The Abstraction Ball

"Mother! Oh goodness, mother! I found one," stammered Ametrine. She immediately dropped the purple envelope and quickly turned around, not watching it fall to the wooden floor.

"What?" Her mother stumbled her way to the fireplace. Ametrine was standing there, holding her hands over her face.

"Come on now, let me see," her mother said. Ametrine removed her hands and pointed to the letter on the ground.

"The fire didn't stop it from coming in like we thought it would," uttered Ametrine. Her mother picked up the letter as Ametrine stepped forward to get a better look.

Written on the front on the envelope was "The Abstraction Ball" in cursive, silver letters. It was very crisp and looked brand new. On the back, there was a small, red wax seal. It depicted what looked to be like wind with three lines that curved into a spiral.

"Get your grandparents," her mother commanded. Ametrine did as she told and left to fetch them upstairs. Her mother sat in a nearby chair. She rubbed one temple with her left hand and held the letter in the other.

She should have known it was coming. Last night was Invitation DeNoctis, as it's called. Legend said during that time, the wind would change directions. A snowfall of purple letters would fall from the sky. They flew into people's houses. They were all invitations to the Abstraction Ball but only a few people were selected, and it was always random. That is, except for the royalty. They seemed to always get invited. She couldn't help but wonder what were the odds that somebody from this house was chosen?

She looked at the silver letters and shuddered. She was tempted to rip it. The letters were always the cause of her problems, and it was so easy to just tear this one in half.

So, she began to rip with caution and care. She started from the top of the envelope and watched the fibers tear. As she reach the inner letter, the wind picked up outside. Suddenly, a lightening bolt slash erupted on the paper. It wasn't a deep cut, just a little slice on the side of the letter. A thunderous roar of wind battered the house. It imitated the sound of heavy rain and made the house creak. Some paintings on the wall shook.

"Maria," yelled Ametrine's grandmother, "what in FSM's name do you think you're doing?" Maria jolted and immediately put the letter down. The wind abruptly ended.

Ametrine and her grandparents filed in the living room as Maria stood in front of the chair. Her heart was racing, and her pupils were dilated. The wind left a deep quietness in the room that wasn't there before.

"I'm sorry-- I..."

"Doesn't matter."

Ametrine's grandmother, Emigail, walked briskly, snatched the letter from Maria's hands, and examined it. The way the t's were crossed and the l's and e's were looped were all too familiar to other letters she studied for hours. She saw the tear and glanced for just a second at Maria then back again. She saw the seal and only nodded.

"Grandmother, is it real?" asked Ametrine with her forehead furrowed.

"Of course."

"Oh god!" croaked her husband, Harold. Ametrine gasped.

"Don't you dare panic. There isn't a need yet," declared Emigail. She sat down in the chair Maria was sitting in moments ago. Ametrine and her grandfather looked over her shoulder to read along. Maria was away from the group, her back turned and looking out a window. The sunrise was almost over. She watched the wispy clouds pass through the faint white light from the sky above.

They pulled the letter out. It was a folded piece of pale parchment. In big black letters, "Ametrine" was written. Directly under that, it wrote "You're invited!"

To most, an invitation would be something to smile about, but to the Nupabell family, those words looked like the most sinister of evil doings. Nothing was worse than an invitation to the Abstraction Ball.

Ametrine practically fell over. She thought her heart missed a beat and took a step back. Her grandmother reached out, and Ametrine took her hand. She held it closely to her mouth.

Emigail opened the paper.

"Miss Ametrine Goshwana Nupabell,

We request your presence for the Annual 500th Abstraction Masquerade Ball. Please proceed to the King's palace tomorrow from seven o'clock to twelve o'clock in the evening. Bring your invitation to the guards. Refreshments will be served. The theme is eyes, as always.

Two rules:

Keep your identity a secret during dance hours.

Do not go to the dance with anyone else."

Streams of hot tears ran down Ametrine's face when she finished reading. Her grandmother pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay... it's okay..."

"It's Ametrine, isn't it?" Maria asked. Emigail nodded. Maria sighed and sniffled.

Emigail pull back and stared at her grandchild. She had her mother's electric blue eyes. Her long black hair fell easily on either side of head with little curls. She had a small face with freckles, and her skin was pale. She was still so young, only 16. Emigail had planned for Ametrine to live much longer than her. She wouldn't let the same thing that happened to her child happen to her grandchild.

"I'll tell you what we'll do. We are going to buy you a dress and make you look even prettier. Ametrine, you are going to that ball!" declared Emigail. Ametrine looked just as surprised as her mother.

"I... I can't. I don't have the money to buy a dress and mask for her!" stammered Maria. "You know that."

"She was invited, so she must go," Emigail stated calmly. Ametrine glanced from person to person, drying her tears. Her grandmother was right. Since she was invited, she would have to go to the ball, or there would be dire consequences. This situation was very familiar to what happened a year ago.

Her father, Benjamin, fell gravely ill a day after the Abstraction Ball. He was invited, but he did not attend. The family did not have enough money for a formal outfit for the dance, and he decided against going. People would tell them his disease was avoidable, that it came out of nowhere. But the family believed otherwise. They thought it was a curse from the secret side of Abstraction Ball. He was left bedridden.

The grandparents moved in to help care for their son as Maria worked long hours at the local tavern. Maria would stay by Benjamin's side throughout the night, work during the day, and then repeat that cycle. For days, until Benjamin couldn't hold on anymore. He died a week after not attending the ball.

Ametrine could never forget her mother's constant sobbing. In fact, Maria developed an irrational fear of eyes from the Ball's theme. She couldn't stare anyone in the eyes or look at herself in mirror for more than a second. Any eye shaped object was banned from the household. She began to hate the wind, too. It was another sign of the Abstraction Ball. The wind always picked up during the week surrounding the dance. For most, the wind was refreshing, warm, and playful, but to her, it was mournful and brought out the worst.