Masquerade

Severin waited in the library. He had a bottle of red wine and he sipped it as he looked through all the sketches that he had made of Lorelei. He had given her a puppy years ago and she carried it everywhere. SHe sat on the windowsill and looked out onto the green. He first had her in his bed at 16 and he had a sketch of her bathing. She was so young then he recalled as he heard her come home. He expected as much, she was resourceful and strong and competent. He didn’t love her as he used to now though. Like everything he owned, she had become a possession, nothing more...nothing less. He looked up from the sketch book when she came in. her face nearly crimson from her anger. He grinned broadly and leaned back with his glass.

“Ah...you made it back...very good,” he said in a dry voice that really meant either way would have been fine for him.

Lorelei spent the last hour of the carriage ride fuming as she thought against about the sealed document she had destroyed. She was practically shaking as she got out of the carriage. She stormed inside and went immediately to his study. She threw open the doors and glared at him. She walked over to him and slapped him hard across the face.

"How dare you!"

Severin took her slap with a blink of his eyes and droplets of red wine splashed upon his sketch of her in her bath and on his sleeve. He wiped at the corner of his mouth, it felt raw from the strike and he tasted blood. He showed it to her but he remained very calm.

“That...hurt...I covered all possible outcomes Lorelei. I knew you’d overcome ‘Ansel’ for christ's sake,” he said flippantly. Severin was an excellent sketcher. He got her breasts and the hair between her legs almost exactly right. She was very young then though and filled out a little more now. “You...have something for me?” He asked and his eyes shifted to the table then back up to her.

Lorelei's nostrils were flaring she was so angry. She continued to glare at him, not even noticing the sketchbook.

"I never would have killed him. Ansel was the kindest man I have ever met! You know he asked me to marry him...practically begged me. He told me he loved me and I know he meant it. I could have said yes...I should have said yes."

She practically threw the leather document bag at him.

His lips formed into a line and his eyes burned with a fiery heat and then he leaned back in his chair casually. “Marry Ansel? Have you completely lost your mind? You know I would never allow that,” he said as he dabbed at the stains on his wrist. “His farm is enough...for now...You did well...take a free day...in fact, take 2 I have another task for you later in the week,” he said smoothly not looking at her his attentions now on the signed contracts. He grinned when he read Ansel’s signature, Lorelei’s anger of no consequence to him.

Lorelei just glared at Severin. She knew that if she didn't leave soon she would hurt him. She grabbed his glass of wine and poured it all over the sketchbook before turning and storming out of the room. She went up to her room and fumed. She paced back and forth with her fists clutched so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"I have to get out of here..."

She stopped then because she remembered the invitation she had received for a masquerade ball in Paris that night. She immediately went to her wardrobe and began to look through her dresses. She pulled out a dark teal gown with a intricately designed bodice in gold thread. The neckline was low and the skirt was full. She had Anne help her with her hair, which they pulled up atop her head. She chose a gold necklace with a large diamond pendant, which hung down near her breasts. She spritzed on some of her perfume and then put on her black cloak. Lastly, she pulled out of one of her drawers her black lace cut out, half face mask which featured a baroque pattern. It had a strap so she wouldn't have to hold it up all night. She took some of Severin's money before going out to the carriage. She got inside and ordered the driver to head to Paris. She hoped this would be a night she could forget about Severin and have some fun.

Armand was actually going to be allowed to ‘let his hair down’ for this party. As a highly decorated member of the musketeers he will try and have the best time at this Masquerade party. He is going in all black, with his sword and parrying dagger of course with a black and white tiger mask that only covered to the bottom of his nose and it even had ears upon it with a black ribbon to tie it to his face. He also had a short, black cloak made and knee high boots to perfect the look. He hoped no one would recognize him and though he knew he ‘could’ have more fun with a certain someone who shall not be named, he would try to forget her tonight. He decided to solo it to the party in his own fancy coach bought with his own money. He had a great deal of coin, he spent very little and won more than he lost at gambling.

