A Night In Darkness
Following the gala, Sara eventually called Hayden, at which after talking he had invited her to accompany him to a masquerade party. The name of the party had been very well guarded over the last decade, you either had been invited, or you had been excluded. The idea behind the party was secrecy and as such Hayden had asked Sara to forsake her magitek gloves, instead using silk gloves if she had wished to use any at all. Hayden’s car was holding outside her apartment, waiting for her to appear, with his chauffeur in front. Hayden remembered the old parties, the rituals they used to carry out before the later stages, the turning of light into day and the debauchery that followed.
Sara exited her apartment building, smiling when she saw Hayden. She wore a black cheongsam that reached to her mid thigh, with delicate golden floral designs brocaded on the right side, like those worn by the women of Takamagahara. She also wore black silk gloves, though unlike her magitek gloves they went only to her wrist, and her red hair was tied up in a bun. Under her right arm she had a package slightly larger than a shoe box. “Hello.”
Hayden stood outside, leaning up against the car as she came out, he eyed her up and down, looking at her outfit. “You look stunning.” He said with a small smile on his lips. He himself wore a black tuxedo, with a bowtie. He already had his mask on, it was a Barocco mask, custom made of marble to fit his face, on top of it there was the pagan god, Kirtus, the god of the sun, with patterns on the outside of the mask with small pearls on it. “Do you have a mask?” He asked.
She nodded, tapping the box that she held. “I wasn’t sure if we were to wear them yet, to be honest. You look quite nice yourself by the way, that is an interesting mask.”
Hayden nodded as he looked at the box, before he opened the car door for her. “I'm glad you think so. Tell me, have you ever heard of the night of the serpentine?”
She smiled thankfully as she climbed into the car, placing the box on her lap as she shook her head. “Never.”
He closed the door before going to the other side an entered, as the driver got in as well and began to head towards the destination. “Well, you told me that you found the speeches boring, but the socializing and the dancing was pleasant, so I decided to invite you here. However, at the same time I might have been overly bold, this is a special event, one which is not known to people outside certain circles.” He said as he looked at her with a fun smile, before out the window. After All, it was a less than normal party, it was a party made after ancient standards, with a few modern touches.
“So I’ve gathered,” she laughed. “I can already tell that this will be much more interesting than your gala, no offense.” She looked down at the plain gloves on her hands before cocking an eyebrow at Hayden. “What is it about this event that I could not wear my gloves?”
He held a hand at his heart, feigning hurt, before chuckling. “The gloves are you, I have seen you wear them several time, these gloves are not. Just like I wear a mask, and you will as well. It's all anonymity, no titles, no wealth, well no difference in wealth between the guests. To the rest, and to you, I am simply Hayden, no one else.” The driver pulled down the window. “Sir, we are almost there.” He said before rolling it back up.
“Just a night, without a care, without any proper form that the world expects.” He said before looking at her box. “You might wanna take it on, I look forward to seeing what you picked.” He said eagerly.
“Sounds like quite the party, it’s a wonder word hasn’t gotten out.” As she spoke she removed the lid from the box. Inside, lying on crimson silk, was a mask made from thin golden wire interspersed with dark blue sapphires bringing out the blue of her eyes., twisted in elaborate patterns, ultimately taking the shape of a butterfly. “What do you think?” She asked as she put the mask on her face.
“Magnificent.” Shall we be seeing a larva turn into a beautiful butterfly tonight? The car pulled over and Hayden stepped out, going to the other side and opening the door for her, extending his hand. The place was right outside a larger building. The neighborhood was bad to say the least, there was no real sign of wealth, it was poor, the lighting was bad, and there was really little to recommend it, it was one of those places which getting mugged seemed a certainty rather than a possibility.
“Of all the places you folks could have your little parties you choose a neighborhood like this?” She chuckled to herself as she looked around, taking his hand to climb out of the car. “This place looks worse than the neighborhood I live in in Pence, and I always had my gloves when I would go out at night there.”
“It could be worse.” He said as he lead her forward towards the door where a large man stood. He looked at them for a moment before Hayden gave him a piece of paper, and the man slammed the door three times, opening it up. As they walked inside, it was dark to begin with, but there was light at the end of the corridor. “So then, what do you expect to see?” He asked, curiosity clear in his voice.
She shook her head with a laugh. “I honestly have no idea Hayden. If I had to guess I would say either an awful dive bar, a scene out of an apakite harem, or an elegant ballroom.” She laughed again. “Whatever it is, this certainly isn’t how I’d expected it to start.
“You aren't far off.” He said as they walked into a very large room. The poverty from outside could not be seen in here. There were golden candlesticks and lights hanging on the walls, giving it a natural warmth, and a beautiful carpet on the floor. That was however not the first thing to glance one's eye. There were plenty of people inside, it wasn't crowded but not empty either, and they all wore masks, both men and women, all wearing fine clothes. At the side there was a bar which served free drinks, at the end of the hall, there was a band playing live music. Off to the sides, there were booths that had tables, and red curtains that could be rolled over to shield the people from public view. The servant girls wore little clothes, and the same went for the girls on the stage, all these girls also wore masks to shield their identity. One of them came over to Hayden and Sara, with a tray with champagne glasses on it, to which Hayden took one, nodding happily to the girl, before looking at Sara, waiting eagerly for her reaction, and to find out if he overstepped.
