Page 57 of I Ran Away to Evil #3

A Moment of Possessiveness

Julian

Julian wasn’t expecting Gerda to look so breathtaking.

And he wasn’t expecting to feel a slight twist in his stomach when she’d spoken about taking someone else to the ball.

And he was not expecting to feel a sense of accomplishment when his compliment left her speechless and flushed before he dragged her to the hall. Her light green skin darkened all the way down to her exposed collarbone, as did the tips of her long ears.

“Ger—Greetings.” Queen Henrietta was immediately on them as they walked into the hallway outside the ballroom, the Dark Lady almost slipping and using Gerda’s name.

It was rude to reveal someone’s identity so early in the evening.

Many in the room had magically changed their hair, eyes, skin, or fur color for the occasion. Some had even shapeshifted.

There was an enchantment on this room and the ballroom that helped obscure the guests to better assist in the fun of the masquerade … but no one was going to be fooled when Queen Henrietta was being her usual self and King Keith didn’t hide his single horn.

King Keith held his wife around the shoulders. The Dark Lord looked over their outfits, and his eyebrow twitched, but he simply nodded. “How was your afternoon?”

Julian smiled. “Informative.”

“Good.”

“I’m impressed you got matching outfits so quickly!” Queen Henrietta exclaimed, not one to hold back like her husband. Her eyes sparkled as she looked over Gerda. “You both look amazing .”

“Thank you.” Gerda’s voice choked a bit, but she recovered. “So do you.”

The royals wore matching blue, each outfit having a high neck and not a single embellishment on the fabric. They chose, instead, to adorn themselves in heavy gemstone belts, brooches, and jewelry.

Probably all of them enchanted.

“I haven’t seen your hair down since the bridge battle.” Queen Henrietta admired the waves of dark emerald green that fell past the troll’s waist. It looked luscious, with enough volume to frame her figure without being too thick to run his fingers through …

Not that Julian was thinking about running his fingers through Gerda’s hair.

“It’s a bit of a pain.” The troll sighed wistfully, running a hand on a section that fell over her exposed shoulder. “But I love it.”

“I can imagine. I wouldn’t last through a single hairbrush before giving up.” The queen leaned in closer, smiling up at Gerda. “I know it’s not the right time or place, but I have a surprise for you!”

“What—?”

Henrietta pulled out a bag of cookies. Julian recognized them immediately.

“Stardust skirts?” Julian’s jaw dropped before he reached out to cover the cookies and Gerda’s hand. “Quick! Hide it before my mother sees!”

Gerda slipped them into her storage ring. “What are stardust skirts?”

“Only the most delicious baking I’ve ever had outside of your own!” The queen stuck both hands on her hips and nodded once.

Julian added, “They are baked specially for the married couple, and only for them.”

“But … why did you give me these?” Gerda asked, confused.

“I wanted to thank you somehow … for everything,” the queen explained. “I helped bake the stardust skirts for Julia and Chloe, and those were my trial cookies.”

“You didn’t need to—”

“I really did,” Henrietta assured her.

“—but I will gladly accept your cookies.”

“Good.” Reassured that her gift was well received, Henrietta took her husband by the arm. “They’re made out of concentrated star mana, pixie dust, dried markleberry powder, nettle, minos cow butter, and the zest of a pink lime.”

“ There is dried markleberry powder? ” The vehemence in Gerda’s voice startled everyone.

“It’s very, very rare.” Henrietta gave her a sad smile.

“It’s time.” King Keith drew their attention to the other guests as everyone started to move. He recommended, “Let’s continue this after we find our place in line.”

Since this was a masquerade, there was no official order of precedence and no official greetings. Instead of announcing names, the attendants were greeting everyone and offering them a dance card with the schedule on the back.

“We can go looking for some at the market tomorrow,” Henrietta promised.

“She’ll be leaving with me tomorrow,” Julian said. “So you should plan something early. We are leaving at lunch.”

“No,” said a polite voice that cut in right behind him. “You are not.”

“Hello, Mother.” He turned, ignoring the cold chill that ran down his spine.

“My dear.” Grand Duchess Calisto was standing arm in arm with Their Royal Highness Rowen. The fox had on a long tight black dress, hoop earrings, and an ornate black tiara set with rubies.

