Private Tales Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

[Everleigh Ebersol]

[art cred]

Ixora Inn was most definitely not an inn, the name was entirely misleading, as Everleigh had somewhat guessed with the name Ixora. Ixora were known to flower throughout the year and was often a plant used for many Nobles tea-gardens. Bright blooms and a heavenly scent made the flower extremely expensive. So yes, it was entirely strange to name an inn after such a sought-after yet extremely rare bloom. When the initiates had checked the place out some earlier that day— without being too obvious, of course— they were meted by such a grand sight.

It was a large, grand hall, owned by one of the lesser noble houses in Vel Anir, and it’s main purpose was parties. Not just for nobles but for anyone who seemed to hold exorbitant amounts of wealth. Merchants, wealthy entrepreneurs and even some from outside of Vel Anir would be in attendance for the very hush-hush masquerade ball. Of course, two initiates would be joining in on the festivities as well, but only because it was technically for the sake of their mission. The academy had made it clear this was supposed to be a stealth-focused mission. Which was why Everleigh was enlisted in it.

Why Ella was there at all made no sense to the poison eater. Maybe the proctor thought Ella could entice their mark by showing off her chest like how she did at the Solstice Ball? Just kidding. Everleigh understood that it was useful to have someone with telekinetic abilities to help traverse their mission. Because really, what they were about to do was considered kidnapping. The details were vague: a student had gone missing just before the revolution, but had been sighted. Monica. Everleigh knew of her, if only because when she had gone missing, the Proctors seemed unsteady about it. Then the revolution came and all was almost forgotten.

Except she had been spotted again. And apparently she was under some rich merchant’s control of some sort and he was parading her around as his daughter. More likely he had kidnapped her first in some way and was now extorting her power of foresight. The academy wanted her back but didn’t want to cause any ruffled feathers. So sending in two young women only a few years older than Monica was their plan.

“What a shitty idea,” Everleigh murmured, slipping into a black velvet dress. Based on what Evie and Ella could collect, fashion would be a important aspect, but the type of fashion made Everleigh roll her eyes. Seductive attire was heavily suggested on the invitation that the dealer had shown them. Or rather the dealer implied that. “I don’t trust him.” She was talking about the dealer they had found. Or rather, that’s what his daytime job was. They had found him hosting an unusual set of games. Everleigh had won but only because she had figured out the trick with his finger guillotine. They had procured two masks that would grant them inside Ixora Inn, all they would have to do would be to find Monica, steal her away, and then never look back.

Everleigh frowned, looking at herself in the standing mirror. Her dress was more modest on top, thank goodness as she had binded her chest for the night, but she was quite shy about her piercings before revealed, but there were two slits in the floor length gown that went straight up to her hips. One wrong move and she’d expose the piercings on her hips. She fiddled with the sleeves.

“And this is scratchy.” She was trying to ignore the fact that she’d be walking into a a high-caliber ball with violet hair. It was unnatural. Shoot, maybe she should’ve just bit the gun and buy that glamor after all. This was different than how she felt when attending that gala with Liliana. Mainly because she was with little miss spoiled academy princess. Everleigh looked over at Ella. “At least you look good.” It was true. Everleigh made sure she would pushing Ella onto the man that had kidnapping Monica. Made more sense to her.

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor did not like Evie. Eleanor did not trust Evie. Eleanor did not want to be with her.

Three understatements of the year.

At least she got to dress up and eat fancy food for a while. That was a plus, right? Not worth it to be stuck with this psycho. She had to admit that Evie did look good though. The black dress and those slits up the front suited her well. Ella was wearing a slinky black dress with a slit up one side and a little too much cleavage. She was not sure why she was the one who had to dress like a slut but whatever.

"You look good too," Ella grudgingly admitted. Ella had let her red hair out of her normal buns and it fell in soft waves around her shoulders. She did look hot. Too bad Vance wasn't here to see this. Maybe she would march down the hall in front of his room in this thing sometime. He would explode and it would be glorious.