Sara took a glass as well, quickly thanking the girl and taking a sip. “I can honestly say that this is far from what I was expecting for tonight.” She laughed quietly, turning to look at him. “What exactly is all of this?” She asked, motioning around the room with her free hand.
He laughed slightly. “I'm not sure how to sum it up in one sentence, but I will try. It's a place where you can come and relax, and not care for what is expected of you by others, anything here is possible.” He said with a smirk. “If you think it's too much, feel free to say so.”
“No, no, it’s not that. I just wouldn’t have guessed…” She stared as the scantily clad woman walked away. “Do you come here often?”
He shook his head. “It’s the first time I have been here in some years. It surprises you that I would take you here.” he said with a laughter, before downing a bit of his drink.
“A little bit, yes, after the way you had spoken to me at your gala.” She smirked at him. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d have this type of thing in you.”
“The gala was public, for show, for the papers.” He said happily, before he motioned for them to walk, asking her. “So what surprises you the most here? or should I say shock”
“From what I can see, probably the naked women walking around.” Sara said, her tanned cheeks coloring slightly. She looked around the room, continuing to take in the surroundings. “Or maybe just the number of people who are actually here.”
“Well they are not completely naked, that would just be indecent.” He said, looking at one of the girls that passed. Before finding them a table and sitting down. “It's not that bad, it loosens up the atmosphere, it makes people notice them and not the other patrons. You can kiss who you would like here, and no one would bat an eye, unlike the gala.” He said while drinking some more, almost emptying his glass. “Though, if you do kiss someone other than me, I will be deeply disappointed.”
“Even if it were one of the lovely waitresses? I’d think you would enjoy that.” She grinned playfully, taking another drink of her own.
He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself, starting to laugh instead. “I think I would love that, to see you having fun with one of them, with me being left to my imagination.”
She rolled her eyes, still smiling. “I doubt I’ll be getting that drunk.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, laughing again. “Did I tell you that I’ve had a few meetings with investors already? I think they’ve gone rather well, nothing concrete yet, but still, it’s something.”
He smiled as she kissed his cheek. “I'm glad.” He said happily. “Any of the investors worth of note, do they have any proper reputation to their name?”
“I suppose,” she shrugged. “I had a meeting with some people at Advanced Solutions, Adrian Sanchez. Do you know him?”
“Never met him, but I have heard the name.” A scandal might be brewing under his name, or was it another Sanchez that Hayden had heard of? “They say he is an upcoming business man, it could prove quite useful down the line.” He drowned the rest of the glass before a waitress came over with another. “I'm happy that you came here to Valencia, and that you sat up the meetings. The passion that I can see once again.” He took a pause. “I wanted to apologize in regards to last time, I shouldn't have been so harsh in regards to you and Rodrigo.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” she said flatly. “But I can at least see why you did it, and I think that I can appreciate the thought behind it.” She laughed and drank more of the champagne. “And honestly, is Rodrigo really all that bad when you’ve got men who burn books and kill mages to compare him to?” Yes.
He shook his head but kept his smile and drank a bit more. “Just because there are people who are worse than him, does not make him a good person, at least not in my eyes.” He looked into her eyes. “I can understand why he seems charming, he has been raised to be so afterall, but I cannot support his politics, or the way it has stalled parliament.” He gained a smirk. “No matter how much we might have had to drink at the end of tonight.”
“At least a stalled parliament isn’t spending time passing foolish laws.” She laughed and shrugged, finishing her glass. “What of you, what have you been up to lately?”
“I guess there is a bright side to every bad thing.” He said with a laugh. “Not much I am afraid, board meetings mainly, we are developing a new drug to hopefully replace caffeine.” He paused for a moment. “And I have been looking into funding you.”
“Have you?” She said, genuinely surprised. “I hadn’t submitted...that is, you haven’t seen any of my notes, my presentations. I’d have called your secretary to make an appointment, but it hardly seemed proper after having called you.” proper? since when do people in this city care about proper.
He shrugged. “I suppose it's not, probably not after tonight. That however doesn't mean that I won't give you the chance if you want it, to present it to me and the other board members, if you want to that is.”
She sat, thinking about it for some time, before shaking her head. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think it feels right. Of course, if this does turn out to be a success, once I’ve proven myself, I would certainly welcome a chance to present my next project. Until then it would feel too much like charity.” Hayden was unaware of how exactly to react, he was certainly not used to being told not about giving people money.
Hayden smiled, licking his lip. “Thank you, I'm glad to hear it. At least I know you are here to simply spend time with me.” He said before placing a hand over hers. “Thank you for coming, I'm glad you asked for my number.” He gently took a hold of her hand. “Do you want to dance?”