Count Karlitis always held this ball in his estates in Paris. He was very wealthy and the Musketeers had aided him when he needed it most years ago so they were of course always invited. His mansion was surrounded by well trimmed hedge and trees. Part of which was a famous hedge maze that Armand had experienced once before. Servants with trays of champagne and food were strewn about the maze and you never knew who you’d find around the next bend.

Inside was all marble and stone with large statues of fantastical creatures that lined the walls of the great hall. There was human chess in one of the large rooms. Each piece was a servant dressed scantily to represent one of the pieces. He liked the pawns the most, they were women in sheer dresses with little else. There were rooms and more rooms, to many to count and servants in black masks at just about every corner. The grand ballroom was a massive space with ribbons of different colors that streamed from wall to wall high above the dancers. Tables of food for every taste lined the walls as well as mountains of wine and champagne. Stacked impossibly high. Fire eaters, jesters, pole dancers and tumblers displayed their art around the room and there was a band with a harpsichord, stringed instruments and odd shaped horns that made wonderful music. And ofcourse there were dancers, men and women all with costumes of all sorts and masks of different designs. The night was set to be one of magic and revelry and Armand wanted to experience it all!

Lorelei had been to several of the these balls, but every time he surprised her by doing something a little different. After greeting her host she disappeared into the crowd. She drank several glasses of champagne and finally began to relax and forget about Severin. Even with a mask she was still one of the most beautiful women there and many men asked her to dance. Masquerades allowed Lorelei to relax enough to enjoy such evenings and tonight was no exception.

As the night wore on Armand might suddenly be struck by something...a rather familiar scent. It was faint where he was standing, but there was no mistaking that Gardenia perfume. If he were inclined to follow it, he would eventually spot her standing over by the champagne talking to a slightly older man who seemed enthralled with her.

Women were in abundance at the party. Young face, old faces, pretty young and old faces, luscious, full lips and thin red ones that could use a little more rouge. He had danced, drank, ate and even kissed and fondled a willing young woman by one of the many wine carts. He was talking with several other young men, he knew them to be fellow musketeers when a familiar scent made him pause in what he was going to say. His ears drifted away from the conversation and he turned and narrowed his eyes now actively scanning the women for the one he sought.

The gardenia scent was unmistakable he felt. Not many wore it, not that it was overly expensive, it wasn’t but it was difficult to extract the oils properly. He had heard that more than once when he asked the salesman about it. His nose led him to the dance floor then large picture window near the side then among the many small, round tables people sat at to talk or to eat or to fondle one another under the table cloths. Like a bloodhound on a scent he chased after it...after her.

The champagne tower was a massive thing and a forked tool was used to careful extract the glasses from the top. A servant dressed all in white used the tool deftly and hardly spilled the expensive beverage as he handed glasses to those who asked for some. A woman in a flowing teal and gold dress was there talking to an older man who was standing very close to her. Her cloak was made of black lace and her mask had an interesting baroque pattern to it. He saw her laugh at one of the man’s quips and she dallied her fingertips on his lapels. The necklace she wore hung down low between her breasts and when he observed her shape he knew.

He wanted to grab her wrist and haul her out of there but he decided to be patient and wait to see what she did. Before a moment passed however he saw her pocket the man’s coin purse. Her hands were quick and sure. Practiced fingers with some kind of finger device to cut the cord quickly. Well, he could not believe she had taken his winnings from the gambling. He still could not believe she was a killer though, not that he decided as she stepped outside and headed toward the hedge maze. Had she seen him? He shouldn't have worn his parrying dagger, not many carried those. More than once she paused as if to adjust her dress but more and more he got the growing suspicion that she had seen him following her. He did lose sight of her as she turned left into the maze and he hurried up to enter it before she moved to far away. When he turned the corner though, she was gone. She must have ran to another intersection he knew and then the game of finding her again was afoot!