"Ready?"

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

“One sec,” Everleigh said, she was looking at the various pouches she had removed from herself. At any given point in time, it was safe to say that Everleigh carried nearly six dozen different sorts of small concealed blades on her. Whether it was needles, spikes, flat blades, or even steel-tipped playing cards, the poison eater was prepared. Unfortunately, with her dress, she couldn’t really use any of her thigh or calf pouches, too obvious. Heck, even her double hip bag wouldn’t work.

Instead, she was left with the two she could hide on her wrist underneath the sleeves, and the larger one, that she reserved for the flat blades and throwing spikes, which rested securely at the small of her back. At least the strap looked like a belt and her long hair may have been plaited in an loose updo that cascaded down to her hips, but the pouch was hidden as long as she kept her hair behind her shoulders. Evie could do such a thing.

“I only have fifty-four blades on me,” she informed Ella. Normally, Everleigh would never say how many weapons she had hidden on her being, but if she was going to work with Ella it would be wise that she knew their weapons were limited. At least, too limited to Everleigh’s liking.

The initiate slipped on a pair of slippers, and then nodded at Ella. They hadn’t spoken to each other more than they had to on this mission. Actually, the only reason why they currently weren’t fighting was solely because of this mission. After the war games, the proctors became acutely aware of how much disdain they had for one another. Really, it was a sick joke they were on this mission together. She grabbed their two masks, handing Ella one.

The masks were a porcelain white and decorated with gold and silver stars and flowers. Really, they was quite beautiful and expertly crafted.

“Let’s go. Can’t keep the carriage waiting too long.” The poison eater said curtly, rolling her shoulders back and standing up a bit straighter before leaving the hotel’s room, their key safely within Everleigh’s expert binding job.

The carriage was nothing special, a porter opening the door for them and half-heartedly helped the initiates inside. Soon enough, the whip of the carriage driver could be heard and with a jostle, the carriage started off towards their destination. Everleigh looked out the window, resting her chin on her palm, thinking. She had to think. Think of every possibility, think of every component, consider their odds for this or that.

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

"That is more than I have," Ella said with a frown. Like Evie, she did not like feeling this naked...and not from the clothing. It was from the lack of knives. "I have," she brought her hands to her chest and counted on her fingers. "Four throwing daggers here and," Ella pulled her dress slit to the side to show her other thigh. There was a garter belt with eight more throwing daggers attached to it.

Ella and Evie left their room and headed to the carriage. As Evie looked out the window and pondered whatever it was a poison eater pondered, Ella leaned over to fix the hem on Evie's shoulder. It had turned a little and looked funny. "Sorry, it had flipped out a little," Ella said quietly.

"There is something about this that seems too easy, Evie. We need to keep out eyes out even more than normal."

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

They had sixty-six blades total. It should be enough. Even if Everleigh wished she could somehow sneak in her sword or lance. But she couldn’t, and really, it’s not like they were in a awful situation already. Things could go as smooth as butter.

Everleigh broke from her thought, a slight heat coming to her cheeks. It was still strange to be touched, for someone to willing to touch her. Sure, Liliana, Liza and Zael had broken that touch barrier awhile ago, but it still felt so strange to the poison eater. She couldn’t help but be bashful.

“Thank you.” She murmured, glancing at where Ella had fixed it. She half expected something that would harm her but it seemed Ella was really just trying to make sure she looked her best. “It’s far too easy,” Everleigh agreed, “but I’m not as careless as Edric, I don’t let my missions get out of hand.” If she could make a dig at that initiate, she would, always. The boring bump on a log.

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor was going to try to stand up for Edric but Evie was kind of right. Their mission together had started with lots of killing, had some starving in between, going up against an Archon, getting branded, and seeing an entire city and army burned to the ground. Yeah...it got a little out of hand but she was not sure if that was really something that could have been controlled.

