Masquerade
I adjusted my gloves and smoothed down
my red chiffon dress. It was almost midnight and he wasn’t there
yet. I started shifting my weight from one foot to the other,
appearing to some as though I was enjoying the incessant music that
the masked orchestra was playing. Most of the other guests were
dancing and chatting the night away, completely ignoring me. I had
no idea where my parents were but I didn’t really care. Where was
he?
“Scarlett, there you are!” I
could see my older sister, Francine, peeking out from behind a
curtain just to the side of where I was standing.
“What do you want?”
“Come here, I want you to meet
someone.” She disappeared back behind the curtain. I gave a
little groan and slowly walked over to where she was.
The room was dark when I entered but
once my eyes adjusted to the candlelight, I noticed Francine sitting
in a chair next to an old woman. The woman had an elaborate blue and
silver masquerade mask on. Her gray hair was pulled up high on her
head and her red stained lips were smiling. I just stood there
trying to figure out who she was.
“Scarlett, I would like to introduce
you to Madam LaGrange.”
Madame LaGrange slowly rose from her
chair, extending her hand towards me. My eyes got big and I took a
step back towards the closed curtain. Francine also stood and came
to stand next to me.
“It’s alright, shake her hand,“
she whispered in my ear.
“Are you insane? It’s the witch,”
I answered back hoarsely.
“I am no witch,” Madame LaGrange
hissed. She was still smiling but her eyes became fierce. “I do
admit that I meddle in magic a bit, but I like to refer to myself as
a healer.”
I looked over to Francine and she just
shrugged her shoulders.
“What are you doing at my party?”
I asked.
Madam LaGrange reached into her pocket
and pulled out a small bag tied with gold ribbon at the top. “I
have brought you a present for your birthday. This is an important
year for you, turning sixteen and all.”
