09:37 PM, June 26, 1378 ASV
The four men regrouped outside the main dining hall. Grimace and Bobby were dressed as performers, with Bobby wearing an ivory mask to complement Grimace's golden mask. Lucerio disguised himself as a staff member in a velvet uniform, swapping his decorative mask for his dark, ominous one. Black gloves hid his skin, following the lead of the rest of his ensemble.
Eros wore a traditional black suit, and the foul odour no longer lingered on his body. Bobby's face was pale; his eyes remained in the same state of terror from when Eros had last seen him.
I guess Grimace really does terrify him. It makes sense; he's clearly got a screw loose somewhere in that head of his.
"You know, I just thought of a new plan." Bobby nervously played with his fingers, unable to meet any of their eyes.
"And that is?" Eros asked cautiously, raising his left eyebrow.
"Well... I can just use my art to infiltrate the VIP room and find him for us. It's been well over 40 minutes; I should be able to use it again."
"Do you have a death wish?" Grimace smirked at Bobby, who took a step back from the mad jester. He reached out his hand to Bobby, causing him to instinctively flinch out of fear he would end up with another broken bone.
"Not a chance Ant Queen." Lucerio added on, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. He looked uncomfortable in his velvet uniform. It just wasn't his vibe, he was more of an all black clothing kind of guy.
"You really think we'd let you use your art again after what you tried to pull in that bathroom?" Eros replied, flabbergasted at the audacity of Bobby.
"That was in the past..."
"It hasn't even been a full hour yet."
"Like I said, in the past. Besides, we're all on the same team now, right?"
"You're pushing your luck, toilet head. But summon those ants; I implore you to..." Grimace cracked his knuckles, and then his neck.
"Nevermind Eros, forgive me... Just hurry up and get Ms. Aurelion. I want this to be over with as soon as possible."
Eros walked back into the dining hall, and to his surprise, he found Amelia socializing with a little boy. The frail black-haired boy's hollow grey eyes watched as Amelia indulged herself in an ice cream sundae. Lost in her own world, she hadn't noticed that the boy had stopped listening minutes ago. He stood there not because he was interested in what she had to say, but because he was afraid of the punishment that might come with not showing her proper respect.
"Amelia, are you ready to go?"
"Who are you speaking to so casually slave?" Amelia slapped Eros across the face, hardly hard enough to leave a mark. She turned to face Eros so that the boy wouldn't see her wink at him. "When you address me, you must always address me as 'Mistress Amelia.' Is that understood?"
The boy stared curiously at Eros, watching the interaction unfold. Did he want Eros to say something back? No, he looked more grateful that someone else had distracted Amelia, relieving the boy of his duty to the noblewoman.
I guess I'll play along if it gets me to that room...
"Forgive me, Mistress Amelia!" Eros lowered his head, pretending to be afraid of the gentle woman. Amelia tried her best to give him a look of disgust, pursing her lips to hold in her laughter. Sweat began to pour down her face, and her cheeks turned flush red. She was struggling to keep up the facade. At heart, she was truly a kind woman, unlike the rest of her fellow nobles.
"Mistress Amelia, I was sent to inform you that you were needed in the VIP room."
"Very well, you have my permission to lead the way, slave."
Had it not been for Eros' quick thinking, he was convinced that Amelia would have crumbled under the pressure and accidentally revealed his secret. As they walked out of the main dining hall, Eros glanced back at the young boy who was now devouring Amelia's leftover ice cream sundae. It must have been the boy's first time trying the dessert because he tried biting into it, shuddering after likely contracting a brain freeze.
"This is so much fun, I feel like Jester. I don't ever want this high to end!" Amelia giggled as they left the main dining hall. She slightly leaned on Eros as they stood in the elevator, not out of intimacy but to keep her own balance. He should have known, Amelia was drunk.
"How much did you drink?"
"Are you my father? Don't forget your place, my beloved slave..." She burst into laughter at the last word, unable to keep the act going when it was just the two of them. Her laugh echoed into the small moving metal shaft like the sound of a tea kettle when it boils.
It's pointless...
Amelia caressed Eros' face, staring into his concerned violet eyes. Yes, concern... concern for the drunk noblewoman in front of him, who he had initially decided would be his enemy when the festival was over. But he could not bring himself to view her that way, not when she had done so much for him in such little time.
"Cheer up, Eros. So I'm a little tipsy... maybe I want to be because this may be your last night alive. Remember?"
Maybe I should tell her now... it's not like she'll remember any of this tomorrow morning. And even if she does, I'll already be in the festival fighting for my life.
"Amelia, listen..."
"When I was a girl, I used to beg my father to take me to the Royal Requiem Theatre. It's located in the capital city, Valens. It's large and quite beautiful. At the time, there was a young performer who had stolen the attention of the world..."
"Amelia, please..."
"I'd never seen a boy dance so beautifully, so elegantly at such a young age. He was maybe only a few years older than me, but he danced with such grace. As he began to become more popular, he became so famous that the Volarions gifted him a permanent residence in the Golden Experience Hotel, on the outskirts of our empire, located in Sol City. Eventually he earned the stage name 'Jester,' which in ancient times was used for the name of the performers that entertained Seraphim Volarion."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"It may be your last night alive. I need you to know..."
"Know what?" Eros did not take his eyes off of Amelia, who was unable to meet his gaze. She shifted on her feet, deciding whether or not to tell Eros what she had been keeping inside of her. Guilt racked her face.
"I begged my father for years to take me to see this young performer, but he refused every time. There was always some excuse for why he could not take me to see the performance. On my 13th birthday, he told me the truth..."
The truth?
"Nearly 5 years before I was born, my father had an affair with a woman from the travelling circus. She became pregnant with his son, my brother. My father wanted nothing to do with the boy at first, but after the woman begged and begged for him to take the child with him, he eventually caved in. He temporarily lived with my parents for a few years before..."
"Before what?"
"My father, he-he needed money. At the time, the Aurelion name hadn't been established yet, and he needed an investor for LivePulse so he..."
"So he?"
"So he sold my older brother to 3 of the Heavenly Noble Clans for a few months. They had taken interest in him, in my brother. And you-you can imagine the rest..."
"Amelia..."
"After they were done with him, my father didn't even want him back. He said he was damaged goods, not worthy of their newly established noble name. He let the heavenly noble clans keep him. The LivePulse stocks flourished while my brother underwent unspeakable acts. He was only 5, Eros... he was only 5 years old! Eventually they sold him back to the travelling circus his mother was from. I don't know if they ever reunited, but I know we certainly never did. By the time I was born, he was already sold into the circus..."
"That's why you were so fixated on him..."
And why he was so fixated on you...
"Do you hate me, Eros?" Amelia's eyes were hollow, she was unable to even fake a smile anymore. It reminded him of the same expression his mother had right after killing his father. The guilt was weighing her down. Just how long had this young woman carried such a burden?
"I don't."
"You're lying. How could you not hate me? I mean, I'm a noble who is paying you to risk your life all so that I can gain more status? I'm no different than my father when he sold Grimace to the Heavenly Nobles. You're even pretending to be a slave for me..."
Now's my chance. I need to tell her the truth.
"Amelia, about that... I'm not who you think I am. I'm actually a..."
"Stop Eros, I already know what you're going to say..."
"No, you don't. Amelia, I'm an Emp—"
"I know. I already know who you are... Eros Eldritch."