Pocketing the man's money had been so easy it had almost bordered on boring for Lorelei. He was rich enough that she knew he wouldn't even miss it and with the amount of champagne he had already consumed and was likely to consume later on she was certain that he wouldn't even remember her in the morning...let alone an hour from now. The man wanted to dance with her again and she was about to agree, just to throw him a bone since she had just robbed him after all, but she suddenly felt as if she were being watched...closely. With a very quick glance her eyes scanned the room. At first she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but then she spotted him. Even with his mask she knew it was Armand. He was watching her and moving quickly towards her. Lorelei quickly excused herself and began to make her way out of the ballroom. She knew with Armand having to navigate through the crowd that she would have a good head start on him. She moved quickly, but didn't run. She knew if she ran he would chase her. She needed to maintain a calm, relaxed air...while trying to lose him at the same time. She spotted the maze hedge and made her way towards it. She hadn't gone through it before, but she was confident she would be able to find her way out. She could hear Armand a little ways behind her as she ducked into the maze. Normally, she would have taken the time to think things like this out more clearly, but something bordering on panic drove her to make rash decisions about which way to go...which led her straight to a dead end. She turned quickly to try and get out but as she did she found Armand standing right in front of her. Deciding to opt for ignorance about who he really was (since they were at a masquerade ball after all!) she gave a little smile.

"Looks like I took a wrong turn...excuse me..." she said as she tried to get past him.

She had given him a merry chase but she must not have known the secret to getting out of a labyrinth and in any case it would not have mattered now anyway as when she attempted to backtrack from a dead end he was there and to set the tone of this ‘reacquaintance’ he did draw his sword then held it down to his side. Even now he found her captivatingly beautiful but she was a thief and a good one. One of practice and she was also good at seduction. He, himself had been taken in by her. The words of Athos and Porthos and the others coming into his ears. “Forget her, she is damaged goods’ and ‘be thankful she only took your gold’ and ‘She’ll cut your throat to keep her freedom’. The last one bit deep though he could not believe she was a murderer.

“So, this is what you do? Steal from men’s pockets? Bed them and take their hearts as well?” He said in a calm tone, well, as calm as he could make it. He sincerely hoped she was not a murderer. “You know I can’t let you leave, you’re a thief and should be brought to justice,” he said but he did not take a step toward her. He heard voices in the distance, giggling, happy voice of the guests experiencing the maze. He also heard the moans of someone experiencing alot more than just the maze nearby.

Lorelei's hand went instinctively for her dagger when he drew his sword. However, he kept it at his side so she relaxed her hand and did not pull out her dagger. He would see she was at a complete loss for words at first. She had never been caught before...ever. She didn't quite know how to react. She couldn't deny what she had just done because the man's coin purse was on her. However, she could see Armand hesitating...she could hear it in his voice. Perhaps she could convince him to just let her go...

"Well, I cannot deny what I've done....but Armand you must understand that I don't do it just for the fun of it," she lied, "but because I have to. I have never taken from anyone other than the rich (another lie). I...I do it to survive."

As she spoke she slowly moved closer to him. She was now right in front of him. She looked up into his eyes. Her breasts were lightly pressed against his chest. "But I understand that you have to do your duty...I will not resist you..." she said in barely more than a passionate whisper.

Armand so wanted to believe her. He did, he wanted it more than anything he had ever wanted in his life. ‘She’ll cut your throat to keep her freedom’ Athos’s voice whispered in his head. The perfume, her soft, penitent voice and the sweetness of her sense. The large stone that hung from her neck snapped him out of it. That alone must have cost a fortune and he was by no means rich. She had stolen from him. He took a step back then raised his sword and set it on her shoulder.

“I’m not wealthy and I saw how much joy you take from such acts. Why do you do this Elise...if that is even your real name. I suspect more and more that it is not. Which is it tonight?” he asked doubtful she’d give him her real name. “You steal and lie expertly. I think Athos was right. Men are marks to you and little else. “Now drop your dagger,” he said more forcefully but the hurt he felt was also in his voice. Her lying to him bothered him more than he thought it would and he would not have her planting that in between his ribs for him.

Lorelei felt her heart now beginning to race in her chest. She tried not to let her panic show. She looked at Armand and into his eyes. Everything about her suddenly softened. A few tears came to her eyes. She pulled her dagger out from her dress and let it drop to the ground.

"I would never hurt you Armand," she said genuinely. "That night we had together was something special for me. Not a day goes by that I haven't thought about it." Which was, in fact, true. She had thought about that night and him everyday since then.