Ella was quiet until the carriage stopped in front of the Ixora Inn. The driver opened the door and helped the two ladies out. Both of them had donned their masks already. She looked around the driveway to see other carriages arriving and lots of beautiful women in equally beautiful dresses.

"Are you ready to get this shit done?" Ella asked Evie softly.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

“No, I look forward to enjoying myself and having a laxasdaisical time,” Everleigh commented, her tone taking on a cheery chime. “We’re going to have just so much fun. Together. Just you. And. I.” They may have been outside of the inn but Everleigh wasn’t going to take any chances. And since she didn’t want to take chances, she made sure to pull her shoulders down and back, raising her chin up. Each step she allowed her hips to sway, ever footstep was placed right in front of her body’s center.

It was obvious she was copying Liliana’s walk. The straight back, incredibly straight shoulders and uninterested glance were dead giveaways. Up a set of red carpeted stairs, Everleigh had the invitation and handed it to the man outside. It seemed even the staff were wearing masks, but theirs were completely black with a full red moon placed at the center of the forehead.

“Welcome to the Night of Canes Venatici, we welcome the Lepus.” He said and motioned for the two to walk through. Everleigh frowned openly, after all, it’s not like anyone could see the look of disapproval. As they followed other couples and other groups down a long and grand hallway, they were soon in a ballroom that opened up. Constellations, or at least stars in general, seemed to be the theme.

Arcane lights that twinkled and sparkled, the scent of jasmine and lily hung heavy in the air. Silver and gold decorated the crystal chandeliars and vases. Orchids and other exotic flowers hung from alabaster pillars or sat openly on small tables. A grand lotus-shaped fountain was in the center of the magnificent ballroom. There was a place to dance, aplace to sit and lounge, plenty of places to just be.

And yet despite all this room, much to Everleigh’s dismay, there seemed to be very little space. Hundreds of people were here, and they all wore masks.

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor didn't quite copy Liliana's posture like Evie did but she did stand up straighter and she held her head up high. She was not really sure why she was nervous. She had done plenty of missions, but something about this one seemed extra dark and weird. It also did not help that she didn't usually do missions in a dress. She liked her pants. A lot.

The welcome from the staff added to the strange feel of everything. It was off. Despite her feelings about the weird situation they were in, she did have to admit that this hall was beautiful. There were a lot more people than she had expected and she was creeped out by the sea of masks.

A waiter passed by and she grabbed two flutes of bubbly wine from tray he carried. She passed one to Evie with a smile. "Even if you aren't going to drink, we need to look the part..." Ella's voice was so low as she spoke. If Evie looked around, she would see that almost everyone had a flute or some kind of drink in their hands.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh looked at Eleanor as she handed her one flute of bubbly wine. She took the glass and held up a finger telling Ella to wait. Just in case there was poison, Everleigh took the first sip. Nothing. She hadn’t sensed anything in the first place but just in case she wanted to make sure. She nodded her head. Personally she wasn’t going to have more than one sip of the alcohol. She was very diligent when it came to her missions, and despite liking to have fun, it wasn’t fun if she got punished for a bad job.

Everleigh was going to make sure this was a piece of cake. Monica would be back at the academy in twenty-four hours and the poison eater would further cement her ranking as one of the top dreadkids this year. She’d make sure nothing would get in the way of her success. Nothing was going to ruin this.

Although Ella was free to drink as much as she liked. If it ended up getting her killed it was no sweet off the purple initiate’s back. Would probably only make her job easier. What was Ella good at doing anyways besides throwing heavy things at other things and making the boys blush and act stupid? Actually, the latter was going to be extremely useful in this case.

“You know,” Everleigh whispered to Ella, “lepus. That’s a constellation.” Everleigh didn’t know a lot of constellations, but whatever she saw or was told about, she remembered. Just as her first mission with Liliana, she had pointed out The Hunter. “Lepus are the hares. I wonder if perhaps the masks have a ranking system? Predators would be up on that totem pole and maybe their mask reflects that.” She was trying to figure out a way to make their search for Monica and her kidnapper much easier. Only issue was that it had so many unknown variables. At least, right now it did.