“I’d love to,” She smiled at him.
They went to the dance floor, it was fairly dark there, not as much lighting, the music was different from the gala, it was quicker, more freely, more pop, less of a standard way of dancing. Hayden began to move to the music, but he was, to put it gently, not that amazing of a dancer. “So then, you never really told me where you had travelled.”
Sara began dancing as well, seeming to move in perfect harmony to the music. “A number of places,” she grinned. “The Polis of Elon first, then the magocracy, though only for a short time. Takamagahara after that as you may be able to tell.” She laughed and motioned to her dress. “The Corporation, a few league cities. It was an enlightening experience all told.”
“Ah.” he said as he continued to dance. “I am starting to feel that I have amiss not visiting more places in the world.” He said before he took her hand and spinned her around with a laugh. “What was the most exciting place?”
“Hmm, that is difficult answer,” she said thoughtfully. “They all had their charms I suppose, but for excitement? I think I would have to give that to Pence.” She continued to dance, not elaborating.
He laughed. “Yea, I believe you compared this neighborhood to Pence, must have been bad.” He looked at her curiously. “What about the Corporation, I have heard its quite bad there.”
“It depends on where you go of course, but yes, many parts of it are very bad. In Free Vania there is so much pollution and waste in the air and streets.” She frowned as she remembered it. “I spent most of my time there volunteering at clinics. There are probably at least a few redeeming qualities, but I didn’t see them.”
Hayden frowned a slight bit. “A shame.” He said as the dance was coming to an end, before he gained a smirk. Taking hold of her, spinning her around and dipping her down, one hand behind her back, holding her up, and the other lifting her leg. Making him grin as he slowly lifted her up, laughing. “Now, if I can’t charm you with that, I fear I am near out of cards.”
Sara chuckled. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting it.” She straightened out her dress and popped up on her toes to kiss him lightly. “To be honest I wouldn’t have thought you’d ever danced before at first.” She laughed.
He laughed as well. “I have qualities, or so I like to think at least, but dancing is not one of them.” He said as he held his hands on her waist and looked into her eyes. “But that doesn't mean that I am too shy to have a bit of fun.” He looked around the room and frowned. “It seems the later stages of the party is starting.” He sighed. “Something I would rather avoid.” He looked back into her eyes. “So, do you want me to drive you home?” Before gaining a grin. “I do also own an apartment in this building if you prefer.”
“I think a drive home would be quite nice,” She smirked. “While we’re going you can explain to me what the later stages of the party entail and why you would have an apartment in the building.”
Hayden chuckled. “As you wish.” He said as he lead her out of the building and towards the car, before getting in. “The reason I own an apartment is because the guy who runs this gave it to me.” Hayden shook his head. “We are quite close, him and me, and have been for some years, I normally use the apartment as a refuge from the party when it gets too much, unlike some of the people in there, I am not that big of a party goer, and partly because of the later stages, and I didn't use to have a driver coming with me.”
Sara climbed in the car as well. “I see. Is the owner anyone I would have heard of before? Another one of you tycoons?” She joked.
“To some degree yes.” He said as he looked towards her and the car began to take off. “Now the later stages turn into an ancient, how shall I put it, feast perhaps. A lot of food will be served, a lot of drink as well, people tend to be drunk out of their mind. People often get so drunk that they lose their senses.” He said with a laugh. “But what then happens, is that quite a few guests start sleeping around with each other.” Hayden shook his head. “Now that is great and all, but the reason I dislike it is that it normally ends up involving drugs, and I had a relapse a few years ago, and since then I have been afraid of falling back in.”
“I was going to say, it sounds like quite a bit of fun, but I can certainly understand why you would be concerned.” She adjusted the seat, reclining back with a chuckle. “I would have kept you honest if we’d stayed though. Perhaps next time.” Hayden already knew that should they come again, he would most likely just shut himself away at the later stages once again.
“Perhaps.” He said with a smile before looking out the window. “If you truly want, we can turn around again if you promise to keep me clean, we only made a street after all.”
“Eh,” She shrugged with a sigh. “It is late enough already I think.”
He smiled, relieved. “Alright.” he said as they continued driving until they eventually made it to her apartment, he removed the mask, looking at her. “Another time?”
“Absolutely, this was fun.” she said, removing her own mask. “Just call.”
He looked at her for a moment, before placing his hand on the side of her face, kissing her before breaking it off. “I promise I will.”
She smiled as he pulled back, opening the door to the car. “Have a wonderful night Hayden, goodbye.” She climbed out of the car and closed the door.
Hayden sat back and relaxed as Henry rolled down the window, “Enjoyed the night master Hayden?” To which he nodded. “About time you spend some time enjoying life, you have been too busy with work as of late.” Henry just looked towards him for a moment. “She seems like a wonderful girl.” To which Hayden just nodded and closed his eyes as he leaned back. “I will wake you up when we arrive, master Hayden.”