Her eyes had more effect upon them than he realized and he lowered his sword back to his side. Her words sounded...sincere but he wanted to believe it didn’t matter. She was a thief. “I have not forgotten you either,” he heard himself saying before he could stop the words from leaving his mouth. He saw no tenseness in her body. He was certain if he took her up into his arms that she would melt into them and be his once more. No! No, she is a thief and quite possibly a murderer.

“Can you at least tell me your name? You can do that, can’t you?” He asked almost pleadingly. He needed to hear it, needed to know it yet the mystery of why he was even talking to her right then escaped him. He should be clapping her in irons and bringing her in but he just stood there like some lovesick idiot, wanting to soothe the pain in her eyes. And above it all...he wanted her.

Lorelei was relieved when Armand lowered his sword. However, she knew she wasn't out of danger just yet. She could see he was being pulled in two different directions emotionally. She hoped she could sway him over to her side. She kept her eyes soft and almost...remorseful. She was surprised, however, to find she was glad to know that he had been thinking about her too.

"Jeanne Petit."

Armand almost wanted to chuckle, he scrutinized her once more and decided that that name didn't fit her either. He shook his head obviously not pairing that name to her. “You don’t have to steal...you don’t, if you just choose not to. You’re intelligent, skilled, you could do whatever you wanted,” he told her and he believed that. But suspicion creeped back into his head as he looked at her. “Did you kill those women?” he had to ask. He didn’t want to hear her reply though. He was afraid he’d hear the lie in her voice and that question was the only reason he even still held his sword.

‘Soft lips pressed against his, her warm lips and the sweetness of her taste’ He recalled the moment in the room at the Le Fitte. He didn’t want to know anything more honestly, he wanted to be inside her right then. To feel that incredible sweetness he had felt again. She let him do what he wanted to her body and he almost felt that he’d do that to her again. Only this time she deserved it to hurt more then the last time. However he suspected that she’d like that. Like him to ‘punish’ her and take some solace from that. It wouldn’t exonerate her though. Not for being a thief. ‘It would be enough for you though’ that voice told him in his head. Where ever that voice was he wanted to find it and stomp it out right then! It was confusing him.

Lorelei could see the confusion and hesitation in Armand's eyes. He didn't want to know the answer to his question and she wasn't going to give it to him. Instead, she was going to give him what he so clearly wanted...her. She needed to act quickly before he changed his mind....before he began to think with his mind instead of another part of his body. She slowly moved closer to him. She kept her eyes on his. She could still feel the cold steel against her skin. She looked deeply into his eyes for a long moment before closing the gap and kissing him.

‘Lift your sword, lift it you fool!’ The voice in his head said but his arm did not move as she approached him. It was likely she would slip a dagger into his ribs but as she kissed him he no longer cared. His sword dropped and he lifted her up into his arms once more the sweetness of her taste filling his mind. The softness of her breasts and her body up against him enthralling him to her. He was hers he felt and he kissed her back passionately.

Recklessly they attacked one another. It was torture to have his lips separated from hers. They shifted clothing, unbuckled, unbuttoned and she drew him to the ground and before he knew it he was inside of her. She could see the fire of his love for her in his eyes. He was also still angry though and he ground her down upon his hardness. Two people had moved past them and they giggled as they moved on...it was two women. He pulled her down to kiss her lips and their tongues mingled as he pushed her dress down to expose her breasts. His mouth went to her right nipple and he sucked so hard upon her it should have hurt. He repeated and alternated as she grinded herself around on him so hard it hurt him but he only clenched his teeth as he groaned then nibbled hard on her nipples. For whatever reason her thieving and her transgressions he felt were against him, personally and when he shoved her back he would avenge himself upon her. She felt the painful pressure of his cock sliding into her ass. The pinch of his moist hardness striking into her without proper preparation. He felt her try to shift to alleviate the pain of himself in her but he shifted back. Her legs were upin the air and most of her was covered by the bloom of her dress. He shifted from her pussy to her ass back into her pussy and he fucked her hard and as fast as he could in her pussy until she felt him flood her with his cum. He stuffed down the dress between them as he leaned over to kiss her again.