“Your Grace,” King Keith and Henrietta greeted, Gerda a beat behind them.

“You do recall that you’re speaking at tomorrow’s closing ceremonies.” The words were spoken through a smile, but he couldn’t miss the daggers in his mother’s sharp eyes as she stared him down.

“Of course, Mother.”

“Which means you will be leaving, at the earliest, right after lunch,” Grand Duchess Calisto let him know.

“Of course, Mother.”

There was no way around it. Julian knew his mother would be there with knights in hand to drag him back if he tried to sneak away early.

“So I have you all tomorrow morning!” Henrietta clapped.

“You are both forgetting the council meeting, where Gerda has been summoned to speak,” Their Royal Highness spoke, and Henrietta’s shoulders slumped. The fox shot her a wide grin. “But in the meantime, let’s all enjoy tonight.”

The fox escorted Calisto into the ballroom ahead of them.

“I’m sure we’ll find some time before I leave.” Gerda shot Julian an apologetic side-eye that this conversation had foiled his plans.

Julian sighed. “With everything changed, you can take your time. We’ll meet at the stables after you’re done.”

“What if I don’t have a horse?” she asked quietly. Before he could reply, they were accepting their dance cards and entering the hall.

Julian immediately led her off to the side of the hall, where they were out of the way. “There are more than enough horses. I’ll have one prepared.”

A palace knight carrying a tray approached.

“For the toast,” the knight said, presenting a variety of drinks. She was one of his mother’s personal knights, a level fifty-three paladin with poison detection. She recognized Julian right away, her eyes glancing at his partner with interest.

“Thank you, Sir Rumel.” He took a red cherry cider, and Gerda chose a dry pear. “Keep up the good work.”

“Have a good evening, Your Grace. Miss.” Sir Rumel bowed her head then left to offer drinks to the rest of the guests. The duchess wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

Gerda immediately tapped the glass with a fingernail, noting the distinct crystal chime. Her dance card was hanging off her wrist by a black braided thread, and it swayed delicately.

“May I?” Julian motioned to the card. When she lifted it, he used a bit of mana to activate it and write out his name on the first line. Then, in a moment of possessiveness utterly unlike him … he added his name to the last spot as well.

“I’m not the best dancer,” she warned, unbothered by his claiming multiple spots.

“Between your Dexterity and my expertise, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he said, but she had turned away to scan the crowd.

The room was filling up fast. She was distracted, and after the second pass, he realized she was looking for someone in particular.

“If you’re looking for our young lady in pink, she’s standing beside Tully over there.” Julian tilted his own glass toward the far side of the hall. Miss Penny Bracken was wearing a different outfit than the one she’d worn at tea … and this one managed to look even more pink than the last.

The dress was an interesting design that reminded Julian of a pincushion.

“No … I’m looking for someone else. Ah, there’s Erik.”

It was the giant whom she’d been laughing with before the tea party. He stood next to a table that was elbow high for his companions but hip high for Erik. The giant had on red tights, a long loose black tunic with a jeweled belt cinched at the waist, and a golden chain around his neck.

Julian let Gerda drag him over to the young group despite wanting more time with her alone.

“Erik! Shiro!” The troll smiled a greeting. “Have you seen Lady Amy? She disappeared after the tea party. We were supposed to talk, but all I got was this note.”

A green leaf appeared in Gerda’s hand, unfurling to show shining golden scrawl clearly visible to all.

I’m sorry, something came up. I’ll see you at the ball.

The pair exchanged looks and stepped away from their friends: another fox, a human, and a catkin. The others tried not to appear like they were listening in and failed.

“No, we parted ways in the main hall,” Erik replied.

Gerda sighed. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Julian didn’t need to hear more. Tapping his foot twice, he drew Shadow John’s attention as he leaned down and spoke into Gerda’s ear, even knowing everyone could hear him. “I’ll quietly send out a search. Just in case.”

She gave him a short nod, accepting the help. “Thank you.”

Julian’s shadow flickered. John got his message and was off.

“Don’t you already know the future?” Erik tapped the table beside his drink. “Or is that rude to ask?”

“That’s a bit much Erik,” Shiro chided softly.

Gerda flinched. “It’s … complicated.”