelon three years ago. The midnight ball was the upper echelon's way of unifying the land allowing commoners to step into the lives of the elite just for a night.
The midnight ball was all the rave around this time of the year as the selection was random, so everything depended on luck. And that luck fell on her this year. Rumor had it that, anyone who attended the midnight ball never remained the same. And, this time it wasn't just any member of the upper echelon but the king himself was the host, so the ball was bound to be spectacular.
The upper echelon was a group consisting of individuals with the highest rank in the entire land. Their status was almost like the kings' though the kings remained at the top of the pillar. There were three kings for the three main creatures, the vampire king, the human king, and the werewolf king. Though, she heard that the werewolves don't have a king currently.
More importantly, "We have to go shopping right now!" Elaina exclaimed.
"It's already late though," Alexander spoke up knowing that their mother would agree with Elaina.
"Alex is right," Mya agreed causing him to receive a glare from his sister.
"But if we don't go now we're going to be left behind," Elaina protested. Everyone would probably be in a rush to get clothes so if they didn't make haste, they would be left with scraps.
"Don't worry, I know a place but we will have to leave early if we want to get the good dresses," her mother stated.
"Okay," she agreed albeit halfheartedly. "Oh, right, do you know if Dad would be at the ball?" she asked and this got Alexander's attention.
"I don't know, but he most likely would," she answered which brightened her children's moods.
"We will be leaving early tomorrow, Elaina, make sure you finish on time," Mya added a light warning for her daughter who didn't know how to be punctual.
"I will, you worry for nothing, Mother," she waved her hand to dispel her mother's worries.
°°°
Elaina rushed out of the bathroom, water dripping down her body and to the floor. At the same time, she heard her mother call her, "Coming!!" she answered loud enough for her to hear. She quickly picked up her towel from the bed and wiped the water off her body as fast as she could. After that, she applied lotion to her body.
The plan had been to watch just a few episodes but somehow time flew by and left her with just two hours of sleep. Her mother's voice was what woke her up ten minutes ago.
She threw on whatever she could find from her wardrobe and was in the process of spraying deodorant when she heard the clicking sound of light switches which meant they were about to leave!
Spraying her deodorant and perfume quickly, she ran out of her room and down the stairs where she met Alexander waiting for her.
"Your glasses," he reminded making her eyes widen. She turned around and sprinted back up the stairs making him chuckle.
Elaina flung the door to her room open. She rushed to her bedside table and grabbed her glasses. At the same time, she heard the front door open, making her sprint out of the room.
Her heavy footsteps echoed through the house as she ran down the wooden stairs. She was almost at the end of the stairs when her feet twisted, causing her to lose her balance. She would have fallen if not for Alexander who quickly caught her.
"Careful," he told her gently.
"Th-thanks," Elaina thanked. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath while Alex placed her feet on the ground.
Mya closed the door behind her and hurriedly walked to where they were.
"Are you hurt?" she asked with worry marred all over her face.
Elaina was a little shocked at her mother's worried look but she brushed it off with an awkward laugh, "I'm fine, haha," she smiled sheepishly.
Mya sighed in relief before saying, "See, this is precisely what I warned you about, Elaina. When you don't manage your time well, things like this can happen. What if Alex hadn't been there?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Elaina apologized so her mother could stop her speech before it got any longer. She wore her glasses then fixed her shirt, "We can leave now," she said with a smile.
°°°
Mya, Elaina, and Alexander walked through the bustling streets of the shopping district. The midnight ball had turned the place even busier than usual.
The tall and fancy buildings stood ever so proud attracting the customers and even the lesser buildings did no less. The shopping district, the center of all buying and selling.
They got to their destination but there was already a crowd in front of the store.
"Oh," Elaina stated dryly. That was a long line!
A crease formed on Mya's forehead, even among the infamous dress makers Mr. Leighton was well known for his quality dresses, so well that even the nobles contacted him for his services. It would be pointless for them to join such a long line. Her eyes moved to the closed doors of the boutique, he wasn't open yet, this was their chance.
"Are we joining the line?" asked Elaina to which she replied,
"There's no need for that, come with me," she told them before walking towards the side of the boutique.
"Uhh, what are we doing, mum?" Elaina whisper-asked her mother. It was awkward how they were the only ones to go to the side like they were going to receive some special treatment.
"You'll see," Mya replied before knocking on the glass door.
After a few seconds, the door was opened by a man who let out a yawn. His eyes were visibly tired as he asked, "Who is it?" but when his eyes fell on them, particularly her, the boredom disappeared immediately. "Mya!" he called excitedly.