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Ella had a decent alcohol tolerance but she was planning to nurse this glass until it was time to rescue Monica. She did not need nor want to get drunk tonight. Not when an innocent girls life was on the life. One of their own. They wouldn't fuck it up. At least, she wouldn't be the reason if they did.

"That is actually a great observation, Evie. I bet you are right," Ella loved to read and she was a nerd but she didn't know shit about constellations. She knew the basics that would keep her from getting lost at night. "So what do ours mean?" Flowers and stars.

"I know Kristen is the outlier on height, but our friend is about our age so she would be about our heights. Perhaps narrowing down the crowd to tall men and significantly shorter dates?" She shrugged and took the tiniest sip from the flute. She had no idea if that even made sense. It had in her brain.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh looked hard at Ella’s mask. Theirs were identical. Pretty depictions of flowers and stars. But if Lepus were rabbits wouldn’t something more rabbit like be on their mask? The initiate began looking around and noticed that if there was a ranking system with the masks, animals didn’t adorn them. She looked back at Ella’s mask, her mind piecing things together.

“The flowers and stars are the constellation.” She said. The star and flower pattern, while in two different colors, mimicked the same pattern, although one was reversed. Everleigh sighed. “Your idea might be the best choice, I can’t possibly try and recall the constellations— or at least all eighty-five of them.” She shook her head. No this was something she had never really studied, or felt the need to flip through every page in the book.

“Search right to left, not left to right,” Everleigh said. “Red hair. And, I’d bet ten gold that the bastard feels very safe with his conquest. I’m sure they’re both wearing something that would make them stand out.”

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor was loath to admit that she was impressed with Evie's knowledge of any constellations. She would never tell her that though. Nope. They could put aside their differences for the mission but she would always hate the Initiate who had embarrassed her during War Games.

Ella nodded at Evie's direction. She looked around the room like she was just scanning the crowd casually. Once she reached the wall, she started to move her eyes over the crowd with more studying. One good thing was that Monica's hair would stand out. Hopefully her captor hadn't thought of dying her hair. That would make things significantly more difficult.

Halfway through her assigned searching, she saw red hair. Her eyes drifted over the body of the girl and she just knew that it was Monica. Red hair, a few shades lighter than her own, and a deep burgundy dress next to a man wearing a making suit with black hair. He was a good foot taller than his date.

Ella leaned over to Evie and whispered, "two o'clock and three sets of people deep."

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh’s gimlet gaze traveled over to where Ella had pointed out, seeing the couple. Well, it certainly seemed like it could be Monica, she was on the shorter side. Roughly about Liza’s height if Evie remembered correctly— which she often did. The hair was red and despite it being curled, one could see it was naturally straight and thin.

Everleigh looked at Ella.

“We should double check,” she said, not to make sure it was really Monica but that it wasn’t some sort of projection or illusion of some kind. Not only that, but they needed a good plan. Everleigh could very easily step beside the man, pricking him with a poisoned needle that would cause him to pass out. But the issue was the crowds of people.

How would they be able to pull Monica away and go unnoticed? A distraction would certainly be needed, but what would be the best way to do so? There were plenty of factors to consider and Everleigh looked around.

“We may need to scope this place out a bit more,” she realized, and then sighed. She’d rather leave as soon as possible but they couldn’t risk any mistakes.

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor was on the same page as Everleigh. She wanted to leave as soon as possible. "Would you like to go visit the buffet, Evie?" Ella asked with a tight smile.

If the two Initiates went over to the buffet, they would have a chance to get a closer look at the possible Monica and they would have to walk by a couple alcoves and doors. They could definitely slowly walk by and check them out without looking completely suspicious.