“I...I hate you,” he lied sullenly, he had no tongue for it. What she knew he meant was that he loved her.

Lorelei knew she had him when she felt him drop his sword. He kissed her so passionately she was actually unprepared for it. She kissed him back and within moments they were trying to get whatever clothing off that they needed to. It was going to be far too much work to get her entire dress and corset off, but it could be shoved up. She threw him back onto the ground and straddled him. She guided him into her and then pushed herself down upon him hard. It was as if they both wanted to hurt the other and she gasped in pain when he bit her nipples. However, beyond the pain was pleasure and Lorelei was enjoying being in control. However, Armand seemed to have other ideas and he soon shoved her back onto her back. She wasn't expecting him to do what he did and her eyes actually filled with tears of pain. She bit down on her lip so hard she thought it was going to draw blood. She tried to shift, but he wouldn't allow it. All she could do was lay there and take it. She knew this was his punishment to her. She could feel it in every move he made...and for some reason she felt she deserved it. As she felt him flood her she tensed and felt an orgasm shudder through her body. She collapsed back onto the ground and felt Armand actually pull her dress back down before leaning over to kiss her. Something about that made her realize that he loved her...that he didn't just think of her as some whore. She looked at him for a long moment before responding.

"I hate you too..."

OOC-She's lying as well. He will be able to see that.

Afterward, they didn’t have long to just lay about and their masks were the first thing to go back on, he looked regretfully over at his sword in the grass then back to her. He was beside her as she tried to right her dress and undergarments and he, himself his.

“Do I mean enough to you to get you to stop...what it is you do if not that then...than I will have your real name this time. You owe me that at least,” and to her surprise she knew he meant he was going to let her go. She might have no idea how hard it was for him to admit he was going to do just that. He was a man of honor and truth and justice. It had been ingrained into him since birth yet she represented none of those things. Love broke all those edicts, when it came to her at least and he helped her up to her feet.

He would not apologize for hurting her. She had earned that for lying to him and stealing from him. She might feel that doing that hurt him more than her actual crimes did. When she waited to answer he slammed his sword down into his sheath much harder than it actually required and his brow furled at her. She could also tell he was about to just turn and go. If he couldn’t trust her than love or not he could not be with her. He hoped she understood that much. He would not plead with her anymore though. He had no tongue for that either and his patience with her was wearing thinner by the moment.

Lorelei straightened out her dress and put back on her mask. She looked over at Armand and hesitated slightly when he asked her for her real name. The only person who knew her real name was Severin. For every other person she had ever met she had given an alias. She allowed him to help her to her feet. She looked over at him ever so slightly and her hesitation caused his patience to wear thin and his anger to grow. Could she give him her real name? She wanted to...desperately. She wanted to hear him say it. For him to know it...and yet she was afraid...something she never would have admitted out loud. She watched as he turned to leave in anger and sighed softly.

"Lorelei...Baudelaire. That's my real name. Although I changed my surname when I was 6. It was originally Dupont, but I no longer wanted to be associated with my prostitute mother."

With his back still to her and his hand on the hilt of his sword he spoke the name in his head over and over. “Lorelei,” one of the repetitions he spoke aloud and his voice held affection for that utterance. Prostitute mother...that implied a tough life. So she stole to raise above her past? So many questions filled his head and it took real effort to not turn around and drill her until the sun came up. She had given a name and though he still wasn’t sure about it he decided to believe it.

“A man named Armand loves you Lorelei. He is out there, somewhere thinking about you,” he said as he turned his head. “He is not the man you see before you, this man will be gone when the sun rises,” he said sadly and very softly. He knew she would not stop being who she was and she knew he would not stop being who he was. “The man out there will take you if he catches up with you again. I...I will never betray you and I will love you always,” he said with such emotion he hurried away from her. Her scent would haunt him for several paces so he hurried away and he did not look back.

Lorelei just stood there as she watched Armand leave. She felt herself hold her breath as she watched him leave. Watching him go broke her heart and tears filled her eyes. Part of her wanted to go after him...to throw her arms around him and tell him she wanted to remain with him...to beg him to leave Paris with her so they could start a new life together...but she didn't. She just stood there watching him walk away.