"Then perhaps we can find the powder room because my makeup will need a touch up..." Those rooms were usually off the main ballrooms and down the hall. More chances to scope things out without looking completely out of place.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Everleigh nodded her head, catching onto Ella’s code for how they would traverse around this large ballroom without getting caught. It was hard with a mask, her peripheral vision was partially obscured so that it was necessary for them to get close to the target.

“Then allow me to lead us to our first destination,” she said easily and without thinking she looped her arm through Ella’s beginning to lead her to the buffet. It was a many long tables pusher together and seemed to stretch on more than it needed to. But the food was incredibly appetizing, especially to Everleigh who often dealt with the academy’s flavorless meals or the few meals she had the joy of experiencing on missions.

There was chilled seafood on ice, with an array of raw clams, scallops, and oysters, cooked yet chilled shellfish with a variety of crab, shrimp and lobster claws and tails, a small break with fruits and salads, and then it was back to the grand stuff: roasted pheasant on roasted root vegetables, Cornish hens sitting atop of hearty, herb-cooked grains, stuffed duck (actually there was duck prepared many different ways), bone marrow and toast, simmering snails in a garlic butter sauce, and so many various cuts of meat, from beef to pork to lamb, that had been basted in thyme and butter or was shiny with a heavy, savory-sweet glaze that it had been marinating in for days

Truth be told, Everleigh felt herself drool. The smell was enough to cause her to salivate.

“This is… fancy.” She said lamely, unable to really say anything else, and only sighed with fresh bread was brought out. Now that was a smell!

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor stiffened when Evie looped her arm in her own. She felt herself relax some as they started to walk towards the buffet. Like Evie, Ella was bombarded with the sights and smells of the selection of food and her stomach made a protesting sound so she knew that it wanted some of said food.

"Could we just take a small break for some food?" She knew Evie would glare at her or call her some crass name but fuck it looked so good and she was so hungry. "Just a tiny one. We might be able to use this position some..." She smiled sweetly.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

Evie glanced over at Ella. High marks were important to her— incredibly so. But the issue with working so hard all the time and busting your ass to impress people that you often dreamt about killing meant that a release needed to happen.

And Everleigh’s release was, by all means, whatever was fun. Her sort of fun wasn’t always for everyone, she wanted it to be thrilling, heart pounding, and something caused her whole entire body to shudder and ache afterward. She loved taking that first breath when whatever danger had been disposed of, when she could close her eyes to only have her chest rise to then fall back down as she released that breath with a half-lidded gaze.

Food, in particular, didn’t give her that thrill. But it did bring her joy. She had been starved so many times that when it came to food, Everleigh never said no. Even when on a mission. When the poison eater nodded her head it must have seemed out of the ordinary, which would’ve been a good thing: it meant her reputation was just how she wanted it.

“We can watch while we eat,” Everleigh murmured, taking a plate and then handing Ella one as well. Her mouth was watering as they came closer. “Are you more of a seafood or a red meat sort of girl?” She asked. She liked both but… coming from a family of butchers meant that Evie was always rather particular to the cuts of meat that came from animals with four legs.

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor was practically giddy when Evie agreed to her plan. Sure, it was a decent plan and a good reason for them to be standing there watching the room.

"I like both but I think we should start with some meat. That duck and that lamb look delicious...well everything does really," she smiled at Evie.

Ella grabbed a plate and started down the side of the buffets that allowed her to keep an eye on their prey. She took some of the herb crusted lamb chops, a little rice, and a few different kinds of duck. It was a beautiful plate.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

“I definitely prefer meat,” Everleigh said, “but hot bread is a bit… homey.” A strange word that came from her lips because for the longest time, all dreadlord initiates had been denied to feeling like they had a place to belong to, a place to call theirs, now more than ever after the revolution. Thinking about it soured her expression briefly but soon enough she was looking quite content as she went straight for the skewers of marinated and glazed pork with the skin crispy but the fat inside looking delightfully succulent. Cuts of beef were added next, some marinated, others free of strong tastes that allowed one to enjoy pure, beefy flavor.

She skipped the lamb. It smelled good covered in cloves of garlic and thyme and rosemary, but when she saw the size of the bones on the lamb chops, a slight wave of guilt washed over her. Everleigh couldn’t help but be reminded of a child.

She finished her plate with the fresh bread, and then looked over, seeing their target meander through important person to the next.

“Looks like they’re busy making their dues,” Everleigh whispered over to Ella before taking a bite of the fresh roll of bread. She sighed pleasantly. It was very hot, burning her tongue, but the taste of it alone made up for that.

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor had been watching them as she nibbled on some of the bread she snatched from the buffet last. The look on Everleigh's face told her that she needed to get some so she did. Evie would not steer her wrong when it came to food. Or on a mission, really. Evie was far too focused and driven to fuck with her mission partner. Before...after...yes...during...nope.

Ella saw a couple move away from a tall, standing table that actually had a better vantage point for the Initiates. The tables were on a small dais that raised their height slightly.

"Evie, let's go stand at that table," she nodded her head to the right towards the aforementioned table. "It will be easier to eat when we can put our plates down as well," she smiled.

It was not long before the two of them were standing together on the side of the table that allowed them to see the ballroom. "Yes, this is great!" She whispered excitedly before picking up her lambchop and biting into the succulent meat. A long mmmm slipped out as she chewed with a smile.

Everleigh Ebersol

 

[Everleigh Ebersol]

“Oh.” Everleigh said, looking over at the table and then nodding her head. “Good idea.” She complimented and made her way over to the table with Ella. Everleigh was quiet for a moment, looking around the ball room, her gaze quickly flickering back to Monica and that man. She had to admit, it was strange, normally she was used to feeling as if all eyes were on her due to her purple hair, but she didn’t feel like anyone was looking at them.

Had they managed to blend in that easily or was it just because these people were so wealthy, so high in status, that they didn’t care to mingle with those who couldn’t offer them something in return? Everleigh pushed that thought out of her mind, beginning to eat as well.

Suddenly the arcane lights dimmed and Everleigh stiffened. Through amplification magic, at the top of the stairs arrived a masked man and woman, an announcer announcing their presence. They were the patrons of this grand ball it seemed, even if they were using alias’. After all, they were to be known as Emperor and Lady Luck. Interesting duo, Everleigh noted.

“I would like to personally welcome everyone to Night of Canes Venatici,” Emperor began, before driveling off into a lengthy speech. The hairs on the back of Everleigh’s neck began to rise up and she looked over at Ella.

“I feel uneasy.” She whispered. Because now, all of a sudden, Everleigh could feel it, eyes on her. For her purple hair? Because she stood out more on this vantage point? The anxiety was there in her chest although Everleigh seemingly remained stoic and calm, and after all, she couldn’t help but feel that perhaps she was being a narcissist. They could be looking at Ella after all, not necessarily at her.

Or no one was looking at them in the first place.

Eleanor

 

[Eleanor]

Eleanor just raised a slender brow at the nom de plumes that the hosts had chosen for the evening. The Emperor and Lady Luck. Why had they not gone with the Emperor and the Empress? Questions that would plague her randomly when she was in the middle of doing something else. The most likely time would be when she was trying to sleep. That was when her mind decided to ask the deep (and not so deep) questions.

The redhead continued to nibble on some of the quieter foods as the Emperor gave his long-winded speech. She probably should have paid attention but her attention was split between their target and her food. The important things here at the moment.

“I feel uneasy.”

Ella looked at Everleigh and then back around the room over more. The Emperor had finished speaking and everyone had lifted their glasses in a toast. Everything seemed normal at the moment. Ella lifted her own glass and nudged Evie with her elbow so she would do the name.

"Maybe you are just nervous?" Ella offered to her partner. Everyone said something in a language that Ella did not understand before they all drank from their glass simultaneously. Ella took a small sip and then set her glass back down on the table.

Everleigh Ebersol